seriously? you did what to your hair?

i got my hair done tonight. i got it cut, a cute short new style, bangs, layers, texturizing...the whole nine yards. & then i got it dyed. first black. then i got parts of it bleached out. & then the bleached out parts dyed pink. *nods* yup. it took me a while to convince my stylist to do it. she was unsure how it would look & didn't want me to hate her. she works with me & used to be my supervisor before my promotion. she actually used to do hair for a living until a shoulder problem made her retire & join the insurance game. when rl (my stylist) was worried about how my hair would turn out i told her "hair grows, piercings heal, tattoos are forever." which pretty much sums it all up.

she does an awesome job with all my cuts. she always brings out the best in my curls & i love my hair each time she does it. she has dyed it before, but just like a burgundy color, never anything this dramatic. she never did anything this dramatic ever. but she took a risk & i promised her no matter how it turned out i'd love it. & i do love it. it's not exactly what i had pictured in my head, but i really really love it. she did an awesome job.

i was actually talking about this with someone at work who just couldn't believe that i really planned on dying my hair black & pink. my role as a qa is kind of a leadership role, but my supervisor & my manager don't seem to have any trouble with me expressing myself. then again, i'm also the girl that tends to wear cargo pants lately & has perfected the punk/business casual combo. it's just part of what makes me unique & so well loved...although evidently not humble *winks* besides, i pretty much stay well confined to my cube-sweet-cube when i'm working anyway. helps me stay out of trouble.

one of my coworkers recently got her nose pierced & she was asking me if i thought it wouldn't be well received because of our corporate work environment, to which i responded "dude, you're asking the chick with a nose ring what she thinks. i don't think it matters one bit." i actually am far from finished with my own body modification. i'm pretty sure my next tattoo will be on my left forearm, another tarot card is what i'm thinking. i'm also contemplating a lip ring to compliment my nose ring. on occasion it's been mentioned in my presence that i may want to stop getting tattoos & that i may want to lay off the piercings. that it's not professional & it will hinder my climb up the corporate ladder. but that's not really my dream, it's more my sister's dream.

i also really resent the implication that my tattoos, piercings, or hair color have anything at all to do with my intelligence,work ethic, & ability to do a fabulous job. i can understand & respect the fact that some people may see it as a phase & not the right "image" to project if i want to be taken seriously. however, i have proven myself, just as i am, to be a valuable asset to the company: friendly, bright, hardworking, responsible, & ambitious. maybe if i was just walking in off the street i could understand how my outside appearance may put some people off, but i'm kind of an established entity around my work.

& then there's the family factor. i'll be going to see my mom's family on the 27th for a family get together. i've always been kind of the black sheep of my mom's family. i've been the outsider. the artist. i have the most piercings. the most hours of ink. & definitely don't follow anyone else's rules for living. i'm fairly sure when my dad sees my hair he's going to say "birdie, why did you do such a damn dumb thing?" my brother is going to shake his head & walk away. & my mom is probably going to ask me why i do these things to myself...although, unlike a piercing or a tattoo she can't ask me why i feel compelled to mutilate my body.

i did take some pics when i got home. i have one of me & then one with each of my fuzzies (aka ferrets). sundance wears the blue collar & cassidy wears the green collar. i'm not sure if those are the ones that they each wore with their previous owner, of if she even had them assigned, but that's what i'm doing. (fuzzy side note: i may have to get an extra collar or two to keep around the apartment. they really are little escape artists & each night at least one of them gets out of their collar through playing around). for some reason my hair looks more reddish/orangish in these pictures, but in person the pink comes out. & i've already gotten several compliments on it tonight from melissa & her friends. (melissa is one of the girls that lives in the upstairs of the house that i rent. she & her twin sister live with their mom, who actually owns the house i rent. i know, slight aside, but my apartment is totally pimp. i love this place!)