So the other day my daughter and I went to get a mani-pedi. She got the mani I got the pedi. The salon we went to has a different business model than what I am normally used to. You don't have to make an appointment so you get whomever is available. Sort of the HMO of nails. Move in, move out!!
Fellini would get a headache from how many characters are in this one salon. And the incongruity of the whole scene is so entertaining! With a concert of Cher playing on a loop in the background to the salon manager who strangely enough reminds me of Elvis. It is wild!! I have only been there a few times but he always greets me with, "Ashleigh's mom!" He is a slight Vietnamese man with a huge personality and a bigger belt buckle, pointy boots with an endless variety of costumes.
He is obviously in control of this salon from the way he orchestrates the whole room. He turns you over to a woman who demands you pick a color.... quickly! Picking a color isn't much of a challenge for me as my toes are always red. But I am very particular about the shade of red, not pink red, not glittery red..but candy apple red. The lights are very low so it is hard to discern color variations, and certainly not something I can do quickly. My new guide was acting more like a warden than an affable nail technician...pick the color....pick the color....pick the color. For some reason her insistence seemed to slow my polish picking ability which made her all the more impatient. Sort of like slowing up when someone is tailgating. I was very grateful for our language barrier because I did not want to know what she was saying to the nail person she turned me over to. My third person. We kind of stared at each other for a minute and then he handed me a hot towel and a cup of water with fruit in it.
Why the hot towel? But I like the water with fruit.
After you are in the chair Elvis comes back to inquire if you need anything, several times.
The stress of small talk with the nail technician is certainly not a problem, he never looked up once, so I watched Cher's concert, and you know what? It was very, very good. I saw her at Caesars twenty years ago in her first farewell tour, but this one was much better. I don't know how old it was but I do know she used every bit of her talent, which beside all of her songs, included scenes from her movies and variety shows. She hired great dancers to perform while she was off stage changing her costumes and the choreography was wonderful. I read that in a recent concert she addressed her age with the audience by saying, "what's your grandmother doing?"
You gotta love that...
Meanwhile back to the salon, nails are done, time to go....next!!!
Cher and Elvis in one afternoon.
