Sunday, March 30, 2008

...Gone Tomorrow


...Gone Tomorrow, originally uploaded by Corbie.

I got rid of two things over the last couple of days - my car and my hair.

The car has been sitting, undriven, out front ever since it starting running rough around six months ago. I parked it on the street until some bored representative of the local police department chalked the tires and left a note saying that I had 72 hours to move it. This meant I had to give up the driveway space I'd been parking the van in. Not to mention the fact that we've been paying insurance on a car that nobody has been driving. Chalk it up to procrastination on my part. Anyway, I finally got in touch with a charity and donated the damn thing. It was a little sad to see it go. I spent a lot of time adding character to that car, in the form of stickers, corrosion, busted out lights, and that unique smell every older car achieves (a combination of a decade of spilled drinks and food, coupled with who knows what else...). Granted, not everybody liked that smell. I'd used the car for over six years of paper delivery too, during which time it virtually became a part of me. It was comfortable, despite the steering wheel being so worn through that you had to grip the metal where the rubber sagged off (not fun on hot days), and despite the shininess of the driver's seat where the fabric had been buffed smooth by my butt.

Now it's gone, and we can write it off on next year's taxes. Too bad it didn't happen in time to help us with this year's taxes.

As for my hair - I'd been thinking about getting cut for awhile, but not taking action. It took Jen making the appointment (to coincide with hers) to get me down there. It has been, after all, nearly 20 years since I last got it even so much as trimmed, so all of a sudden having my hair end before it touches my shoulders is a big step.
I've had long hair ever since I could get away with it. Why? I think it was a combination of my musical idols having long hair, and just thinking it looked cool. Over the years, it just became habit (in a do-nothing sort of way). It's been braided by hundreds of kids in that time, and I've probably used up way more than my share of shampoo and conditioner. People would sometimes ask why I had it long, to which I would reply, "think of the money I've saved on haircuts." I'm still getting used to the fact that I don't have to (in fact, can't) put it back in a ponytail. I think I like it. I think...

As for the shorn hair, I'm donating it to Locks of Love. I'm all about giving things to charity this week, it seems.

Currently listening to: Thee Silver Mt. Zion Memorial Orchestra & Tra-La-La Band "13 Blues for Thirteen Moons"

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