Hairy Russian

The Newbie
Originally uploaded by Tokyorosa

We're a hairy family, as evidenced from this photo of The Newbie, sent to me by her mama. That's a four-month-old baby right there with that head full of hair.

And speaking of hair, I lopped mine off today, about fourteen inches of hair that will be sent to Locks of Love to be made into wigs for children with "long-term medical hair loss" (from alopecia, for example, or hair loss due to chemotherapy). My hair is now cut into a chin-length bob. It was kind of funny getting it cut. The hairdresser was like, "Are you sure you're ready to do this?" He explained that a lot of women thought they were ready to cut off all their hair, but then they'd get all teary after it was done. I laughed and said, "Yes. It'll be this length again in about two years." And then he put the hair in a ponytail and sawed away at it.

What else did I do today besides cut off and donate my hair? Hmmm. Oh, yes! I started to learn Russian. Yes, that's right, Russian. Kevin sent me a copy of his Pimsleur Russian after hearing that I wanted to travel to Russia in the spring or summer of 2009. So far, I've learned how to say, excuse me, do you understand English, no, I don't understand Russian, I understand only a little Russian, I understand a little Russian, and, yes, I am American. Even that little bit made The Brain laugh and laugh, but that was mostly because the earnest narrator of the Pimsleur Russian urged us to repeat after the native speaker, who then said something like "Yea tolka nimnoga ponyemaiyo paruskye" very quickly.

Da. Yea Amerikanka.