Bathroom Humor

Being one of only two male students at the school does have an unexpected perk...  It is almost like I have my own private bathroom.  Yes, while a steady train of young and older women are fighting to use the girls bathroom, I am enjoying the peace and quiet of my own porcelain sanctuary!  Its almost unfair, its like flying first class instead of coach.

"Sir, we can upgrade you to a private bathroom for no charge today"



It's not all champagne wishes I am afraid.  Being that it so rarely gets used, the water to wash your hands is always freezing and when you are drinking as much water as I try to daily, thats about 5 or 6 ice baths for my hands a day.  The other problem is that when you are one of the only ones using the mens room, you are also one of the only ones to clean the mens room.  One problem that is the same for both sexes is having to deal with your apron or smock when you have to go.  Word on the street is that some of the girls take theirs off when they have to go.  This seems like an extra step that even though it definitely is safer, I have decided to bypass.  (Actually I didn't even think of this as an option until Mrs. Peacock told me.)  It has been a challenge to not pee on myself  or drop my tails into the toilet but so far I am still batting a thousand!

Received and gave my first scalp treatment.  These are pretty sweet, you get your head massaged after a little lotion is applied and then you get your head stimulated by one of these badboys.

Its an electrode thing a ma jig...  That's the technical name for it I think.  I like to think of it as a very short light sabre.  It kind of even sounds like one when it fires up and you can shock the living daylights out of someone if your not careful.  Used correctly it stimulates the scalp with a little electron action.

I also received my first reconditioning treatment.  Normally used on women who have dry and damaged hair from too much coloring, it helps make the hair silky smooth.  Here I am taking in the full treatment.

Note the quitter sock and how I am learning how to get a butt like JLo. 

I am still planning on taking the blog private, I just haven't gotten around to changing it yet.   Until next blog...



Working Girl

It was an exhausting week in beauty schoolland.  There is no doubt that it is definitely more tiring than college was.   Where I went to classes for about 5 hours a day, got to take naps, and got to watch the Price is Right at least 3 days a week.  You definitely have to get used to being on your feet more, working with your hands and arms.  I worked through college, with my favorite job being as a student service officer where I got to walk around and write tickets for parking violations and get free coffee or pop from 7/11.  That was a sweet gig where I met some of my favorite people..  (sidenote.  One of my most entertaining moments was when I recieved my SSO call sign/nickname.  My friend Tim and I went to a party and sad to say, I had a lot too much to drink,  said "excuse me for a minute", proceeded to walk to the side of the house and threw up on some kids bike, then came back and continued the conversation.  So for the next couple weeks I was called SSO Chunks..  Embarressing?  Yes.  Funny?  Absolutely!)

So though I worked through college I couldn't imagine going to beauty school and then going to work after that most nights a week.  It would be like working 11 or 12 hours a day.  I have a lot of respect for the girls that attempt it.  I was exhausted after this week.  Its not so much the physical work as it is the social dynamics of being in school again.  When one student or instructor has a bad day it affects all the other students in some way.  Maybe that is why everyone that I have talked to that does hair and is successful says that you aren't allowed to have bad days, you have to walk through the door, smile, and act like its sunny and 70 all the time.  Most jobs I think you can make it through if you don't like what you do.  Not hair, it seems that if you aren't really excited about it than it will make you miserable.

On a sadder note, Saturday was Mrs. Peacock's last day at school.  She is glad to be finished and moving on to the next part of the process.  I felt bad for her that her last week was not as enjoyable as it could have been, a few of the girls who wore jeans were pretty cold to her because they do not like my blog.  For those out there who know me or have taken the time to try and get to know me, you know that Mrs.
Peacock has absolutely nothing to do with my blog... ever.

Cheers to you Mrs. Peacock

And being that I have like another 40 weeks of school to go, I have decided to take the blog private to avoid unintentionally causing stress on any students life.  So going forward, only followers of the blog will be able to read it.  I will write exactly the same way as if it was public, taking care to not single anyone out or posting anything that is untrue or personal to an individual. 

Here's to a better week than the last.


SSO Chunks

A quick note

This blog for all intents and purposes may not be to everyones liking.  I understand that.  If you don't think my brand of writing is funny then by all means, please don't read the blog!!  I make fun of everything in my life while trying to protect the identities of those around me.  You will see that I do not hide my name, I do not write this blog annonomously.  This blog was intended for my friends, my future clients, my family, and most importantly, me.  To see if I could do it.  It is intended to build up excitement for "The Peacock" which is opening in May in downtown Charlevoix.  I am providing the perspective of a successful business owner, a college grad that at 33 yrs old decided to start over for the adventure of trying to make a fantastic business with his wife who he thinks is fabulous. 

So please, if you are a beauty school student and you want to follow the blog, then follow and enjoy.  But relax!  Not everything in beauty school is funny but I am going to try to make it entertaining to my readers.  If you do something in which you are trying to draw attention to yourselves (ahem,, jeangate) don't be surprised when I write about it.  It doesn't mean I don't like you : )!  Also, if I think its unfair that I have to work around your mess or something, I will tell you to your face, not blog it!  Remember, I am from the business world, not your bedroom where you can do what you want and it only affects you and your mom. 

If I can be of any help to any of you in terms of business advice, please ask, I would love to help.

Lastly, if you want to comment on the blog than please have a profile with your real name and leave out the names of others when commenting.  Any negative comments are fine as long as they meet that criteria, otherwise they will be deleted.

Thanks

Blue Jean (cry) Baby

Only 8 days into my schooling and the beauty school has been rocked by what I am dubbing "jeangate" or "the great jean protest of 2011". A little background. Our school has a dress code that basically is meant to encourage stylist professional dress. Its one rule and almost only rule is very simple... No blue jeans. The authorities that be even overlook the occasional pair of jeans slipped in every few weeks with no punitive consequences. And if you are lucky, if everyone is working hard and not complaining all the time, everyone will be rewarded with a "jean day".

Yes, blue jean day is to a beauty school student what shore leave is to a navy man. Usually the highlight of the month.

Ok, back to "jean gate". Apparently some of the younger students with way too much free time on their hands decided while they were sitting and NOT exhausting themselves doing anything, that it would be funny to all wear jeans on Wednesday. Yes a protest, you know, like the one in highschool where all the drama students blow off play practice because they are protesting that Jenny got the lead in Bye Bye Birdie because she is the teachers pet compared to Anne who everyone knows has a waaaayyyy better voice! OMG....

I am not sure what they were protesting, maybe professionalism, maybe the fact their instructors try to get them to do something that will help them to make money when they finally enter the cold cruel world. Maybe they all have stock in Wranglers and are just pissed, I don't know.

Well, Head instructor Leon (names have been changed to protect the innocent) was not happy. Rightfully so, he has to drink a million cups of coffee each day to give him the energy to continually stay on these girls to stop texting their boyfriends and to put their pokemon away. (Dead serious, some of the more serious gamers cannot ween themselves from their pokemon)

I am afraid the girls were not very forward thinking. Their one day of glorious jean wearing resulted in the taking away of the occaisional "I don't have any clean pants and had to wear these jeans" days. Students will now be sent home for challenging the rule. Once again I feel wronged, I could have used one of those at some point this year!

Leon has vowed to find the ringleader and break this jean conspiracy wide open, until then, all the senior students are getting extra work to keep themselves busy. Its like KP for the seaman who came back late from leave, except everyone on the ship has to pay the price.


It cracks me up, most the girls want to be there, but some... its like they went out and got drunk, woke up the next morning with a hangover saying "I did what???? I signed up for beauty school!!!??? No way!" Now they spend their days like Bill Murray and Harold Ramis in Stripes.

How about a little Highlight Lowlight action??

Week 1 is in the books salon fans! With a clever play on salon lingo, I thought I would recap with the highlights and lowlights of week 1 so lets get started...

Highlight

I mastered the art of recieving a manicure! Yes its true, one week in and I have this down pat. I sit, try to relax, and talk about how bad the economy is.. I also overcame my fear of being touched by another human being other than my wife. Hugs all around!! Here is the awesome holiday sparklies I chose!

Lowlight

Don't pick Holiday sparkly nailpolish!! Its a pain in the butt to get off and I did get some funny looks from the cashiers at the grocery store... and the guy in the carharts ordering chicken. My daughters were both horrified when I came home sporting polish while their younger brother took great pleasure in watching their anguish.

Highlight

Did my first manicure and did pretty good at the massage as far as I could tell.

Lowlight

When it comes to painting, Picasso I am not. I butchered applying polish and have a lot of room to improve. This one I am blaming on my lack of model car painting as a child and my 6th grade art teacher Mrs. Miller for substandard teaching methods.

Highlight

Got to do my first haircut on my mannequin and though it was what I would classify as "weak", I am good at not putting my shears down, so... I have that going for me.

Lowlight

My first attempt at marcel curls. Mr Marcel should be taken out and stabbed with a thousand hot forks. I seriously can't believe that someone can't come up with a better design.. Its like trying to roll two thin rolling pins around in one hand as it sucks in hair and you try not burn the bejesus out of yourself or the person you are working on.

And finally

Highlight

I found the sweet shoes that I wanted to order from Dansko. Danskos are professional standing shoes and a very good idea for anyone who has to be on their feet all day. I wanted the tiger print. Super stylish and I could self motivate all day by singing "eye of the tiger" to myself all day. Check them out.

Lowlight

Well, apparently Dansko only makes the really cool styles for women. Apparently there aren't enough flaming metrosexuals out there in the professional world to justify production runs in mens sizes. I feel wronged. Now I have to choose between black... and black. (oh but a few of the 5 styles come in a brown option) Lame. Here they are.

All in all the highlights win the week. Until next time, may all of your nails be strong and your hair good looking!

I'm new here..

I have to say that I was pretty excited to attack the first day of beauty school. Not pee my pants excited but pretty excited none the less. Who would have ever thought that I would dress nicer to go to beauty school than I did being a steel salesman? Anyway, the new class of students is pretty small, just me and two gals. One younger and one older. Both are very nice and I am glad I didn't get stuck with any of the loud obnoxious girls.

So I have a huge leg up knowing what to expect in all this since I have a mentor. Think of it like a senior buddy when you were a freshman in school. Someone to show you the ropes. Mine is Mrs. Peacock. I know how lucky is that! Mrs Peacock is just about done with school... Not only does she help me out with the ins and outs at school but she also drives with me and lets me know when I am approaching turns too quickly along with pointing out the extra icy spots in the parking lot where I could slip and fall.

Knowing that school starts with a lot of sitting and bookwork I have taken it upon myself to provide my own seat. My sensitive deriere and metal chairs simply don't mix. By the expressions on everyones faces I could tell that I was likely to have been the first student to bring their own exercise ball to sit on. I thought about telling everyone that I had a ridiculous case of hemroids and this was the only thing I could sit on but I chickened out and just went with the "its good for my core" excuse.

We have two instructors at the school, a classroom instructor and floor instructor. Both are very nice and yet are disparaged or disliked by most of the younger students because they try to force them to learn and do hair services while they are at school. I know that this might be hard to believe but apparently a lot of beauty school students would rather sit on their butts and play with their phones rather than cut hair.

Lots more exciting stuff on the way, stay tuned and please hit the follow button for me so I know you are out there. I have included a pick of my first go at a fish tail braid! Not perfect but pretty sweet for a guy who never had sisters with barbies.

Mr. Peacock

Are You Nuts?

In a word.

Maybe.

What possesses a successful businessman to leave his comfy high paying job during probably the most unstable economic time since the great depression to enroll in beauty school?

Let's be perfectly honest about this next part.

I have no flippin idea!

A little background on me. I have been married for 10 years, have 3 great children, and a bulldog named Eustace. I live in the beautiful resort town of Charlevoix MI. I still have all my hair and can pass for attractive when the lighting is right. And I have grown to be very good at running a steel business. Each year of my working life I have improved and made more money, living what most would consider the american dream. Every step I've taken throughout my business career has been to make my life easier. To make more money, to work less hours, to have less stress.

Then something happened...

I did it.

More money then I thought I would make, all the free time that I could use, and almost no stress.

And suddenly, work seemed empty.

The problem was that I was wrong to think that if I achieved those goals, then and only then would I be satisfied professionally. I spent 5 years climbing a mountain, enjoyed 5 minutes breathing in the fresh air at the summit, then realized there was no more climbing to do and all I was left with was staring down the other side of the mountain.

It was the climb that made my heart pump, not reaching the top. Hard to realize when I was in the middle of it, always reaching for that next golden ring

It was time to find a new mountain.

One that goes higher and is a lot more difficult to climb.

A jump is required... Goodbye summit, hello cruel hard ground.


So I guess when its all said and done, I could be doing it for the challenge or to be unique and do something that most bussinessmen would never consider..

Or it could be that I am nuts.

Mr. Peacock begins beauty school tomorrow.