Sunday 17 September 2006

Haircuts and other horrors

I've been too busy to blog for the last few days. The current book is in the editing stages and I don't seem to be changing much - which is worrying me. I think I'm too close to writing it to be able to see the holes at the moment but, as my editor asked if I could possibly get it in a little earlier, I don't have time to slow down.

I've also fallen foul of life's little hiccups this week:

I got a parking ticket, even though I'd bought a pay and display ticket and stuck it on my windscreen with the little sticker they give you. It was a hot day and the sticker gave out and my ticket fell on the floor. The local authority don't consider I made a proper effort to display my ticket correctly, so the won't drop the penalty notice, even though I could produce a valid parking ticket. Grrrrr. It's either £40 now, or £80 if I risk a formal appeal. What more could I have done? Stood by my car for the three hours it was parked there to make sure the ticket didn't fall off?

Then, of course, I spent most of yesterday waiting for a piece of furniture to be delivered. should have arrived by 2pm. My husband phoned the helpline and, after being on hold for an hour, hung up. My phone bill is going to be huge. Furniture arrived at almost 5pm.

And on Friday I had a haircut. I decided to splurge and go to a salon I haven't been to in a while and get a really good hairdresser to do my hair. While this bloke has cut my hair before and it's looked fabulous, this time was the one that bucked the trend.

I have naturally curly hair and, at it's longest, it was reaching my bra strap on my back. Since it had got a bit too long and heavy, I asked if I could have a few more layers and have it shaped round my face a little more. However, he definitely took more than four inches he said he was going to take off the ends and when my hair gets cut it can spring up and go a bit mad. I walked in with ringlets flowing down my back and left wearing a curly football helmet that barely reaches my shoulders. I went home, lip quivering, and washed it myself and, thankfully, the result isn't as bad as I first thought. If it were a few inches longer it would be just what I wanted. It'll grow, so I'll just have to be patient.

6 comments:

Jessica Raymond said...

Oh, poor you! I hate those the-universe-is-conspiring-against-me days!

Anonymous said...

Poor you - that's a horrible week. I'll buy you a big glass of wine on Friday. :o) I'll be the one in the corner playing with a PDA (I did the deed yesterday... and it's fab. The tables work on the docs I copied over. Thank you for inspiring me.)

Anonymous said...

PS I meant to say - £40? That's a bit steep. I got one last year when (in my hurry to get my dad OUT of the road) I didn't display his disabled badge properly; the council slapped a £30 (£60 if not paid within 2 weeks) on my car and then refused to take payment when I got home 15 mins after getting the ticket. Rang back the next day and got a MUCH nicer woman, and I ended up with a letter saying they'd cancel my ticket but make sure I display the badge properly in future.

Can you pay it and then appeal (so they refund you)?

Unknown said...

Oh poor you. Last year I was given a ticket for parking on my own street. Their signs were unclear and resident couldn't park there without paying. I was pissed off so I contested risking £100 fine but thankfully they agreed with me on this occaision. They then changed the signsso they were clear :)

Good luck with the edits.

Liz

Susan Rix said...

Sorry you've had such a horrible week.

I definitely think you should appeal in writing about the car parking ticket.

Have a great time on Friday.

Sue :-)

Romance, Rumours and Rogues said...

Kate,
what a poopy week!
I hear you on the hair thing. You wander around in shock for the first half hour but thankfully, it grows back.
Next week will be much better, you'll see!