gettin dolled up

mostly ive excused my lack of glamour here by saying like a mantra, 'who'm i tryin to pick up?' but it turns out that you dont have to look like crap all the time. for one thing, its getting cooler (knock on wood). i was actually chilly on a moto earlier, before the sun went down! for another, there are some good salons in town. 

i have been a bit free with the $8 mani/pedis since April. today i gave myself the permission, it being pay-day and all, to just check myself into the Raffles Salon like it was my job. i left hours later, $60 down, but with a great new haircut and blond with lighter highlights. and, by god, if all my hair doesnt all fall out over the weekend, i will consider that money well spent. 

todays super-splurge made me begin reminiscing about all the other interesting experiences i have had here trying to look better. (we cant all just perpetually "glow" in the tropical swamp like Bonnie does... Bong Bonnie, how DO you do it?)

labor is cheap here, so you get WAY too many people working in way too small a space. for example, i have been blowdryed by 2 people at a time. i have had a bikini wax by 2 people at a time and i have also had a simultaneous mani-pedi (2 people at the same time, obviously.)

in addition, on a beauty note, i was offered a tooth diamond at the BKK market the other day. an obviously drunk female peddler (very unusual) offered me a discounted rate on a Diamonique decoration upon my lower incisor, second tooth left of center, if i came back tomorrow. i didnt go. skipped out. just flaked out on it, i guess... 

also - beautiful shoes! 'Beautiful Making Shoes' is the actual name of the store, and you can go in, design your own shoes (or bring your own photo or a magazine picture), have your foot measured and traced, and then get the pair(s) back in one week - perfectly sized to your foot - for $15/pair. brilliant. i have three pairs already.

i was invited to a 4th of July party by a friend who works at the US Embassy. got all dressed up. heres my favorite part: someone on the party-planning committee came up with the boss idea to create a Lady Liberty ice sculpture, the centerpiece of this OUTDOOR Independence Day party during the lovely Cambodian summertime. i was risking my life in this photo, hedging a bet that the Statue's arm wouldnt fall off AGAIN while i was standing under it in my silken gown and woolen shawl. obviously, i had not been forewarned that the party was outside, and spent the next three hours sweating through my lovely diggz. 

God Bless America.