Talking to hairdressers

I had my hair cut today. Not that anyone will notice - it has pretty much looked exactly the same since I was 15. Apart from the time I decided to attempt cutting it myself (I know that's what you do aged 2, I did it when I was 22) and even then it looked the same when it was curly - you only saw the damage when I straightened it.

With my upcoming nuptials, the only concession I'm making to the traditional bridal-preparation-regimen is getting my hair cut regularly to ensure its bouncy happy healthiness. I've ditched the straighteners, forbidden myself from going near it with scissors, and promised the Goddess of Weddings to get it cut on a regular basis.

I hate having my hair cut.

I hate having to verbalise what I want, having someone see quite how split-ended my hair is, having to look at myself in the mirror for an hour. But most of all I HATE SMALL TALK. I'm crap at it. I find it so difficult answering the prescription hair-dresser questions, because all the while I'm thinking in my head 'this is boring, why would she ever want to know this?'. However I have discovered the fail-safe, keep-banal-conversation-ticking-over-for-an-entire-haircut conversation topic: yup, you've guessed it, getting married and moving to America.

It's like a hairdresser charm - you can literally hear them breathe a sigh of relief as they realise the conversation is all set for the rest of the hair-cut. And while I may tire of recounting where we met / got engaged / are getting married and how I'm feeling about moving countries etc etc, it's a darn sight better than having to think of what to say about my next holiday (I'm moving countries - I don't get to plan holidays) or my plans for the weekend (sleeping doesn't feel cool enough to tell a hairdresser).

I'm wondering what I'll talk about when all this is over - not only to hairdressers but to all fleeting small-talk-necessitating acquaintances. But then I remember. I'll be in America, with an accent - the ultimate small-talk-tool that immediately distinguishes me as somebody where infinite why/what/how questions can be asked. I'm not too sure how I feel about being immediately singled out by my accent for the rest of time, but being able to have a hairdresser-worthy-topic should help ease the blow. And maybe it'll mean I have healthy happy hair for once.