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The Heysi Missive

EMG06 said:
The latest thing in NY is to post a sign saying “a 3.5% fee will be added to all card purchases” then when you go to pay cash, they say “nope, we’re a cashless business” so you’re forced to pay the fee!
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EMG06 said:
The latest thing in NY is to post a sign saying “a 3.5% fee will be added to all card purchases” then when you go to pay cash, they say “nope, we’re a cashless business” so you’re forced to pay the fee!
Click to expand...
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I recently had to change the person that cut my hair. I had been going to see a girl that did a fine enough job and she always kept me appraised of her many moves to and fro as she changed shops over the years. I would always text her and say I needed a haircut and she would text back with a date, time and location. But then about a year and a half ago....nothing. A few days later, I texted again....still nothing. After several attempts to contact her I eventually gave up and went to one of those discount haircut places.......worst experiences...ever. About 4 months ago, I finally gave in and decided to look for a new barber (I had one back when we lived in Santa Monica but my wife made me stop going to him when he shaved a half dollar sized hole in the back of my hair....he was in his 80's at the time).

I began my search as most searches are performed these days....by googling Barbers...Las Vegas. The list wasn't overly long but after a few minutes I began to narrow in on a place near the old downtown area. It was off the new Brewery District but not on the main street (which is actually called Main Street) and the proximity to good beer and good food, hopefully, meant that I could make an afternoon of my occasional visits to the barber. The website for the shop was nice and straight forward.....a list of names with a link to each profile with prices and services available. Scanning through the list and clicking on names brought up photos of their work and even a few from their many social media accounts.....in a way I got to audition my possible new barber. I eventually chose Ryan...he looked like a fun guy. He definitely wasn't the most experienced of the group (being one of the younger guys on the list) but I'm looking for someone that I can keep for good not someone for just right now.

One of the things you want....is consistency. The skills he has were easy to see from his photos.....but knowing that he's going to be there, month in and month out....really settles me into a comfort zone that you expect out of the whole experience of going to a really good barber. The attention to detail and the friendly, welcoming atmosphere.....that's why you go. Anyone can pay $19 and get some hair cut off....but a really skilled barber makes it a part of a ritual. You enter the shop, greet him with a wave and a smile. He says, "I'll be just a few minutes....grab yourself a beer and I'll be right with you". The other barbers and patrons all nod 'hello's" as you head back to the beer fridge and crack open a cold one and take your seat along the wall to wait for your appointment.....you're already relaxed and you've only been there 3 minutes. Now you're no longer in a hurry.....you could sit here all day.

The thing about going to a real Master Barber is that they aren't just cutting your hair......their making you look and feel relaxed and presentable.......the discount places trim off the excess hair and clean up your neck with relative efficiency...but it's the details that make the Master Barber haircut a true work of art. Taking the extra step of using warm lather and making a clean hair line all the way around your head with a straight razor is above and beyond.....but it makes all the difference in the cut. It makes the haircut last for more than a few weeks....it makes it last for well over a month......but of course, I'm now going about once every 6 weeks so I never look like my hair is overgrown and out of control.

But the other part of the whole experience is the sense of relaxation you get from it. You're not rushing to get somewhere.....you're just in the chair and taking in the world. You shouldn't have anything else pressing or urgent to do.....just a chill day and nothing else. When the stresses of the work day and the weekend honey-do's are left at the door......you just breathe better. That's what it's all about.

If you haven't found a really good Barber...I suggest you start looking today. Your head and mind will thank you for it.
 
heysi said:
I recently had to change the person that cut my hair. I had been going to see a girl that did a fine enough job and she always kept me appraised of her many moves to and fro as she changed shops over the years. I would always text her and say I needed a haircut and she would text back with a date, time and location. But then about a year and a half ago....nothing. A few days later, I texted again....still nothing. After several attempts to contact her I eventually gave up and went to one of those discount haircut places.......worst experiences...ever. About 4 months ago, I finally gave in and decided to look for a new barber (I had one back when we lived in Santa Monica but my wife made me stop going to him when he shaved a half dollar sized hole in the back of my hair....he was in his 80's at the time).

I began my search as most searches are performed these days....by googling Barbers...Las Vegas. The list wasn't overly long but after a few minutes I began to narrow in on a place near the old downtown area. It was off the new Brewery District but not on the main street (which is actually called Main Street) and the proximity to good beer and good food, hopefully, meant that I could make an afternoon of my occasional visits to the barber. The website for the shop was nice and straight forward.....a list of names with a link to each profile with prices and services available. Scanning through the list and clicking on names brought up photos of their work and even a few from their many social media accounts.....in a way I got to audition my possible new barber. I eventually chose Ryan...he looked like a fun guy. He definitely wasn't the most experienced of the group (being one of the younger guys on the list) but I'm looking for someone that I can keep for good not someone for just right now.

One of the things you want....is consistency. The skills he has were easy to see from his photos.....but knowing that he's going to be there, month in and month out....really settles me into a comfort zone that you expect out of the whole experience of going to a really good barber. The attention to detail and the friendly, welcoming atmosphere.....that's why you go. Anyone can pay $19 and get some hair cut off....but a really skilled barber makes it a part of a ritual. You enter the shop, greet him with a wave and a smile. He says, "I'll be just a few minutes....grab yourself a beer and I'll be right with you". The other barbers and patrons all nod 'hello's" as you head back to the beer fridge and crack open a cold one and take your seat along the wall to wait for your appointment.....you're already relaxed and you've only been there 3 minutes. Now you're no longer in a hurry.....you could sit here all day.

The thing about going to a real Master Barber is that they aren't just cutting your hair......their making you look and feel relaxed and presentable.......the discount places trim off the excess hair and clean up your neck with relative efficiency...but it's the details that make the Master Barber haircut a true work of art. Taking the extra step of using warm lather and making a clean hair line all the way around your head with a straight razor is above and beyond.....but it makes all the difference in the cut. It makes the haircut last for more than a few weeks....it makes it last for well over a month......but of course, I'm now going about once every 6 weeks so I never look like my hair is overgrown and out of control.

But the other part of the whole experience is the sense of relaxation you get from it. You're not rushing to get somewhere.....you're just in the chair and taking in the world. You shouldn't have anything else pressing or urgent to do.....just a chill day and nothing else. When the stresses of the work day and the weekend honey-do's are left at the door......you just breathe better. That's what it's all about.

If you haven't found a really good Barber...I suggest you start looking today. Your head and mind will thank you for it.
Click to expand...
Been trying to find one myself. So far, bupkis..
 
heysi said:
I recently had to change the person that cut my hair. I had been going to see a girl that did a fine enough job and she always kept me appraised of her many moves to and fro as she changed shops over the years. I would always text her and say I needed a haircut and she would text back with a date, time and location. But then about a year and a half ago....nothing. A few days later, I texted again....still nothing. After several attempts to contact her I eventually gave up and went to one of those discount haircut places.......worst experiences...ever. About 4 months ago, I finally gave in and decided to look for a new barber (I had one back when we lived in Santa Monica but my wife made me stop going to him when he shaved a half dollar sized hole in the back of my hair....he was in his 80's at the time).

I began my search as most searches are performed these days....by googling Barbers...Las Vegas. The list wasn't overly long but after a few minutes I began to narrow in on a place near the old downtown area. It was off the new Brewery District but not on the main street (which is actually called Main Street) and the proximity to good beer and good food, hopefully, meant that I could make an afternoon of my occasional visits to the barber. The website for the shop was nice and straight forward.....a list of names with a link to each profile with prices and services available. Scanning through the list and clicking on names brought up photos of their work and even a few from their many social media accounts.....in a way I got to audition my possible new barber. I eventually chose Ryan...he looked like a fun guy. He definitely wasn't the most experienced of the group (being one of the younger guys on the list) but I'm looking for someone that I can keep for good not someone for just right now.

One of the things you want....is consistency. The skills he has were easy to see from his photos.....but knowing that he's going to be there, month in and month out....really settles me into a comfort zone that you expect out of the whole experience of going to a really good barber. The attention to detail and the friendly, welcoming atmosphere.....that's why you go. Anyone can pay $19 and get some hair cut off....but a really skilled barber makes it a part of a ritual. You enter the shop, greet him with a wave and a smile. He says, "I'll be just a few minutes....grab yourself a beer and I'll be right with you". The other barbers and patrons all nod 'hello's" as you head back to the beer fridge and crack open a cold one and take your seat along the wall to wait for your appointment.....you're already relaxed and you've only been there 3 minutes. Now you're no longer in a hurry.....you could sit here all day.

The thing about going to a real Master Barber is that they aren't just cutting your hair......their making you look and feel relaxed and presentable.......the discount places trim off the excess hair and clean up your neck with relative efficiency...but it's the details that make the Master Barber haircut a true work of art. Taking the extra step of using warm lather and making a clean hair line all the way around your head with a straight razor is above and beyond.....but it makes all the difference in the cut. It makes the haircut last for more than a few weeks....it makes it last for well over a month......but of course, I'm now going about once every 6 weeks so I never look like my hair is overgrown and out of control.

But the other part of the whole experience is the sense of relaxation you get from it. You're not rushing to get somewhere.....you're just in the chair and taking in the world. You shouldn't have anything else pressing or urgent to do.....just a chill day and nothing else. When the stresses of the work day and the weekend honey-do's are left at the door......you just breathe better. That's what it's all about.

If you haven't found a really good Barber...I suggest you start looking today. Your head and mind will thank you for it.
Click to expand...
Finally someone gets it
 
Doubtfully, but you need this. I am not a Dodger fan, and I may buy it just for the cool factor
 
So the house is coming along. Met with the tree guy last night and we've formulated a plan to manage the many trees we have. Our house in Santa Monica had several large trees on the property, including a full sized commercial hass avocado tree and a lemon tree. Our previous house here in Vegas had 5 nearly dead pine trees and a dozen palm trees and nothing else. The new house has about a dozen trees, including an almond tree and a huge meyer lemon tree. So we're loving the abundance of trees again. The tree guy is going to get them all cleaned up and back on the road to healthiness (he told us that it looked like they'd been neglected for a few years but completely healthy and saveable).

The number of boxes has reduced down considerably (in fact, we passed a large number of boxes along to another family that is moving here in the valley....gotta keep up the moving karma). We're down to just boxes in our guest room and I have to sort out my Star Wars collection (which the wife said I could display....she may rethink that once its all out and on display....there's quite a bit of it).

We're trying to get a meeting scheduled with a contractor to do our kitchen remodel but everyone we talk to is so busy that most of them say they can't even look at our house until mid-december....one even told us he's booked until next May! I guess we'll just have to wait. That will give the wife more time to look at ideas for the remodel.

Heading off to Los Angeles this weekend to see some baseball. Three friends of mine and I try to go to a game every year......that had to be put on hold when the pandemic hit so I called them all up and said....let's go to a game. So we're going to an Angels game....not my beloved Dodgers but it will still be a fun day with my buddies. I'm also going to be finalizing the plans to go to a Dodger game in September while I'm out there so things are looking up.
 
Well, I pulled the trigger last night on some Dodger tickets in September. Been trying to get it planned for about a month. The game will be my first live Dodger game since 2016 and I'm taking my mom to the game. She hasn't been in over 15 years. When I was a kid, my mom used to take me and my 2 brothers to games occasionally and we would sit in the outfield bleachers and eat a Dodger dog (made by Farmer John), share a coke and maybe get a chocolate malt (Carnation made them and I can still feel the dry, wooden spoon across my tongue.....yeee). My mom says the entire price for the day back then was about $20. It will be quite a bit more for the upcoming game. Luckily I won't have to pay the $30 for parking as we found a way to get to the stadium much cheaper. We park at Union Station downtown and take the shuttle up the hill to the game. Only costs $8 to park and the shuttle is free. Plus we're planning to go early and walk across the street to eat at Philippe's. They've been serving French dip sandwiches in the same location since 1908 and they're part of the Dodger game experience...so much so, that Michelle's grandfather used to go to the exact same place before he would go to a Dodger game. Tradition is one of the things I love about baseball.

Been having quite the time getting the last of the boxes put away around the house. Recently I found one of the last Kitchen boxes. It was at the bottom of a stack in the far corner of the dining room. Inside, it had all the racks for our air fryer/convection oven and the electric skillet that I use when I make pot roast or fresh onion rings. Needless to say, my kitchen is a much happier place now that I've located those items. Won't be long and I'll have to put things back into boxes so we can remodel the kitchen.
 
Admittedly, I never got to attend many things like sporting events. That does sound fun!

Only went to two MLB games in my youth and haven’t really been since. The then happened to be a Battle of the Bay at the old Candlestick park, which was a great experience.
 
So.....I learned a valuable lesson over the weekend:

The Dave's can be merciless in their attacks. I received not one, not two....but 4 packages from the two Mail Terrorists. Amazon bombs incoming!!!

First to arrive on Saturday (with no warning) was a Funko of Buster Posey. Now unless you're a big baseball fan, you may not know who that is. He is a catcher for the San Francisco Giants....the only baseball team that I dislike (due to a 133 year long rivalry with my beloved Dodgers) and a team that @NurseDave supports (if only with a bit of lackluster enthusiasm). I was a bit confused as I had an order in for a pair of shorts and a Dodger hat but sometimes Amazon gets an order completely wrong........the second package on Saturday at least removed the confusion as it was a San Francisco Giants banner.....all 4 feet of it!!! Its orange and black and awful. This package also came with a card that said it was a gift from Dave. Ok...so now I know who the mail terrorists are and can have a bit of a laugh at what they have done.

Then Sunday came. By now I've received my notification that my order from amazon is coming today so I'm looking forward to seeing the amazon guy. Until he actually did show up. He had with him two packages......I open the first one and I find a bag of balloons. (!!!) wth??? Again, I was expecting a pair of shorts and a dodger hat. What's happening here? Oh....I see....the balloons are orange and black! And what else is inside the package??? A hat!....and its orange. But in this case the Dave's defeated themselves.....the hat is a NASA hat and the only person I know that loves NASA more than me....is @BarberDave . So at least I got one good gift out of these two stinkers.

(All joking aside and being completely honest now)

Thanks guys....I know that you only blast your favorite people when you do something like this....so I appreciate the gifts and the spirit of friendship they were delivered with.....now cut it out.
 
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