Shining, gleaming, steaming, flaxen, waxen

It's not stunningly exciting, but here it is, the Friday Five

1. Is your hair naturally curly, wavy, or straight? Long or short?

Can hair be naturally long or short? Doesn't short hair require some sort of action to take place? Anyway, my hair is naturally sort of wavy -- when it's long it's straight and when it's short it tends to dry in strange waves and/or go very curly with the application of a diffuser, as I just discovered.

2. How has your hair changed over your lifetime?

Very little, really. I suppose it used to be redder, or at least that's what I remember. Other than that it's been a process of growing very long, cutting short, growing very long, cutting short, growing very long and cutting short. With a brief period of layered and feathered. Hey, I was in grade 6, okay?

3. How do your normally wear your hair?

These days, I follow the extensive routine of washing it, wrapping it in a towel, and then shaking it out with my fingers as I run out the door in the morning. It's kind of...chin length, very flippy-out on the bottom and lots of different lengths, so that I don't have to style it.

4. If you could change your hair this minute, what would it look like?

Really red, long, and curly. Basically, I want Bernadette's hair. Or else short and pixie and black, but that would require an entirely different face, too.

5. Ever had a hair disaster? What happened?

Only in retrospect.

Librarian invasion

I'm going to another work-related conference this weekend, although "going" seems a little too strong of a word, considering the conference centre is right across the street from my workplace. In fact, it's all feeling a little surreal -- the last conference that I attended required hotel reservations, time off work, flight plans, finding a roommate and all sorts of planning. This conference? Well, today I took 5 minutes and crossed the street in order to register, and tomorrow I have to remember to get up at my normal time instead of sleeping until the sounds of Bollywood coming from outside my window drag me out of bed. I'm reading all these conference planning guides, and it just feels so remote. It's barely interrupting my life, other than my not having time to clean the bathroom or buy groceries this weekend.

Which wouldn't be so strange, except that this is probably the biggest conference I will ever attend, cancellations due to SARS notwithstanding. The conference booklet is 352 pages! And glossy! My last conference, even though it was longer, is like the smurf relation to this conference. I'm betting that out of the 20 or so people that I know who will be there, I will run into...probably none, considering how many sessions are in each time slot, and how big spread out everything is. Still, I feel like I should be more excited or involved, rather than barely even remembering that it's happening. I feel like I should be attending new member socials, and breakfasts, and wandering around meeting people, but I both don't really care and am too intimidated by the size to get started.

Whatever, I'm sure it'll be an experience. Hey, maybe I should wear some sort of sign that indicated I'm from Toronto, and then people will come talk to me (even if it's just to find out where the subway station is) and I won't have to do any work.

Call me, call me any, anytime

Today I broke down and finally got a cellphone -- kind of on the spur of the moment on the way back from lunch. It's sort of exciting. I feel very important, like I have the kind of life where people might need to get ahold of me at all hours of the day or night. And I even got to pick my own number (from a list, but still).

Although, considering that I'm mostly going to be using it to meet up with sarcasma, I could have just gotten us a pair of walkie-talkies and been done.