in brief

the drive to makati was surprising short that evening. i had expected the usual rush hour traffic to greet me on certain parts of my route, but it seemed that the usual hoard of commuters and crazy drivers were still on their holiday hiatus. good for me, i thought. i would reach my destination with enough time to spare to actually, decompress.

bruno's at greenbelt was not as full at the one in rockwell. kuya said that people often get their haircut during the first days of the year, since, its supposed to bring them luck... or something to that effect. i wasn't really paying that much attention. i asked the reception for my favorite barber, but, just my luck, he had left for home already. i was kind of disappointed since, i have to admit, i have had the stupidest crush on my barber from the first time he cut my hair. i can't really say what was it about him that makes him so... UGH! :) all i CAN say is, i would always have a stupid smile on my face every time i rise from his chair, my hair, freshly cropped. in this occasion however, i was led to a different chair, to a different barber. a part of me was half-guarded, my loyalty in check for my one-true-barber.... that was, until i saw who was going to cut my hair. i had already noticed him from the mirror as i was at the door. he stood out primarily since, he was tall, lean, and fair. interesting, i thought to myself. then the reception called for him to attend to me. surprise, surprise, the fates were at their teasing games again.

up close, there was nothing distinctly remarkable about this new barber, besides the ones i had already mentioned... that was until he was already cutting the top of my head and had casually pushed my head down so that he could have a better view. let me just say... I HAD A GOOD VIEW TOO. as i was staring right at HIM, i could not help but remark on how strangely disproportionate IT was compared to the rest of his lean built. my goodness, does he keep a SOCK in there? i tried to find something else to focus my attention to, however, with his proximity to face, there was nothing much else to me to see. i felt a nervous lump begin to build inside my throat, made worse as he pushed my head lower still. the phrase "so near, yet so far" breezed through my head for a split second, but of course, i had to dismiss the thought IMMEDIATELY. my situation and my lycra polyblend shorts could spell a rather embarrassing episode if things were to continue this way. thankfully so, he finally was satisfied cropping the top of my head and i was able to raise gaze off his member, FRANTICALLY now looking for the ugliest thing i could find.

he ended my haircut with a scalp massage, and a VERY good one, i have to say. he took the barber's cape off me and patted my back in thanks. i looked at him briefly, smiled, and quickly walked to reception to pay, head bowed down and mindful not to stare at ANYTHING. as i exited, i caught sight of him smiling. either i looked obviously embarrassed for some reason, or he knew exactly what he was doing... and then some!!!!