"I didn't do it for you"

I dyed my hair this weekend. (Shock) It looks really super cool - orange on top with red tips, and I left some blond in there to let them fade together. Much better than the boring old blond I had.

But my coworkers don't seem to think so. One guy thought it was hilarious to call me "blondie" and when I told him I was sick of it, he said "great, now I can call you 'big red!'" Neat. When New Boss saw it, she stopped what she was doing and said "oh - you changed your hair." I said, half-jokingly, "I told you I do it all the time. You should be used to it by now." And really she should - she's been here like 3 months? How many colors have I had in that time? But she frowned at me and went back to her seat. Good. I don't have to talk to her then.

My friend's favorite quote of mine occurred when we were in college. Some random person told me they liked my hair, and I said in true punk rock fashion, "I didn't do it for you." I have no actual memory of this, but my friend describes it in vivid detail. Plus it sounds like something I would say if someone didn't catch me in the right mood. But now I think of that whenever, for example, New Boss frowns at my beautiful fire hair.

Lucky for me, it's not up to New Boss what color my hair is for the next 44 regular / 30 working days. Craig advised that I keep my hair blond just until I get a new job, so that my potential interviewers don't get scared off. I made the following points:

1. It shows off my creativity, which can be very useful in the jobs I'm looking at.
2. I got hired at the Unnamed Drug Store with rainbow hair - it was like it is now, but pink, red, orange, and yellow. That was fun. But I got hired and the store manager simply said "just don't do that again." And I didn't.
3. I don't want to work at a place that won't let me color my hair. Besides the fact that I love doing it, they would probably have other policies I wouldn't like.

Craig came back with just one point:

People judge on your appearance, even if they don't mean to. An interview is a first impression. Wow them with your resume and personality, then let them see your hair.

Very good advice, especially since he lived through tons of fruitless interviews with long hair. When he cut his hair, he got 3 job offers that week. Yeah.

So I still dyed, but I went with orange because frankly, it's Manic Panic and it sucks. It won't be this color in a week, even with proper care. If for some reason I get an interview before my trip (and birthday!) on Thursday, I can wash my hair a few times. (BTW- this is why I always use Punky Color!)

Here are 2 pictures I took with my phone. I look kind of evil, so I'll take a better one when I get home.