| Wednesday, November 6, 2002 Today was surprisingly busy. I had a 9 AM appointment for highlights at Charles Ifergan on Oak Street in Chicago. I came in thinking that I wanted dark burgundy highlights but Jason sold me on the idea of something “brighter.” He was so adorable it was easy to go along with his “vision.” George didn’t agree with Jason’s dye choice because he’s had previous experience with it coming out purple. I pretended that I didn’t hear that and let Jason go through with his original choice. It was a little too pink but a glaze got the pink under control and it’s now a flaming burgundy. I’m not sure how I feel about it. I like it because it’s bold but every now and then I’ll catch a glimpse in a mirror and think that I look like a “goth” wannabe. I wonder if I’ll catch any heat at work. Everyone’s so stinking conservative there so I’ll probably have to offset my hair with casual-business clothes that leans more toward business than casual. At the very least, I do like that my hair is darker now. I wandered through the Art Institute. I have a membership so I didn’t have to pay admission and I found out about a member’s-only tour for the new Medici exhibit so I’ll be checking that out on Friday. I was a bit annoyed with the woman at the information desk since she just assumed that I wasn’t a member and kept pointing out that the Medici tour was only for members. I either didn’t look affluent enough or old enough – either way, I corrected her in the hopes that she wouldn’t be so presumptuous in the future. I enjoyed the Munoz exhibit and wished that I had taken advantage of the tour. In the main stairwell, there are about 20-30 figures standing around smiling, chatting, and leaning towards some unknown thing. If you look at them long enough, you’ll realize that they’re talking about you. Of course, they’re Asian looking. Had dinner with Dave at Szechwan East on Ohio. We ordered a chicken dish (can’t remember the name) and a seafood dish called Lovers Come Home. They were both pretty good. Thursday, November 7, 2002 After dropping off my dry cleaning, I took the Camry into Pro Auto Body per Andy Kim’s recommendation. Andy’s the guy who owns Kim’s Lake West Auto Service. Jay Kim was very sweet and funny. I just told him that I wanted the car fixed and of course clarified that all of it happened when my brother was driving it. Gotta push the responsible older sister image! He thought I was a student though. Probably since my hair's got some bright red highlights now and my glasses are retro-funky. He was having a problem entering some information into the computer and, after I showed him which button to click, he explained that he always gets nervous around women. Too cute! He showed me the estimate which looked fine since it matched the estimate Dave’s friend gave so I signed off on it - $1345. I asked him about getting the entire bottom of the car undercoated and he made a few calls around for me. He didn’t get through but offered to get it taken care of for 30% off the dealer’s price so that was that. I could probably find some place cheaper but the idea of getting it finished now was too appealing. He asked me if I wanted to rent a car and I told him no so then he asked how I was getting home. I told him that I’d take the bus but he didn’t seem to like that answer so he asked me where I live. I told him that I live close by around Pulaski and Irving Park so he got one of his employees to drive me home. Too sweet! As I was leaving, he was gushing about how nice I was and that I was so different from other Koreans who always give him a hard time trying to haggle the price down. So far, my experience with the auto repair industry has been good. Weekend plans: having dinner with Yeon on Saturday and going to a jazz piano concert with Salina on Sunday. |
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