Black Friday Sisterlocks Interrogation

So, I was out and about this past Friday searching for deals and steals and Walmart and Target. Walmart opened at midnight and everything I wanted from there went on sale at that time so I was good to go. I was in and out of Walmart by 1:30am. So I headed over to Target to stand in line until 4am. So here is where it got interesting. In front of me were two women, both natural but one had a "weave puff" on her natural ponytail. I think that's what you call them. The other had her hair wrapped in a scarf. Behind me was a grandmother, one of her daughters and her granddaughter (not the child of the daughter that was there). So as soon as they got in line the granddaughter says to her aunt, "I love her hair." That naturally made me want to see what was going on in their heads right? Or maybe that's just me. The granddaughter had extensions to look like locks, her aunt had a natural afro puff. That was my fav style when my hair got too long to manage so I definitely understood what was going on there. And I later found out that the grandmother has been natural all her life and faithfully presses her hair every two weeks (that's determination I never had plus I would have to press my hair every other day the way it responds to the elements and everything)

So, the granddaughter got up the courage to ask me what was going on with my hair. Were they twists?..or what? I said, "Actually they're locks." She said, "Sisterlocks!?!?!" with so much enthusiasm. YUP!. She told me she had never seen Sisterlocks on anyone and she absolutely adore them on me. She goes on to tell me that she had traditional locks for a few years but not to long ago combed them out because they were getting thin and breaking off due to they styles she was wearing. The also told me that she wasn't aware of how bad it was until another girl in her highschool class mentioned that she had a patch of missing locks in her head. She said she went home that day and combed them all out. She said she loved having locks but the size of her traditional locks were uneven and it looked very scalpy at times. She said the look of my hair is something she would love to have. I did have to explain to her that my hair is insanely thick and that everyone's locks look different. She then tells me that her mother (who was wisely at home sleeping at 2am) also had traditional locks. What's funny is that my Sisterlocks consultant maintains her mother's locks so they know all about her. What is unfortunate is that the girl maintained her own locks and I think that can be pretty stressful for a 9th grader and that is what probably led to the damage of her locks. She did admit that she overtwisted them from time to time. She assured me that if her mother saw my hair she would comb her locks out too and get Sisterlocks installed. She then asked me how much it costs to get them installed, how long I've had mine, and how much it is to maintain. She then turned to her grandmother and said, "Don't buy me any presents for Christmas. Just give me $100 towards the cost of my Sisterlocks." I'm glad I can be a good model for my consultant, who works miracles on the afro under my locks after 5 weeks. And I was glad I could be an educational tool for those not familiar with Sisterlocks and those that are thinking about getting them. *I forgot to mention that there was also a caucasian, mother-daughter duo also asking me about my hair. Questions like, "so how long will you keep them in?" Boy were they surprised when I said, "Forever". They then asked if I could wash my hair to which I replied, "Absolutely and sometimes even curl it if I feel like it" (no heat of course, just rollers). It was a pretty enlightening experience for all involved. Talking with them about my hair made the time fly by and before I knew it I was scurrying around target looking for that George Foreman Mega Grill and T-Fal pot set. YES!


I did want to share my hair happenings though. So my sisterlocks won't lie down. Maybe it's because they are so thick that they just sit on top of one another and poke out. They are growing but they still don't lie down. I've included some pictures for you to see what I mean.



I chose a lock at random but towards the front of my head. It's no longer than the rest but it's nestled up high on the side of my head.


So I stretched it out. We have some pretty serious length here.


Here it is not stretched out. A little below my chin.

There are absolutely NO locks that fall anywhere near my chin. When each of them stands alone you can see their growth but all together. NOT. It's the big hair thing. The same thing goes for the locks in the back. They hang down but they actually prefer to curl up. I still love my hair but it has a mind of its own.

The story of my life...

Instead of driving the 1.8 miles to the park and ride, I leave my car in the garage and bike to the stop. Well this morning, while listening to an audiobook on my iPod, I was riding along and my bike tire got caught on the side of the sidewalk. It was in between the gravel/grass and the sidewalk. I tried to correct it by trying to get back up on the sidewalk and DOWN I WENT! I slid across the pavement, my basket with my work bag went flying and it seemed like everything was going in slow motion. I do however remember letting out a F*** as I was falling. I knew it was happening and I knew it was going to hurt. Well, some worried pedestrian asked me if I was okay and helped me gather my belongings. I had to take a pause for the cause and fix the chain on my bike (I went down so hard I knocked it loose). But holy crap did my arm hurt. I looked at my right arm and close to my elbow was a patch, about half the size of an index card, missing skin and oozing all kind of goodies, but filled with twigs gravel and dirt. Gross.

I had a decision to make. I had already biked 3/4ths of the way to the stop...do I turn around and go home and make Chef fix me up or do I tough it out, ride the bus injured to work and fix it when I get there. I chose to tough it out. It seemed like a good idea at the time but that was the longest 20 min bus ride EVER. My arm hurt so bad! It stung. Luckily for me I work with a med student and made her doctor it up for me (she made a few "yuck" faces first though) and since we work in a research laboratory we decided it would be best to put 100% ethanol on it. FUN TIMES...I wanted to punch her in the face it hurt so bad.

The thing is, I fell at about 6:40 this morning, still managed to get to the bus stop on time, bloody..but on time. I even participated in my noon Zumba class. Now that it's almost 9 and my body is SORE from the fall and Zumba I am rethinking my decisions. I took a shower and realized that I had scraped my side and busted my knee. These are kind of scrapes you don't know exist until warm water burns the crap out of them. I'm gonnna be in some serious pain in the morning. So yea, the lesson of today is to always wear a helmet. That's probably the only reason I didn't scrape the right side of my face along with my right arm, side, and knee.

I officially feel like a five year old that had their training wheels taken off.