Home sweet home, haircuts dear god no!

Well, im at home and having a great time, except I need a haircut later today.

I have never particulary liked haircuts, and what is worse because my graduation is coming up my parents have offered to take me to a proper hairdresser so I can look good for my photos and so my grandchildren won’t be able to laugh too much on seeing these photos in the distant future. I don’t really want to go, but as restrained and person  who knows how much it means to them (damn you British reserve and stiff upper lip, what have you done to my mind!) I was too polite to say no.  

But the problem is I have always had my hair cut by the same person, a friend of the family, for as long as I can remember and would trust with my life. And my hair. She knows exactly what I mean when I say "um, can I have it a bit like it was last time but not quite?"  and peacefully trim by hair whist I sit their tharn.

And yet in three hours I will find myself in a hairdressers/barbershop, with big glass windows so I am on public display whist some total stager wields sharp bits of metal around my head and tries to make small talk, something I have never been good at unless with a peer of similar interests. (”So, what’s your favourite element of archaeological science then?”  or “What did you think of Wales’s performance in the six nations this year?” does not sound like hairdresser friendly conversation….”What’s your favourite Prog-metal band?” is frankly not even worth considering).

To be fair, I would rather anyone waving scissors in the vicinity of my ears would not talk but would instead pay utter attention to what he or she is doing. Also I hate mirrors; I use an electric razor and shave by feel, not sight and I have never quite trusted mirrors. Oh yes, and I don’t know whether or not I will shave my beard of, so any haircut that looks good with a beard may look stupid without it, I hate hair gel, like long hair but have a receding hairline I ideally need to hide, and need to look respectable enough for my grandmother. Help!