Umm miss can I ask you about your hair?

So if you live in Chicago, and happen to be walking on Michigan Ave, E. Chicago Ave, or on the Evanston campus, you may be approached by someone uttering those words as you pass by. Run, don't walk by.

These men and women work for a sales company that promotes hair salons in the Chicago area. I will admit that this fall as a naive poor graduate student walking on NU's Evanston campus, I got talked into purchasing a gift card for a salon near where I live downtown. Later that night, when I got home from class and looked at this salon's website and its reviews I found online, I was appalled. In no way was this a place I would ever be a patron of. The reviews were horrible, and the website was very low quality. Plus going to a bad salon could have some pretty severe consequences. I can be vain, especially about my hair, so getting a bad haircut would throw me into a tailspin.

So this uttering of "miss can I ask you about my hair" greets me daily on my walks to work, and especially if I hear these words before I have my coffee, I can assure you I give a scathing glare as I pass by both because it is annoying on its own to have an aggressive salesperson in your face in the morning and because its a reminder of my being conned out of $50 earlier this fall. For anyone who knows me well - you know that I am not a happy camper in the AM, particularly before I have had my morning cup of coffee =)

Bathroom Craziness

So last night, I went to Quartino's in Chicago for dinner with my boyfriend. It is generally a great restaurant - since it is close to our apartment, has good small plate selections and fabulous affordable wine selections. Well last night, we went there for a late dinner, and I used their bathroom for the first (and last!) time. I was greeted when I walked in by a woman who barked number two, number two. Not sure who or what she was referring to, I quickly looked around until I realized she was talking to me and referring to stall number "two". When I left the stall to wash my hands, I was once again greeted by a drill sergeant command and instructed on which sink I had to use to wash my hands - umm wtf!?!?!. When she handed me the towel to dry my hands, I fled from the bathroom as fast as I could never to return.

So...needless to say I didn't tip. Should I have? This incident made me think about other times I have been caught in this situation, although ones that are a little less blatantly awkward. I don't blame the attendants (except maybe this one - she just made me uncomfortable), since I am sure they are mainly working for tips. But why do trendy restaurants and bars feel the need to staff their bathrooms with attendants? Does anyone actually like this supposed service?

Post your comments. I am curious to hear what others think.

Transplant

Although I grew up in a small city on the East Coast and went to school in that area, I had no idea what an effect that environment had on my personality until I moved to Chicago this fall. Now as an East Coast transplant in the Midwest, I am learning new things about myself, other areas of the country outside of the "bubble" where I grew up, and am enjoying exploring Chicago. As you can see from the title, I love Dunkin Donuts coffee, particularly its French Vanilla Iced Coffee, and was pretty excited that I found a DD in Chicago that knows how to make it well (although for anyone from Boston, they still don't know to put the cup in a warm coffee cup for insulation purposes!).

Generally I am a pretty private person, but I am hoping this blog will give people a sense of my adventures in Chicago, and since I am horrible at keeping in touch, especially for friends across the country, this will give you a sense of my daily complaints, fun times, and occasional interesting adventures .