petty and global concerns

[cimorene]

A few weeks ago I trimmed my hair slightly too short. My intention is to always be able to tuck it behind my ears, but although I could then when it was all stretched out (right before washing), it shortens a bunch after washing because the front bits are the curliest, and now I have to wear a barrette or a headband constantly to keep it back again.

This has been an exceptionally cool summer so far. I think the season has been drifting later though, and we can probably expect the warmest part to be in the end of July and August again, so maybe it will even out. But right now it's past Midsummer and I have only worn shorts outside twice, and one of the times it was too cold and I had to go in and change. Having the warmest winter ever and then following it with a cold summer... it's weird. It's more pleasant than record highs though, probably (which are still not hot like my childhood in Alabama, but unlike there, there's very little air conditioning here, and there's also a lack of cultural knowledge and preparation for heat: people don't dress appropriately or take advantage of shade, for example, and employers don't make allowances or arrangements to help people cool off). It's definitely better than long droughts like we had a few years ago, but it's still uncanny.

In my dream last night I was trying to remember the correct route through Turku's student village (lived there my first year in Finland and walked all around it with the dog) and stumbled into a bunch of political gatherings both for and against the establishment of a new community of nuns in Finland (lol) that were going to be in the student village (impossible because they're not students), and were causing controversy, among other reasons, because their habits were too sexy (?), only then I walked by them in a procession and they were just wearing normal shapeless floor-length black robes but with yellowed lace tabards over top that looked like someone's granny crocheted them as a table runner.

Comments

[princessofgeeks]

*waves*

I am waiting for my hair to grown out and am in the "headband to keep it out of my eyes" stage. I look forward to the barrette and hairclip stage!!!

[cimorene]

Oh no, too short for barrettes even? Yuck. I can only wear headbands that go all the way around, or scarves, because the pressure behind my ears from the u-shaped ones gives me a headache. And in fact some of the jersey loop ones I've bought in the past turned out to be slightly too tight so they gave me a headache too. It would probably be worth it to sew my own given the amount of time I need to wear them but I never seem to get around to that, either.

[ngtskynebula]

Over here, in Rio de Janeiro, we've just entered winter after a pretty cold autumn. Ever since the start of the year the weather channels say it's rained a lot less than what's considered the medium for each month, so I expect the tropical winter of June and July to be the same; though I feel like it's a bit colder than the other years... we had many May nights that went as low as 13°C, which is cold for those of us used to warmth of 28°C/30°C (that is, people that live in RJ, Minas Gerais, et cetera).

On other notes, I want to cut my hair, too. It's shoulder length rn, and it's too much of a hassle for me to comb and style it, I don't like it. I might need to buy some headbands before it, now that you mention, cause mine went to the trashbin...

[cimorene]

Totally, 13 in May is cold for where I grew up (in Alabama in the US, near Florida, if you haven't heard of it, which I wouldn't blame you for - a subtropical climate so not as warm as what you're describing here). Lately it seems like the weather of every year is unusual or fucked-up in some disturbing way, even though it's not predictable - because it's not the same every year, and it's not simply hotter or colder in general. Where I live in Finland, we are at the very bottom edge of the country and up against the Baltic sea and I guess a lot of science combines to mean that we're like, sort of on the border between two 'categories' of climate? So the last ten years have seen a HUGE amount of change, and a lot of Finland is agriculture - growing tons and tons of rye and wheat and stuff like that, and the growing season is changing and gradually new plants are able to survive here and some of the old ones are not doing as well (moving north). The same things keep happening with migratory birds and migratory animals like whales and seals and walruses - they get lost and turn up way farther north than they've ever been before, or birds stay the winter when they never did before, stuff like that. Just all very unsettling. I can't imagine how much change will have happened by the end of my life.

A stretchy headband is good to have on hand, if only for when you want to brush your teeth and wash your face. Of course you can keep it out of the way with clips but a headband is faster! If you're just in a rush you can always tie a bandana or scarf around, but that isn't as convenient and it doesn't stay in place as well. I hate that I am always losing my headbands though... I seem to have to buy a new one every time my bangs are short even though I never throw one out on purpose. By current count I've bought like ummm twelve in the last ten years and I only know where three of them are.