March 24, 1988

Today’s a horrible, horrible day! I wish today neverhappened. I was at Joanne’s family’s house warming party today. Dennis theMENACE, crept up behind me, grabbed my right pigtail, and sliced it off with ahuge pair of scissors, before I realized what happened! I cried bucket loads oftears after that when I found out! I hate, hate, hate you, Dennis! Argh!

After surveying the damage, my mum brought me to thehairdressers to get it tidied up. I wept some more when the remaining pigtailgot snipped off and I was given a short pixie cut to even up the hair lengths. Iwas crying all the way through and was too traumatized to remember the detailsof the haircut. I hate this look! I look like a boy! Damn you Dennis!!!

(Later in the day, Dennis got the spanking he deserved. ButI wish for his head to be shaved off to make it even!)

 
April 17, 1988

Everyone has gotten used to my new look at last. No moremaking fun of my boyish look. It’s only hair. It’ll grow back. I vow to nevercut it again until its long as it was before!

(Btw, Dennis and his parents came over today. His parentsgot him to apologise for his mischief. I accepted his apology just to put on ashow, but I don’t think I’ll ever forgive him.)

 
January 1, 1990

It’s been almost 2 years since that “little” incident whereDennis hacked off my pigtail. Fortunately, my hair grows faster than mostothers. I’ve only trimmed it a bit every now and then and now it has reachedmid-back length on this New Year! Thank you mum, for all the trimmings(including the monthly bang trims – she likes them eyebrow length).

 
February 3, 1992

For some reason today, my mum woke up and said to me:

“Long hair on you makes you too kiddy. It’s time to grow up,young woman!”

And with that, she brought me to her hairdressers’ (normallyshe trims my hair at home to save money). The last time I was there was to getmy hair fixed after Dennis’ mischief. I tried to talk my mum out of it, but sheinsisted that I need a makeover and that all that long hair was making me lookyounger than I am.

Reluctantly, I was seated on the chair and caped. My mumflipped through the hairstyle magazine, stopped somewhere in the middle, andshowed Maria (the hairdresser) the page. From where I was seated, I couldn’tsee what style she was pointing at, but I remembered Maria’s reaction; shecalmly nodded, took a look at my near waist length hair, then looked at me inthe eyes and smiled without giving anything away.

Time seemed to past by at a snail’s pace as I sat therewondering what style my mum had chosen for me. Maria’s hair brush strokingthrough my dark silky locks failed to ease my anxiety. After what seemed likean eternity, the brushing stopped and Maria took out her hairdressing scissors.

Maria opened the blades of the scissors, placed it at mynape and snipped away there! Shick! Thud! Suddenly, everything happened so fast,my mind could not take it in fast enough. Time seemed to play tricks on my mindthat day.

Shick! Thud! Shick! Thud!

It took a good 10 seconds or so before I recovered fromshock. By then, Maria’s scissors had made its way to my right cheek, hackingaway at my precious hair.

Shick! Thud!

The scissors snipped the hair at my right cheek to liplength! It was only then I realize how short my hair had been cut, and that“thudding” sound was the sound of more than 1 foot of thick hair hitting thefloor! Before long, Maria moved to my left and hacked away the hair there.

Shick! Schhhhh!

Somehow the left lock did not fell to the floor by slithereddown the cape to my lap. I looked down at it and the floodgates of tearsopened! Maria continued to work on my hair, tidying it up as I cried my eyesout for having lost so much hair. My eyes were still swollen from all thatcrying when we left the shop.

I got home, stood in front of the bathroom mirror and wasshocked to see a stranger with a short lip length bob staring back at me.

 
June 27, 1992

Yay! Today’s my twelfth birthday! My hair has grown and isnow just touching my shoulders. My mum has agreed to let me grow my bangs out.Hooray! It’s now the longest it has ever been my whole life; mouth length. Itkeeps getting in the way, so I normally hold them back using a headband.