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i haven't gotten a haircut in austin yet. my last cut was done by T and she did a good job, but a few strands of hair that fell to the front of my forehead were starting to bother my eyes, poking mercilessly.

i looked up korean haircuts in austin and cnn hair salon was the first that popped up. i read through google reviews, chose the barber with the best comments, and put in my credit card to book a time.

when i arrived, i felt intimidated. all the barbers were korean. i quickly googled 'nice haircuts for asian men with thick, straight hair.' i pulled up substack while i waited for my turn. when i sat down, the lady with short, dark red hair and tattoos on one arm spoke softly. she took a quick sip of her starbucks iced coffee before she politely asked what i wanted. i showed her the picture and she looked at it for a while, calculating the steps needed to get from the mess on my head to that picture.

she worked with precision. the scissors and razors moved swiftly around my head. every cut was calculated. i didn't say a word. i never know what to do while sitting in that chair. i just close my eyes and try to relax. i always feel so tense there. having someone cut your hair feels vulnerable, it's almost as if one wrong cut and your life is ruined. at the end she even washed my hair and styled it with product. she told me she was finished, and i thanked her. the total came up to be about 35 and i tipped 5 dollars. this was the most expensive haircut i've ever had, and also my first time getting a "korean" cut. my experience was 10/10 and i'd come back again if i could.

i also got my TX driver's license today, which i'll have to soon surrender once i move to miami. i'm not a fan of this design. i miss my california license. the golden bear with a star has become a boring black circle with a star. it compensates for the boring color with galloping mustangs.

mood: 4/5

wake: 10:30
sleep: 01:00

meals:

• breakfast: mom cooked soup
• lunch: mom's noodles
• dinner: chicken, turmeric rice, zucchini

til:

• the texas DL were updated in august 2025 to have a temper-reesistant polycarbonate and a laser-engraved black star for REAL ID
• mustang is a free-roaming horse coming from the Spanish word mesteño meaning wild

grateful for: korean barbers