Marilyn vs Whitney

Urgh… dah lamanya tak update this blog. Rasa gian nak tulis banyak2!

First and foremost, the reason for my absence ~ I was feeling under the weather. The two boys in the house had caught the flu bug last week. I must have gotten it from Nizzar due to the many kisses exchanged between the little boy and his Mummy. (No, not with his father, if that’s what you’re thinking…)

I feel somewhat better now. I was out of the office for two days. But in between, I managed to steal sometime to get a hair cut. Yeay! I had it cut short!

Actually, I just wanted a trim but when my stylist asked, “Would you like to try a bob?” Yeah, sure… why not? So at first glance, I now look like Katie Holmes. But after a double take, it’s just me lah. Who am I kidding, right? Hee.. hee…

MrNordin has been busy in and out of the house. KL-JB. Sometimes I see him, sometimes I don’t. Like last night, he arrived home at 1.30 am, I was already asleep. Only managed to say “hi!” and I dozed off again. This morning, I heard him woke up for subuh, and then he went to sleep again right next to me. Then he was off to work. Nasib baik Nadim tak pegi sekolah hari ni. Malas betul nak meredah jam kat MRR2 tu..

Now, talking about hair ~ remember how we used to perm our hair when we were younger? I don’t know about you guys, but I did just that before I went to the UK. Just to be different. I wanted to have a hair style like Victoria Principal, but of course lah tak menjadi. Kembang semacam je. But I liked it anyway. It made me feel “older”.

I think, in the 80’s dulu, memang orang suka perm rambut agaknya. Chinese men, especially, like to perm their hair. Why, ah?

I remember this one Chinese singer whom I used to drool over when I was a teenager ~ Koo Chong Teng, from Melaka He always appeared on rancangan hiburan on RTM 1 (black & white masa tu). Tersangatlah hansome pada firasat I masa tu with his permed hair… and he liked to wear white. Hee.. hee…

As far as I can remember, all throughout my life, I’ve only had my hair permed twice. Once before I went to the UK tu, and another one, when I had just started work. That second time was a mistake. It taught me a very important lesson ~ never be deceived by what a hairdresser tells you to do!

That unfortunate day, I was at a hair saloon in Subang Parade, thinking of having a hair cut. As usual, the lady would ask me, you nak buat apa? I said just a trim. Then she suggested, tak nak perm ka? I said, no. Then she said, “Ini perm bukan yang macam maggi punya.. ini loose perm...” That got me thinking but I still refused to put my hair under the rollers. I said, “No, don’t want”.

Then she said the most tempting thing, “This one ahh, kalau you buat ini perm ahh, jadi macam rambut Marilyn Monroe.” Wah… Marilyn Monroe? Straight away I pictured myself looking like the sexy Miss Monroe, flaunting my lovely locks with pouting red lips in front of strangers. That must be a killer!

“Ok!!” I immediately accepted her proposal.

So the lady started working on my hair while I kept myself occupied by reading the magazines provided. I couldn’t wait to see the end result. Marilyn Monroe… Marilyn Monroe…. that was all I could think of.

Suddenly, half way through the process, the hairdresser casually informed me, “Err… miss, this one ahh, mula-mula it won’t look like Marilyn Monroe….”

Haa??

“More like Whitney Houston,” she added.

Whitney Houston??!! Oh my! I could feel my stomach churned. I had a feeling this was not a going to be good. I felt my dream of becoming Miss Monroe came crushing down as she pulled out the rollers from my hair.

True enough. It looked nothing like Marilyn’s hair. The curls were tight and frizzy. I hated it and I cried!!!

A few days later, on my way home from work, I was sitting on a bus going to USJ. I was living there at that time and mine was the last stop on the bus route. It was already quite late and I was amongst the last few passengers left on the bus. There were two Indonesian men sitting right behind me, and one was trying to make a pass at me.

Neng… mahu ke mana?”

I diam saja.

Neng, kerja di mana Neng…?” he asked again.

I just kept quiet. I was so scared because I was the only girl left on the bus. The bus driver was right infront but I didn’t think he would hear me scream if I needed to.

Dari Indonesia?” he tried again.

At this point, I braved myself and told him, “Bukan. Saya orang Malaysia”, hoping that he would stop interrogating me.

But no... he didn’t stop.

Oh… dari Malaysia. Kerja di mana?"

Di KL”, I said.

Ohh… saya pun kerja di KL. Di Wisma Goldhill!", he said.

Hee.. hee… At that time, Wisma Goldhill was still under construction. I knew that because my office was right across the construction site in Jalan Raja Chulan.

So, sah2 lah dua mamat Indon ni kerja kat Goldhill ~ buat bangunan!!

I was so embarrassed. I spent a lot of money to transform myself into a Marilyn Monroe look alike only to be picked up by these two Indon workers. Tidaaaakk!!!!!

Because of that incident, I was determined to have the perm removed regardless of the cost and consequences. The very next day, I went to this hair saloon near my office and had the perm removed. When I told them my story, they all laughed at me and since that day, I became known as “Whitney” among the regulars there.

Because of the perming and straightening so soon after that, my hair became quite brittle and flat. It lacked shine and bounce. It took me quite a while to get over that dark period of my hair day, but I knew from then on that I should never go for a perm, no matter how great the temptation is.

And you should do the same!

Comments

Anonymous said…
BJ...

Dah lama KJulie tak gelak macam ni....

Adoiii lah....

*would like to write more - my own experience - tp tak boleh lah pulak*
Nadira Nordin said…
Like I always say.... au naturale is the best! :)
And costs less too...penat je la...lol
Kak Teh said…
I always associated permed hair with raya and weddings. Dekat raya mesti ramai orang perm rambut kan? and also weddings. I couldnt do that because mine is naturally wavy - and biasalah, kalau dah rambut wavy nak yang lurus...so, sebelum pergi sekolah mesti seterika rambut dulu. The price we pay for vanity.
Nadira Nordin said…
tag you! check my blog...
Naz in Norway said…
Haha!
Oh the things we do to our hair. Tak pa la...whitney ka, marilyn ka..masih manis maaaaa :)
I have remained au naturale for years now. No perm, no straigthening, no colour. Just me!
MrsNordin said…
K. Julie,

I remember you used to perm your hair too, masa kat sekolah. And I thought you looked so demure... hee.. hee...
wanshana said…
BJ,

The first and the last time I permed my hair was before masuk English Course kat KPP after SPM dulu. I remember digelakkan by fellow STFians who also registered for the course masa tu (Reha, Jo, Ieja, Abid, Jura, etc)

Mana tak nya...kat sekolah sikit punya tomboy ke! Tetiba jadi terlebih pompuan masuk KPP! Hahaha! TOBAT!!!

Sampai sekarang I can't explain how on earth I agreed to it (my brother yang suruh masa tu...)
MrsNordin said…
Nadira,

Yes, au naturale is the best. But if I had your hair, I don't know if I'd have the patience to twist and twirl it everytime after I wash my hair!

Your locks are beautiful. Keep it that way.

Nantilah, kalau I ada extra duit, we'll go and do a proper curling for those untamed ones, ok?
MrsNordin said…
Kak teh,

Betul! Dekat raya ramai orang buat rambut. Dulu perm, now straighten.

Eh, dulu pun ada seterika rambut, ya? Hee.. hee... can't imagine you doing that! Did you use an ironing board??
MrsNordin said…
Naz,

It's good that you haven't resorted to colouring your hair. High maintenance, lah! I only had mine colored after I got married. Now no choice, have to color sebab uban dah banyak!
MrsNordin said…
Shana,

I guess because your hair was so straight, that's why you decided to have it perm. For a change, konon nya... hee... hee...

Ada gambar tak??
kay_leeda said…
MrsN,

Whitney eh?? Heh..heh...got pics of you in the maggie look ka?

I permed my hair a few times. Masa kat US ader and one time when I was pregnant with Farah. Was feeling rotten with the wek-wek, so itu rambut jadi mangsa lah.
zaitgha said…
Mrs.N,

Gelak besar i reading this posting though u had shared the story during our gathering that day ha ha ha...when come to hair, i am very conservative, only trim or cut jer so far...thought of dyeing the hair but my kids tak kasi, the father ok jer he he....

btw, tak jadi kan the cake? i mailed u tapi tak der reply...so i take it that you change your mind...
Hehehe...I remember the second perming very well. Hilarious! Tapi it wasn't so bad lah. I remember complimenting you on the hairdo.
Anonymous said…
MrsN

When i first read your title i thot Marilyn Manson i/o Marilyn Monroe.. scary tu kalau rambut macam tu :)

Just to share, my hair has always been straight and i always wanted some curls but takut nak buat anything 'bombastic' takut tak jadi.. so now, they remain straight!
tireless mom said…
Dear MrsN

You are always so hilarious with your hair perm story. Maybe if you keep it much longer and body perm je, it could be better. Never tried to perm mine. I would have looked similarly awful and mistaken to be a Neng too.
busymum100 said…
MrsN,

You blog jarang2 sekali, tapi bila keluar satu blog, buat org gelak tak kering gusi je!!

I never permed my hair, and i think i might as well keep that record, eh?
Rambut pun tak tinggal byk mana dah... Hahaha!
MrsNordin said…
Kay,

Tak de gambar ~ it was awful.


Zaitgha,

Sorry about the cake, next time ya. I decided to just buy one from the shop due to time constraint.
MrsNordin said…
Mdm,

No lah... IT WAS BAD! You used to perm your hair, too, kan? There was one time, your hair was very long then. You came to our house in SJ with that long permed hair and a polkka dot baju. Hee.. hee..!
MrsNordin said…
Mimi,

Tak payah lah nak change whatever God has bestowed upon you. Just leave it as it is. There's a reason why Tuhan tu jadikan rambut kita macam ni, so janganlah nak gatal2 tukar macam I. Hee.. hee...
MrsNordin said…
TM,

I've cut it short now. Easier to manage.
MrsNordin said…
Busymum,

Good lah you! I'm sure your hair is lovely and shiny sebab tak pernah kena chemical treatment!
Gosh...I have forgotten about the polka dot baju!! Yes, you are right - permed hair and polka dot baju. I did have the hair and wear the baju. A fashion faux pas to the T!
kahkahkah!! takpalah ..you were Marylyn Monroe in those Indon's eyes....

The first time I permed rambut was after SPM (janji with my mom) - balik naik bas...rambut keras semacam and satu bas semerbak bau hair spray...buat donooo jelah....!
MrsNordin said…
Madam,

You remember, huh?


Superwoman.

Ha! Ha! Satu bas semerbak bau spray? I bet you, the hair was so keras, even after the bus ride, rambut you macam tu jugak! Hee... Heee... !

Bila nak lunch?
Anonymous said…
now jadik Yatie Holmes. hihi

ok la tu nak dekat2 dah... cute perr..


~gf at office~
Anonymous said…
Lama tak jengok ur blogs, sekali tu ada few hapdets yg blum dibaca. alhai..kelakonyer citer u ni Kak BJ oii..., I've always long for a straight long hair, tp bila pi buat rebonding tu, rambut tu mcm bulu kucing kena simbah ngan air je...He..he..

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