Pedicure Persuasion

When E. and C. gave me recommendations for things to do in Japan, they included getting a manicure on the list. The one & only time I ever got a manicure (it was free, my mom had won it and didn't want it) was on my 21st birthday -- a wintery, snowy day made worse by my dejected and lonely state caused by the weird no-man's land I was inhabiting between Berkeley and Santiago. I chose bright red because at the time I had been listening repeatedly to the U2 song Vertigo and wanted to be like 'the girl with crimson nails' Bono sang about. My nails looked fine but not spectacular, and my memories of that manicure are more about my fragile homesick for Berkeley state of mind than anything else. And since then I've never wanted another manicure. Maybe I worry the manicure will bring all those feelings of that month back and I just don't want to go there? In any event, I returned from Japan without getting a manicure, much to the chagrin of E. and C. who, when I met them for lunch, showed off both their new manicures and pedicures. I gladly admired theirs, but did not feel the urge to get either myself.

Until, L. came to town earlier this month and told me she really wanted a pedicure. I wasn't totally gung-ho but I figured it could be fun, and I wanted L. to be happy. After getting turned away from a few places because they were all booked, we came across a place with a friendly guy outside handing out business cards. It turns out this new salon had just opened, and they were more than happy for L. and me to come in and get pedicures. I'd only ever seen people get pedicures in the movies or on TV, and to my surprise, our experience was exactly like that, if not better.

Everyone at the salon was so nice, from the Asian man and woman who actually did our pedicures to this other man who worked there and brought us water in champagne glasses and chocolates (multiple chocolates in my case). I felt both special and indulged -- a good combination. It was fun getting to talk to L., but we also both read magazines for part of the time which made me think it could be cool going alone too. One of my favourite parts of the whole experience was my mom telling me after I'd gotten home and shown off my new toe nails, that my grandmother (who I died when I was little) wore the exact same colour nail polish (the dark pink in the picture below) as I had chosen. I know that if I'd had the chance to know my grandmother for longer, we'd have gotten along extremely well and though in a way it's a superficial thing, knowing that we liked and chose the same nail polish colour just confirmed that all the more. After all, there were hundreds of colours to choose from and I chose that one.

All in all, I am now completely hooked on pedicures - to the point that I've already begun planning my next one. L. told me that she and her mom and some of their friends get pedicures at the same salon in Dallas every Christmas time, which made me think that getting pedicures in the winter is a fabulous idea. Now I've got something good to look forward to.