Haircut and A Shave

There is something about haircut that always make me feel good.

I used to remember the days my late granpa brought me from Gombak to Jalan Dang Wangi on the No.40 BMW - Bas Mini Wilayah. I used to have my haircut behind a furniture shop with just one small hand mirror and one barber chair. There was no aircond and all you see and hear was the traffic that runs through the small alley to what is now known as Heritage Row.

Gramps would usually exchange notes and gossips with the (late) uncle as well, with penchant for spitting every 5minutes. Back then, the "Jangan Meludah" or "No Spitting" signages are found at all establishments in town.

I was cutting my hair today at the barber near home. Somewhere my son, Ryan has now starting to grown used to.

As i was sitting there having my hair cut and styled to the only way they know, memories of my growing up years and haircut comes flushing through.

As i was observing via the back mirror to check for any bald spots forming, i recalled how my mum brought me to a barber along Jalan Genting Klang using the Len Seng 172 or 174 bus. The row of prewar building that used to be a small town has the best ever Kentucky outlet (in fact, 27 years ago, it was the only one within 20km radius with the next one in Jalan Ipoh)

Kedai Gunting Rambut Kwang Bing used to be where a hardware store is at, in front of the Confucious temple next to that KFC. This is where i got my (typical chinese boy) haircut otherwise known as coconut hair style. The side and back are trimmed and shaven closed about 2 inches up and it resembled as if they placed a coconut shell over and cut whatever not covered.

I then grew up and was allowed to decide what hairstyle i want - for 3 years, then i went to RMC
and had the only hairstyle allowed in the institution - GI. It wasn't until a year later when the "Street Fighter" game was a hype and in came the "Flat Top". That was the hairstyle to have plus it give the soldier boy a more menacing look (or so we think).

After RMC, rebellion came in and i started to have hair long enough to reach my shoulder. For that full two years i had my hair styled and colored to maximum beng-ness (some say Jinjang-Joe). It was also the longest period i had away from the barber.

After graduating and having to find a job, i decided to cut my hair, but left a fringe long enough it make me looked like a wannabe gay-boy - dyed in light brown, no less.

As i grow older and became more subtle, i realised that i will just look like myself clean cut.

For the longest time, i've had short clipped uncolored hair that you all see today.

As the barber slapped shaving cream and removed the sparse facial hair i have, memories of how i went from coconut to Elvis cow-lick, GI and Flat-top, Tarzan like shoulder hair to maximum beng-ness and finally to what i am today. It is a wonder how such simple joy as visiting the barber and having a 5 minutes shave brought back almost 30 years of memories of the hairy kind.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone