Green hair

I dyed my hair green on Sunday. It was very exciting, because I've never dyed my hair before. Last weekend, Chris shaved his hair into a mohawk, but he could only wear it for the weekend and then he had to shave it off to look presentable at work. I thought that was so sad, and then I realized that that was probably going to be me next year, and forever after, and that I had missed out on doing all the crazy things of youth by being so responsible and always trying to blend into the background. And I have the rest of my life to do that.

The dye is semi-permanent, which means it will gradually fade with each shampoo for the next two months. I feel like a mermaid. I had to bleach my hair to get the green to bond to my brown hair, so I'm not in any hurry to fade to blonde. But it actually didn't look to bad blonde, like Johnny Depp's in Secret Window.

I went to the parade on Sunday. It was the first St. Patrick's Day parade I've ever been to. By the second hour I was getting tired of the succession of step dancers, bagpipers, and marching bands playing "Danny Boy". But the Mummers never got old. And they were all from Pennsylvania. There's something a little funny about that state. One of the guys in the parade in a car was listening to the game, and was shouting out to everyone "Maryland just beat Duke in overtime!" which made it a very happy day indeed. I also found a four-leaf clover stuck in one of the books from the free bookstore. My hair is making me lucky!

Saturday Em and I went to the Great Blacks in Wax museum. It was on our list. When I first heard about this place, I thought it was really bizarre. But I think it was pretty great. The worst and best part of it was the slave ship. I've read about what horrible conditions Africans had to go through on the passage, but to actually see the ship and the way they were stacked like cordwood made me feel sick, and sick to know that my country accepted this for 80 years. One of the civil rights speakers I heard this year, a black woman, said she had people come up to her after her talks to say with pride in their voice that their ancestors owned slaves. The only way to have pride in that would be to think that it was possible for the relationship the enslaver had with the enslaved could be virtuous, when the system in and of itself is filthy.

On our way to the museum, these women said they were having an HIV info session and invited us to come. If we got tested they'd give us a $5 Rite-Aid gift card. Emily was all about it, but I felt like I'd be getting tested under false pretenses. I guess my chances have gone up an infinitesimal amount this year since I work with people with AIDS, but we observe the universal precautions and I've never been in contact with blood. The testing van was full up, so we passed it up. Emily said it was a relief being able to walk by without having any doubt that maybe, just maybe, you're positive. Yay abstinence! I saw that some of the posters at the community center were there all the time. Every time I go to the doctor's office, there are posters about AIDS. It really is a plague in this city.