No job yet, but I did find a barber

I had several goals when I came to Austin.

Spend more time with son: Check

Find a job: uncheck

Find a running group to train with: Check

Find someone close to where I live who can cut black hair....

Drumroll

Check!

I've been an Austin resident 19 days and I thought it would take forever to check that last category off. A week or so ago, I went to a SportsClips in Westlake and let a woman cut my hair because I needed a haircut realllll bad. She did ok. But what did I expect, huh? I have yet to see a black person in Westlake - I don't actually live in Westlake, per se. But its just a half a mile away and its where the nearest grocery store is to me - and so I certainly couldnt expect a nice looking haircut in Westlake.

So Tuesday afternoon I had plenty of time on my hands to drive around and find a place that could cut black hair. I found myself on streets like Lamar and Stassney and Manchaca. Then I saw a school. And a lot of kids walking around (it was around lunchtime). And most of the kids were black and hispanic. I thought there has got to be a black barber around here. So I kept driving and voila: A place called Legends Barbershop, which happened to be next to a gun shop in a run-down little strip mall.

But, hey, that was okay with me. This has got to be the place, I thought. I walked up to the door, looked in and saw... one white guy cutting hair. Hmmmm. Should I walk in? Maybe he can only cut white hair? But then I took a closer look and saw two black guys waiting for this white guy to cut their hair. And I figured, these guys look like regulars so this white guy must be alright.

Turns out, this guy - can't remember his name right now - cuts hair just as good as any black that has ever cut my hair. I only had to tell him one time what I wanted, using terms that I normally use with black guys - and the white guy got it perfectly. Just right. Made my day.

Now that I have found a white guy who can cut hair, I need to find one who'll give me a job.