A Dumb Blonde..

Being blonde is a funny thing.

There is a stigma that you automatically get when your hair is a a fair shade of yellow. Whoever came up with that stigma anyway? We have all heard the jokes.. and they all end with the same punch line; "Blondes are dumb." I mean some may be, but to blame a whole subculture of hair mavens to have anything less than the average IQ is a bit ridiculous.

Then there is the saying "blondes have more fun." Now this I can attest to.. but do I really have more fun because my hair is platinum blonde? And if this is true then would I have more fun now because my hair is almost white vs. the girl at the bar next to me who just has a few face framing highlights?

Then if all this wasn't enough.. you also have a stigma if you are not a "natural blonde". It is almost like if you are not blonde by birth you automatically have to prove that you deserve to be blonde. So if this is you and you attend a party you have simultaneously: act both dumb and clueless, parade around like you are having the time of your life, and occasionally run your fingers through your newly touched up roots.

My post this week goes out to all the blondes of the world. This is for the naturals, the freshly highlighted, and all all colors of blondes to the dirtiest of blondes. And hell if you are not blonde and wanna be... this is for you too.

Living in the Sunset I have learned many things. I have been submersed in so many different cultures and walk of life living in San Francisco and I can say for the first time I have felt what it feels like to be a minority. Yes I said it a minority. Now some may laugh at my ignorance but I have never been somewhere where I have felt out of place for having blonde hair.

I get on the L Train every morning and look around and realize that I stick out like a sore thumb. I mean no one can tell that I am not a true Californian, but they can tell that I am not one of two things: Asian or dark haired. The Sunset is a predominantly Asian neighborhood. So when I walk down the street it is apparent that I am different.

Laura my roommate thank goodness shares "condition" with me. We always joke when we get on the L that we look so out of place. On occasion when another blonde buddy hops on it is almost like we try to make eye contact her to say "Hey you are one of us" and give her a silent air high-five.

The most memorable "blonde moment" I have had in San Francisco so far happened a few weeks ago...

I had gotten of the L train and walking to work when I noticed from a far a flock of blondes at the corner of the street by my favorite coffee shop. As I was walking towards them I literally had this thought process:

"Wow I see a bunch of blondes up there"

keep walking closer...

"They must not be from around here, maybe they are visiting from LA"

getting closer now...

"man she has a cute purse.. and those are some great highlights. I wonder where she gets her hair done."

Then one girl stops me:

I had run into the John Frieda "Blondentourage". Yes I said it... Blondentourage. They preceded to tell me that it was National Blonde Day and that they were handing out samples of shampoo and conditioner. I laughed out loud when they were telling me this because I was thinking to myself: "well I just knew they were not from around here!"

I gladly took the free samples and told them Thank You. I then walked to work and thought to myself, "well hey at least this is a small payback for the money I spend for upkeep of these luscious locks of mine."

When I saw Laura at work I giggled to her about my experience and had some samples for her as well. I mean she deserved it as much as I did.

Forgetting about the Blontentorage I went on about my day.

5:30pm came and I packed up my things and off to the L I go. As I walked around the corner by the coffee shops again I was stopped by the blonde beauties. I told them "oh you already got me this morning, thank you though." They then all flocked around me and told me "Hey we have this giftcard for Starbucks, all you have to do to get it is take a picture of us." By the looks on their face, I had a feel these poor girls had a very..very..very long day.

I was more than happy to help them out. As soon as the photo was taken it was almost like they were a mirage. Poof they were gone. I walked to the train and confirmed that "Holy Cow, from 8 am this morning till 6pm, these girls had little choices of people to shower them with gifts... they should have gone to LA."

When I got home I saw that there was a code one one of the things they gave me. Bored with nothing better to do I got online and went to their website and entered the code. Guess what?! I won a prize! Hot dog this was a good day!

I won a facial at a spa downtown. A $65.00 value. I was so excited and I planned it for that coming weekend. All week I couldn't wait to be pampered. I had never gotten a facial.

When the day came to get the facial I was giddy with excitement. I drove downtown and arrived to find that the Spa was everything a spa should be in more. It had a pretty lobby with expensive elixirs on the shelves, it smelled of roses and sweetened air, and a receptionist was waiting with a nice glass of lemon/cucumber water. <--- Lemon cucumber water?! I don't know what that is but it must make me more beautiful.. so I drank it! The receptionist escorted me to the "lounge" and gave me a robe to slip into to be more comfortable. As if I wasn't comfortable enough...I was in heaven. I took a Cosmo magazine propped me feet up and thought to myself "well isn't this the life." I then got the most luxurious experience of my life. An oxygen facial with all these creams and smelly good things rubbed all over my face. It was far more pleasant than how I can ever explain it, but I am sure you can imagine.

90 mins later my skins was a smooth as a baby's bum! It glowed and I swear I even saw a sparkle!

As I went to the lobby to see the receptionist, to leave a tip for the esthetician. She greeted me with a gift bag and told me "Oh no tip has already been taken care of". - This was the life!

I think as I walked to my car my stride slowly transformed itself into a frolic. I was on cloud nine thinking about how wonderful my day just was. I was channeling my inner J-Lo and thinking to myself. "Yeah one day I will be having one of these a week." I literally was swooning over the fact that I had just received all of this for free and for being a blonde!

At this point life was good.

As Paris Hilton.. I mean as I was walking I slowly fell back down to earth when I noticed I had no idea where the hell my car was. Thank God for the lock button. If I press it twice my car makes a nice little "hey dumb-ass I am over here" beep and lets me know where it is.

10 mins later I finally found my street and found the Kia. I swear from afar it could almost look like the kid brother of a Mercedes Benz. As I look around for my chauffeur and try to get J-Lo back it all disappears when I see this white little paper stuck in my door...

$65.00 parking ticket for 12 min overdue meter.

... I didn't have nothing on J-Lo.

The moral of this story is simple.. Do blondes have more fun? Yea maybe they do, but it depends on your attitude about every situation. No matter what the color of your hair make each day something to write about. If you want to know if I think being a natural blonde is any different than "faking it," honestly I don't know because I have been faking it for years. Last but not least, do I think blondes are dumb...

Certainly from this story.. lets just say everyone has their moments.