Olympia And The City

Do you Yelp ?

by olympia on January 28, 2010

Hello Everyone,
A few months ago, we were chosen to participate in HAWT ON YELP WEEK. Yelp is a social site that people review local businesses. It’s a great place to find hair salons, restaurants, bars and clubs. Yelpers, as they are called are super hip insiders, and very entertaining. Whenever I feel down, I go on Yelp to read a review and if I am lucky…get good laugh. There is this one Yelper that makes my day, her name is MICHELE L, the girl is a RIOT! Read her review of Arlington County Jail HERE
That being said, I accepted to participate on Hawt on Yelp Week, where top-rated salons and spas offer 3 services at a discount for Yelpers. I was so excited, it was an honor for Miracles to be chosen. Oh my Lord, I needed to get the salon ready for all these new clients. I had a staff meeting and told them all to be on their BEST behavior….or else. I told them that these people will write about us, so PLEASE BEHAVE you hairdresser, heathen’s you. Everything was ready and we were booked solid. Six whole days of the salon bursting at the seams. I was a basket case full of stress!

We were on top of our game, my staff was the epitome of class and professionalism….and then the phone rang. I ran to pick it up, people waiting to pay,trying to check in, and when I answered the phone, the person on the phone asked “Do you guys do men?” I did not think twice and answered :“YES, WE ALL DO MEN, AND SOMETIMES WE CUT THEIR HAIR”

I blew it right then and there. Of course the man was a yelper, and he was laughing. I could not fix this one. I tried so hard to behave myself…DO NOT KNOW HOW. It’s great when a small business gets a positive review, Lord knows we can use the extra income right now. A negative review is just as good I think, it lets you fix the issues that clients complain about. I am so glad that most of my mistakes at the hair salon were made before the internet came about.The reviews would be something like this:

-Awful facial….she left me with a mask on my face while she went out to do a full head highlights.
-Will never return…..stylist went into drug withdrawal while razoring my bangs.
-Don’t go to this salon…the Engineer Degree daughter of the owner speaks to me only in Spanish.
-Went to Miracles Salon today for a haircut… I think I was the only sober person there.

Get the picture? And the sad part is that they would all be true. I tried to write a couple of reviews on Yelp, one was good and one was bad. I felt so guilty that I almost erased it. But I left it posted. It takes bravery to write about what you like and dislike, and the good thing about these folks at Yelp is that they go back and update a previous review. That is cool with me. I don’t know any Yelpers personally, but, when I read the posts, I get a kick out of life.That’s right, it takes nerve and heart to sit and write something that will be useful to another. Democracy AND community are alive and well. Just visit Yelp and see for yourself. I wish you well and do visit our miracles specials page for Valentines day.

As for me, I have a soft place in my heart for Yelper’s. Those folks have helped my little store so much, and I am grateful. Heard through the grapevine that Elevation Partners is investing about $100 million dollars in making Yelp a much bigger and better site both here and abroad. Bono is one of the Elevation Partners, I remain impressed and the best to you all.

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What it takes to be #1…

by olympia on January 19, 2010

“If winning isn’t everything, why do they keep score?”
VINCE LOMBARDI

Hello Everyone,

I had a blast watching the Golden Globes the other day; always curious to see the celebrity hairstyles on the red carpet. It is SO much fun predicting the winners and listening to their acceptance speech once they DO win. Winning and being #1 is a favorite subject with me. You see, my passion in life is to coach and motivate. I do it all day long…with my children; my staff; my clients; friends. With the Super Bowl coming up next month, I thought to share with you what Vince Lombardi (the greatest coach) said it took to be #1:

-A formula for a great team is simplicity and execution
-Truth in character
-Excellence, challenge your self to endure and excel
-To have results you need : EFFORT
-Passion, give it all you got
-Habit
-Mental toughness
-Discipline
-Humility

As I watched the artists win their awards, paying careful attention to the clothing and hair, I could not help but LAUGH at how our society thinks.

Mo'Nique and her natural goddess legs!

Mo”Nique was accepting an award for Precious, and as she was raising awareness about sexually abused victims, the commentators were making fun of her HAIRY LEGS. How shallow can we get? I don’t care if she has hairy legs, that woman is my hero. You go girl! I also loved the Crazy Heart movie and the song by Ryan Bingham.
The hairstyles were fantastic, I call it : Classic with Retro thrown in the mix. The men seemed to have a bit of a five o clock shadow, which I think is SO sexy. Here are my favorite hairstyle looks from the Globes; Simple, Classic, Elegant.

I can go on and on about what is a winner. In the end, what really matters is what YOU think a winner is. To each one of us , the definition changes. Sometimes, as we mature, it even takes a lesser place . We can judge a movie, a hairstyle, a dress, a song, a man . I tend to agree with Coach Lombardi : A WINNER is some one with a lot of HEAD and a lot of HEART….

Go…. COLTS !

Her new cut....ROCKS!

This is a fall attached to a high ponytail...a winner!

Retro simple headband in black satin

Classic loose curls...Timeless

Can 5 o clock shadow get any sexier?

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Things to do in Washington DC… in January

by olympia on January 4, 2010

Hello Everyone,

I don’t know about you, but I am cold. It’s freezing out there. I don’t want to leave my home, even for groceries. Thank God for Peapod. My friend at Small Friendly Planet Dot Org, just sent over a huge list of things to do in DC in January. I plan on going to at least three of these events. Thank you good folks at Small Friendly Planet for making me get out of my house this cold month. See you all at Restaurant week!

1. FEATURED EVENT: Young Benefactors Happy Hour
2. DOING GOOD: MODUS UNION 2010
3. MEMBER IN FOCUS: Neal Gorenflo,Shareable Magazine
4. FREE INTRO TO IMPROV WORKSHOPS
5. World Affairs Council Author Series: The Forty Years War
6. The 55th Washington Antiques Show
7. Washington Wine Academy – ABC’s of Beer
8. Capitol Wine Festival Opening Reception
9. Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony Reception
10. Iranian Film Festival 2010 – The Spectators

DC Restaurant Week is January 11 – 17, 2010!
Don’t miss gourmet, prix-fixe $20.10 lunches and $35.10 dinners
at over 170 top DC restaurants.
Washington, DC Restaurant Week is a great excuse to try a new restaurant or return to your old favorite. http://washington.org/restaurantwk/

1. FEATURED EVENT: Young Benefactors Happy Hour
When: Wednesday, January 20, 5:30pm
Where: Co Co. Sala, 929 F St NW,DC and the Verizon Center
Cost: $20 (Game only)
More Info: http://www.verizoncenter.com/wiz/smithsonian/

Join the YBs for a fun evening of libation and entertainment in Penn Quarter. Starting at 5:30pm, Co Co. Sala, DC’s premier chocolate lounge and boutique, will host the YBs for a happy hour. After you have enjoyed a few cocktails at Co Co. Sala, join fellow YBs and friends and watch the Washington Wizards play the Dallas Mavericks!

2. DOING GOOD: MODUS UNION 2010
When: January 14, 7-10pm
Where: The Mayflower Renaissance Hotel
1127 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
Cost: $100
More Info: http://www.labelsforlove.org/events/index.html

Don’t miss an exclusive and unique evening of fashion and art featuring a runway show by Lela Rose to benefit the Center for Heart, Lung and Kidney Disease at Children’s National Medical Center. Labels for Love is a 501 (c)(3) charity that stages fashionable events to raise funds for and bring awareness to women’s and children’s charities. Each year one children’s and one women’s charity is chosen to be the recipients for the funds raised at the event. Join in the fight to change the lives of women and children in the Washington, DC region, one charity at a time. General admission includes general open seating, cocktail reception.

3. MEMBER IN FOCUS
Member in Focus – Neal Gorenflo, Project Director, CommonSource Publisher, Shareable Magazine
A very Cool Person – Find Out Why!

SPF Editor: What prompted you to start Shareable magazine?
Neal: I had a strong hunch before this experience that sharing was important, so I began consulting for Internet startups that helped people share stuff in the real world. I had no experience. I just dove in. I also began a monthly salon for social entrepreneurs interested in sharing. I consciously built a community around the idea of sharing. Through the community I built, I met the people who launched Shareable with me.

Read full interview with Neal Gorenflo at www.smallfriendlyplanet.org

4. FREE INTRO TO IMPROV WORKSHOPS
When: Sunday January 3 – Thursday January 7 (7-9PM)
Sunday January 9 (3-5PM)
Where: The Studio School, 1301 V St NW, Washington, DC
Cost: Free
More Info: http://www. washingtonimprovtheater.com

Say you are successful at becoming super rich and in-shape this year, what good is it if your still not enjoying yourself? Washington Improv Theater classes have reinvigorated the creativity, re-sparked the spontaneity and unleashed the joy of pure fun in more than 1000 Washingtonians (with hundreds of more joining the ranks each year). Can’t you spare just 2 hours to find out what these people found to be so transformational? Our enthusiastic and professional instructor/performers quickly establish a trusting atmosphere where you’ll feel more free than you have in a very long time.

5. World Affairs Council Author Series: The Forty Years War
When: Thursday, January 7, 6:30-8pm
Where: UCDC Washington Center
1608 Rhode Island Ave NW, Washington, DC
Cost: $10
More Info: https://www.worldaffairsdc.org/

The World Affairs Council is pleased to announce an Author Series and C-SPAN Book TV event with Len Colodny and Tom Shachtman, the authors of The Forty Years War: The Rise and Fall of the Neocons, from Nixon to Obama. The book is an examination of the last forty years of foreign policy that emphasizes the continuing impact of President Richard M. Nixon’s foreign policy initiatives throughout the era, and long past the end of his own presidency. The event will be moderated by Dr. Irwin Gellman, author of a multi-volume biography of President Nixon. After the authors’ presentation there will be an audience question and answer period. Light refreshments will be offered following the program.

6. The 55th Washington Antiques Show
When: Friday, January 8 – Sunday, January 10
Where: American University’s Katzen Arts Center,
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW, Washington, DC
Cost: One Day Ticket: $15.00, which includes a show catalogue
More Info: http://www.washingtonantiques.org/about.cfm

Founded in 1955 as a fund raising event benefiting children and families through the Thrift Shop Charities, the Washington Antiques Show is one of the longest running antiques shows in the country. The show features forty-four premier dealers from the United States and Europe who offer a wide range of period furnishings and decorative arts, vintage jewelry, porcelains, ceramics, silver, and architectural garden accents. Through its yearly Loan Exhibition Program and its catalogue featuring scholarly articles to illustrate the Show’s theme, the Washington Antiques Show offers collectors at every level the opportunity to view and purchase wonderful objects and to learn more about their particular area of interest.

7. Washington Wine Academy ABC’s of Beer
When: Thursday, January 14, 7pm
Where: Washington Wine Academy Education Center
1201 South Eads, Suite 400, Crystal City/Arlington, VA
Cost: $42.50
More Info: http://www.washingtonwineacademy.org/public-events.htm

If you love wine…we mean beer….then the ABC’s of Beer is the perfect overall concept course for you. This course has been created to cover the basics of the beer world. From how it is made, styles, trends and we will taste 9 beers throughout the evening to showcase different beers. Participants learn about each of the basic types of beer, the techniques by which they are made, and the factors determining quality. Presentations are coupled with guided tastings of carefully selected beers that exemplify the world’s predominant styles.

8. Capitol Wine Festival Opening Reception
When: Friday, January 22, 7-10pm
Where: Fairfax Hotel at Embassy Row
2100 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC
Cost: $85
More Info: http://www.capitalwinefestival.com/

The Capital Wine Festival, modeled after the prestigious Boston Wine Festival, and promising to become an annual local series, will take place at The Fairfax at Embassy Row. The Festival will commence with a grand opening reception featuring more than 50 wines from around the world paired with a bountiful buffet created by Jockey Club Chef Levi Mezick.

9. Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony Reception
When: Saturday, January 23, 6:30-11pm
Where: Embassy of Croatia
2343 Massachusetts Ave. Washington, DC
Cost: $29
More Info: http://www.mcbarnette.com/charity/#1

Join Former TV news anchor Beverly Burke, and other local area actors for an evening of film watching and celebrating for a good cause while enjoying art work, wine, and hor d’oeuvres. Watch the live broadcast of the Screen Actors Guild Award Ceremony from 8- 10:30pm. NonSAG members are welcome. Black tie or Formal Attire.

10. Iranian Film Festival 2010 – The Spectators
When: Sunday, January 24, 2pm
Where: 1050 Independence Avenue, SW, Washington, DC
Cost: Admission is first-come, first-served. According to the
artist’s wishes, the audience will not be allowed to
enter until the performance begins.
More Info: http://www.asia.si.edu/events/films.asp#/?i=1

With Ta’ziyeh/The Spectators, Iran’s most famous filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami convincingly and triumphantly brings the powerful experience of communal, ritual theater into the digital age. The Ta’ziyeh is a unique form of Islamic musical drama performed, often by ordinary citizens, in towns and villages across Iran. It dramatizes the famous battle of Karbala in 680, at which Muhammad’s grandson Husayn was killed along with his followers. Part theater, part religious ritual, it offers audiences the cathartic experience of collectively expressing their sorrow at the tragic events unfolding before them. With this multi-screen video installation, Kiarostami invites audience members to participate in the ritual in a thoroughly unique way. One screen shows a performance of the Ta’ziyeh, while two much larger flanking screens show the faces of those who are watching the performance (segregated, according to custom, by gender). Like visitors to the installation, audience members on the screens at first chat and relax before the show, but as the tragic play progresses, their emotions become heartbreakingly intense.

Please come out and support these great events! See you there.

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Hair Style Trends 2010…Kiss Oh, Nine Goodbye

by olympia on December 29, 2009

-curls

-body waves

-finger waves

-big barrel curling irons

-ceramic flat irons

-ionic blow dryers

-sulfate free hair products

-brown hair colors

-hair razor short hairstyles

-brown hair with highlights

-Brazilian Keratin Treatments

-eyebrow threading

-short bob with bangs

-messy updo’s

-long hair with loose curls

-hair vitamins

-hair gloss

Hello Everyone,

I wish you a New year filled with

Love, heath and success.

2010 will be a year that will bring us together. Put aside concerns about the economy, the war, the Salahi’s, and even Joe Biden’s bad hair. I say you get a trendy stylish new haircut; buy one of those curling irons; look at yourself in the mirror;

SMILE….and say out loud ……..BRING ON 2010!

The Photograph in my post is the work of an artist in Paris that I hold in high esteem. His name is Kamel Lahmadi and he has one of the best sites in the entire world called Style and The City. The site is about Paris street fashion and it is DIVINE. Thank you Kamel, and I wish you continued success mon ami.

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What is Happiness?

by olympia on December 27, 2009

” Happiness is the meaning and the purpose of life, the whole aim and end of human existence.”
ARISTOTLE

Hello Everyone,
I hope that you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish you joy for the coming new year. My Christmas was nice, peaceful and blessed.

Happiness, and the pursuit of happiness, is what I want to write about today.I went ahead and answered what happiness means to Aristotle, but, alas, we are not all great philosophers, just regular ordinary folks trying to have the best life that we can.The idea for this article came to me yesterday as I was dragged out of my warm, cozy home, by my daughter Voula, to go shopping in Georgetown. “Come on mom, lets hit the Sales.” OH BOY…I should have said:” No,I want to work on my blog,” but…..off we went on the pursuit of happiness… by credit card.

What can I tell you? It was a zoo, frantic people trying to purchase last season jackets for half the price. I lasted about an hour and then excused myself to go get a sandwich and a glass of wine at The Daily Grill next door. Jimmy, my favorite bartender, was there and I settled in at the bar to read the Post. I happened upon an article by Kevin Huffman in the editorial section that was quite interesting to me. It was about happiness and a poll in Science Magazine on how to correctly assess and rate of our happiness level. Supposedly, people that live in states with low crime rates, access to green spaces, nice weather and low cost of living….are much happier people. It also stated how we rate our own happiness…..here it is:

“When people say they are happy, they probably are.”

I asked Jimmy, the bartender, what his idea of happiness was, and, as always, if you want great advice:ask a bartender OR a hairdresser! Jimmy said that it’s EXPECTATIONS or NO EXPECTATIONS that makes his life happy. “No use in setting yourself up to fail or be upset,” he said. “I take everything in stride.” I smiled and told him that I agree. Eventually, my daughter came with loads of shopping bags….looking very happy. Then it hit me…the expectations idea. My daughter did not want to go shopping EXPECTING to get happy….she… WAS HAPPY! My kid knew it all along that her life is meant to be lived and not dissected by me or society. We are reminded every day of life’s hardships and downfalls……I say we go shopping.

2010 promises to be a good year, I can feel it. Call me a dreamer if you want………I plan on celebrating this New Year.

My new dress from Arden B – Sale

My new makeup NARS Cosmetics

My fave hair products Large selection of Bumble and Bumble Hair Care at Folica.com. Free Shipping & Free Gift Today! Happy and Joyous New Year to all.
UPDATE: If you are looking for Valentines day gift ideas, please visit our Miracles specials page HERE

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Fa la la la ….Life

by olympia on December 22, 2009

Hello Everyone,
Winter is upon us and the Holidays are a few days away. I can’t wait for this Christmas Day. My daughter Maria is having us over to her house and Voula and I need a break.No cooking;cleaning;decorating;running around buying groceries…..YES.
The presents are all under the tree , the clients are up to date and looking great,I should be feeling great….but something is gnawing at me.Why are the Holidays so stressful ? Why can’t we relax and just be? Why do we have to prove our love to our people by buying them things? I once skipped Christmas all together and I still have guilt pangs about it.
Does any one know how to go about getting the spirit of Christmas to come to me?

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Thanksgiving…a word of action

by olympia on November 22, 2009

for flowers that bloom about our feet;
for tender grass, so fresh so sweet;
for song of bird, and hum of bee;
for all things fair we hear or see,
Father in heaven, we thank Thee!

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hello Everyone,

Thanksgiving Day is almost hair (oops, sorry) I meant here. The salon is rocking; the clients look amazing; the kids are healthy; the bills are paid, and with a heart replete with gratitude I sit to write this while the cornbread is baking in the oven. Good stuff!

All of us, I think, are but mere guests at a huge banquet table….that we did not set. You see, life is truly blessed if you think about it. Our life, our friends, our work, the sunshine, even Love is all because of our Host. What a great Holiday this is..no matter our age or our different faiths, it’s a time to come nearer to our Host, and like the magnet finds iron, so is a thankful heart. I admit it freely that I am dependent to God. “Only by the grace go I,” was meant only for me, I’m sure. I had spent many years thinking that my fate was in my hands, and now that I think about it, I laugh at myself for being such an idiot.

They say that appreciation is the indispensable ingredient for thankfulness, and I agree. How about you?
Happy Thanksgiving to all of you, here is to seed time and harvest, co-existence and God, please bring our boys home from this senseless war. THANK YOU.

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Hair and Now…

by olympia on November 3, 2009

kosta2

“You never really know a man until you have divorced him”
Zsa Zsa Gabor

Hello Everyone,

It’s that time of year again. The Winter season/Holidays is fast approaching and not a minute too soon! We salon owners love this time of year because it marks the time that busy buses are constantly parked outside our salons. Miracles is doing Hawt-On-Yelp this week, and we are crazy busy. Needless to say, we are thrilled with all our new yelpers breathing new life into the salon. Yelp is a great site, you all should visit.

This time of year also reminds me of loved ones and family members that are both HERE and AWAY . I want to tell you a story about someone that is BOTH: my ex-husband Kostas. You see, Kostas taught me how to CUT HAIR. How? Well, I went to get my hair done before going on vacation and I ended up marrying him 11 days later. Talk about falling in love with your stylist…I know all about it. I had just graduated from Emerson Prep in Washington D.C. and I was going to study law and save the third world. He was 31 and I was 18 when we married. I was sure that I was NEVER going to pay for a haircut ever again…I WAS RIGHT. Needless to say, law school was never realized. I took the 9 months that I was pregnant with Maria (thats her in the pic), to attend beauty school and learn to do MY OWN HAIR.

Kostas and I lasted seven years two months and ten days. We had a love/hate relationship just like YOU do with your OWN hairdresser. The day we divorced was also the day that I got to understand this man. Since that day, we have raised our children; worked hard at our stores; go on vacation together as a family; eat at LEAST one meal a day together; talk on the phone constantly; make fun AND/ OR chase away our daughter’s boyfriends; lend a shoulder to cry on when we divorce other people (we have), and someone forgot to send us the Divorce Decree in the mail. You see, getting away from your hair stylist is almost impossible, dont even try.

I’ve heard it said that being divorced is similar to being hit by a mack truck. If you live through it, you start looking very carefully to the left and to the right. Is that really true? Do we blame the divorce ? Is that why we can’t go on and live life? Was being married to the man that bad? Im not sure of the answers, BUT, my hairdresser is also my ex-husband AND my best friend. I WILL GO ASK HIM….

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What you need to know about……MEN!

by olympia on October 16, 2009

Hi Maria here (Miracles creative director),

I’ve been reading this book called “for women only” by Shaunti Feldhahn and beneath the title it says, “What you need to know about the inner lives of men.” It’s a great short read about how men are wired. I purchased this little book from my church because I was so intrigued by the title. What did I have to lose? Not realizing that I had everything to gain, I started reading. The book is based on 7 major “revelations” about men which are as follows:

o Men Need Respect (i.e.: Men would rather feel unloved than inadequate and disrespected)
o Men Are Insecure (i.e.: Despite their “in control” exterior, men often feel like impostors and are insecure that their inadequacies will be discovered)
o Men Are Providers (i.e.: Even if you personally made enough income to support the family’s lifestyle, it would make no difference to the mental burden he feels to provide)
o Men Want More Sex (i.e.: Your sexual desire for your husband profoundly affects his sense of well-being and confidence in all areas of his life)
o Men Are Visual (i.e.: Even happily married men struggle with being pulled toward live and recollected images of other women)
o Men Are Unromantic Clods (i.e.: Actually, most men enjoy romance and want to be romantic-but hesitate because they doubt they can succeed)
o Men Care About Appearance (i.e.: You don’t need to be a size 3, but your man does need to see you making the effort to take care of yourself-and he will take on significant cost or inconvenience in order to support you)

Each of these was expounded upon and dissected based on interviews with hundreds of men but I will give you the abridged version.

The first revelation is that men need respect; a woman has the power to either tear her man down or build him up to the sky. Without respect men literally will shut us out! Seriously, think about a time in your relationship when you blatantly disrespected your man. What was his reaction? If this book is correct, which in my opinion it is, then we must respect our men to keep them engaged in the relationship.

The next important principle is that men are wired to provide and we must not take that away from them. They work long hours to provide for their families and that is what they were made to do; provide for us. I want to emphasize this as much as possible: LET THEM PROVIDE FOR YOU!!!!!!!!

We hold the key to a man’s well-being and confidence; how powerful are women and we didn’t even know it! All you have to do is have incredible, gratifying, mind-blowing sex with your man. For men, love is synonymous with sex and if they are not getting any, then they feel unloved.

On that same token, men are visual and we have to be cognizant of the fact that it’s no disrespect to us; it’s just how they are wired. I really struggle with this one because I am a hot blooded, possessive Greek woman and I can’t comprehend how a man who is with me and is happy can even glance at another woman! Just remember that if he is truly in love with you, you have nothing to worry about. They can’t help it! It’s how they are wired.

It’s no secret that women want romance and men know it. We want to be wined, dined, bought gifts and swept off our feet but the number one complaint is lack of romance. Did you know that men really are romantic? Did you know that they want to do all these things for us? All we have to do is let them and facilitate it.

And the big finale, the one thing that the majority of women dread: Appearance! Since men are visual, they love for women to take care of themselves. Men believe that if you take care of your appearance, you care for them! Ladies, please don’t take this as you have to be a size 3 and deprive yourself of food. Men just want to see that you keep yourself beautiful by doing your nails, getting your hair done, grooming, exercising etc.

There you have it ladies: all you needed to know about men summarized.

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DATING AND THE CITY…SINGLE IN A VIRTUAL WORLD

by olympia on September 5, 2009

“Sometimes if your lucky, someone comes into your life who’ll take up a place in your heart that no one else can fill, someone who’s tighter than a twin, more with you than your own shadow, who gets deeper under your skin than your own blood and bones” –Snoop Dogg

Hello everyone,

It all started with the salon doing a Men’s Only Promotion in June. We used Groupon as our provider to get more men into the salon. Well it was fantastic, 250 men bought our Promo and the salon was flooded with: Handsome, sexy, available men. The single women getting their hair done were thrilled. I get asked all the time for dating and relationship advice (don’t laugh), so here was this great opportunity to have my single clients get together. We decided to have A Miracles Spooning Party on September 12, at the salon. Please come and have a blast. It will be our first matchmaking gig and it was the idea of one very goodlooking, single man brought in by those Groupon people. So as the head match-maker I had to do research and find out what the problem was with the Washington D.C dating scene; SO I JOINED A DATING SERVICE (yes, I really did).

I had heard of a man named Markus Frind who has a free dating site called Plenty-of-Fish , he makes about 10 million dollars a year from Google Ads on the site, and I figured if anyone saw my profile picture, I could always say I was doing” MARKETING RESEARCH” for my blog. I figured if Akon can join Plenty Of Fish and sing about it (watch Akon-Video ) then I can most certainly join and blog about it (to help the girls at the salon of course). To be fair, I also did some research on Match.com and eHarmony, but in todays economy, I dont recomend spending precious money on dating sites, when you can spend it getting your hair done, after you find the right man for free.

Plato said that “at the touch of love, everyone becomes a poet”. I became a poet at: THE THOUGHT OF LOVE. You should have seen my profile and picture! I decided to be as honest as I could on the profile. No need to act like I have it all together (I do not) but I must say…it was poetry. I posted and waited for the fakes and players that everyone talks to me about to contact me. I took down my profile after 24 hours…and here is what I found:

On the advanced search on the site I found…….14,000 men in Arlington, Virginia looking for love, dating and hook-ups (whatever that is nowdays).

In 24 hours I had 17 emails, some of them quite nice, only one creep. I specifically said that I was looking Only for Friendship. That was the truth, I am not ready for anyone new in my life.

Here is a description of the men that I found or found me: (names have been changed to protect the innocent).

TAMIL, the kind hearted recent divorce, that I met for coffee at Starbucks. He brought me a teddy bear as a gift. Handsome, sexy and very self-assured. He also talked a lot about his children (good dad is a big plus in my book). I feel that we now are friends and I hope to see him again.

TOM, a young man from California that has recently moved to D.C for work. He is looking to make new friends and forget his fiance’ that left him for the next door neighbor while he was in Asia on a business trip(ouch). We still managed to laugh while trading war stories. He is a little bit too wounded for my taste, but what a guy.

JESLIE, a good looking, warm hearted biker from Virginia. You know, your best friends older brother type? Thats him. He picked me up and took me on a ride on his Harley. The bad news is that one of his biker girlfriends saw us, and we went speeding on 95, ended up on Solomons Island, Md. What’s a little danger? Right? Anyway, he gave me a T-shirt as a parting gift that reads “Wanna Ride My Hog?”

Thats just a small preview of the nice men that I met on the site. I recommend it, sure beats sitting alone and thinking about.. HIM. Markus Frind says that “there’s plenty of fish in the world; you just need to reel them in.” I AGREE. An old Chinese proverb states that secret forces are bringing spirits together, and if man permits this ineffable attraction, good fortune comes. When friendship exists, formalities and elaborate preparation is not necessary. As for me..I have a date tonight with a fellow Greek. He is smart (degree from RIT); handsome (just saw pictures); funny; and he says he likes….. DRAMA. “We are Greeks after all.” Wish me fun.