I'm with ya on the haircut. I used to have long (LONG) hair. About three years ago, I walked into a salon ten minutes before closing and asked them to cut it ALL off. They looked at each other, and only one employee had the guts to do it AND was willing to do it right at closing. WHACK. He did a good job. When I travel to my old town, I still have him cut my hair. I'll admit that once or twice I made a 600 mile (each way) drive back to my old town mostly so he could do my hair. I've had a hard time finding someone here who could do my hair right. The last cut I got was decent, though. I have high hopes that I can get good cuts from her in the future. (When I say I went short, I mean SHORT. I tell them each time to cut it JUST shy of the point where it spikes...)