Do you have a fashion for passion?

Its time for more jobhunting, hooray! Yesterday while exploring downtown Newcastle we saw a sign for sales assistants at a cute boutique called Oasis. They're hiring in their Metrocentre location. So today I set out to the Gateshead Metrocentre to drop off CVs and do a little shopping.

I should mention that the Gateshead Metrocentre is the 2nd biggest shopping mall in England. It has over 330 stores divided into 4 color-coded quadrants. It was exhausting. Before I started the apply-athon I decided to get a haircut. I should explain that my previous style is fairly American. I'm certainly the only woman in England who doesn't own a straightening iron. Everyone here has shoulder-length pin-straight hair and fringe (aka bangs). So I took the plunge and went from before to after. Hairdressers are very different here. They're not for listening to your personal drama and giving you a scalp massage, they want to give you a bitchin haircut as fast as possible. Also, you have to negotiate your haircut with them. Today I heard that she wouldn't cut above my shoulders and wouldn't do a fringe. The only conversation beyond that was "Yuv got a lot of hair, don ya?"

I think the cut makes me look much more British. At least this is what I was channeling while spending the next 2 hours smiling and handing out my CV. After all of them were gone, I started hunting for Ryan's Valentine's Day present. One of my coworkers from Atkinsons had asked me what I was getting Ryan and I said "lingerie-- that's all he wants." She burst out in a fit of giggling. (Maybe she thought I meant man-gerie? Or maybe underwear is still really funny in England?)

I don't think Valentines is hugely popular in England, but this country is made for it. Not only do they have a chocolate shop per every 50 residents, they also have great lingerie stores; the best part being that they make cute stuff up to size F or G. In the US you're lucky to find a D that don't look like a giant beige sail boat. Thus ended my exhausting retail day.

P.S. my hair will never be this straight again.