Kevin's Hair Salon

I think I have mentioned the disapperance of my barber, KH. Last time when I go to the barbershop that I always goes to, his colleagues says he's on vacation and by the tone of his colleagues, I knew something was up. KH never goes on vacation, at least the seven years of our customer/hairdresser relation, he never did take any vacation. That's the life of an illegal immigrant.

So while feeling lost not knowing where the person in charge of my hair went, he called me two weeks later, informing me that he's opening his own barbershop down the very same street. Well, in the two by three blocks of our chinatown there's at least 10 barbershops, ok? So I was wonder how profitable it is to open a barbershop with such high competition. Do Asians grow their hair faster than any other race? And more importantly, how can he afford to open his own barbershop? Where did all his money come from?

I am never a person to save up, so I guess I'll never get the concept that with time the pay of a non-immigrant can enable him to open up his own shop. Of course, I'm also a pessimistic person. After he called me, I tried to refer him as many clients as possible. Throughout the years, I've already seen him as a friend. I gave him some money as a gift for his wedding, for his first born and now for his new store. I helped him with his computer, he lives in this little room with his wife in a Chinese owned complex. I guess the rent must have been cheap too. They have to share the bathroom and the kitchen with a few other families. I always thought you should own your own property before you own your own business, it tells you how naive I am.

After they gave birth to their first son, they sent him back to be brought up by his parents in China, so they can focus making money, now that is a sacrifice that I would never envision making myself. The wife left her waitressing job in a Chinese buffet to help around in the new store. I first thought his store will be smaller than the one he worked on originally, but it turned out to be much bigger and cleaner. So I went there for a coloring and cutting even though I didn't need it yet. And he tried to charge me less as to 'give me a discount'. But I refused and gave him a huge tip. But KH: "Can you give me a dark borwn color like I've asked you to? Why do you have to add that much red everytime???" Haha... *sigh*