This isn't really Russia-related, but I wanted to tell you anyway.

My hair had been looking rather shaggy, and when my boss started making Austin Powers jokes every time I walked into the room I knew that it was time to get it cut. Not being a big fan of barbers, I was pleased when Julia told me that she had worked in a salon in Portland for a while and would happily cut my hair for me.

So it began. I sat in Julia's bathtub while she set about trimming my mop. There was no mirror to see her progress, so you can imagine that I was a little apprehensive.

'Just a trim, then, Julia, okay?' I asked.
'I was thinking, something kinda more rock n' roll.'
'Er....'

A couple of minutes passed, and Julia was still cutting my hair with, how can I say, quite a lot of vim.

'This is pretty easy! And fun!' she exclaimed.
'I thought you'd done it before?'
'No, I never said that.'
'Didn't you use to work in a salon in Portland?'
'Yeah, I was a receptionist. But I watched how they did it.'

Great...

Although - and I am relieved to say this - the finished version does actually look quite good. Even Kostya didn't mock me too much.