Monday, September 08, 2008

mani-pedi

I had a test in A&P last tuesday and decided to reward myself by getting a mani-pedi since I have worked quite hard in my classes and I haven't had a manicure since Owen was four months old and a pedicure since Owen was still a bun in the oven. I also figured I could read my Pharmacology book while getting the pedicure but I ran into a woman I know from the gym whose son was in preschool with Owen. She's this incredibly pretty Indian woman who was raised in England so when I look at her and listen to her talk I salivate over how beautiful and cultured she is. And she has lovely long fingers and toes - perfect for mani-pedis. I'm totally jealous of all of you with index toes bigger than your big toe, it's supposed to be a sign of beauty. Me on the other hand, God blessed me with Fred Flinstone feet. I've been flat footed since I was a child and my feet are just nasty. I've got a wicked scar on my right big toe, the fender of a tricycle went into my toe when I was two and my Dad was watching me while my Mom was at the laundromat. The middle toe on my right foot suffered from failure to thrive and is the same height as the ring finger toe (this photo actually flatters my feet and gives the illusion that my middle toe isn't foreshortened). But enough about my ugly feet.

I couldn't relax getting the mani-pedi because the woman doing it was about eight months pregnant and she spoke very little english but chatted with the other women working at the nail salon in some asian dialect and that makes me feel so uncomfortable, like I'm this wealthy (not) white person exploiting her. Then while she was doing my finger nails she accidently stepped on one of my toe nails and smudged the polish and I'm spending minutes wondering how to politely bring up that she did this. She stepped on my toe again and then realized what she did, BUT THEN she got on her knees and touched it up and I'm feeling awful having this heavily pregnant woman on her knees on the floor touching up my ugly toes. The language barrier and her big belly made my post test pampering feel bad. And to top it off, after drying my nails and leaving the salon I reached into my bag to grab my keys and smudged my thumbnail. I might have to stick to massages as my pampering treat. Although my Mom lives in Staten Island and she said you can get mani-pedis for $17 there, maybe I could go for a Sopranos-esque mani-pedi there, should probably watch The Sopranos (I've never seen an episode) before doing that though. Here in Pittsburgh I couldn't find anything under $44.

3 comments:

PSUMommy said...

Oooooh, I love that color red! I don't get mani's/pedi's very often, either, because of the discomfort issue. I did find a salon up here in Cranberry where everyone speaks english and are really friendly, which helps a lot...but I'll never get over feelling guilty and weird about someone washing my feet, regardless of what language they speak. Hm.

My cousin all but lives in Manhattan and you can get them done even cheaper there because there are so many salons.

sew nancy said...

had it really been that long. was i with you the last time? wait, i think that was pre-pregnancy.
the treat was well deserved
too bad for the guilt. i would have felt the same way though. i
pedicure's cost between around 20-26 around here

Elise A. Miller said...

could we get a profile of those feet? And a close-up? The very disappointing pampering session. that is funny, all pregnant down by your funky ass feet, which are actually kind of cute in real life and I have witnessed them first-hand. I'm restraining myself from writing something very un-pc, suffice to say, you funny lady!