Cheap haircut for Nathan

I am so happy -- mukhang graduate na kami ni Daddy Ford sa pagpapa-kiddie salon! =)

Ever since we arrived here in Pinas last January 10, I've been bugging Nathan na to get a haircut. He was asking me kung sa SM (or mall) daw ba (kasi alam niyang may cars doon ang gupitan) but when I said no, nagpa-panic. Ayaw daw niya sa T&T (where his dad gets his haircut) or sa regular adult parlor. So na-delay nang na-delay.

But last Sunday (January 21), I was able to convince him na kasi kumakati na ang tenga niya. Tumutusok na kasi yung buhok. Napansin ko marami na rin siyang butlig-butlig, probably dahil sa pawis na tumutulo from his hair (sobrang pinagpapawisan siya dito), kaya I seriously talked to him. Sabi ko we really need to cut his hair na or else his ears will continue to itch. Ayun, pumayag na rin, on the condition na kasama dapat si Lola Lucy (my mother) and Ate Charry (our kasambahay). So ayun, isang tropa kaming sumugod sa parlor sa "may kanto" haha!

I was expecting na magpa-panic siya pagkakita sa parlor but he was surprisingly calm. Pangiti-ngiti pa. We waited for around twenty minutes pa siguro kasi may nauna sa amin.

The owner of the parlor (my mother's suki) outright told us that he doesn't cut children's hair. Takot daw siya. Sabi namin si Ryan (her assistant and technically my nephew because his father is my second cousin) naman ang ineexpect naming gugupit (because Mamoosh already saw him cutting a small child's hair before). Right there and then, I was confiddent na that we won't have problems with Nathan anymore, na magbe-behave siya (na parang sa dentist at clinic).

And true enough, he willingly sat in the "high" chair when instructed to do so tapos pangiti-ngiti pa haha!

Everyone in the parlor was impressed because he was so behaved. He sat still the whole time. Unlike his previous haircuts na less than five minutes lang yata inabot kasi buzz cut lang, medyo matagal this time kasi nga medyo may style. Hindi plain semi-kal(bo) lang. Pero the little boy was very patient, nakakatuwa talaga.

I was so proud of him. At sa isip-isip ko, sa wakas malaki na matitipid namin ng daddy niya! Pwede na rin namin siyang pagupitan ng madalas sa Canada kasi around $12 na lang din ang babayaran namin.

Because we live in the province, Php50.00 lang ang gupit! I gave Php100.00 to Ryan and told him to keep the change. Sobrang entertain naman din kasi ang ginawa samin haha! Saka ang laki nga rin ng natipid ko, imagine kung sa Cuts 4 Tots Trinoma kami nagpagupit, at least Php400 yan! Plus gas, parking at chibog pa (wala kasing kiddie salon dito sa area namin).

My mother was so happy with the outcome. Hate niya kasi yung sobrang upod na gupit ni Nathan dati. Eh kaso kailangan namin ipaupod talaga para matagal bago humaba.

Parang gusto ko na tuloy uling pagupitan si Nathan next month! Kung ganito ba naman kamura, kahit talaga every month pwede hehe.

The Boys' Haircut

Daddy's Haircut -- $12 ($10 + 2 tip) @ a shop inside T&T Supermarket in Surrey Central City

October 8, 2017 

Ford is so happy because there's $10 haircut here in Metro Vancouver (no tax pa ha, baka included na). Sa Edmonton, sobrang mahal ang services eh. Twice a year lang siya kung magpagupit doon. Dito every three months pwede.

By the way, there's a Filipina hair cutter in this shop. Akala ko nga noong una pang-lalaki lang dito eh, yun pala pwede rin ang babae. Susubukan ko next time tutal hindi naman ako maarte sa gupit. Matabasan lang ay ok na.

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Nathan's Haircut -- $28.75 ($25 + 12% tax + 2.50 tip) @ Sparky's Kut for Kidz

October 13, 2017

We've tried to convince Nathan to get his haircut on a regular barber shop / salon na lang para cheaper but he's not ready yet. "No" daw. Kahit i-bribe namin siya na ibibili namin ng toy yung matitipid namin. Kaya no choice kami kundi bumalik sa Sparky's (where he had his last buzz cut last June 25) kasi aliw siya sa mga "cars" doon. And true enough, when he saw the cars, sobrang na-excite agad umupo at magpa-"massage" ng hair.

Pero naman ha, masakit sa loob gumastos ng $28.75 for a 5-minute (or less pa nga yata) buzz cut. So I swear, this will be the last time that we'll be spending that much on his haircut. Kailangan ma-train ko siya sa Pinas pag-uwi namin na magpagupit sa cheap na barber shop. If he resists, Ako na mismo ang magre-razor sa kanya. It is one skill that I ought to learn because my son's hair grows so very fast, mamumulubi talaga kami sa kakapagupit. Uso yun dito eh, kanya-kanyang gupit sa anak / asawa.

Pricey kiddie haircut

One "disadvantage" of raising a boy is the countless trips to the barber shop. Magastos! Since toddler pa lang ang anak ko at "maiyakin," we have to bring him pa to kiddie salons para "sanay sa magulong bata" ang maggupit sa kanya. Kaso nga, sobrang mahal naman.

This was actually his 4th haircut. The first was when he was one year old. The third and fourth were on June and October of last year (2016).

Two (or three?) other kids were having their haircut when we arrived at Cuts 4 Tots in Trinoma Mall. Nathan instantly panicked and wouldn't want to enter the shop. I had to forcibly sit him down in one of the 'cars.'

Thank goodness he calmed down matapos malagyan ng cape ni Manong Barbero. He was still sobbing though and just wanted to hold my hand. Manong Barbero was very good in calming him, magaling siyang mambola syempre.

Ahh, I spent Php400 for a 15-minute drill. Haircut is Php360 plus Php40 tip to Manong Barbero. Haha, masama pa rin ang loob ko. Mabilis pa namang humaba ang buhok ng anak ko.

In consolation, at least merong two "free" cars si TanTan courtesy of Manong Barbero.

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If you will ask, we spent around $23-24 (including tip) for Nathan's haircut in Edmonton and Surrey. May coupon pa yung sa Surrey ha. Sobrang namamahalan ako kaya I am tempted to learn how to use a shaver para ako na lang ang kakatkat. Maraming gumagawa ng ganun sa abroad kasi nga ang mahal ng salon services doon. Siguro when Nathan is a bit older, talagang pag-aaralan ko na.

I noticed that many boys in North America have long hair. Could it be because of haircut costs? Probably. Kaso mas gusto namin for Nathan ang short hair kaya di kami makakatipid on this aspect.