Petty and Petulant

I last got my nails done on September 16. I should have gotten my nails done sometime this week, but I didn't go. Nails grow faster in the summer. I know that. I am supposed to feel pampered when I take time for myself.

I hate going to get my nails done. They have a woman there who seems to now be my personal nail filler and she is new to the profession and takes twice as long as the owner of the shop. She usually hurts me at least once during the procedure that seems to take forever. It's not as bad as the guy who made eight of my fingers bleed, but still …

I put off going to get my nails done because I'm lazy and I don't find the task to be a pleasant one. However, I hate my home grown nails. My nails are thin and they split. My hands always look like a chew my nails for dessert when in fact, I don't bite my nails. They just look like it.

The cost of a nail fill is $15 plus a tip, even for the woman who takes for damn ever and hurts me. I did not tip the guy who got carried away and caused way too much hemorrhaging. I really should get them done every two weeks in the summer and can wait for another few days in the winter when nails grow slower.

I'm not on the verge of economic collapse. I am not eating cat food. I'm not as wealthy as I was a few months ago. I have no idea where the current economic fiasco is heading and how long it will take to recover, but it's not looking especially promising today.

I don't go anywhere or do anything. I spend four hours a week volunteering and they really don't care what I look like to do that. I wear scrubs and have to wear a paper hat and paper booties and my nails are the least of my concerns.

The nails are bothersome when they get too long. I type all the time and they get in the way and get caught on the keys. They are longer than my real nails ever could be and although I've had them long for over a year, there are still things I can't do with my hands because of the nails.

I was lowering a window last night and popped a nail off. I knew I had to go on Monday and get them filled in anyway. This isn't a catastrophe. But … should I really keep up this nonsense? It is costly in a time of economic uncertainty. I'm spending about $375 per year on nails.

I like the way they look when I'm finished, but I hate going to get them done. It's not even as though I have a long list of "Things To Do." I have nothing to do 99.9% of the time. I still hate going and I hate it taking an hour instead of a half-hour. As I approach the time to get a fill, they are too long and in my way.

And yet, I hate the way my hands look without the nails and they will look much worse if I pop the other nine nails off because my real nails are abused when putting on the fake nails. They look horrific under there. And they will continue to be even thinner, more fragile, less able to grow until they are completely grown out. That process will takes months.

I'm so torn over such a stupid little thing. I want the nails without having to go and get the nails, pay for the nails, take care of the nails.

So, with a national recession looming, the possibility of another Great Depression, and wars scattered across the planet, I'm worried about my nails.