Bruno

That’s the name of my new friend. How I got top meet him? Read on.

I worked 24 hours straight last Monday (if you think that is not possible, in my world, I tell you it is) so after clocking in about four hours of sleep after a day-long work, I dragged my ass to Shangri-la Mall to have lunch at 3 pm. On my way there, I dropped by the StarMall (formerly called Manuela) to visit their cell phone district. I badly needed a charger for my Sony Ericcson since I brought the wrong charger. How stupid. Anyhow, with my bargaining talent, I got one for a hundred bucks. How cool is that. I hope it works.

I crossed over to Shangri-la because I needed some pampering. Hah. How fitting.

I went straight to the guard to ask if there were any salons in the mall.

Me: Excuse me, may salon po ba ditto?
Guard: Ah oo, meron.
Me: Saan po?
Guard: Sa fifth level po sir.
Me: Ano pong pangalan?
Guard: Shoe Salon

I think I fainted.


Shoe Salon. At Shangri-la Mall.

So I went up the different levels of the mall to see who could give me a decent haircut. My last two trips to Manila saw me going back to David’s my trusted salon back when I was still based here. The first one was in Megamall, the last one in Glorietta. Needless to say, I was left kinda expecting for more.

So this time, I was not going to David’s.

On the fourth level, I saw hope. Closer look: Ricky Reyes. Hmmm. No. Thank You. But I had to have my haircut. Now. So I relented, went in and asked. The people were snooty. “Wala pong available. Isang oras pa po!” So much for treating customers nicely. I said Thank God, and scurried outside.

An escalator ride up introduced me to my new friend Bruno. He was so inviting I found myself getting inside. I was not waiting long when my stylist uhmm barber appeared. He whisked me to my chair.

At first, I was taken aback when he checked my hair. I don’t know but maybe it’s my shampoo here or the weather or whatever. I’ve got flakes. Nasty flakes. “Ay, may dandruff kayo sir!” he said matter-of-factly.

Slightly embarrassed, I let out a silent “Oo nga eh.”

He asked if I wanted to get it treated. I might have said yes.

After my haircut, he brought me to the lavatories at the back and washed my hair. He led me back to my chair and showed me the oil/liniment he was going to use. He brought out a brush that felt like steel brush on my scalp and started scraping my head. At first, I thought I was gonna bleed.

He massaged my head with the oil. Brought out the heating thing (you know when people want to have their hair permed?) and asked me to just relax. He massaged my left hand, my right hand, my back, all while my head was being heated by this thing. After about an hour, he led me back to the lavatories, shampooed my hair, rinsed it, put some conditioner, rinsed. My hair was in nirvana. Never has it been pampered this way.

Back to the chair. He gave me a quick head massage that felt really good. Really good. And then he did the unexpected. He started kneading/mashing/massaging my face. It felt funny, but it was not. It looked funny as well. It was gooood. If I can, I’ll try to do it on my own soon.

Some more massage here and there and I was ready to go. Hello, world.

At the counter, I asked how much I had to pay. P590. 10 dollars and change. I pay this amount at Fantastic Sam’s and I get about a fraction of what I experienced with Bruno. Hay, life. Ang saya saya. I’ll try to meet with Bruno again before I fly back to hell-ey. He’s that good. I wouldn’t mind returning for a second round.