Gusty Gales and Shrunken Roots

Originally written on the 13th September - but I didn't find my upload cable until this week.

As a guilty pleasure of mine has always been standing in strong winds in a warm coat, I have thoroughly enjoyed the last few days of Hurricane Katrin blustering about this little island, making the dustbins and fences and clothes pegs rattle to create a clattering cacophony.
There is something strangely exhilarating about surprising gusts of wind that force your steps sidewards, so that for a second, it was as though you were flying and taken by surprise by your own ability.   Even better than that, it's been dry and -

Even as I write this, it has started raining. Eh, I'm inside so I'm not too bothered. What timing though!

The presence of the exciting winds without too much rain (even if only momentarily) meant that, for some preciously brief hours, I could pretend that Autumn actually happens here, instead of that weird still-kind-of-summer-season where it rains 90% of the time and the vibrantly coloured leaves are already moulding before the leave the tree. Fruit is ripening everywhere, and the harvest suddenly coming into abundance means that people are picking and digging out and wondering what on earth they're going to do with 10kg of courgettes [zucchinis] or 2kg of damson plums.

One of my classmates decided to make damson jam for which I am incredibly grateful. It smells delectable and tastes scrumptious on crumpets.

Hi. Damsom Jam? Let me introduce you to crumpets.

I'm sure you'll be the best of friends...*cackles*

 Anyway, less about that, more about other things. I've been busy this week...no, this is the end of my second week - these past two weeks with my course. Seeing as I took my hair down, and then packed and then hoisted my entire livelihood on the train, then moved into my current lovely, kitsch [yet damp] abode, then threw away my duvet [I said it was damp in here, didn't I?] then bought some more and now I have blue feet.

Basically, apart from the weekly wash, there has been little to no time for hair.
For convenience's sake, I threw it into a bun after washing and detangling last Saturday. Not a doughnut/stretchy/on a braidout bun. Nope. Dripping wet hair, up and out of the way.

This lazy attitude plus my hair continually getting wetted by the rain (the convenient way to moisturise! At least I'm not setting fire to it) means that my hair has shrunk. A lot. So it has tangled. A lot.
Add to this the fact I've still been adding oil and leave in and shea butter (to weigh my hair down to keep it stretched) and you find me as I found myself earlier this week: with a big mass of linty, knotted, tangled buttery soft hair. It was lovely and moisturised and soft, but incredibly, incredibly tangled.

I already know my main problem: After having washed and conditioned and detangled my hair (never going up as far as the roots), I just don't want to deal with it any more and I hate styling it when it's wet so I don't twist it. I simply put it in a bun, where it eventually shrinks up in certain areas and promptly destroys the de-tangling effort I've just made.

What I need to do is motivate myself to twist my hair up to prevent it re-tangling, because if I'm not going to do it, I may as well skip the detangling process and start the locking process right here and now.

Mmmm....locking process....*strokes imaginary beard*

No, no locks. Must de-tangle. It doesn't even take that long. I just dislike being in the shower dealing with my hair. Evelyn can do all her washing stuff in an hour, and I don't even deep condition for 20 minutes like she does, so I'm sure I can do it in 30 minutes.

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