Will [insert gratuitous verb here] for a stronger dollar...

So as most of you probably don't know, the US dollar has been getting its ass kicked by most major currencies. Hell, even the Canadian dollar is up 5% this year vs the dollar (yes I looked it up). Anyways, for most of you, living in the States, this obviously doesn't make much of a difference...except when you buy your 4-runners and Sony LCD TVs (does anyone own an American car or TV?). But for me, living here in London, I have been getting my ass kicked because of the pussiness of the dollar (sorry if that's misogynistic for any females reading this). Two examples (albeit with incremental circumstances adding to the expense):

Example 1: On Saturday, I looked in the mirror and realized it was about damn time I got a haircut. I usually get my hair cut every 2 1/2 - 3 weeks, and it had been 4 weeks since my last cut. Frankly, the reason I procrastinated so much was a) I really didn't know where I should go to get my haircut, and b) most of the lazy fucks here don't work on weekends, so it's tough to find the time. But on the suggestion of a friend, I headed to my local Toni & Guy, a relatively upscale chain of "stylists". I'll admit, it was a pretty good hair cut. The shampoo (from a woman, to be clear) was a few minutes longer than I'm used to (let's admit guys - this is by far the best part of the hair cut), and the guy cutting my hair managed to give me a proper fade without a) using clippers or b) knowing what a fade is. Cost? £42. FORTY TWO FUCKING POUNDS!!! That's around $77 at current rates. So the big dilemma, of course, was what the hell to tip on a £42 haircut? If I wanted to tip the standard 15-20%, I would have had to get a second job. I ended up tipping £5, got the hell out of there, and, needless to say, my hair will be reaalllly long when I return to LA on June 30th.

Example 2: Yesterday my friend Puneet flew in from NY. Figuring we had Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights to party, we decided to check out a show. Puneet stood in line at TKTS and paid half-price for pretty good seats to Les Mis. £25. Shit, half price tickets were like $46. Then, of course, yesterday evening happens to be my first bad Tube (that's the subway) experience. The Jubilee line, which is the only one that goes through the area where I work, was shut down because of 'passenger action' or something like that. What the hell does that mean?

So, anyways, if I was more experienced in my London ways, I probably could have figured out some bus route to get to Central London where the theater was, but of course, I understand the bus system about as well as I understand Ali's blog. So I managed to find one of the few available cabs, and proceeded to spend the next 40 minutes, and £21, headed to the theater. So, my 'half-priced' trip to see Les Mis cost about $85. Oh yeah, the show wasn't very good either. Too long, and too 'musically', even for a musical.

The only solace I can take in all this? Just check out what Shashank calls his link to my blog. I guess it all evens out in the end.