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I'm recovering. It was a shock, you know. I'm talking about my experience at the hair dresser's. Okay, I'll give you some background. I have naturally very dark brown hair, fine, medium length. So, last year, as I realized that I had a few white hairs announcing themselves quite loudly from amongst the dark hairs, I decided to have some highlights. I happened to be in Seattle at the time, and I had a few hours to kill, so I walked into a salon and walked out two hours later with gorgeous, natural looking highlights. The story is great so far. The trouble with highlights, or any kind of hair coloring, is that it grows out in a few months. Now, a smart person is supposed to realize this, take it into account(1), and therefore make an appointment two or three months ahead to get new coloring. I didn't. I don't know what I was thinking. Perhaps I assumed that an angel would appear in my hour of need and give me some divine highlights, just like that. Well, the angel was late, so I went into a local hair dresser's which is known to be cheap, and I asked the lady there to do my highlights. I gave her some vague instructions like, "I just want them to look natural," and, "I think I like toffee color." I grabbed(2) a couple of magazines and prepared myself for a long sitting session. However, before I had even read through the first one, she was finished. "Oh," I thought to myself, "she does work fast!" "What do you think?" she asked as we both looked in the mirror. The room was actually quite dark, so I couldn't see very well. It did look more light than usual, but I chose to just pay, and go and examine her work at home. Little did I know that(3) I would get a big shock. The lighting in my bathroom is bright, not very flattering. But I needed an honest look, after all, I have to live with my hair. It was bright orange, right where my parting is. The highlights on the rest of my head were in thick, two inch chunks. And, for the crowning glory, I had three leopard spots on the top of my head, yes leopard spots. My dark color had formed circles surrounded by the pumpkin orange that was on the rest of it. I think I stopped breathing for a while. My mind flew into a panic. What was I going to do? Fly to a remote part of Alaska? I jumped in the car and went back to the salon. "You have to fix this," I told the lady. "I wear my hair back for work, but I can't now because the side highlights make me look bald! Plus I have leopard spots. Look!" Couldn't she see how bad it was? "So, you don't like it?" she asked. I just looked at her. This must be the local zombie salon, I thought to myself. Is anybody awake in here? She did her best to 'fix' the problem and remove the look of a partially bald leopard. Then I immediately made an appointment with a colorist in town who is a hair expert. Luckily, I didn't have to wait for months to see her. Her salon is calm, beautiful, and very classy. So is she. "Did you do this?" she asked me. "No," I replied, and I told her the whole, ridiculous story. "I've never seen anything like this," she said with a deep look of curiosity on her face. Well, she worked her magic, and POOF, transformed me from a pumpkin into a princess. I was elated. I was so thankful. I felt like paying her, and then giving her my watch and my car as well. And yes, I made another appointment with her. I'm going to stick with her like glue. No more leopards for me. I have learned my lesson. 1. 'To take into account' is the same as saying 'to bear in mind'. 'To bear' is the old verb meaning 'to carry', so the phrase really means to carry something in your mind, to be aware. a. I know that she is grumpy, but bear in mind that she is awake every night with her sick child. b. The car is a good price, but bear in mind that you will also have to pay tax and insurance. 2. 'To grab' is a very common English verb. We English use it a lot more than Americans. I could have used 'pick up' when referring to the magazines in the salon, but grab sounds more aggressive and basic. It helps to add to the essence of my ridiculous story. This is something that you can bear in mind when you wish to tell a story, word choice. How can I make what I say funny or effective? a. The policeman grabbed the young man by his collar. b. I was in a hurry. The bus was leaving, so I grabbed my bag and keys, and I flew out of the door. 3. 'Little did I/ another person know that' is also used a lot in English. It is the same as saying, ' I (another person) had no clue that ...' or 'I (another person) was about to discover that ....' a. I got in the elevator. Little did I know that I wasn't going to get out for 6 hours!/ I wouldn't get out for 6 hours! b. I talked about how bad the hotel was. Little did I know that the owner was standing right behind me. c. I put my flip-flops on and left the umbrella at home. Little did I know that it was going to rain and hail when I got to the beach. Try iTalki for pronunciation and fluency practice!