Premiere Orlando Day 1

So much is happening, I can barely remember what day it is let alone how long I’ve been in the road. I’ll gloss over the “how I got from South Dakota to Florida” story for now and get to the good stuff:

After driving hundreds of miles, worrying about the where the next fuel stop would be, and wondering if my GPS was going to yet again steer me wrong, I arrived in Orlando, Florida for the Premiere Orlando hair show just as evening set in.  Though grateful to be off the road, the distasteful task of unpacking lay before me. Packing for six weeks is undoubtedly the least fun aspect of this trip; the endless cycle of unpack, pack, repeat is the low point of my adventure. Anyway, after a quick bike ride which involved dodging sun-worshiping lizards every few feet, I called it a night.

I eagerly woke Saturday morning, ready to hit the big event. When I arrived at the convention center, I was surprised I didn’t see more people. As it turns out, I was a day early (so much is happening, I can barely remember what day it is, remember?). I wandered around the building for a bit and then sat to wait for the next shuttle to my hotel. While waiting, I struck up a conversation with an educator for Pravna from Los Angeles. When I told her about my six-week road trip, she couldn’t believe I drove all this way alone.

A few minutes after she left, a girl approached me and said, “My friend told me I had to meet you and hear about your trip.”  After chatting for a bit, she asked if I would like a behind-the-scenes look at how they get ready for such huge event. I jumped at the chance without a second thought.

The scene in the convention center was one of orchestrated chaos: dozens of forklifts spinning every which way, a maze of boxes, and hundreds of people scurrying about making last-minute preparations. Next, we went to the area where models were being prepped for the next day. Keep in mind, the hair portion of the event alone had over 100 companies participating. Every company had their own room to keep their top secret new hair designs under wrap until their big moment, so there are literally hundreds of “rooms” made from drapes and piping. Each room was a flurry of activity as people rushed around with color bowls, curling irons, hair pieces, costumes and other artistic hairstylist necessities.

I ended up spending most of the day learning about new colors and blow-out treatments from some really amazing people. Towards the end of the day, a stylist from Farouk asked if I wanted to be a haircut model the next day. As I thought about the crazy “styles” I’d seen onstage at other shows, my initial reaction was “no frickin’ way.” Then I remembered I wanted a hair cut before I left home but I didn’t have the time. My spirit of adventure kicking in, I viewed it as an opportunity to see another facet of the hair show world.

Smoothing my humidity-frazzled hair, I said, “Sure! Why not?” I’ll have to wait until tomorrow to see the results.  Even if it turns out horrible, I still have four weeks on the road for any experiment to grow out.

If today was just a behind-the-scenes look, I can’t wait for tomorrow!