If you Google “Ming’s Jazz Cut Oakland”, (depends on your geographic location, you may also want to accordingly add Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States) the first link would be the hair styling place I am about to share with you in this neat experience.
Back in October, I had a hair-cut way-----overdue. At the time, Matt and I were getting ready for the last stretch of our house deal over weekends and we both were very busy with our own work during weekdays, so didn’t really make time for driving to Monroeville to have a haircut. Not left with many choices, I started to search hair salons in Oakland within walking distance. There were several seemed interesting but only one has very strong reviews that stood out to me. As Matt often suggests, if you want to make a decision via internet, you want to look into the reviews. So I did and chose Ming’s Jazz Cut.
It turns out that I was also bothered with a confusing problem during that period of the time and felt having a need to just be around somebody who can construct a world that is not immediate to mine and allows a temporary escape from my own. Sitting in Ming’s chair, listening to her talking about her religious belief, thinking this encounter was meant to be, I knew I can find the way back to my path strong and clear.
Ming is of Korean origin, came to the country 20 some years ago, married to an American computer engineer, switched her religion from Buddhism to Christianity, opened her own hair shop, and thereafter started a life that seems very fulfilling in this land of freedom. However, life hasn’t always been pleasant, there were many bumps and hurdles along Ming’s journey. Ming told me in a semi-joking tone that she was a very devoted Buddhist, would always make a point to go to temple when she was in Korean and pray to the Buddha to make her life easier and make things better for everyone. But no matter how hard she prayed, no changes were felt on her end, and she was never able to image a two-way relationship with Buddha. Same thing lasted quite some time after she moved to the U.S., eventually she started to practice the religion her husband is devoted to. She found peace and fulfillment.
She told me that whenever you felt life is so hard on you, you should know that you are so much loved and wanted by “God” (I believe in the higher-level of existence but just don’t know his/her name, yet.) because every difficulty is a test as well as an opportunity for you to understand yourself and maybe the relationship with the God you believe in.
For some reason, that resonated with me so much that I felt I needed to hear it so very urgently. As long as we know we are loved and wanted, there is a meaning and hope in whatever we do, whoever we are with, and however we are proceeding in life’s many directions. That makes me brave and have a clear mind.
After that, I went back several times and will continue to go back. The first time I walked into the store after our October conversation, I saw my name was pasted in a book and she was praying for me. That was just so lovely.
I think this is part of Pittsburgh’s culture now, that you bump into an encounter randomly and yet may get something very profound and meaningful out of that randomness. People here just seem to have a heart for strangers. They want to know you, your story, be moved by those sharings, and sincerely wish you to have a great day.
Maybe I am not the only person who feels this way nor the only one receives such kindness. Take a look at a review left by one of Ming’s customer: “Very nice lady, and her hair cut technique is awesome! She told me her story about coming to Pittsburgh 20 years ago and encouraged me to study hard :）She is so sweet! Strong recommendation!!!!”
I would have left the same review myself.
Beer winning trivia @ Jazz Cut, short hair do
1920s America was going through many social and cultural changes. Many social phenomena were defined by those changes, or vice verso, those changes defined the many witnessed phenomena as well. Short and stylish hair cut was one of those phenomena, and together with women’s suffrage movement, they caused quite a commotion in that period of the time, and even today’s world. Before 1920s, women used to having long Victorian style long hair do (In today’s Chinese culture, long hair for women is still a desired expectation and the majority of the women do live up to that expectation.), since the 20s, 5 major short haircut styles become very popular: 1. The Bob(Louise Brooks); 2. Shingle Cut(Anna May Wang); 3. Eton Crop(Josephine Baker); 4. Finger and Marcel Waves (Flapper Girls); 5. Cropped Curls (Coco Chanel).
ID@Ming’s Jazz Cut
Does Ming cut long hair do too?
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