More than just getting your nails done...

So I just read Julie's blog about the Vietnamese woman that was talking crap about her when she went with her friend to get her nails done at the salon, and it's so ironic because I had the same incident happen when I went to go get my nails done a few weeks ago in Stonestown. I don't like to tell people that I'm Vietnamese when I go get my nails done for the simple fact that if they're going to talk crap about me, I want to know. This often works because no one can tell that I'm Vietnamese because apparently, I don't look like I am. Go figure. Anyway, people talking crap about me when I'm getting my nails done don't usually happen, but it did this time. I mean, for as long as I have been getting my nails done, I have NEVER EVER EVER had such a HORRIBLE experience!

So when we came in, the lady that offered to do my nails seemed helpful enough... and then slowly she just became irritatingly pushy. It's like they don't understand the words NO THANK YOU. Goodness! So what happened was that she wanted me to do my nails with gel on gel, but I wanted gel on acrylic, and she was getting upset because the gel on acrylic is cheaper, and I tend to get my nails taken off and redone every 2-3 weeks so it wasn't worth it to spend $40 when I'm going to get them off shortly after. Then, she was complaining in Vietnamese about how I was CHEAP and about how she forgot to tell me that she was going to charge me $5 to get my nails taken off, and then she presented me with an ultimatum: either I do the gel on gel for $40, or I do the gel on acrylic for $32+$5 to take off my old set. I mean, seriously? You had to trick me into doing that?! And then she was muttering about how if I hadn't agreed, she would've just drawn a design on my finger, not tell me, and then charge me for it so that I pay the amount she wants me to pay. She continue to rant on and on and ON and make all of these rude comments and I just couldn't believe it. On top of that, she put my nails on TOO CLOSE, the shape was CROOKED (and no, it was NOT my finger, thank you very much) and the gel was put on unevenly so it looked like I had mole mounds on my fingers. GREATTTTT. She tricked me into paying more, and then in the end, made them look like shit.

Even though I'm Vietnamese myself, I do have to agree with everyone else when they say that nail salons consist of nothing but Vietnamese workers. Not only do they consist of nothing but Vietnamese women, but a lot of them are filled with ladies that are trying to trick you into doing things that you really don't want to do! For those of you who haven't seen Anjelah Johnson's Vietnamese nail salon skit - you absolutely need to! It's hilarious, and sadly, it's also completely and utterly true. I've never ever actually had a full on experience like the one Anjelah was commenting about until I walked into that nail salon in Stonestown. Anyway, for those of you who commonly get your nails done, you'll know what I'm talking about when I say Anjelah Johnson's skit hit the nail on the head.

The main thing I think I have to complain about though is that the women in the nail salons can either pinpoint that you're Vietnamese, or they just assume you aren't if you don't look the part. The way they determine if you're Vietnamese is if you dress a certain way, act a certain way, or have certain "features" that make you Vietnamese... well apparently I don't dress Vietnamese, or act Vietnamese, or have Vietnamese features because that lady didn't hesitate to say all these rude ass comments about me when I'm literally a foot in front of her. I bet she regrets not asking if I was Vietnamese to begin with. Would've saved her the trouble of me calling her out on it and her realizing I wasn't lying when she saw my credit card.

So FYI for you ladies out there - DON'T get your nails done at Stonestown upstairs. They suck.

--Kim [=