Small Luxury: Pedicures

This weekend I made the trip into town to go to my favorite nail salon, Leon Nails. 

It's not a fancy place. It's a small store front in a strip mall: manicures tables on the right, pedicure chairs on the left, and three big revolving racks of polish in the front.  A small altar is centered on the back wall, with joss sticks and fruit. There's a row of licenses above the manicure tables and an autoclave in back. Lucky bamboo and fashion magazines complete the ambiance. It may not be "spa like" but, it's comfortable.

But the real reason to go, is that these ladies know their business, and give great service at a good price.  A pedicure there does not just mean that they paint your nails. They resurface your feet (great for those of us with cracked soles) moisturize and massage all the way up to your knees. The polish job includes a base coat, top coat and two coats of color, not to mention trimming, shaping and basically doing their best to make your feet look worthy of glass slippers, or at least open-toed sandals. 

And did I mention they are really nice? I once destroyed a nail getting into my car, and they re-did it for free.

I could paint my nails myself, but I can't do as good a job. So I'm happy to spend $25 (including a $5 tip) for the pleasure of having my nails done really well. And cherry red toenails make me happy.

My toes, freshly covered in Quarter of a Cent-cherry

Water Hot is a Noble Thing

Szechenyi Thermal Baths in Budapest

Last week, my hot water heater stopped working. At first I thought, it's not a big deal, people have lived for centuries without hot running water. But it's one of those everyday luxuries that you really don't appreciate until it's gone. 

I was without hot water for a week. A week of cold showers. A week of debating if my hair was clean enough to go without washing it. A week of wishing Humble had thermal springs, instead of an alligator-infested lake. It was fixed on Wednesday, and it was not cheap, but it was totally worth it. 

Tolkien gets it.

The Bath Song - J.R.R. Tolkien

Sing hey! For the bath at close of day

that washes the weary mud away

A loon is he that will not sing

O! Water Hot is a noble thing!

O! Sweet is the sound of falling rain,

and the brook that leaps from hill to plain;

but better then rain or rippling streams

is Water Hot that smokes and steams.

O! Water cold we may pour at need

down a thirsty throat and be glad indeed

but better is beer if drink we lack,

and Water Hot poured down the back.

O! Water is fair that leaps on high

in a fountain white beneath the sky;

but never did fountain sound so sweet

as splashing Hot Water with my feet!"

So does Ernie

In Defense of Luxury



Penfold's Block 42

I was poking around the internets the other day and found a story about a very expensive, special release bottle of vintage wine.

What Do You Eat With a 168,000 Bottle of Wine? 

Of course, for that kind of money, you don't just get wine. There's a specially-commissioned bottle with precious metal detailing and that comes in a custom, handcrafted cabinet. Even empty, it's a pricey object. 

Normally, I'd see a story like this, think "Gee, the crazy stuff people will spend money on", and keep going; but my eye passed over the comments section. I avoid the comments section, as all the bile and vitriol of the world seems concentrated there. But this time I saw it, and in particular, I saw comments saying that people should not be spending money on luxuries, not when there are starving people in the world.

On the surface this seems like a compelling argument. No one needs a $168,000 bottle of wine, and the poor do need help. But if you've ever bought a pack of gum, then you've wasted money on a needless luxury that could have been used to help the poor. Any money spent on extras could be used to help the needy. The real offense here is the scale of the spending. Few people will guilt you over a chocolate bar, but buy a Lamborghini and the moral accountants appear to judge your actions. However:

• Just because someone spends a lot of money on wine (or cars, or clothes, or whatever), doesn't mean that they don't spend money on charity.
• Not buying hyper-expensive wine doesn't mean that the money will be spent on starving children. Maybe they'll buy diamonds, a wrought-iron dog run, or just leave it in the bank.  At least if they buy the wine, the money goes into circulation and keeps the luxury goods makers off the dole.

While I don't want to spend the price of a house on a single bottle of wine, I'm glad there's a market for it. I am in favor of luxury items. Can you imagine a world without luxury items? A life where you only get what you absolutely need and nothing more. It would be so dull and sad. Think of all the things that would be gone:

needless luxuries, all of them

toys, cake, nail polish, colored fabrics, cut glass, jewelry, perfume, art, cut flowers, lawns, theater, ornamental gardens, sports cars, fountains, candy, carpets, music, pillows, movies, upholstered furniture, alcohol, the list goes on and on.

And while I will never be among the super wealthy, I appreciate what money and vision can do. It is money and vision that produced the Eiffel Tower, glass windows, mirrors (the making of which led to the invention of telescopes and microscopes) bathrooms with hot and cold running water, the flush toilet (I am really grateful for that one), Oxford, ornamental gardens, palaces like the Hermitage and Versailles which make up the cultural heritage of the world - luxury items, each and every one, and aren't they grand?

Friday Feel Good Video

Something completely frivolous. Have a luxurious weekend.