Ooof. I am tired. You know the kind of day I've had; you got up in the morning, went to work, looked at your book. You saw a couple of new clients scheduled, but they're clients that you've been looking forward to meeting in person, so you're excited to see their names. Several regulars — all regulars you enjoy seeing. And one of those bright, shiny, free hours right in the middle of the day — a chance to actually eat lunch! It's a perfect day.

Except that, right off the bat, New Client #1 comes in. She's the client right before that free hour. The free hour that you are hoping to use to run across town to return that ridiculous piece of *#@! you hoped would replace your beloved Palm Pilot while simultaneously saving you from having to replace it with an iPod Touch — oh wait, that's probably not you, that might be just me.

Well, New Client #1 came in this morning. She was a referral from one of myfavoriteclients and I had been looking forward to meeting her in person and actually getting to do her nails since she called last week. When she made her appointment, she said she "just needed a fill." So I booked her for an hour and half to allow the extra time that always seems to elapse while we consult, pick colors, discuss what she likes and doesn't like about her current nails, etc.

Two and a half hours later I had determined that the nails she had on when she arrived were not actually representative of what she prefers at all. I had snipped them all off at the tips and reconstructed new free edges in brilliant "rock star" style using several different colors of glitter. Her nails looked great and she discovered that there IS a way to avoid having the underside of her nails betray the last color and style she wore when she decides to change her look.

Unfortunately, it turned out that she had to run off to the next appointment on her agenda before I was able to snap a photo, and my "break" never materialized at all.

I'm always thrilled when clients walk out the door with that look on their face that lets me know they will be spending the next few days staring lovingly at their fingertips. But I'm not always sure they understand what "just a fill" means in nail tech language.

"Just a fill" means "half an hour — schedule one hour, just-in-case" to me.

But what the heck?! I impressed a new client AND her teenage daughter (who insists she will be back for winter formal!), I impressed myself, I did some wicked nails that will impress everyone who sees them, and I made three times as much as I expected for the same amount of time.

I guess I'll exchange that crappy thing for an iPod tomorrow.

I just wish I had a photo of the cool nails I did.