(via @stephaniesantosprata)

With the exception of cooking competitions on Food Network, I don’t watch reality TV. It feels too scripted, too fake, with people put in impossible situations that they wouldn’t otherwise be in if it wasn’t for the show.

That being said, I got my nails done yesterday. I had a regular nail girl in LA (S/O Cindy at Chloe Nails!), and I haven’t found a good one down here in SD. I don’t get anything fancy, I always just do black gel on my short nails so my man hands look less manly 😆 Simple, right?

I went to this salon in Little Italy yesterday that (surprisingly) had good reviews. There was plenty of metered street parking, and luckily, the permanent handicap placard I got from having the stroke allows me to park in metered street spaces for free – Literally one of the only perks of having a stroke, 0/10 do not recommend otherwise. When I got there, the door was locked and the lights were on, but I didn’t see anyone inside. There was a ring camera outside, so I buzzed it, and this Russian girl lets me in. She leads me to the back where I am the only customer, and proceeds to do my nails for nearly 3 hours! I have never had my nails done by someone who wasn’t Asian, nor has it ever taken that long to get a simple one-color gel manicure, or cost that much without upsells or extras ($100!). She would literally paint one nail at a time and have me cure a single digit under the UV lamp. By the time she was done, it was nearly 7pm, and she had to unlock the door and pull up the gate to let me out. They aren’t in a shady area, so I’m not sure why they have all the security measures. Perhaps it’s bc she’s a young girl working by herself with a single customer on a Monday night!

All that to say, in the 3 hours I was there, the TV was on and playing a Netflix reality show I’d never seen before. I asked the nail tech if she knew what the show was, and she said in her heavy Russian accent, ‘No, I don’t have internet at home.’ 😳 An hour into the show, I realize I’m watching Love Is Blind. You guys. After 3 hours of watching the show, I am invested.

The show claims to be an experiment that tests whether love is blind, and if people can fall in love based on personality, rather than appearance. Contestants talk to each other in private pods for 10 days, and can only see each other after they’ve gotten engaged (!) in the pods. After that period, they spend time together, including with friends and family, and decide whether to get married.

I’m 6 episodes deep into season 10, and I would be genuinely surprised as fuck if any of these couples actually get married.

The one Asian contestant is paired up with a guy who looks very similar to this fuckboy I used to mess around with from Hollywood. And his one complaint about her is how disorganized she is 😳 I’ve seen this movie before, and I know how it ends – I suggest you run, girl.

Anyway, unlike the nail tech, I do have the internet at home, so I can just watch Love Is Blind there! Any recs for nail salons in SD would be appreciated 💅🏻