I remember the first time I noticed Green Nails. I was looking lazily into the shop windows as I walked from one side of the CVS shopping center to the other, and suddenly saw, to my surprise, there was a nail salon there. At the time, there were few customers inside. But when I stopped inside earlier this week for a manicure, they were entirely occupied and I was placed fourth in line. Another queue had formed behind me by the time I took my seat for a manicure. It's been a few weeks since my last manicure, which meant the thing I dread: Cuticle-cutting. The manicurist made this potential …

One hangnail and two torn fingernails after my last stop in the Main Street Manicure tour, I stepped into Ann's Nails on Main Street in Madison. I'll say this for Ann's Nails: They make an effort to get noticed. Besides the large sign advertising the business (with black letters against a white background), they also have a neon window sign with their phone number and false vines with hanging grape bunches, with electric lights fitted in each grape. Even when you're not looking for it, you can't help but notice it's there. I walked in almost at closing time, half expecting to be turned away. …

It happened again. All I did was reach for my computer, and half my thumb nail tore off. Amid squeals of pain I made my way to Nails By Mark in Chatham, where the manicurist went to work repairing the damage. Nails by Mark is almost tough to find if you are not looking for it. A modest sign above the door is almost overpowered by the surrounding signs for Gabriella's Ice Cream and Farley's Place. When it starts pouring rain, though, suddenly you find any place to duck into and escape. The salon is as unassuming inside as it is outside, with stations spaced for privacy and not crammed together…

Two weeks ago, I got my nails painted a bright hot pink color. It was something a little more audacious than what I usually get, so when I went to Jane's Nails in Madison for a manicure this week, I looked around for a more subtle color. I knew the bottle I wanted the instant I saw it. It was a light, soft pink, the kind of color I've worn before when I want to have my nails painted, but not necessarily have the whole world know. It's translucent, barely a step above clear nail polish, and exactly what I was in the mood for after two weeks of wearing such a garish color. I am actually rather …

I have a secret. A secret which has followed me all my life and caused me endless embarrassment. It has been noticed by teachers, parents, babysitters and friends. I bite my nails. I bite my nails when I'm nervous, when I'm anxious, when I'm trying to remember something, when I'm waiting in line or when I'm making lists in my head. I bite them without noticing and without thinking. And that's not all. My nails break constantly. The act of reaching for a doorknob or pulling my computer out of its case often has injurious consequences for me. Even turning the car keys in the ignition can end in…