Photo by Jon Anderson
Diem Tran is a manicurist at the Nailtique nail salon in Cahaba Heights.
Q: How long have you worked here?
A: I just started. I just moved to Alabama from Virginia. I’ve been here since a week before Thanksgiving.
Q: What brought you to Alabama?
A: My dad had a stroke. He’s better now. That’s why I work now.
Q: Have you been in this business before?
A: Yes, my mom and dad had a salon when I was younger.
Q: What do you like about being a manicurist?
A: Talking to people. It’s rewarding. You make people happy when they leave. Their nails are pretty and shiny like a diamond.
Q: How long have you done nail work?
A: My mom and dad had a salon when I was 6. I did little girls’ polish changes.
Q: What do you think about Alabama?
A: I like it. It’s very inexpensive. No toll tunnels. No Powerball. No casino with tables. Everybody’s so sweet.
Q: Do you get to have a lot of interesting conversations with customers?
A: Yes, a lot — stuff that I don’t want to know sometimes. It makes you feel like you’re normal because everybody else has problems a lot more than you. So you’re like, “Oh, OK, my life’s not that bad.”
Q: What do you like to do outside of work?
A: I like playing with my chickens. I like playing with my goat, my five cats. I like to go to the shooting range, play pool, watch movies.
Q: That’s a lot of cats to take care of.
A: Oh, but they’re so fun. I can’t get no more though. That’s enough. I’d save them all if I could.
Q: What are your cats’ names?
A: Princess is 15. Xena is 5 months. Warrior is 5 months. Snowball is 1 year, and Lynn is 1 year.
Q: Xena, Warrior, Princess — Is that from the show?
A: Yeah, the show. I love that show.
Q: How did you get so many different kinds of animals?
A: My dad loves living off the land. We have a lot of land. He loves gardening and raising animals. It’s small right now. We haven’t been here long. My dad’s only been here two years.
Q: So you go to the shooting range. How did you get into shooting?
A: My son is in the Air Force, so that’s what we have in common. When he comes to visit, that’s what he likes to do. I also like to eat.
Q: What is your favorite restaurant since you’ve been here?
A: Mudtown.
Q: What’s your favorite dish there?
A: The shrimp and grits, the crabcakes and the burgers.
Q: Have you done other jobs besides manicurist?
A: No.
Q: What’s your favorite movie?
A: Right now, I’m watching “The Chosen.” It’s not really a movie. It’s a series, but I really like it. It’s really close to the Bible. I like that it brings the characters to life.
Q: What’s your favorite movie of all time?
A: I like “Prince of Persia” and “Interstellar.”
Q: If you weren’t doing this, what other type of job might you do?
A: Interior decorating. I’m really good at it. I love it. I love decorating my house.
