In Search of a Thesis
Why is it that I can't communicate with hair stylists? Funny, I'm able to talk to 150 students twice a week, even able to get them to understand what Ivan the Terrible's Oprichnina is all about, and have them write reasonably intelligible papers about the Petersburg myth in Gogol's Overcoat, but i'm ENTIRELY UNABLE to get a hair stylist to understand that I want layers and not just a plain old trim and that saying NO to having my hair flattened along my face means that I actually don't really want that look.
Somehow none of that got across and 40$ later, I emerge from the "salon" with exactly the same DO i had before, minus a few split ends.
I'd blame this on the Midwest, or the Hamlet, but this has happened to me before. Why is it I can't talk to these people? And then, inevitably, the question of my job comes up. And inevitably, they ask (curiosity? nature of the beast?) how many HOURS i work. I should just lie and say 80, which is what it amounts to. But instead, I tell the truth and say 6. And they're appalled. Stare at me in disbelief, look at me like I'm true, unconditional sloth, and the conversation has problems picking up after that.
So, I can tell you all about Catherine the Great, can talk about the Petersburg myth for ages, can go on and on about Avvakum (love the dude! nothing like writing your own damn Hagiography! think i'll take that up next. The Life of St. Midwesterngal, as Herself, by Herself. coming soon to a bookstore near you.) I'll be the first Jewish Saint. Yeah! keep your eye out for that one:) I can talk about anything Russian, even to an audience who doesn't even know where the country is, and yet I can't manage to get a simple message across to my stylist.
Maybe it's because I don't have a THESIS STATEMENT when i get my hair cut! That's it! In lecture, I have no problem getting my idea across, cause I come ARMED and PREPARED with a thesis statement, an argument, and tons of Evidence to back it up! I'm invincible!!!
How to come up with a thesis statement for my next hair appointment? hm...first need to make a claim (want more layers). Need to weigh the options (more volume, body, pizzazz [sp??]), present a logical, hierarchical argument and support it with convincing evidence (highlights contours of my face, no more split ends...) OH YEAH baby! Here I come!
That's it! Approach communication with Hair Stylist as an academic exercise. Arrive armed with a THESIS. woohoo! This might be the first time i've spent $$ on a thesis statement though. I'm kinda getting used to getting PAID for this stuff:)
Somehow none of that got across and 40$ later, I emerge from the "salon" with exactly the same DO i had before, minus a few split ends.
I'd blame this on the Midwest, or the Hamlet, but this has happened to me before. Why is it I can't talk to these people? And then, inevitably, the question of my job comes up. And inevitably, they ask (curiosity? nature of the beast?) how many HOURS i work. I should just lie and say 80, which is what it amounts to. But instead, I tell the truth and say 6. And they're appalled. Stare at me in disbelief, look at me like I'm true, unconditional sloth, and the conversation has problems picking up after that.
So, I can tell you all about Catherine the Great, can talk about the Petersburg myth for ages, can go on and on about Avvakum (love the dude! nothing like writing your own damn Hagiography! think i'll take that up next. The Life of St. Midwesterngal, as Herself, by Herself. coming soon to a bookstore near you.) I'll be the first Jewish Saint. Yeah! keep your eye out for that one:) I can talk about anything Russian, even to an audience who doesn't even know where the country is, and yet I can't manage to get a simple message across to my stylist.
Maybe it's because I don't have a THESIS STATEMENT when i get my hair cut! That's it! In lecture, I have no problem getting my idea across, cause I come ARMED and PREPARED with a thesis statement, an argument, and tons of Evidence to back it up! I'm invincible!!!
How to come up with a thesis statement for my next hair appointment? hm...first need to make a claim (want more layers). Need to weigh the options (more volume, body, pizzazz [sp??]), present a logical, hierarchical argument and support it with convincing evidence (highlights contours of my face, no more split ends...) OH YEAH baby! Here I come!
That's it! Approach communication with Hair Stylist as an academic exercise. Arrive armed with a THESIS. woohoo! This might be the first time i've spent $$ on a thesis statement though. I'm kinda getting used to getting PAID for this stuff:)