I got my hair cut yesterday and this time, I went back to the inexpensive quick cut store that I had gone to back in August. When I had been there in August, I knew that they had written down the information about my hair cut and I thought it would be easy now for them to just repeat the same hair cut.
I swim four times a week and, because my hair has just enough wave/curl to it that it manages to dry rather bizarrely, I generally blow dry it at the gym. I tried growing it really long, so I could just let it dry by itself, but, at my age, long hair looks rather scraggly, so in August, I had had the long hair cut off. Seven inches of it.
[Did my husband notice? No, but that is a topic for a different post.]
At any rate, I had liked the August cut. Long enough that I can tuck it behind my ears to get it out of my face, but short enough to turn under in the back. So, I told the woman cutting my hair that I wanted the same cut that I got in August. Imagine my surprise, though, when she said that the note about the hair cut in August said "cut 7 inches". At this point, cutting off seven inches wasn't possible in most places and in others would have left VERY short hair. Not exactly an appealing hair style - even for one as style-challenged as I am.
So the question is, why would any hairdresser write "cut 7 inches" as the description for a hair cut? How is that a helpful annotation? Don't they usually write the target end product, e.g., ear-length bob? At any rate, the hairdresser managed to figure out what I wanted and the hair cut is fine.
I hope she wrote a better annotation than the previous person. This hair cut cost $17 for me, since I am now a senior citizen. The salon I went to a couple of years ago cost $85. My needs are simple - I will stick with the inexpensive hair cut, even if I have to describe it for them each time.
Tuesday, November 11, 2014
Women's Pajamas
OK, I know this isn't a normal topic for this blog, but I am thinking about it, so this is where it is going.
And, before I get too far started in this post, I want to mention that I am not talking about nightgowns. I don't care for them, as they always end up twisted in a doughnut around my waist. I am talking about pajamas, with some sort of top and some sort of pant-like bottom.
When I look for pajamas in catalogs or in stores, they NEVER have what I am looking for and I can't quite figure out why not. In the summer, they show spaghetti strap tops with shorts; in the spring and fall, they show spaghetti strap tops or short sleeved tops with long pants; in the winter, it is long sleeve tops with long pants. What I never see is long sleeved tops with shorts - and I am not sure why, because that is exactly what I want.
There have been times - when our house wasn't air-conditioned, when I was grateful for spaghetti strap tops, but most of the time, I REALLY want my arms covered. They are the part of me that is most likely to lose covering when I am sleeping. My legs almost never stray from under the covers. I have different bed coverings for the season, but I choose them so that they are the right weight for me, when I am under them. This means, I don't need long pants in the winter. Like nightgowns, long pants tend to wind up twisted in a doughnut - only this time around my knees. The comforter keeps me nice and toasty and long pants also end up being too warm.
But I need my shoulders and arms covered, for when the bed coverings slip down or I roll over. How do women in spaghetti strap tops keep their arms warm?
Years ago, my older sister mentioned to me that she bought men's boxer shorts for sleeping in. I thought at the time that that was rather strange, but I now do exactly that. I get men's boxer shorts, preferably knit, and a loose long-sleeved top. I have found women's sleep sets where you can buy just the shorts, but the shorts are too skimpy - designed to be sexually enticing and not comfortable and durable. This is a solution, but I sometimes wish, just for my own perfectionism, that the two parts matched and were pretty.
And, before I get too far started in this post, I want to mention that I am not talking about nightgowns. I don't care for them, as they always end up twisted in a doughnut around my waist. I am talking about pajamas, with some sort of top and some sort of pant-like bottom.
When I look for pajamas in catalogs or in stores, they NEVER have what I am looking for and I can't quite figure out why not. In the summer, they show spaghetti strap tops with shorts; in the spring and fall, they show spaghetti strap tops or short sleeved tops with long pants; in the winter, it is long sleeve tops with long pants. What I never see is long sleeved tops with shorts - and I am not sure why, because that is exactly what I want.
There have been times - when our house wasn't air-conditioned, when I was grateful for spaghetti strap tops, but most of the time, I REALLY want my arms covered. They are the part of me that is most likely to lose covering when I am sleeping. My legs almost never stray from under the covers. I have different bed coverings for the season, but I choose them so that they are the right weight for me, when I am under them. This means, I don't need long pants in the winter. Like nightgowns, long pants tend to wind up twisted in a doughnut - only this time around my knees. The comforter keeps me nice and toasty and long pants also end up being too warm.
But I need my shoulders and arms covered, for when the bed coverings slip down or I roll over. How do women in spaghetti strap tops keep their arms warm?
Years ago, my older sister mentioned to me that she bought men's boxer shorts for sleeping in. I thought at the time that that was rather strange, but I now do exactly that. I get men's boxer shorts, preferably knit, and a loose long-sleeved top. I have found women's sleep sets where you can buy just the shorts, but the shorts are too skimpy - designed to be sexually enticing and not comfortable and durable. This is a solution, but I sometimes wish, just for my own perfectionism, that the two parts matched and were pretty.
Wednesday, November 05, 2014
Why Class Lists Are So Important and Why My Ranting about Them Is Now Validated
I had an "exciting" half day today. It started out routine. I got there at 11:00 and the teacher went through the day with me and the kids. They don’t eat lunch there until 12:45, so they still had a long time before lunch. They spent it working on two different things on the laptop computers and were actually quite well behaved. Then, just as I had taken most of them out to recess (the one before their lunch) and I was near the front entrance, watching the stragglers, the fire alarm went off. This was a real fire and not just a drill.
Fortunately, there was one girl from my class still nearby and I got her to tell me where we were supposed to go. Also, fortunately, I had both my clipboards with me - the one with the day’s schedule and the one with the class list. There wasn’t time to go back to the classroom for the emergency folder, so we just headed out the door. At first the kids on the playground had no idea what was happening, so it took a long time to gather them up - and even so, it seemed that we might be in the wrong place, because we were randomly next to some second graders. (My class was 5th grade.) As soon as a lot of them found our group, I started calling the roll and telling the kids whose names I read to sit down. Even so, I was missing 6 kids. One teacher whose kids were all there handed me the emergency red card that is supposed to signal that you are missing some students in the class. I had had no time to go back to the classroom to get the emergency folder, so I had no signalling card.
Then the second grade teacher started yelling at my class, because they weren’t in a straight line. I was so busy trying to check to see which kids were missing that I hadn’t had time to make sure they were in a straight line. Sigh. (Note: she didn’t yell at the next class over, which was another 5th grade. They were worse than my class, but their teacher, also a sub, didn’t get the behavior lecture.)
Then, since I was holding up the red card, the assistant principal (?) came over and wanted to know which kids were missing. I showed her the list. She point out two of the kids in the special ed group. I hadn’t met them in the morning, so I had no idea who they were. She told me another student was absent (the regular teacher had, of course, taken morning attendance, but I had no idea). Finally, they called over the walkie-talkie and said that they had found 3 more of my students with another teacher. So they were all accounted for. Whew!
It turned out that there was a fire in one of the microwaves in the lunch room. It was significant enough to cause some smoke and set off the automatic fire alarms, but there was no real damage. Lunch and recess were shifted to be about 20 minutes later than usual. On the way back in, I remarked to the assistant principal that it was sure good that I had the class list with me. I then got another lecture about how I should ALWAYS have an extra class list. I have REGULARLY complained on this blog about not getting class lists at every school I go to if they don’t give them to me, so I was a bit resentful about being lectured about class lists. Sigh.
But then, after I had calmed down from being lectured twice, I realized that this experience actually validates what I have been saying about class lists. SUBS MUST HAVE ONES THEY CAN TAKE WITH THEM FOR EVERY CLASS. This means that, not only can I legitimately insist on getting a second copy if it is required that I sign the original and send it to the office for attendance purposes, but I can also insist on copies of class lists if teachers "switch" kids for math or literacy classes (or any other classes for that matter). This may not make the school secretaries terribly happy, but I understand why I MUST.
This was not a serious emergency, but you never know when one will occur. It is better to be prepared.
Fortunately, there was one girl from my class still nearby and I got her to tell me where we were supposed to go. Also, fortunately, I had both my clipboards with me - the one with the day’s schedule and the one with the class list. There wasn’t time to go back to the classroom for the emergency folder, so we just headed out the door. At first the kids on the playground had no idea what was happening, so it took a long time to gather them up - and even so, it seemed that we might be in the wrong place, because we were randomly next to some second graders. (My class was 5th grade.) As soon as a lot of them found our group, I started calling the roll and telling the kids whose names I read to sit down. Even so, I was missing 6 kids. One teacher whose kids were all there handed me the emergency red card that is supposed to signal that you are missing some students in the class. I had had no time to go back to the classroom to get the emergency folder, so I had no signalling card.
Then the second grade teacher started yelling at my class, because they weren’t in a straight line. I was so busy trying to check to see which kids were missing that I hadn’t had time to make sure they were in a straight line. Sigh. (Note: she didn’t yell at the next class over, which was another 5th grade. They were worse than my class, but their teacher, also a sub, didn’t get the behavior lecture.)
Then, since I was holding up the red card, the assistant principal (?) came over and wanted to know which kids were missing. I showed her the list. She point out two of the kids in the special ed group. I hadn’t met them in the morning, so I had no idea who they were. She told me another student was absent (the regular teacher had, of course, taken morning attendance, but I had no idea). Finally, they called over the walkie-talkie and said that they had found 3 more of my students with another teacher. So they were all accounted for. Whew!
It turned out that there was a fire in one of the microwaves in the lunch room. It was significant enough to cause some smoke and set off the automatic fire alarms, but there was no real damage. Lunch and recess were shifted to be about 20 minutes later than usual. On the way back in, I remarked to the assistant principal that it was sure good that I had the class list with me. I then got another lecture about how I should ALWAYS have an extra class list. I have REGULARLY complained on this blog about not getting class lists at every school I go to if they don’t give them to me, so I was a bit resentful about being lectured about class lists. Sigh.
But then, after I had calmed down from being lectured twice, I realized that this experience actually validates what I have been saying about class lists. SUBS MUST HAVE ONES THEY CAN TAKE WITH THEM FOR EVERY CLASS. This means that, not only can I legitimately insist on getting a second copy if it is required that I sign the original and send it to the office for attendance purposes, but I can also insist on copies of class lists if teachers "switch" kids for math or literacy classes (or any other classes for that matter). This may not make the school secretaries terribly happy, but I understand why I MUST.
This was not a serious emergency, but you never know when one will occur. It is better to be prepared.
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