Pet Peeves

I shaved my head for ROTC Advance Camp, and most of it never grew back. A fair trade when I think of the hours saved in a barber chair and by being able to brush my hair with a towel.

Mission, I think the key is for you to start the conversation and take it in a direction that they don't want to go. If you do it properly they won't want to talk to you at all.

I have found that talking about my time in prison when I had to suitcase my shank up my butt in my toothbrush case to get through the metal detectors when coming back from the yard. That will probably stall all conversation in 90% of scenarios.

If it doesn't, they will ask what you were in for. Always tell them that it was just a misunderstanding that you are not comfortable talking about and that all of the blood from those kids will always haunt you.

Funny you should mention prison. My dental hygienist started talking about working for the state prison system and how terrible it was. The treatment became quite a bit rougher the whole time as she was recounting working there.

My pet peeve are posts that are really long. I never read them. We don't need a book. Just make your point and hit send.

Quote: DRich

Mission, I think the key is for you to start the conversation and take it in a direction that they don't want to go. If you do it properly they won't want to talk to you at all.

I have found that talking about my time in prison when I had to suitcase my shank up my butt in my toothbrush case to get through the metal detectors when coming back from the yard. That will probably stall all conversation in 90% of scenarios.

If it doesn't, they will ask what you were in for. Always tell them that it was just a misunderstanding that you are not comfortable talking about and that all of the blood from those kids will always haunt you.
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If you skip the toothbrush case, you can bring in two shivs. Food for thought.

Quote: Mission146

My pet peeve ...
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some thoughts:

* don't get your hair cut by a 'stylist' ... go to a barber shop

* tell people you are retired, even when you are just in-between-jobs

* women generally will ask too many personal questions when they first meet you, etc. Recently I sat down to talk to a guy I hadn't talked to in a while at a fundraiser. A woman also sat down a minute or two later, someone he knew I guess. She asked what I did for a living?.... how many kids?.... what did you do before your retired?... where did you move from? etc etc ... and she couldn't take the hint that she had asked enough. She asked more than these, I can't remember them all. I really think she wanted to ask about my net worth! Pathological need to know, related to a need to compare and judge. No, they don't have to single.

naturally I fled as soon as politely possible and my visit with the guy was over too. So, sir, I think you got off easy with the stylist!

Quote: Mission146

My pet peeve is hair stylists who feel the need to make small talk.

Almost universally, they ask what it is you do for a living. Of course, I could be honest and say, "Writer," which they would interpret as, "Unemployed." Even if they didn't interpret it as unemployed, then there would be follow-up questions, which would be an even worse outcome than her just assuming I'm unemployed. What I usually end up doing is taking a subject that I know a good bit about (in case of follow up questions) and then lie and give myself some nuanced occupation within that subject for my own amusement.

Maybe I'll just say, "Unemployed," from now on, which will make her feel awkward and then she won't want to talk anymore.

Also, are all of these hair stylists single? Is, "What do you do for a living?", just a proxy question for, "What is your annual income?" I simply don't understand the purpose of the question. The only useful information that the answer conveys is roundabout how much I make.

It's also not a question that opens up a return in kind because, since I am sitting in her styling chair, I already know what she does for a living.

My most recent hair stylist told me all about her upcoming vacation (which I didn't care to hear about at all) the first time I saw her and then told me all about said vacation (which I still didn't care to hear about) the second time around. She is the first to cut my hair in a certain way to make it less evident that I am thinning on one side, so I think I'll stick with her, even though having to talk to her detracts substantially from my experience as a customer.

I don't get my hair cut as often as I would otherwise like to. Perhaps they will come up with an AI bot that can cut hair one day. I'm tired of being interrogated every time my hair gets too long.
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Pretty much my exact experience, I get my hair cut half as often as I’d like to as a result. Had a barber when I was a younger man I liked, now all the barbers nearby really aren’t prepared to cut a white guys hair unless it’s a buzz cut which I could do myself.

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: Mission146

My pet peeve ...
link to original post

some thoughts:

* don't get your hair cut by a 'stylist' ... go to a barber shop

* tell people you are retired, even when you are just in-between-jobs

* women generally will ask too many personal questions when they first meet you, etc. Recently I sat down to talk to a guy I hadn't talked to in a while at a fundraiser. A woman also sat down a minute or two later, someone he knew I guess. She asked what I did for a living?.... how many kids?.... what did you do before your retired?... where did you move from? etc etc ... and she couldn't take the hint that she had asked enough. She asked more than these, I can't remember them all. I really think she wanted to ask about my net worth! Pathological need to know, related to a need to compare and judge. No, they don't have to single.

naturally I fled as soon as politely possible and my visit with the guy was over too. So, sir, I think you got off easy with the stylist!
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Why would a barber shop be any different? The only place near me that advertises itself as a, "Barber shop," is also a female barber. Besides, why would I want a guy to cut my hair, anyway? I usually try to avoid differentiating between the genders, but I definitely don't want a dude physically close to me (and sometimes making accidental direct contact) if my alternative is a woman.

Also, I'm not going to Regis, or anything goofy like that...this is just Sport Clips, or that sort of place. It's not technically a barber shop, but it's not high-end, either.

If I say I'm retired, then she's definitely going to think I have money, so that's the last answer I'd ever give.

Quote: Mission146

Quote: odiousgambit

Quote: Mission146

My pet peeve ...
link to original post

some thoughts:

* don't get your hair cut by a 'stylist' ... go to a barber shop

* tell people you are retired, even when you are just in-between-jobs

* women generally will ask too many personal questions when they first meet you, etc. Recently I sat down to talk to a guy I hadn't talked to in a while at a fundraiser. A woman also sat down a minute or two later, someone he knew I guess. She asked what I did for a living?.... how many kids?.... what did you do before your retired?... where did you move from? etc etc ... and she couldn't take the hint that she had asked enough. She asked more than these, I can't remember them all. I really think she wanted to ask about my net worth! Pathological need to know, related to a need to compare and judge. No, they don't have to single.

naturally I fled as soon as politely possible and my visit with the guy was over too. So, sir, I think you got off easy with the stylist!
link to original post

Why would a barber shop be any different? The only place near me that advertises itself as a, "Barber shop," is also a female barber. Besides, why would I want a guy to cut my hair, anyway? I usually try to avoid differentiating between the genders, but I definitely don't want a dude physically close to me (and sometimes making accidental direct contact) if my alternative is a woman.

Also, I'm not going to Regis, or anything goofy like that...this is just Sport Clips, or that sort of place. It's not technically a barber shop, but it's not high-end, either.

If I say I'm retired, then she's definitely going to think I have money, so that's the last answer I'd ever give.
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2 bits for a haircut and a prostrate exam. (When bits were quarters).

When your hair stylist asks your occupation, tell her you're a rectal surgeon. Someone once did this to me, and it really chills the conversation. I did finally ask "Why did you choose that?" and his response was that his father was the first rectal surgeon in the state. And then there was nowhere for the dinner conversation to go.