Um, thank you?

so, the other day, i was talking to a couple of women and when i told them that i was wanting to go to cosmetology school to become a hair dresser, they both congratulated me. one of them said their mother has been a hair dresser for 20-some odd years. while the other lady was mentioning that i had an adorable haircut, the first lady interrupted. i didn't catch the first part of her sentence and i do believe now that that was the key to understand where she was going with the rest of her conversation.

confused? let me explain.

like i said, i didn't hear what she said at first, all i heard was,"...it's different, though. i mean, it's not smooth like other haircuts. it's very choppy on the side, especially in this one area." as if describing it in that way wasn't enough, she then used her index finger to point out the area of hair she was speaking of.

ask anyone, i am normally not a person lost for words. but, at this point, i was taken back. i mean, what am i suppose to say to this??

now, i don't know if this was a back-handed compliment. you know what i mean. it's like someone saying,"wow, susie! you have lost so much weight! for awhile there, i was worried about how big you were getting. but, now i see you have all that 'letting yourself go' under control...good for you!"

or was she trying to give me positive criticism because she thought i did the haircut myself? like a watch-out-for-this-mistake-next-time sorta' lesson.

the thing that was really odd for me was that i just met these two ladies about 30 mins. prior to this comment. i just barely met this woman!!

my friend, nat, and i talked about these type of people before. there are just some socially awkward people out there who, after just 5 mins. of meeting you, thinks you to are their new best friend and are comfortable enough in your friendship to be brutally honest with you. they are the ones who would have no problem punishing your kids, telling you that you don't look good in that color, or would explain (in detail), about their latest appointment with their gynecologist, all with barely knowing your name.

sometimes, you just feel sorry for these people (i met a lady at work who told me she had a husband who was verbally abusive, a mother who wouldn't speak to her and was bouncing checks all within hours of our first shift together). these people are craving attention and aren't getting it elsewhere. they are desperate for companionship, so much that they will latch onto complete strangers. it's sad and we try to be as gentle and kind as we can to these people.

but, other times...these people just irritate the crap outta' you! i was on an airplane that the cabin felt like it was 110 degrees because it just came from the hanger and hadn't had time to have the a.c. kick on. the man next to me, after seeing me use a magazine to fan myself told me,"it's all in your head. if you'd just act as if you're cold, you'd be cold."

i, politely, told him that mental blocking works with some people in some situations, but, for me, no amount of imagining an iceberg was going to make me stop sweating.

he then added,"well, then your not trying hard enough! anyone can do it!"

if my memory serves me correctly, this was also the man who, when he discovered i was lds, said,"mormon, huh? you guys are weird!" normally, i agree with this comment. we are weird and we do belong to a weird church. it doesn't hurt my feelings when people point this out to me. but, at this moment in time, while i sat, sweating like a pig at a luau and counting down the minutes until my plane landed in amsterdam, i was irritated.

this is the moment that flashed in my mind when i was told my hair was "choppy" by this woman. and, again, what can you say to this? what can you say to someone who is so far beyond the line of stranger to stranger etiquette that you're dumbstruck?

so, you might be wondering what quick witted comment did i say back to this lady? nothing. i just smiled and went back to filling out my paperwork. that's not to say that i didn't privately wished karma would be on my side and, someday, stick this lady and no sweat glans, airplane man together on a broken down elevator....that'll show'em!

p.s. natalie, i don't care what she said, i still LOVE my haircut!