I made a decision sometime in the last year not to cut my hair until I pass prelims. It seemed to have a kind of romantic/biblical appeal at the time. Now it seems like a hasty promise. Look how much my hair has grown in the last year.
2008:
2009:
In recent consultation with my adviser it seems that due to the foreign language debacle, I will have to take courses next fall and put off taking prelims until next December or January. In general, this is a good idea because I'll be able to prepare more (and find a dissertation topic). But that adds another year of hair growth from now, about six months longer than I had planned on when I thought going Samson was a good idea.
The last time I had hair this long was when I lived at home and my mother did it for me every morning. I'm in need of some serious help. What can I do with my hair for the next thirteen months??
14 comments:
You could just tie it up in back and cover it with a headscarf if it gets too annoying...
Wow! Your jair grows fast. But I think you were already aware of that.
I have been resorting to french braids a lot lately. It's coincidental you should mention this as yesterday I had a short moment of desire for a pixie cut again; I'm tired of always pulling my hair back. Or being told that my hair looks better down by people who don't have hair that slowly grows horizontally throughout the day.
Perhaps highlights or something? But then there are roots. ...
I'm not sure if I'm helping, sorry.
What "foreign language debacle"? I thought Strasbourg took care of that.
Annfred: I guess I could go for the babushka look . . . I need some headscarf then.
SallySue: One major problem with long hair is that I can't braid hair very well and my own not at all. I thought about highlights, but if I were to actually went somewhere to get it done, the temptation to have my haircut would be too great, I'm afraid. Also, Matt completely sympathizes with hair that grows horizontally throughout the day.
Cowboy: Strasbourg did take care of it, but I had to take French because they wouldn't count Farsi. If they had counted Farsi, then I wouldn't have to take an additional semester to get my major coursework done.
That's pretty lame. The UW German Department Graduate Program Booklet doesn't make any restrictions as to which specific language, so the regulations are on your side:
5. Ph.D. candidates must demonstrate that they possess reading knowledge of at least one language other than English and German within one year after completion of the M.A.
Good luck at any rate.
Newt would say a bun. It's easier to glare at your students with one.
Linus: They wouldn't let me count Farsi because it had been 3 years since my last class when I started the program. In such cases I would have to take a test which doesn't exist for Farsi, so in that sense they are anti-Farsi. It's a strange rule to me because it is supposedly there so that you can do "research" for your dissertation in that language but there are plenty of students who don't finish their dissertations until many, many years after taking their language credit.
Venom: I need to figure how to secure a bun. But I don't think I'll every figure out how to do the Gretchen Glare.
I have the perfect solution: I could move in with you and "do" your hair each morning. When you complained each time I pulled your hair I would say that was in my job description. Sweet!
Or you could abandon the hairy pledge and give up chocolate or fried cheese curds until prelims instead. Mutti
Maybe give up fried cheese curds, but not chocolate!
(This is Thora)
I struggle with hair - I love having long hair - except I never did anything with it, and it takes time to care for it. But now with short hair it's too high maintenance, needing haircuts all of the time. When you find the perfect hair length, can you let me know? Hey, maybe your original hair is the perfect length.
I'm all about not keeping promises when they're not important - so I say go ahead and cut it. Hmmm, now I sound like an oathbreaker, but I promise I'm not that lame.
Teach Matt to braid--just a simple braid at the nape of your neck. Or there's always the "messy bun" where you put it in a ponytail, but the last time you pull it through the elastic, don't pull it all through and then twist the ends so that they're evenly distributed around the bun. You can do it down low at the nape or high up. Does cutting bangs count? Long, straight hair look great with some blunt bangs.
Speaking of Farsi, remember when we were in that Persian music group? I still can't believe I got to do something that cool.
Another Mutti comment, actually the "no-brainer" ultimate comment that ends all discussion! Change your name to Crystal Gale - you'll get more gigs for your Bluegrass group and no one will worry about the hair. Just learn to flip it a lot.
Mutti (1) and Cowboy: I could possibly give up fried cheese curds (only had them twice this semester) but I could not give them up.
Mutti (1) and Thora: I would give up my promise if some of my fellow grad students didn't know about it already. If I do find the perfect hair length, Thora, I'll let you know. The picture from 2008 was not perfect in that it was not quite long enough to put in a ponytail, but long enough to get in my face.
Emily: Thanks for the ideas. I tried to get Matt to braid my hair last year. Since one of his hobbies is knot tying, I thought it would be simple, but there were too many individual strands of hair for him. Maybe I need to try harder. Right now all cutting is out (including trims), but bangs are starting to tempt me. Also, I will never have another professor like Lloyd Miller.
Mutti (2): Hah! I was going to post something about my childhood ambition to become Crystal Gayle, but Matt didn't know who she was so I guessed that most of my readership wouldn't either. But really, when has that stopped me before?
I remember why I don't do bangs with long hair - I have a cowlick right in front that can't be tamed by any product known to science.
Post a Comment