Insider of a Nail Salon

Here’s a link to a video of what typically happens in a nail salon by Anjelah Johnson.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsWrY77o77o

My first job was being a manicurist, and it’s still my first job. After I graduated high school I went to nail school for approximately two and a half months. I finished nail school right before I went to college. I took my written and practical exams a month later and obtained a manicuring license.

Everyone thinks that it’s cool that I do nails. All of my friends always want me to give them manicures and pedicures. The most famous question that everyone asks me is… “Do the workers talk shit about the customers?”. I laugh when they ask me this because it is true that we do talk about you, but only sometimes.

Reasons for us to talk about you are:
1) You complain.
2) Your nails are disgusting and smell.
3) You ask to scrub your feet more than we should.
4) You don’t tip.

The majority of workers in nail salons are Vietnamese. The reason why the vast majority of them are Vietnamese is because they can take their written exam in Vietnamese. When they immigrate to America, it’s hard for them to find jobs because they can’t even speak English. So their best option is to do nails for a living.

I enjoy working at a nail salon because it’s good money, and it’s a great part-time job.

Lastly, if you don’t want them talking about you, here’s a tip for all you folks: DON’T do the things listed above!

SEX-u-ality

Here I am procrastinating, sitting at home on a Thursday night writing my blog entries, and watching my boyfriend play “Defend Your Castle” on the Wii game system.

In class on Tuesday, my group decided to pick the topic “identity”, and my keyword was “sexuality”. Sexuality can pertain to many different meanings such as: masculinity and femininity, heterosexuality and homosexuality, the quality of being sexual, or physical relations between the sexes.

According to Jeffrey Weeks, sexuality is more a product of history and the mind rather than the body. It is true that history affects the outcome of what the world is like today. Back in the day, young women would wear short skirts, apply excessive makeup, and treat sex in a casual manner. The term “flapper” was coined in the 1920s around the period of liberalism to describe those young women. Although the flapper era ended and didn’t last through the Great Depression, it definitely influenced the sexuality of women in later decades.

Look at the world today… many young girls are dressing and acting promiscuous at such a young age. I know and have heard of girls at the age of twelve and thirteen losing their virginity and being sexually active. It’s extremely shocking to hear those things, and I wonder how it’ll be like ten or twenty years from now. Will people start having sex at the age of ten?!

The concept of heterosexuality and homosexuality is another component of sexuality. Heterosexuality is considered normal while homosexuality is abnormal. But today, people are more open about their homosexuality because people are willing to accept it now. I’m not against homosexuality, and it’s fascinating to see how the world’s sexuality is developing these days.

Masculinity and femininity also plays a role in sexuality because it depicts whether one resembles a male or female. If you saw a man wearing tight pants and makeup you would think he’s feminine and gay. On the other hand, if a woman was wearing baggy shorts and had short/boy cut hair you would think she’s masculine, and maybe even call her a dyke.

Sexuality is a part of one’s identity because it tells a bit of who they are. I’m a heterosexual, which means I’m attracted to men. The way I dress, look, act, and carry myself resembles femininity more than masculinity. All of these components are a part of my identity because they make up who I am.

The Hunt for "New Keywords"

When class ended, I was on my way to the bookstore to purchase the required text “New Keywords”. I was texting and walking at the same time, so my attention span was pretty minimal. As I was walking down the steps, I suddenly felt myself tripping. I said to myself, "Oh, don't fall. Don't fall. Don't fall." Luckily I had a fast reaction and quickly jumped off the step and landed on two feet before I actually tripped. I thanked the lord that I did not fall on my face because that definitely would have been humiliating. Not only humiliating, but painful too.

Approximately five minutes later I made it to the UC Davis Bookstore. I was standing in the locker area and noticed that every locker was taken. I thought to myself, "Ha, yeah right! I'm not waiting around for no stinkin' locker. It's not like I'm going to steal something." So I just walked through the store with my handbag. I was searching for the text under the UWP 101 Section, but I had no luck. My eyes were moving continuously around in circles in a clockwise direction and it started to hurt, but “New Keywords” did not appear to be anywhere in sight. I recognized a classmate, and it was apparent that we both could not find this text. It is very frustrating when you can't find something that isn't even hard to find. I mean it's a writing textbook for crying out loud! After several minutes of searching, my classmate finally found it and pointed me into the right direction. The text was under the English section instead of UWP 101. The workers there need to fix that because "New Keywords" should be under the UWP 101 section since it's a required text for the UWP 101 class, not English. I was flipping through pages of multiple books because I wanted one that did not have any writing or notes written on it by previous owners. I like my books to be untouched by pens or highlighters so I can take my own notes in them.

I was looking at the contents page and the list of topics seemed very interesting. I’m looking forward into reading, analyzing, and interpreting the contents in this text. There are many words in this text that I don't know about. I'm also looking forward to all the debates we'll be having because I know there will be conflicting opinions and ideas amongst everyone.