LSA News

No. 44, August 2002

How to Untangle Your Hair

WD-40 Really Works

by Shirien Chappell

Did I ever tell you about that time I almost shaved my head? It was last summer: Clayton, Taelyn, Susan, and Karen and I were traveling north from St. George to Salt Lake City. Clayton had his wonderful Gold Wing cycle and gave each of us rides while the rest trailed behind in Susan's van. I had a WONderful ride! The weather was warm, the sun caressed my skin, the breeze ruffled my blouse, the music wafted around me in delightful coziness..... I loved his Gold Wing. This motorcycle was so big it was like sitting on a couch rolling down the freeway at 90 mph. The music system sounded as though the couch were sitting on your front porch at home and the stereo in the living room was turned up. It was wonderful.

Actually, when we started going those 90 miles per hour the breeze accelerated into wind. I opted not to wear a helmet on that ride: Utah doesn't require them and I wanted to hear the music and the wind and feel world blow through my hair. That was a bad choice for more reasons than those related to safety.

When the ride ended my shoulder-length hair was a matted frizzy knot. Not a series of knots: one gigantic tangled mass. Fingers couldn't comb it; brushes did no good, combs were laughable; it was a terrible mess. But at the time I thought it was worth it.

All the way home in my car from Salt Lake to Eugene I tried to finger comb sections of it. Mostly it didn't help a bit, but I wasn't worried: I knew when I got home that a thorough showering of shampoo with conditioner would ease the knots into manageable sizes and I would eventually be able to tease them out.

I was wrong. I sat in the tub for two and a half hours. I used a full bottle of Pert Shampoo with conditioner. I teased at strands, starting at the ends, hoping to pull little sections out of the whole; it didn't work. I had a gooey globby mass on top of my head and a headache inside it. This was not wonderful: this was a very sad day. But I wasn't totally discouraged: I knew that stores sell products for untangling hair, so I patted my oversized head as dry as I could, stuffed the clumpy hunks into a hat and went a-shopping. Got two bottles, different brands, of hair de-tangler. Sat back down in the tub, rinsed the knots again, and poured on one bottle. Tried to finger comb out a small section or two; it didn't work. I was getting nowhere so I poured on most of the other bottle and found that I still had a major problem. The most I had accomplished to this point was separating the mass into about three different clumps. I looked awful, I felt awful, but I smelled really fine.

"I'm a smart girl" I repeated my brother's battle cry. "I can figure this one out." What substance is extremely lubracative?, I wondered. What can I use to grease each individual strand enough that it could be pulled out of the knots? What will cause this jumble to slither apart into separate comb-able units? What would REAL people do in a situation like this?

I called a beauty supply store and told them my story. They had no ideas since I'd already tried the product they would have recommended. They were very sorry.

Time to switch hats, as it were, and begin thinking like a homeowner. What substance is really greasy? Salad oil? I could use that, but what if it didn't work and I couldn't get it all out and it went rancid? Skip that one.

There MUST be some substance that lubricates.... what about some kind of Teflon spray? Would it come out of my hair? Would it stick to my scalp? Would it turn my hair green? I called Jerry's. When I told them my story they declined to make a recommendation, suggesting instead that I ask a beautician. I didn't tell them that I went to beauty school in one of my lives, already knew their answers, and besides, I already called them.

I was beginning to panic. I don't know whether it would even have been possible to cut off my hair, whether I could even have forced the blades of the scissors through it. I guess I could have started snipping, as a hedge sculptor would, beginning at the outermost layers and working my way down. I'll bet I almost could have sculpted a topiary rhinoceros, had I tried. But I didn't want to cut my hair if it was at all possible.

Ok, so back to the problem: what could I use to lubricate? It's late afternoon by now, and I have to go to work tomorrow. I HAVE to solve this.

Grease. Lubricant. Teflon spray. Lard. WD-40. Soap. Pam. WD-40. Butter. Penzoil. WD-40. The hair was locked into knots.... WD-40. Kept coming back to that one.

Since I couldn't think of anything else, I got my can of WD-40 and called for Taelyn's help. He happened to have a friend over, so the three of us went outside to the front porch. I held my breath, shut my eyes, covered my face with a hand towel, and the boys sprayed. Mercy, that stuff stinks when it's being sprayed on one's hair.

Well, to cut to the important part of the story: it worked. The strands didn't magically fall out of their tangles: it did take an hour or two of careful picking and pulling, but finally the mess was straightened out, and I went back into the shower.

Half a bottle of shampoo later, my hair still smelled like gasoline. It wasn't green, however.

The next day I called Sandpiper's to ask what mechanic folks used on their hands to get rid of the gas smell. Kelly listened to my story and suggested soap, I think. Since that didn't work, I started thinking like a homeowner again. They say you can get rid of onion smell by pouring tomato juice on your hands, right? Onions are strong smelling: WD-40 is strong smelling. I didn't have any tomato juice, so I poured a couple small cans of V-8 juice over my head. Still smelled like gas, but now I also smelled like tomato juice. I washed that stuff out and tried some diluted lemon juice. That made the hair squeaky, but the gas smell remained, though it was dimming somewhat.

It's time to end this story. The final solution to the gas smell was Time. It didn't take too many daily washings before I stopped being overwhelmed by the smell, and within about a week and a half it was totally gone.

My hair never turned green. I will wear a helmet next time I go for a fast motorcycle ride. At least I'll put my hair into a ponytail and wear a bandanna.

Diversity Doings

This month's "Diversity Doings" article takes a different approach-we are interviewing a former colleague, Lee McQueen, along with an appeal for fundraising for the ALA Spectrum Scholarship Program. Lee, formerly a library technician from the Acquisitions/Serials Department, left in July 1999 for SUNY-Buffalo's library school. We caught up with Lee and asked her a few questions:

What made you decide to become a librarian?

After receiving a bachelor's degree in Political Science and Spanish, I realized there were not many open positions requiring that educational background. So I applied for a student position at the Benson/Latin-American Collection simply in the interest of paying bills. I discovered that I loved working in libraries and that I was committed to the profession. However, I knew that making an actual living wage would require me to attend library school for a graduate degree.

How did you first hear about the Spectrum Scholarship Program?

Several colleagues at Knight Library brought the Spectrum Initiative to my attention since they knew I wanted to attend library school.

What did you think this program would be like before you got started and now that you've graduated, was there anything unexpected that you got out of this experience?

I wasn't quite sure what to expect. Once I entered the program, the unexpected benefit was the extremely large network of professional contacts that I formed via listservs and face-to-face meetings. I was one of fifty Spectrum Scholars who met with librarians and business professionals in Chicago during the 2000 ALA convention. The professionals became our mentors and treated each of us scholars like colleagues rather than students. It was all very inspirational.

Why do you think it was an advantage to apply for the Spectrum Program, as opposed to applying directly to library school? Also, why did you pick SUNY-Buffalo?

I finished my undergraduate degree in 1993 and worked as a library paraprofessional for several years. I did not attend library school until 1999 because I couldn't afford the tuition. Because the Hopwood case in Texas (decided in 1996) made it illegal for Texas schools to consider race in all aspects of higher education, financial aid was hard to come by. In the meantime, SUNY-Buffalo recruited me pretty heavily. I received a graduate assistantship whereby I worked at the Undergraduate Library's reference desk part-time and received a small stipend. SUNY-Buffalo also matched the Spectrum Scholarship. This combination of recruitment, financial assistance, plus student employment made an attractive offer.

What was your best personal experience going through the Spectrum Program?

Meeting my fellow scholarship winners from the 1999 Spectrum Class and sharing dreams and goals was the best personal experience. Everyone was very excited and the opportunities for future collaborations were interesting to contemplate.

Did you find the process of finding a job easier after completing this program?

I'm not sure if finding a job was easier because of the program. I speculate that my record of community service, past work experience in academic libraries, and work with professional library organizations may have influenced hiring committees in addition to my being a Spectrum Scholar. The Spectrum Scholarship did provide the means for me to finish school, however.

What do you like the best about being a librarian? What do you feel are the major differences between being a paraprofessional and your being a librarian?

In the past, as a paraprofessional, I mostly followed a set of instructions to carry out the day-to-day processes to meet the goals of the library department. Here at Texas A&M, as a professional librarian, I create projects and instructions to meet the overall goals of the university. I have more responsibilities and more interaction with teaching faculty. Everyday is a learning experience. And that is what remains the same between being a paraprofessional and a professional librarian. I'm never bored and that pleases me.

Do you miss Oregon?

I definitely miss Oregon. I'd never seen the ocean until I arrived to Oregon six years ago. The Pacific Coast was more beautiful than I could ever imagine. Oregon is very green and there is a healthy respect for the environment. I miss the bike-friendliness and the laid back atmosphere. Texas, as you can imagine, is a totally different world. Lots of highways and trucks and SUVs.However, I think Austin and San Antonio are small jewels that match the outdoorsy atmosphere and feel-good vibe of Oregon. And Tex-Mex flavor is unique.

Would you recommend this program to someone else? Why?

I recommend the Spectrum Initiative program because it is a great way to prepare for transition into the professional library or information world. Many myths are shattered. Many questions are answered. And personal initiative and responsibility is encouraged.

What advice do you have to give someone thinking about applying for a Spectrum scholarship?

Be prepared to show a record of community service, scholarship, and dedication to librarianship and information science. The program can help start a career in librarianship and information science, but it is still up to the scholar to work hard and maintain a clear focus of what to do after receiving the push from the Spectrum Initiative. It is not a passive experience. You bring out, what you're about.

Lee can be contacted at:
Lee McQueen
Social Sciences Reference Librarian
Sterling C. Evans Library
Texas A&M University
TAMU 5000
College Station, TX 77843-5000
(979) 862-1893 phone
(979) 458-0112 fax
lmcqueen@tamu.edu
http://people.tamu.edu/~leemcq

(Editor's note: Because of a delay in publication, some readers will not receive the information below in time to contribute to this worthy cause. We apologize for this delay.)

In order for the Spectrum Initiative to continue to achieve its goal, they need the support of many who are committed to the future of libraries and the vital roles they play. The Spectrum Initiative is appealing for donations through August 31, 2002. If you would like to make a donation, please contact the Spectrum Fund (http://www.ala.org/spectrum/) directly (there is an online credit card form: https://cs.ala.org/spectrum/) or e-mail them at: spectrum@ala.org.

---submitted by Rose Thomas

FROM THE FACT FILE

When you've "done the numbers," submit your answers to Fact File. Answers must be received by September 15. The winner will be determined by the number of correct answers; "bonus points" will be calculated only if two or more contestants determine the numerical answers with equal accuracy. If, after including bonus points, there remains a tie, a single winner will be selected by lot. The winner will receive a $5.00 gift certificate for purchases at the University of Oregon Bookstore. Participation is limited to employees of the University of Oregon Libraries.

Been to an interesting conference?

Send us a brief report for publication in the next newsletter. Thanks!>

Welcome:

• Diane Kelly Haas will join Acquisitions Department as a library technician. She begins work September 9.
• Karen Munro, who assumes the duties of Literature Librarian in the Reference Department on September 23.

Goodbyes

• To Mary Weed, who has given over 23 of service to the University, 14 of those years in the Library. From 1987 to 1990 she worked in the Catalog Dept.; from there she moved to Current Periodicals/Stacks; at the beginning of 2001 she joined the staff in Administrative Services.

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Last updated: 043002
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