Pet+Peeves

Pet Peeve Example (taken from [|Complaint Box Series in the NY Times])

= Complaint Box | Public Grooming = 

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When I was growing up, back in the days when the express train beat the local, straphangers were content to pass their time in transit with a good book or a crossword puzzle. Occasionally, I’d encounter the loud talker, the nose-picker or someone who had to free themselves of a wedgie. Hey, we’ve all been there. =====

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These days, if someone seated near me on my morning ride is putting on makeup, someone else is clipping his fingernails (and, on one odd occasion this summer, a toenail). Or they’re plucking eyebrows, tying ties, squeezing pimples, even spraying perfume. There are those who just have to bathe themselves in lotion. Others are brushing their hair. It’s the full monty, commuter style. =====

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We’re all strapped for time. If a person cannot manage to keep personal business personal, then it’s time for a major life overhaul. Yes, it’s hard to juggle life’s obligations. But, for the record, I don’t want to see others plucking their eyebrows or flossing their teeth. I hate to see myself doing it. I also don’t want to be in the cloud of cologne wafting through the air by the mad spritzer sitting 20 feet from me. It irks my allergies. It takes only a few extra minutes before bedtime or in the morning to tend to personal hygiene, which becomes much less hygienic when it’s done on the subway seat where some vagrant just spent the night. =====

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Each season, as summer turns to fall, I hope the cooler weather will end the sideshow. While a cold spell puts some public groomers on ice, others will not be deterred. Last week, on a Manhattan-bound F train, I saw a man combing his hair. When he was finished, he pulled the hairs from the teeth of the comb and sprinkled them on the floor like he was seeding a field. And recently, on my way home to Queens, a woman seated near me on the E train decided it was an appropriate place to remove her nail polish. =====

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I blame YouTube. A modern-day Circus Maximus, the video networking site makes a public spectacle of private moments. Compared with watching a stranger give birth or seeing a man you’ve never met faint during his own nuptials, popping open the new deodorant you just bought at Duane Reade and applying it on the platform of the uptown No. 1 train (you know who you are) is tame. =====

//Lion Calandra lives in Kew Gardens, Queens, and is a freelance copy editor for an Internet content provider.//
= //STEP ONE (With a partner)// =

=//With your partner...//=

**Questions** | Answer the following questions in your writing notebook.

 * 1) What do you think about “public grooming”? Is it one of your own “pet peeves,” or do you think it is acceptable? Why?


 * 1) What do you think the author’s tone of voice was when he said “Maybe tomorrow you can shave your legs on the train” to the woman who had just finished flossing her teeth? How can you tell?


 * 1) What connection does the author make between public grooming and modern media, such as YouTube and reality television? Do you agree or disagree?


 * 1) Have you ever groomed yourself in public? If so, would you think twice about doing so after reading this essay?


 * 1) =What "worked" in this essay (How did the author "hook" the reader in the beginning? How does he keep the interest in the middle of the essay? How does the author end the essay?) =

= //STEP TWO (Individual)// =

==//**Look at the pet peeves (things that bother you) that you listed in the beginning of class and choose one in particular (you may choose a brand new one if you thought of something different). **//==

//**We are going to do some more writing about your choice! In your writers notebook, open to a new page and title it "My Pet Peeve." Answer the following prompts using your pet peeve: **//


 * Write a few descriptive sentences about why this particular thing really irks/bothers you.
 * Think of 1-3 examples of times when you observed someone engaging in this behavior. When did it happen? Where did it take place? What exactly did the person do? Describe the scene as vividly as you can.
 * Have you ever addressed the person doing this thing directly? If so, what did you say, and what happened? If not, why not?
 * What are some reasons why people engage in this behavior? Are they aware that it is bothersome to others?
 * What factors might foster this behavior? How might people be dissuaded from engaging in this behavior?

= //STEP THREE (With a partner)// = = = =__//Pet Peeve Examples//__=

==//Choose ONE of the following pet peeve examples and "analyze" it using the "[|Opening up the Complaint Box]" sheet (answer in notebooks)//==

//[|"Rude Sales Clerks"]//
= //STEP FOUR (Individual)// =

3. What did the author do in the writing that kept your attention?
===4. List THREE examples of how the author explained the pet peeve (did he use personal examples? if so tell me what they were. Did he use things that frustrated him? If so, tell me what they were. Did he use humor or sarcasm? If so, tell me specifically what he said!)===

//5. Remember that your work represents you! Be proud and confident in what you write :)//
= //STEP FIVE (Everyone, Large group)// =

//When you are happy with the piece, post it to your blog!//
Lesson taken from [|NY Times Education Section]