you work today?

Say this phrase out loud: "You work today?"

Now say it in your best Asian voice:  "You work today?"

My sister Pee (yes, that is her real nickname) and her husband SonofaDutch have a theory that goes like this:

If you receive personal grooming services from an Asian person, 9 times out of 10, they will ask only one question and it's this: "You work today?"

They base this theory on the fact that SoD's barber (who is Asian) and Pee's nail salon lady (who is Asian) both pose the question every time they go and it is also the ONLY question they have in their arsenal of customer chit chat.

I myself do not go to a barber or nail salon of any type, so I have never been able to test their theory.

However, in getting ready for summer,  I did break down and get a pedicure.  Not because I wanted to - I don't really enjoy having my feet scraped and picked at by a stranger.  I did it so as not to scare or offend anyone with my hooves, I mean, feet when I wear flip flops.

Anyway, I went to a nail place in a nearby strip mall.  I got a Caucasian teenager so I was slightly disappointed that I could not test out the theory.

Then something wonderful happened.  They started to get busy, so the owner (or owner's husband or brother or whatever he was) had to help.  He was Asian and no sooner had the lady dipped her toe into the basin, he said, "You work today?"

I nearly snorted at a very high volume.

Their theory is true!

Test it out to see if it's true for you.  I'd like to know what the statistics are out there.