Sunday, May 17, 2009

the pictures in my head

in my head i have a picture of mma ramotswe, from the no. 1 ladies detective series. that picture actually makes me rather afraid of seeing the t.v. series that was done of those books, because i'm really quite afraid it won't match the picture in my head and i don't want that picture spoiled. this is because i once had a picture of john irving in my head--it was more than a picture really, as i'd seen pictures of him--it involved a whole construction of how he was to hang out with. and then i went to hear him speak one time in iowa city and he turned out to be a really arrogant asshole kind of a guy, which almost ruined his books for me. thankfully, i got over that.

but my point in bringing this up is to say that we all do it--we formulate a picture of the people behind the blogs we read. we feel that we know people, but very often we don't actually know what they look like. me, i mostly hide behind a camera on my blog, tho' there is the occasional picture of me without. but more than a physical picture, we formulate an idea of what people are like.

i'm sure that none of you will be that far from the picture i have of you in my head, because the medium of the blog is a personal one. it's diary-style and i think it exposes a lot of who we are. so, i'm really interested to see if the pictures i've formed of you in my head will correspond to how you actually look in real life.

so, i'm going to reveal what i think each of you looks like right here and now before i actually find out in real life. i wanted to get my impressions down here, so we can compare and perhaps laugh uproariously at how wrong or right i was. i'm putting myself out on a limb here and i'm going to write for all to read what i think each of you will be like. coming up. like right now. (this is kinda hard.)

B - i have a mixed image of you in my head. your profile picture is from the back, so it's tough to know. i think i have this basic picture of you as a really natural backpacker girl--you don't mind pulling a pair of wrinkled linen trousers out of the backpack in the morning, pairing them with the easy elegance of a white v-neck t-shirt, tying on a colorful scarf, maybe just a titch of mascara and you're good to go, secure in the knowledge that you can wear those wrinkles out of the linen as the day progresses. my picture of your work clothes is similar, but minus the wrinkles and maybe with a colorful, bright skirt or two and perhaps some bold silver jewelry. but, that doesn't entirely jibe in my head with the belly dancer. but, i realize people are so complex, so i'm looking forward to seeing how you bring those two images together.

extranjera - you have a lot of funny descriptions of yourself here and there on your blog. most often eastern european and shot putter (that might be my interpretation) come up, and something about not being satisfied with your eyes, but i don't really buy that. i picture you as looking like the rock singer pink.

kristina - i'll admit that my view of you has lots to do with a general picture of swedes in my head. longish blonde hair, great-fitting, classic clothes, nicely ironed shirts, just the right shoes. you also avoid pictures of yourself on your blog, choosing beautiful scenes and pictures of your dog in motion. they say people choose a dog that looks like them, so based on vigdis, i'd guess that you are small and quick and fine-featured.

seaside girl - you are perhaps the most difficult. maybe because you've not been blogging for long and so the picture you've painted for me isn't as filled in. but because the picture i have formed in my head from your words and your dilemmas with the prince of darkness doesn't actually fit at all with your recent post on getting a cut & color. i would have thought you were really quite glam--all dark sleek hair, great makeup and while not exactly balancing around on stilettos, a fan of a good pair of heels. i can't wait to see the merel streep dungarees at blog camp tho'.

polly - the picture i have of you in my head is one that matches my pictures of favorite female professors through the years. i think because your posts have an intellectual bent and i know that you live without a t.v. (SOooo wish we had the courage to go there).  i picture you having an academic look and by that i don't mean disheveled and lacking in any clothing update since 1978. i mean blondish hair in a chin-length bob (might not be totally fair since i think you've had a couple of pictures of yourself on your blog that more or less match this), nice cardigans, business-like trousers, a really great roomy leather bag. i don't know if you wear glasses, but i picture you with glasses.

so, guys, i've put myself out there. laugh all you want. but we'll see when blog camp comes whether you match these pictures in my head. :-) and next, your voices. i wonder what they'll be like...

9 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm not saying yes or no to my description. You'll see soon enough. But I have to say that your portraits of Polly and Extranjera are really close to how I imagine them!

kristina said...

oh heavens, Julie, now I won't dare show up at blogcamp!! I could never live up to that description :-)
please don't expect small and finefeatured as I'm so very much the opposite of that.

julochka said...

B--love the mystery!

kristina--this is NOT meant to put any pressure on you whatsoever! it was just one of the things i've been thinking about, so i wanted to put it out there! and the most fun will be to see how wrong i am! ;-) so do not worry in the least!! :-)

Extranjera said...

I totally rock Pink. Or actually two or three.

kristina said...

I know Julie, it's just my own insecurities shining through :-)

Sarah said...

Your picture of B is almost EXACTLY like I had pictured her (weird).

And I see Extranjera as myself of course. Though slightly more blond and infinitely better looking.

Seaside Girl said...

Hee hee. I like the glam bit...and the hair certainly is darker now that I have had a shed load of grey dyed out of it. :-)

Unknown said...

VEG, how funny is that? You'll see photos from blog camp! Until then, I'm keeping the mystery!

Polly said...

i've been off line for way too long. great post... and probably very acurate, which is a little scary because I never considered myself a nerdish but I am an academic and I do wear glasses, unless I wear contact lenses...

I think I should blog more about climbing and biking to slightly alter my image

thanks, that was really fun to read!