Last night I was standing waiting for an elevator with some coworkers including one who is a 6'6"ish pale, blond male (remember I'm a 6'4"ish pale, blond female). This man walked up to the elevators and said,
"Are you guys swedish tourists?"
Of course all my coworkers laughed and we told the man that we just happened to be really tall. Later one of my coworkers told me how bad she felt that the man said that. I didn't really mind. I kind of think it is really funny.
That makes twice in one week that I've been asked if I'm swedish. I can't wait to go to Sweden soon and see if I actually blend in ;)
Friday, June 27, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Oh, Cars.
For the past 5 or 6 years I've driven a car that is way too small for me. The lesson learned: don't go car shopping alone as a girl. At the time, the fact that the car was cute was enough for me, I wasn't too concerned about whether I actually fit in the car.
The garage where I park for work has parking attendants everywhere and they are always shocked when they see me walk over to the tiniest car in the garage and climb in. They have told me on multiple occassions that my car is too small for me and I need a bigger car. Thanks guys. Also, it's a running joke in my firm that I have such a small car because whenever we go to events I valet and then everyone is standing there when my little car shows up and I squeeze on in.
In August, I'll finally be getting rid of my silver bullet when I move to London for 4 months. Once I return though, I'm going to need to buy a new car and I'm thinking I should aim for something that fits me better. The three cars that I have fit the absolute best in are (1) the Honda Pilot; (2) the Scion Xb; and (3) interestingly, the Jeep Compass?
I've also noticed I generally fit ok in full-size cars (as opposed to my little 2-door sporty car), so it's not like I *have* to get an SUV. And in California, waaaaaay too many people drive SUVs who don't need them. And of course there are the gas prices and carbon footprint issues. I really like the feeling of sliding in to a car instead of scrunching down into one. I'm stuck in this constant tug of war between "get the car that is better on gas and better on the environment" and "get the car that is reasonable on gas and that you fit in really well."
I know a girl who is 6'4" and drives a Prius. So apparently, it can be done. But I've smacked the side of my head on the top of the door frame of my car so many times I'm convinced I might have brain damage.
The garage where I park for work has parking attendants everywhere and they are always shocked when they see me walk over to the tiniest car in the garage and climb in. They have told me on multiple occassions that my car is too small for me and I need a bigger car. Thanks guys. Also, it's a running joke in my firm that I have such a small car because whenever we go to events I valet and then everyone is standing there when my little car shows up and I squeeze on in.
In August, I'll finally be getting rid of my silver bullet when I move to London for 4 months. Once I return though, I'm going to need to buy a new car and I'm thinking I should aim for something that fits me better. The three cars that I have fit the absolute best in are (1) the Honda Pilot; (2) the Scion Xb; and (3) interestingly, the Jeep Compass?
I've also noticed I generally fit ok in full-size cars (as opposed to my little 2-door sporty car), so it's not like I *have* to get an SUV. And in California, waaaaaay too many people drive SUVs who don't need them. And of course there are the gas prices and carbon footprint issues. I really like the feeling of sliding in to a car instead of scrunching down into one. I'm stuck in this constant tug of war between "get the car that is better on gas and better on the environment" and "get the car that is reasonable on gas and that you fit in really well."
I know a girl who is 6'4" and drives a Prius. So apparently, it can be done. But I've smacked the side of my head on the top of the door frame of my car so many times I'm convinced I might have brain damage.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Sorry for my delay, I've got words to say!
I'm the tallest girl in my office of several hundred people. It brings lots of stares, lots of questions, and pretty much each of the other tall women in the firm (there are a couple women who are in the 5'9-5'10 range) tell me how excited they are to have me here and to not feel like the tallest girl in the firm anymore ;)
I don't mind being the tallest woman around. In fact, I'm so used to it that I almost feel challenged when another tall woman is in the room and is actually taller than me. This has only happened once or twice. Usually, it's a 6'2" girl who is used to being the tallest girl around and then I walk into the room. Half the time they love me, half the time they hate me. Because when you are the tallest girl around, for some (I'll admit, including me) it's almost like an award you start to wear proudly. It's like, if you're voted the best actress and then someone walks into the room who is a better actress than you. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't think I am.
There is a guy in the office right next to me who claims to be 6'5" but even when I'm wearing heels I'm not taller than him, so I think he might be underestimating his height which is an interesting turn of events since men usually embellish their height by 2+ inches. Anyway, when we walk into a room together, people describe it as some kind of "force" blowing toward them. Everyone at work keeps talking about how tall all of us newbies are, when really... there are about 5 or 6 of us over 6 feet out of FIFTY. And of course, to me, anyone shorter than me is short, so that leaves 3 people total who are tall.
In non-work news, this weekend I had the following two encounters:
1) Random woman in a church lobby:
"OMG YOU ARE SO TALL!" *looks down at my feet* "OMG YOU'RE IN FLATS! OMG!" *walks away*
2) Random man at a bar:
"What nationality are you?"
Me: "....American?"
"No... but like are you Swedish or something?"
Me: "I don't know... dutch and german?"
"Wow... because yeah... you are really tall."
Apparently white tall girls MUST be from a northern european country because there is no way one could be born and raised in the United States with a family that has been in the U.S. since the Mayflower? Now that I think about it, I've actually got the nationality question quite a bit.
I'm moving to London in less than two months... And I suppose it's a good thing people tend to think I'm european and not American, eh? :)
I don't mind being the tallest woman around. In fact, I'm so used to it that I almost feel challenged when another tall woman is in the room and is actually taller than me. This has only happened once or twice. Usually, it's a 6'2" girl who is used to being the tallest girl around and then I walk into the room. Half the time they love me, half the time they hate me. Because when you are the tallest girl around, for some (I'll admit, including me) it's almost like an award you start to wear proudly. It's like, if you're voted the best actress and then someone walks into the room who is a better actress than you. Maybe I'm alone in this, but I don't think I am.
There is a guy in the office right next to me who claims to be 6'5" but even when I'm wearing heels I'm not taller than him, so I think he might be underestimating his height which is an interesting turn of events since men usually embellish their height by 2+ inches. Anyway, when we walk into a room together, people describe it as some kind of "force" blowing toward them. Everyone at work keeps talking about how tall all of us newbies are, when really... there are about 5 or 6 of us over 6 feet out of FIFTY. And of course, to me, anyone shorter than me is short, so that leaves 3 people total who are tall.
In non-work news, this weekend I had the following two encounters:
1) Random woman in a church lobby:
"OMG YOU ARE SO TALL!" *looks down at my feet* "OMG YOU'RE IN FLATS! OMG!" *walks away*
2) Random man at a bar:
"What nationality are you?"
Me: "....American?"
"No... but like are you Swedish or something?"
Me: "I don't know... dutch and german?"
"Wow... because yeah... you are really tall."
Apparently white tall girls MUST be from a northern european country because there is no way one could be born and raised in the United States with a family that has been in the U.S. since the Mayflower? Now that I think about it, I've actually got the nationality question quite a bit.
I'm moving to London in less than two months... And I suppose it's a good thing people tend to think I'm european and not American, eh? :)
Monday, June 2, 2008
Bar Meetings.
I was out at a hotel bar in Santa Monica on Saturday night with some friends from work, and two different tall guys came up to me and introduced themselves and mentioned how "great" it is to see a girl at eye level.
I don't go out a lot, and when I do it's usually with my boyfriend (who is also tall) so this is not an experience I have very often. I appreciate that some tall guys are gutsy enough to approach tall girls and say hello. (I've heard from some tall guys that they're afraid to talk to tall girls for some reason or feel like they get ignored... which is probably because the tall girls are pretending to not be too excited that there is actually a tall guy in the room).
I don't go out a lot, and when I do it's usually with my boyfriend (who is also tall) so this is not an experience I have very often. I appreciate that some tall guys are gutsy enough to approach tall girls and say hello. (I've heard from some tall guys that they're afraid to talk to tall girls for some reason or feel like they get ignored... which is probably because the tall girls are pretending to not be too excited that there is actually a tall guy in the room).
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