I have had a lot of interactions in the past few days that make me wonder how good I would be at robbing a bank. Okay, so I have really been wondering how different I can really look from day to day and only just came up with the bank robbing idea now. But seriously, if I could rob a bank and get away with it, that would be a pretty good Plan B if grad school does not work out.
Anyway.
Saturday I went skiing with a group of people. I knew my friend, her husband, and another friend's husband/boyfriend/fiance (long story). Then there were four people (men, in the event you find their observation skills relevant to the story) who I have never met. When you ski, you try to stay all warm with hats and big coats and gloves and ski masks and you cover your mouth and nose if possible. You do not see a whole lot of the actual person with whom you are skiing. BUT, in addition to skiing together, we hung out getting ready and packing up without all that gear on, and we had dinner together when we got back to my friend's house.
Then, as I conveniently live about 0.3 miles from her house, I ran home to shower and change before the rest of her birthday festivities that night. THREE PEOPLE with whom I had spent a significant amount of time that day did not realize that I was the same person. One woman who had joined us for the dinner part introduced herself to me again, and I explained we had met 2 hours earlier (nicely, of course, because I thought it was funny); one guy talked to me for a good 20 minutes before I referred to skiing and he realized who I was; the third guy actually did realize I was me quickly. A little bit to their credit, I had blow-dried my hair and was wearing my glasses and was no longer wearing goggles...or a hat...or ski clothes that make me look twice my size.
I actually did not think much of it, as I had only just met these people. Tonight I went to a Dean of the College-sponsored faculty lecture. The Grad Dean, who I see nearly weekly and communicate with frequently due to my position in the graduate student government, did not recognize me at first, or for about 30 seconds following at first. She was like, "Oh! Jenny! I didn't even recognize you!"
Ummm...Why not? I did recently get a hair cut, but it is the same style that I have had for months; I am not wearing my glasses today; this woman sees me frequently. I should take pictures of me in different states and then poll my readers, but I do not have the time or energy tonight.
I guess chameleons change their skin color and blend in. Is there a creature that changes its appearance without necessarily blending in? Apparently, that is me.
6 comments:
Oh.. wow... LOL I was reading the blog and going to add you to my blogroll and then I realized who you were :)
That's very odd. From the photos you've posted, I can't say that I see much variation from one to the next. Hmm... If it bothers you, try dying your hair purple. Then everyone will remember you. ;-)
This is quite strange.... maybe you should go about wearing a "Hello, my name is... Jenski" nametag when it is important that your identity be known?
Always wear the same clothes. That way even if you put your glasses on or change your hair, people will always recognize you. As a bonus, if you make those clothes very distinctive, even strangers will begin to recognize you.
I can understand someone with whom you spent the day skiing not recognizing you. Heck, I've seen photos of friends of mine in ski gear and if they are with someone else too, I can't always tell who is who.
But the faculty member not recognizing you is another matter. Glasses or no glasses shouldn't really throw a person off _that much_. I guess some people don't have a memory for faces.
Ron, that was a close one!
Spark, I did try dying my hair blue once...I'm okay with looking similar in all my pictures. Maybe I just haven't been around observant people recently.
Molly, remember when I tried to dye my hair blue? :)
Carolyn, am I allowed to wash them? Maybe just buy lots of the same thing so it looks the same?
Danielle, I think I was just out of context for the faculty member. That's what I'll assume at least.
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