My TALL Identity was stolen!

Yep…you read that right.  And at first, I had no clue what was happening.  Let me set the scene.

A couple weeks back I had gotten home from work and was checking emails (as I normally do), when I received a ‘Thank You’ email from a source called FetLife.  They were thanking me for signing up with their community.  I took no note of the email because I figured it was just another junk mail that had gotten through.  I hit the delete button and thought no more about it.

Two days later I started receiving crazy, through what looked like Facebook, messages.  But I was only being notified of the message through my email, I never actually ‘saw’ any of these messages through my own Facebook account.  Again, I passed them off as junk.

These messages were highly sexual in content and it looked like they were responding to a message that I had initiated.  Say what!?!

After the third day I realized something was weird so I googled FetLife.  It stands for Fetish Lifestyle.  It’s a community for BDSM & Kinksters (taken from their page).  Someone actually took the time and made a profile FROM MY FACEBOOK PICTURES AND MY PUBLIC INFORMATION to create a TALL fetish page for…me.

By this time, I’m mad and I want it taken down, immediately.  But I had no idea where to start.  Thankfully, the caretakers at FetLife sent me an email stating they wanted me to verify my profile (I’m not quite sure how they knew my profile was bogus, but awesome job!).  I responded right away asking them to take it down because I did not place my profile on their website.

So…wow.  I’m oddly flattered and ticked at the same time.  I guess we all should be watching our social identities at lot more carefully.  That’s my lesson for the day.

Tall Girl on TV…

So, let me put this out there right away:  I’m not going to be on TV.  However in the past couple of months I’ve noticed a dramatic uptick in the number of emails I’ve received from ‘TV Producers’.  Over the past few years since I started writing on the Tall Blog and since I joined Tall Clubs International (and won the Miss Tall International pageant), I always seemed to get a request or an email about once a month from someone indicating that I should contact them regarding a new, exciting TV show about Tall people.

The first time it happened I was SO EXCITED!  I was living in Portland at the time and this is also during the time when the TLC show ‘Little People, Big World’ was really gaining momentum.  I thought that maybe I had a shot of becoming a hit reality series especially since the Roloff’s live right outside of Portland.  I could totally relate!  That new star could be ME.

Me…on a bike! Cool.

The producers and I exchanged many emails and I sent multiple videos answering their many questions.  I thought I was a shoe-in!  This went on for several weeks.  And then….nothing happened.  Each day I’d excitedly check (and re-check) my email until one day I finally realized that I wasn’t going to be a star.

Now fast forward several years later, multiple emails later, and many videos later.  I’m still not on TV and I’m not as naïve to the process.  I still think I’m quite funny, witty, and totally TV material…but I’m not on TV.  And actually now that I’m a little older (and wiser?  Yes, definitely wiser) I think I have good material to be on TV, but I don’t think I should play myself.  But that’s a whole other blog.

What I find interesting (and definitely a learning experience) about this whole process is the direction that each of the producers wanted to take the series.  Lonely, TALL woman can’t find a man because she’s so tall.  Woe is her.  Well…that’s not real life.  It might be real for some women, but it’s all about choices.  This makes me digress into another quick story.

I could’ve been on TV.  Right after I moved to Madison, WI in the fall of 2012 I got an offer to be on the Steve Harvey show to be part of a dating show.  They asked me to be the Tall Girl and they would have 3 Tall Guys that I could pick from.  They would then film a ‘Dating Game’ if you will, and the winner and I would then go out on a date.  Which of course would be filmed for TV.  I declined the chance to be on the show citing my brand new job as my main reason, but I also wasn’t completely comfortable with another outlet providing the message that Tall Women can’t get dates.  That seems to be the usual message.  Hmmm….frustrating.

So I suppose the whole purpose of this blog isn’t to stop producers from emailing me.  Quite the opposite in fact.  Keep those emails coming, however let’s focus on real life.  I’m a normal person who happens to be a little taller than most people.  That’s it.  For now let’s continue with all of the glorious adjectives that describe me….and we’ll also go with the fact that I’m normal, but taller.

More Tall Times as a 6’4″ Woman (Additional thoughts…)

You know, lately time seems to be flying by. Summer came and went. I’m not even sure we had a Fall and now 2014 is almost over. I’ve been busy the past couple of months shopping for the holidays and looking forward to spending time with my family next week.  We’ll play poker, Life (for the kids…right, we all love the game), drink some drinks, lounge on the couch, watch sports, and usually laugh a lot.

So recently I noticed an uptick in views of one of my past blogs (What it’s really like being 6’4″ and a woman).  I’m not sure why or how, but I’m glad people are reading and as usual, I should be writing a heck of a lot more.  Anyway, I went back and re-read my blog, I thought, “Huh, there’s a few more things I need to add.”

Yes….this is an older picture, but it simply makes sense here.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love being tall and there are few things that I dislike about my experiences however let’s talk about those ‘few’ experiences.  That’s really what you want to know about right?  And of course I should disclaimer this with the comment that these are my opinions but I’m going to assume that many others feel the same.

1. Going out for Happy Hour.  You’d think this would be a fun one, right?  Well, it is but there’s this place by my work which we tend to frequent (Genna’s – which BTW, it’s really great so please don’t think it’s not!!!) but the tables are SO SHORT!!  I feel like a giant when I sit down at a normal table. I look around and everyone else looks…well, normal.  In my head I’m an adult sitting at a child’s table and I’m certain that’s what I appear to everyone around me, even if I am an adult in business clothes.  Silly?  Maybe.  Real feelings?  Absolutely.  Usually I’d much prefer the bar-stools and bar-tables because they are taller, but you start to get larger groups and the taller tables don’t work.  And then when the warmer weather hits and you are outside, it’s the tiny tables outside….Sigh….then the whole world sees the big girl sitting at the small table.

2.  Being around other Tall People.  Okay, this is going to be a controversial one so buckle up and hear me out.  I almost feel like I need to bullet point, this one out because there are several points I want to make here in order to make sure I get my points across clearly and try not to piss off too many people.

• Tall people when they get around each other, tend to want to commiserate about all the bad stuff that happens to tall people — this is gospel truth as I’ve lived it and breathed it.  I love tall people.  But we want everyone to feel our pain and when we spot another tall person we want to talk about how hard it is to (pick one): find clothes, go anywhere and not get stared at, listen to the comments about giants, date, fit into cars/chairs/elevators/whatever!
• On the flip side, we want to be the tallest in the group.  We won’t admit it, but secretly when we see another tall person we stand taller, we size them up, and we judge them.  Oh yes we do….we want the attention because by now in our lives we’ve grown used to it.

3.  The creeper shorties….I’m not sure how much detail I need to go into here, but I’m quite certain that if you are tall and online, you know what I’m referring to.  And I’m not only talking about one gender, this goes for both men and women.  Daily I get hit up on Facebook by weirdos wanting to know my height/weight/shoe size (shoe size?).  It’s now starting to spill over onto my LinkedIn account which I really resent because this is my professional account.  Honestly people.  I DO correspond with many people when I have time however I don’t want to correspond with those interested in information I consider out of my ordinary.  Go find someone else.  If you are normal, funny, tall, and want to chat….awesome.  But the second you start that weird crap.  BYE.

4.  Talking sports…ugh.  Okay, I played sports in elementary school, junior high, high school, and college.  And I’m tall.  But that doesn’t mean that every person gets an automatic pass to discuss my athletic prowess as well as their kids.  I enjoyed playing sports for the most part but it’s not a big part of my life now.  I smile and nod but can we talk about something else for a change?  Not all tall people like sports and conversely, there are some short people who really like sports.  Go talk sports with them and we can talk about books.  Or beer.   Or BOTH!!

Have I fully offended everyone?  Height is personal and everyone has a different experience.  If you feel differently, awesome.  Read (or don’t read) my thoughts, think about them, reflect on them, and then move on. But if something resonates with you, even better.  A shared experience!

Maybe I’ll think about more of the good stuff, because that’s what I like to talk about.  That’s for next time!

Happy Hollidays!  (see what I did there?)

Tall Girl and the Wedding

Let me just put this out there right away…my sister’s wedding was AWESOME!  Not only did I have a wonderful time, I gained another sister.  Pretty amazing.  But that’s not really what I’m here to talk about.

Me, Hilleri, and Heather (Bride). What a fun bach party!!  And let me emphasize, FUN!

I’m here to talk about my dress.  Did you know that this was my 12th wedding? Yes,  I’ve been in 12 weddings and it’s one of the most treasured activities that I think friends/relatives can ask of you.  I love it.  Being part of the center of attention, being able to speak in front of everyone and tell great stories about those getting hitched, and simply just being part of everything….oh, and waving at everyone while you are walking down the aisle.  I love that.  I’m a little odd, I get it.

But anyway, back to my topic.  Let me tell you a little bit about my dress (it’s below, and sorry about the blurriness. I made the picture larger so you could see it better).  My sister and I got our dresses online and we loved our dress, except mine was a bit short for my liking.  Could it be that I’m about 6 inches taller than the typical customer?

The dress actually had a built in panel underneath (thankfully) that was hidden and the layering made the dress appear a little longer.

My bridesmaid dress. Love it! But it seems a bit short for me. (notice the cats?)

Do you know how difficult it can be to purchase an off-the-rack dress to wear for a wedding?  Don’t worry, I won’t go completely off the rails about all of the difficulties that I had particularly since I wanted to match my sister (and we have totally different styles).  I simply wanted to whine just a bit.  It’s a pretty great dress, isn’t it?  BTW…I feel like I should mention, this is my fitting of the dress.  This isn’t the day of the wedding.

Now, a bit of a funny story.  Because I’m me and although I love to dress up and get the whole ‘face’ on, I was worried about how short this dress was, particularly when I bent over.  I didn’t want anyone seeing my ‘lady-bits’…okay I had on underwear so I didn’t want anyone seeing my underwear…SO I wore my mesh gym shorts underneath.  Yes I did.  It was pretty awesome when I’d had a few drinks and started flashing people!  (sorry mom!) Ahem.

So to recap, the wedding was amazing and I have a new sister.

I know that the tall, formal dresses probably aren’t on the horizon for any retailers since I can’t imagine that the demand is too high.  But it sure would be nice to be able to walk into a store and find something that fits all my limbs.  (I’m whining again)

On that note, it’s been a busy summer/fall and I’ve been traveling quite a bit for personal and for work.  I’m always looking for tall stories and although it seems they’ve been a bit sparse recently, I’m hoping they’ll pick up.  Fingers crossed.

Tall Girl in a Wedding!!

Before you go thinking it’s my wedding, let me put aside that notion.  Mr. Tall Girl is proving himself quite elusive, although believe me, I’m still on the lookout for him.  (He’s out there.  I think.  Maybe.  I hope?)   I’m SO VERY proud to say I’m standing up for my sister, Heather and her fiancée, Noelle, this fall in Minneapolis, MN. Woo-hoo!

Now for those that don’t know me, this will be my 12th wedding.  Yes, you read that right 12.  I have been honored to have been in 12 weddings so far in my life.  I love weddings.  Period.  Love them.  I love being a part of them.  I love standing up, dressing up, waving as I walk down the aisle (at this point, I’m very comfortable walking down the aisle), the presents, the champagne, the wedding speeches, the tears, the dancing (I dance…a little), and THE BACHELORETTE PARTY!  Or parties, plural, as I believe a girl should really celebrate her pending nuptials multiple times.

The first wedding! I was 21 years old. See how my height was ‘hidden’?

The hard part about being in a wedding has always been finding a dress long enough.  In the past I’ve gone to many, well-known bridal stores and they charge an extra $100 for the length in my dress.  But my sister is making is easy.  She said, “Get whatever you want.”

There will be two of us standing up for my sister (so far, anyway) and we’ve started looking for dresses.  Yay for being forced to shop for pretty dresses!  Crap – did you see the girly-girl in me just come out?

Here are 6 more of my bridesmaids dresses! We put them to GREAT use at my 30th birthday party. F.U.N.   (Side note:  My hair is SO short!)

Another tough thing about being in weddings is…the height difference when you walk down the aisle with your partner.  Some weddings it’s a big deal.  Others, not so much.  I don’t think it will be a big deal in this wedding since we are all very tall.  And my sister, while a perfectionist, doesn’t care about this.

I am so incredibly excited about this that I could just pee my pants!  We have a shower coming up and a bachelorette party later this summer/fall (he he….look out MPLS/St Paul!).  To celebrate love…and I get to wear a pretty dress.

Now, let’s get working on my date for this big event.  It’s never to early to start thinking about my ‘Arm Candy’.  😉

Where have you been Tall Girl?

*Sigh*

**Double Sigh**

I’d like to say that there’s been something so exciting, so important, that all of my time over the past 5 months has been taken up by this ‘mysterious’ activity. However, this would be a lie. A big, fat, TALL lie.  I took a break.  I’ve spent the last few months working, reading, getting knee surgery, and trying to figure out what I wanted to write about.

This is me and my friend Angie (she’s awesome), I did celebrate St Patrick’s day this year and here’s proof I got out of my cave once!

Now that probably sounds silly, right?  I always have some tall topic to discuss but it seems lately, I’ve ran dry.  Personally, I think it’s me.  Normally I tend to look for the right situations and I haven’t.  If I’m in a store, I stare at tall people till we have a conversation.  Or I think I unknowingly invite my homeless posse to chat but  I’ve been keeping my head down and ‘living’.  But of course, for me, that’s not living unless I’m sharing what’s going on with me.

So, hopefully I’m back on the wagon, the writing wagon.  I’m much happier when I’m baring all (my thoughts).  Okay, enough about that…let’s talk some tall.

This has been a tough winter in Wisconsin.  It’s been snowy, cold, icy, freakin’ cold, and I’ve stayed inside most of the winter.  That’s no joke.  But when I did go outside for groceries or wander the malls or even hit up the tavern for a drink, I’ve not seen ANY tall people.  Where are you WI tall people?  I know you are here.  Sadly, I think they all hibernated through the cold months and hopefully now that the temperatures are ever so slowly warming up, I might see an occasional tall sighting.

Twice in the past month at the local Wal-Mart (don’t judge, it’s close, cheap, and I like to go there to get some walking in – this knee thing has been killer on me) I’ve been accosted by an elderly person to discuss my height.  That’s been pretty fun.  Although both times I’ve been un-showered, makeup free, and generally unkempt.  So not in a way where I’ve actually wanted to have a conversation.  But a smile is a form of ‘beautification’ so I worked it as best as possible and talked tall with my charm on full force.  Seemed to work.  And I did help another woman in Bed, Bath, and Beyond when she mistook me for a sales person.  That one still confuses me because I had on an Old Navy fleece and yoga pants.  So….I got her toilet seat off of the top shelf, smiled, and thanked her for her patronage.  I’m a good worker.

Hopefully this long separation from my blog hasn’t been too painful on you (dear reader – if there is anyone reading).  I’m going to do my best to write more.  I know one thing for sure, it makes me get out of my house to go in search of those ‘fun’ tall conversations and in all honestly, they light up my day.

Til next time.

Tall Shrinkage

Let me first start off by saying I’m 6’4″, dammit!

Now let me get into the story… I’ve been to the doctor quite a bit recently.  I started working out this summer to try to work off some of the LBs I gained over the past year and I was having some trouble with one of my knees.  Well, both actually, but one more than the other.  So I went to the doctor and that’s where the trouble began.

Usually when you go to the doctor one of the first things they do is take your height and weight.  After 4 trips to the doctors office, they kept describing my height anywhere from 6’2″ to 6’3″ and 1/4.

The nurses finally settled in at….. 6’2″ 1/2.  ARE YOU KIDDING ME?  That means I’ve shrunk and inch and a half.  I blame the short nurses for being unable to see the height chart.

I was once measured at nearly 6’5″!  In fact, I still have my high school height/weight measurements.  When I was 18 my high school gym teacher measured me at nearly 6’5″.   What the heck happened?  Is it gravity?  Is it because I’m 40?  *sigh*

Junior high through high school…Wow!

I’m really not happy about this.  I want to be 6’4″.  I don’t want to be 6’2″.

And another thing, even though I’m lighter than the above weight chart (neveryoumind), the inch and a half shrinkage now means that my weight has less room to move.  Aargh!  Seriously, this isn’t funny.

I want to be 6’4″.  And hang out with celebrities because of my height.  See below:

I nearly blocked Shaq’s shot…true story (kind of).

And lounge in my jammies with champagne:

Me hanging out with Hugh.

Okay, that’s technically not really Hugh…or is it?  But seriously, I want my height back.  Period.

Does being Tall bring the excitement? (spoiler…yes)

The other day a girl at work said something that has resonated with me all week. She said, ‘You lead the most exciting life. I love hearing about all of your adventures!’ I was taken aback. I think that I’m pretty boring, in general, only because I still don’t consider myself to have much of a social life here in Madison.  My typical night includes reading, walking, maybe a glass (or two) of wine, surfing the internet, and maybe the tv on in the background.  Oh, and watching my cats chase each other!  Boring stuff.

But then I got to thinking…I’m pretty good at finding the ‘fun’ in my life when those weird situations pop up.  You know, like ALL of those people who comment on my height.  I throw my arms around those situations (not the people) and milk it for everything I can.  Homeless people, vendors at work, co-workers, randoms at the store, etc.  Everywhere I go I can pretty much count on someone saying something.

I went to Bed Bath and BEYOND over the weekend to buy a new comforter.  (And in case you’re wondering, the one I purchased is so awesome I’m showing a pic, below)  And I was asked not once, but twice to assist with grabbing something off the shelf.  That’s 2 times people!  I made social contact because of my height, twice, with complete strangers.  And it was pretty amazing because we giggled, than laughed heartily when I dropped the item, and then we stared longingly into each other’s eyes….okay, I go too far sometimes.  That didn’t happen. The thought does make me giggle though.

This is the Seasons Reversible, Down Alternative. In Red.

I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve received an ego boost when someone asks me if I used to be a model or if I’ve ever done any modeling.  I always say yes as I hand them a folded up picture from…okay, again, I go too far.  No.  I never modeled. Although for the record, there was that one time in the tenth grade when I did a photo shoot to enter a modeling contest.  (I’m being serious)  My mom and her friend had a couple of drinks and thought that it would be a great idea to enter me.  I didn’t win.

Oh, and I LOVE it when I pass by a little kid.  Recently, I over-heard a youngster say about me, ‘She big’.  That’s right, ‘I big’.  I can also touch the ceiling, look at your teacher’s bald-spot, and clean the top shelf without getting a step stool.  She Big.

I get asked on a daily basis where I purchase my clothes.  I’m a walking advertisement.  I like to think it’s because I’m fashion-forward and totally rad when it comes to putting together that outfit that screams ‘Holli is fabulous’ however I also realize other tall women are simply looking to see whether your hemline hits your ankle, your shoe, or the floor.  But I make that conversation exciting!  I put some punch in my comeback.  How many other women do you know have a 38″ inseam and can kick you in the face?  (I suppose I don’t need to bring up the fact I’ve got a pretty good kick but didn’t I warn you that I keep my comebacks snappy?)

Excitement in my life?  Yes.  I suppose there is some excitement in my life.  But it’s because I make it that way and I use my height as part of it.  I also use my cats.  Remind me to tell you about the time my little white, Persian Doll kitty ate some bacon grease.  He suffered some gastrointestinal distress…and he has extremely long white hair.  Diarrhea and long, white hair.  Yeah, it was a lovely morning.  But once again, part of my exciting, TALL life.

I’m not really sure what that look is. In fact, I don’t want to know.

Talk Tall to Me

There are few things I like better than ‘Talking Tall’. I love comparing stories with those like-bodied people who have funny tidbits to share. Usually in some way, shape, or form we can all relate to a tall story because we have experienced it or something similar.  Many times I will be approached by random tall people because they want to share a story with me. It’s a tall brotherhood. Or a tall sisterhood. Whichever way you choose to look at it.

My Tall Family, with a close family friend (the short one!)

But here’s the rub, when a short person asks me direct and specific questions about being tall, I sometimes find it hard to answer.  I wonder if I start spilling all of my awesomely, hilarious and entertaining tall stories, this short person is going to be at their next party saying, “So I was talking to this giant and she was telling me about her height.  She told me…” and then they relay some of my great stories.

I’m not usually very shy so I’ll ‘talk Tall’ with anyone but I find it much more stimulating to discuss anything height-related with other tall people.  I wonder, does that make me a heightist?  Short people usually don’t get it.  They try.  They will tell me their horror stories of trying to find clothes and I can’t relate.  All I can think about is how the petite sections have been around forever.  And I can’t feel pity for a short person who can buy clothes long enough and then get them tailored to fit.  I’ve even had some short people tell me they can shop in the kids section.  I’m thinking ‘Sweet!’.  The kids section has some of the coolest clothes. Who doesn’t want a Hulk t-shirt?

Talking Tall with my friend, Megan who is also 6’4″.

So I guess I don’t know where this leaves me.  I have the type of personality where I can’t stop talking to people so maybe I need to get over my reluctance to share my stories with those physically less fortunate.  Because come on, I’ve really got some good stories to share.

I’ll continue to regale short and tall alike and hope that even though both sides of the coin are dramatically different, we can all relate in some way.  And if not, then I hope I can at least make someone laugh.

 

 

Walking Tall

I’ve started walking this past week. That’s my way of starting to get in shape. I’ve been so lazy the last 2 years and since I’ve got it in my head that I’m going to hike Mount St Helen’s this fall, I need to start somewhere.

Today on my hour long walk I encountered many, many people. It’s Saturday, the weather is amazing, and the Farmer’s Market is in full swing.  Usually on my walks I put in my ear buds, turn up my music, and don’t pay much attention to my surroundings.  Today I actually paid attention and I’m glad I did because as I was walking through a huge throng of people downtown, I heard someone comment very loudly, “Look at that beautiful height!”  Then I heard multiple others agree and some really nice compliments made me smile as I passed.  As graceful as a gazelle???  Me?  I pretended like I didn’t hear, but I did, and it gave me the biggest glow from the inside.

What I find interesting is that I was about 7 blocks to my destination and just before I hit this large group of people, all I could think about was “how much my knees hurt, and that little twinge in my back, oh sweat just rolled in my eye….”  And with that one comment (and the others too), I was walking on air.  All of my little hurts were forgotten.  In fact, I probably could’ve kept going for even longer than I did simply because someone made me feel good.

Look at the joy on my face! That’s how I feel today.

I overheard a few other comments as well, mostly from young kids.  You know, the point and ‘Look at that tall lady, mom!’  I don’t mind those.   I usually wave and smile.

So I guess today is a great day to be tall.  Sure glad I am.