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.

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.

 

 

Tall Girl in Mexico (Bueno!)

I did it! I went to Mexico and was successfully the tallest person in Puerta Vallarta (well…on the Marina anyways…I actually did meet some tall boys downtown so I suppose I can’t declare myself the Tallest Tourist).  What an amazing and wonderful trip!  Let me first start out by saying that I don’t speak any Spanish.  I know the words for beer, bathrooms, hello, and thank you.  Honestly, that’s it.  But the Mexicans were so kind and most were bilingual.  The ones that weren’t bilingual, we did the head nod dance but usually figured out what we were talking about.

Ridiculous, silly, funny, smart, talented, beautiful, loyal and downright amazing…that’s the awesomeness that I’m surrounded with here ( Melissa, Michelle, Me, & Robyn)

I went to Mexico with 3 girls that I’ve known forever and will know forever.  I won’t let them go and they won’t let me go.  We usually plan something once a year (or try really hard) and since this year there are 2 of us turning 40, Mexico seemed like the perfect ‘girls’ trip.  We zip-lined (pictured above), snorkeled, tasted a lot of good and bad tequila, played with monkeys & Mexican raccoons (true story), laughed copious amounts, got tan, and enjoyed each others company.  The world feels right when you are with good friends and that’s how my week went.  So many funny stories….

First and foremost, I caught up with my girls.  We all live so far away from each other and life gets in the way of phone calls and emails (Seattle, Denver, & Madison) so I feel like we are connected again.  I feel more centered myself because I connected with my ladies, I definitely was overdue.

Our last night in Mexico…and we didn’t sing karaoke. BUT we did drink beer while laughing and talking on the beach. Way more important!

I will say that my height was of definite ‘interest’ while in Mexico.  I’m not even sure of how many pictures I took with shorter people or even of how many times it was our opening conversation piece but we don’t care, we use it to our advantage.  There were so many free drinks that I’m almost embarrassed to try to guess how many, but it’s vacation so it’s to be expected, right?

Oh, and I should mention: The Timeshare Presentation.  We did it and got some free stuff along with an amazing room upgrade but it was brutal.  The original 90 minutes promised was really more like 4 hours.  However, we brought vodka (again, true story) and we made frequent bathroom trips so our presentation almost seemed silly by the time we were done.  In case you were wondering, we didn’t sign up to own a timeshare.

There were a couple of things that really stood out for me.  Zip-lining was huge.  I’m terrified of heights but by the time I was done, upside-down and spinning is how I careened over the 500 foot ravines.  All while screaming with bloody delight!  And I had a blast on one of our downtown nights as well.  Sometimes you just meet the right people/person at the exact right time and the fun simply begins….oh, and when you get a lap dance on your snorkeling cruise, that kinda makes your day too.

My favorite night out! Met fun people, had fun times….oh to do it again!

If I had a ton of time (and an ‘A’ on my keyboard…long story but one of the cats clipped it with his nail and now I’m short an ‘A’) I’d write about almost all of my adventures.  Some are dear and can’t be shared, some may and most likely will make me cry, and all are precious.   But suffice to say the trip was AMAZING!

I think our next trip is a back packing and possibly Spa adventure.  I’ve decided I need a goal to help whip my butt into shape and Mount St. Helen’s is a perfect hiking opportunity (not gonna lie, I also dearly miss the NW and this is a way for me to get back in a meaningful manner).  This fall may find 4 of the most fun, fearless, hilariously awesome chicks hiking up the NW’s most prized volcano.

So to recap, Mexicans are short and I am tall.  ‘Nuff said?

Tall Attitude

I have an attitude every day of my life (my mother will vouch for this) and this morning was no exception. It started out like any other day…

I walk to work anywhere from 6:30-8:00 am depending on when I get up, what my schedule looks like for the day, and to be entirely truthful, my level of motivation. Lately, I’m all about work. So this morning it was about 6:45 and I was walking near the capital.  I decided that I wanted to stop at Walgreens to pick up some eyeliner.  I’m leaving for Mexico in about a week and it wouldn’t behoove me to run dry on eyeliner on my trip. Now Walgreens doesn’t open until 7:00 so I loiter out front for a few minutes.

I was minding my own business, playing ‘Tiny Tower’ on my iPhone and I hear this voice very clearly say to me, ‘Why you gotta be so Tall?’

In all honestly, I wasn’t in the mood.  It was early and I didn’t want to think about what clever comeback I could come up with.  So I chose to ignore it.

Again that voice, ‘Hey you!  Why you gotta be so Tall?’

I could feel someone crowding my space so I made eye contact with a very, very short woman who was glaring at me as if she had a personal problem with my height.  Immediately, I took offense.  I probably didn’t help the situation when I sniffed (probably arrogantly), looked her up and down, and turned away.

She got angrier, ‘I’m talking to you and I asked you a question?’

Softly I responded, “I heard you.  I figured that you couldn’t be that stupid to ask someone twice your size, a dumb question like that.’  I sweetly smiled and went back to playing on my phone.

She started to say more so I looked up and made eye contact again.  This time I wasn’t smiling.  Oddly enough, she moved on.

I am a nice person.  Way too nice, in fact because I tend to give people far more credit than they deserve but this woman got under my skin.  I ended up not getting my eye-liner.  I guess this means I’ll have to go back.  I should also mention, this did not ruin my day.  I actually told this story in a couple of my meetings and it got people to laugh, so all in all, I chalk it up to yet another Holli-experience.

Big hat, polka dots, water, and a smile. Now that’s a happy face!

Dear Tall Men (Where are you?)

I have a t-shirt just like this, it’s part of my dating criteria.

An update on this thing that is sometimes referred to as ‘Dating’:

I’ve been on Match.com for a little over 3 months searching for my other half and I have to admit, I’m sorely disappointed. I know I said I was going to have low expectations and high hopes and I really tried, but I couldn’t help but get excited every time I saw an email from a member of Match. My hopes were dashed each time. My entire life, height has never been an issue when I’ve dated. I’ve never cared about the height of the past men I’ve dated because I don’t want to miss out on a great personality. But this time I decided that I want to date ‘up’. I decided this because my last boyfriend was my height and I have to admit, I loved it. I want that again and unless some guy completely wows me, I need someone close to my height.

I’ve had 67 winks, 28 emails, 14 guys have favorited me, and my profile has been viewed over 600 times.  Setting aside the couple of guys who emailed me and I consider them to be friends, not a single guy has caught my eye.  At first I thought some of the guys were kidding around when I got an email from them and saw their profile.  But, I sent emails back just to be nice (most of the time).  And when I say kidding around, what I mean is they had profile pictures that they had obviously taken themselves either in the bathroom by a mirror or without a shirt on.  Very unprofessional.  But I tried.  I thought, “Hey, he’s probably really funny”.  Well, I’m here to tell you that they weren’t funny.  They were serious and a couple of them didn’t have jobs, or ambition, or a sense of humor and were actually quite disgusting.  Total flop.

I even emailed back the guys that obviously couldn’t read my requirements and were only 5’10” or 5’11”  Again, my mistake.  Wow.  I’d like to say what a total error this entire Match.com experiment was but I’m trying to remain positive.  It’s a delayed success.  Obviously I’m not meant to find my match, on Match.

Now on the other hand, I can’t expect the guys to do all the work so I probably should’ve emailed or winked at more guys than what I did.  I’ll admit, I only reached out to 5 guys.  None responded.  None.  Not a very big boost to my ego.

I’m not sure why, but this picture seems to be the perfect picture to insert right about now.  Please note the butcher knife in my head.

Back to square one.  Well, kind of.  I guess you could say I didn’t really start out at a square at all.  I’m trying and I guess that’s the hard part.  One step at a time.

I caught a lot of flak for this the last time I posted about it.  The height thing that is. That’s okay, I’m a big girl and I can handle outside opinions.  But I’ll tell you, it’s what I want. I’m looking for a TALL GUY!!!  While I appreciate the opinions, I’ve had 39 years to figure this stuff out.  So (cute, fun, hilarious, etc) Tall Boys….come out of the wood work!!!  I’m waiting….

An update:  I’m adding on one more paragraph because the one thing I didn’t mention in this whole article is my height.  For those newbies that may not know, I’m 6’4″.

So you wanna start a Tall Club, eh?

You’re tall.  You feel like you hang out with a lot of tall people.  You think it would be fun to start a tall club.  So you talk to your other tall friends and everyone seems to think it would be fun and a great idea.  Now what?  Well, that’s what I’m here for!  I’ve got the inside info on how you can start your very own tall club and also how you too can become affiliated with Tall Clubs International.

The basic requirements:

1. Men must be a minimum of 6’2″ and women must be a minimum of 5’10”.
2. All members must be at least 21 years of age.
3. Start-up clubs should be active for 6 months prior to application for membership
4. Minimum membership prior to application for membership is 15 members.
5. TCI annual dues are $3 per member, minimum of $45, due in January of each year.

The basic steps

1. Name your club and elect officers
2. Publicize your club (Facebook, Twitter, Meet-Up, etc)
3. Begin having regular meetings and social events to attract more members
4. Write your bylaws (samples available)
5. Open a bank account and start collecting dues to fund events
6. Once you have 15 members it’s time to apply for members ship!  (you must have authorization by a majority vote of your members directing the club president to seek membership through TCI)
7. Contact TCI’s Vice President of Membership (tci-membership@tall.org) at least 60 days prior to the annual convention (usually the last weekend in June) to submit your application for membership.  You will need:

• Letter of Application from your Club President
• Letter of Sponsorship from another TCI club in good standing (find one that’s close in proximity to you or perhaps make friends with someone in a club OR contact me and I’ll direct you to someone close to you)
• Send a check for 1/2 of the annual dues (minimum $22.50 for 15 members)
• List of founding members (Include: names, officially measured height barefoot, zip code, and email address)

If all is in order, your new club will be nominated for membership at the annual Delegates meeting during Convention.

Some of my tall club members at Convention in Las Vegas in 2009 when I won Miss Tall International.

Why should I become affiliated with Tall Clubs International (TCI)?

• Charity–TCI is affiliated with several charities so your funds go to some great charities such as Marfan Syndrome and Habitat for Humanity.
• Parents–TCI is a little like your parent.  You have your local club and then TCI above your local club.  It’s a great dynamic.
• Parties–do you like to party?  Yeah, me too.  And so do many of the TCI members.
• Tall People–do you like to party with tall people?  Yeah, me too…..see where I’m going with this?
• Tall Stores–what better place to swap stories about tall stores or even better swap clothes.  Or how about this, many tall stores offer discounts to members of TCI!!!
• Miss Tall International–Are you single, female, and always wanted to wear a crown and a sash?  Perhaps you should consider running for Miss Tall International.
• Ummmm…FUN–I don’t think I need to expand on this

Me and my tall friend Jan. This was taken at a Tall Christmas party!

Now, if you’d like to start a tall club please do!  If you would like more information on this please feel free to contact TCI Vice President (currently Genie Williamson) at tci-membership@tall.org.

I can also assist if you would like to contact me at misstallgirlramblings@gmail.com.  I can direct you to clubs near you or directly to TCI for further assistance.