Face Behind the Blog

Rosemarie tagged me to participate in The Face Behind the Blog meme. Basically, the instructions are to create a series of photos to show yourself in a light people don't normally see. Since I talk incessantly about being a mother, I thought I would go another direction today. If you would like to participate, consider yourself tagged.

I'm not that great at determining kids' ages, even looking back at photos of myself. I couldn't tell you exactly what year this was, but I'm guessing I was about 6 or 7 here, making it 1976 or 1977. The one thing that is clear from this photo is that I'm not quite old enough to keep track of my both of my mittens, as my mother has tied them together with that variegated rainbow yarn that was once all the rage. In theory, the string was supposed to run through each sleeve and behind my back inside my jacket, making the yarn invisible and keeping my mittens on my person at all times, but in this photo I seem to have found myself in a bit of a snag.



This must be from about 1984 or so, judging from the George Jetson-style remoteless television with VHF and UHF knobs and the VHS tapes in the background. I was probably 13 or 14. I see there are streamers hanging from the ceiling in this photo, so I was likely decorating for one of my last sleepover party extravaganzas with childhood friends. You know the stuff -- truth or dare, pillow fights, and stuffing yourself with junk food. If we got really wild, the Ouija board would come out until we were thoroughly freaked out and couldn't sleep. We never did contact any dead celebrities but did hear from a few angry, dead D-listers. Thankfully, this was the last year I was built like my little brother.



This was taken the summer after my senior year, right before I packed my things and moved into the dorms at University of Oregon. I was still 17. I believe the necklace I'm wearing is my honor society key (Nerds!). I am showcasing my very first refrigerator of my own as if I'm on a very sarcastic version of the Price is Right. It produced ice the size of sugar cubes that melted in seconds. However, I read somewhere recently that the U of O dorms were recently voted the worst college dorms in America, and there is no doubt in my mind that I could have left the trays on my desk in the winter and manufactured the same ice cubes in a mere 10 minutes without any electricity at all.



This is a 1990 photo of a clinically depressed girl with VERY big hair. My braces are still affixed to my teeth, but in this photo I forgot about them and flashed a fake smile (my lips are tightly closed on the previous photo). The girls with me are from my dorm. I used Aqua Net on my hair at this time. On one occasion around this time I was on my way to breakfast in the cafeteria when a boy from the next dorm asked if I had been drinking. Sadly, he had merely caught the scent of the isopropyl alcohol in my hairspray. It's a good thing my friends didn't smoke. I would have gone up faster than Michael Jackson did in that Pepsi commercial. Oh, and I'm sorry about the ozone layer.



A photo of my first trip to Paris, France. How I found myself there is a really long story, but it was all because I picked up a Heavy Metal Magazine at the grocery store. I spent a lot of time alone on the streets of Paris but was saved by a great-uncle, who gave me some extra money for cab fare, and a boy named Christian I met in a club who ended up taking me sightseeing and then home to meet his family. None of them spoke any English, which made it very interesting, but I accidentally stayed with them one night (I was exhausted and fell asleep). They were quite hospitable and didn't chop me into pieces for fois gras. His mother seemed to adore me. When I left, of course, I was madly in love, but I never saw him again. I cried on the way home. It was worth every single tear.



Another photo of a now very lonely girl. This is the one-room flat I lived in while I finished up my classes to be a medical transcriptionist. I shared a kitchen with four older men who either had substance abuse problems or were on the lam. I learned never to approach them from behind without making a lot of noise. Despite their quirks, they were fiercely protective and very sweet. They also scared any potential suitors of mine away.

This is also the day I graduated from my medical technology classes. I'm opening a gift. This photo makes me a little sad. Only one of my friends knew I was graduating that day and only because she worked with me and found out. I didn't want anyone to know, but she and my family came to celebrate with me. I had been hired back in my hometown, packed up my things shortly after this was taken, and moved back to where I came from.



Age 24. I'm back in my hometown, and I'm happier. My two best friends are with me again. Here I am at Shaena's house clowning around with a bottle of tequila. Since her husband fought fires in the summer, I practically lived with the girl while he was gone. Things were definitely looking up at this point. Oh, and I'm not working for $5 an hour and living on catsup burritos anymore. Those college classes were a good idea after all!



Me in drag in my office on Halloween, probably around 2001. Age 31. In case you were wondering, I make one really FUGLY dude.



A photo of me today. Yes, I chopped my hair off for the summer.

I stopped chasing happiness and am working on nurturing it here at home.



There you have it. The face behind the blog.