Would it be fun to describe how we imagine each other or…

[Indigo Blue]

would this be a bad idea? I don’t want to do this if it’s too weird. So, fun idea or not? Some here have become like storybook characters in my weird imagination and I wonder how how accurate I would be if I described them as I see them in my mind? I don’t have enough to go on for so many of you, but for just a few I do. I think. If it’s not a good idea, I’ll just nix it. 

[KSera]

I think I recall a flipped variation of this here once where people shared their pictures and other people commented if they matched up or not, but I expect it’s a minority of people wanting to go public that way. It would be interesting to hear, but is probably fraught with potential problems 😬. 

[Indigo Blue]

17 minutes ago, KSera said:

I think I recall a flipped variation of this here once where people shared their pictures and other people commented if they matched up or not, but I expect it’s a minority of people wanting to go public that way. It would be interesting to hear, but is probably fraught with potential problems 😬. 

Yeah. I’m thinking it should be nixed.

[KSera]

It is funny though, how we build a certain picture in our mind of someone, and then it can kind of throw you off when you finally see them and your mind picture wasn’t at all accurate. I find mine is usually pretty far off.

[Melissa Louise]

I don't visualise so it's never a surprise to me to see someone. Didn't have a mental picture anyway. 

Voices surprise me. Often pitched higher than I imagine, when the person is female.

I do have a weird way of categorising people I haven't seen as taller or shorter, and am often wrong. 

[MercyA]

Melissa Louise and Scarlett were how I pictured them. ❤️ I'm sure there were more but those are the ones that stuck in my mind.

[Melissa Louise]

There's one poster here whose photo I saw years after 'meeting' her here, so I now know well what she looks like.

But because her user name elicits in me the sense of a particular colour, I'm always surprised when I see her pics and remember she's not (for example) a redhead. 

[fraidycat]

I'm having trouble imagining the potential problems. Do you mean people might get offended if someone pictures them as short when they're actually tall. Or... 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
 

[Melissa in Australia]

I don’t mind as long as you are all picturing me as drop dead gorgeous, instead of the grey headed middle age woman I am

[Scarlett]

Oh it is always kinda fun. At work we once assigned names to everyone based on how they looked instead of actual name.  I got Erica.  Like Erica Cain of the soap opera.  Lol.  To be clear I am not a tiny petite brunette,  I am brunette though.  And kinda loud like her.  

[Scarlett]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I don’t mind as long as you are all picturing me as drop dead gorgeous, instead of the grey headed middle age woman I am

Same here.  Lol well I color my hair, so there is that.  

[Shoeless]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Oh it is always kinda fun. At work we once assigned names to everyone based on how they looked instead of actual name.  I got Erica.  Like Erica Cain of the soap opera.  Lol.  To be clear I am not a tiny petite brunette,  I am brunette though.  And kinda loud like her.  

I would have never imagined you to be loud!

[Scarlett]

Just now, MissLemon said:

I would have never imagined you to be loud!

Well….lol….I guess not loud but opinionated.  

[Rosie_0801]

1 hour ago, Melissa in Australia said:

I don’t mind as long as you are all picturing me as drop dead gorgeous, instead of the grey headed middle age woman I am

You rock it, Love.

[Scarlett]

It is always funny how people see us.  Remember Terry Hatcher as Lois lane? My friend said I remind her of that character.  Very….animated.  Intense.  

[Scarlett]

6 hours ago, MercyA said:

Melissa Louise and Scarlett were how I pictured them. ❤️ I'm sure there were more but those are the ones that stuck in my mind.

I imagined you looking much more religious than you do.  Lol…not sure what that even means…..did I picture you in a nun outfit or something? 

@Indigo Bluei pictured as exotic at first….but now I picture her very Middle of the road American like me. 

Truth is I know so many of you so well now that when I picture you I picture your circumstances and your life details more than your physical appearance.  
 

And I am surprised sometimes at the details of my life that some of you remember.

oh I do picture Cat as a housewife of NYC or some such.  Not really…..but maybe former.  Lol

 

[wathe]

2 hours ago, fraidycat said:

I'm having trouble imagining the potential problems. Do you mean people might get offended if someone pictures them as short when they're actually tall. Or... 🤷🏻‍♀️ 
 

I'm not.... the seeds have already been planted LOL.  Loud, exotic - adjectives that could easily be taken as offensive.  Not saying that they have been, but the potential is definitely there.

[Scarlett]

14 minutes ago, wathe said:

I'm not.... the seeds have already been planted LOL.  Loud, exotic - adjectives that could easily be taken as offensive.  Not saying that they have been, but the potential is definitely there.

Awww.  Well I described myself as loud and then retracted….and exotic was certainly not meant as an insult.  

[wathe]

3 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

Awww.  Well I described myself as loud and then retracted….and exotic was certainly not meant as an insult.  

No insult taken!!! Just an example of how easily this could go sideways.  Exotic is a hot-button word when applied to people, though, especially Asian women. 

[Moonhawk]

So it's weird, my perception of people isn't really an image, but a...fuzzy something. I don't see faces or bodies really unless they have photos for themselves. Taking a lot of cues from the circles, especially since the Great Avatar Thread a few months ago. And, it's more the surrounding that I imagine more than the person. 

For example, Indigo Blue is a painter in dark blue overalls, mixing paints from powder. Fraidycat is a brunette woman in a hat (like the cat's) drinking coffee in a cafe. Scarlett is that one lady she had as her picture sitting at a desk with a bunch of sunflowers out a wall-sized window. Wathe has doctor clothing and hair the color of the W circle (one of the few I think that is a little informed by what I know, most of my imaginations don't use my actual knowledge now that I think about it, lol). MercyA sits in a little classroom (like, the picturesque type) in like bright white pastely clothing with crayons and drawings around her. KSera wears chic green clothing with beautiful jewelry that tinkles (I think because it reminds me of the song?).

Anyway, you're all gorgeous, I can tell, I just don't know what you look like! 😄 

[happi duck]

I honestly never picture people.  I just associate everyone with their profile image and usually remember certain little details.

[saraha]

5 minutes ago, happi duck said:

I honestly never picture people.  I just associate everyone with their profile image and usually remember certain little details.

Edited August 26, 2021 by saraha

[Melissa in Australia]

2 hours ago, Rosie_0801 said:

You rock it, Love.

thank you

 You always say the nicest things

[KSera]

55 minutes ago, Moonhawk said:

For example, Indigo Blue is a painter in dark blue overalls, mixing paints from powder. Fraidycat is a brunette woman in a hat (like the cat's) drinking coffee in a cafe. Scarlett is that one lady she had as her picture sitting at a desk with a bunch of sunflowers out a wall-sized window. Wathe has doctor clothing and hair the color of the W circle (one of the few I think that is a little informed by what I know, most of my imaginations don't use my actual knowledge now that I think about it, lol). MercyA sits in a little classroom (like, the picturesque type) in like bright white pastely clothing with crayons and drawings around her. KSera wears chic green clothing with beautiful jewelry that tinkles (I think because it reminds me of the song?).

Anyway, you're all gorgeous, I can tell, I just don't know what you look like! 😄 

I love this so much the way you think of people. I had to laugh as my reaction emoji though, because nothing about me says "chic" 🤣. I loved that, though (and I do like green 😊).

[wathe]

1 hour ago, Moonhawk said:

So it's weird, my perception of people isn't really an image, but a...fuzzy something. I don't see faces or bodies really unless they have photos for themselves. Taking a lot of cues from the circles, especially since the Great Avatar Thread a few months ago. And, it's more the surrounding that I imagine more than the person. 

For example, Indigo Blue is a painter in dark blue overalls, mixing paints from powder. Fraidycat is a brunette woman in a hat (like the cat's) drinking coffee in a cafe. Scarlett is that one lady she had as her picture sitting at a desk with a bunch of sunflowers out a wall-sized window. Wathe has doctor clothing and hair the color of the W circle (one of the few I think that is a little informed by what I know, most of my imaginations don't use my actual knowledge now that I think about it, lol). MercyA sits in a little classroom (like, the picturesque type) in like bright white pastely clothing with crayons and drawings around her. KSera wears chic green clothing with beautiful jewelry that tinkles (I think because it reminds me of the song?).

Anyway, you're all gorgeous, I can tell, I just don't know what you look like! 😄 

At work, green scrubs, occasionally topped by a bright yellow isolation gown.  At home, jeans and a hoodie. I wish my hair were that colour.....🙂

[Ausmumof3]

I have seen a few pictures of some posters in the aforementioned thread and they were all way more glamorous than I expected.

[Eos]

I was so disoriented when the picture thread was up!  I loved seeing them, but I'm a person who avoids watching movies of books that I love so I can keep the images in my head intact - I blanked out everyone's faces immediately after the thread passed and stick firmly to my mental images that sort of correlate to your nameplates and avatars.  In my mind's eye, Mercy is a beautiful medieval lady with tall headdress, Scout is an influencer on horseback in skinny jeans, and MissLemon is sitting at a typewriter because I'm an Agatha Christie fan.

I originally chose my name because harp, but I feel myself gradually developing talons and wings as I age...

Edited August 26, 2021 by Harpymom

[Indigo Blue]

We can do this?

Okay. In my mind:

@MercyA understanding and kind. 

@Scarlett I can picture her at her desk at work, a loyal and hard-working employee. 
@Quill creative and deep thinking. 

@Spy Car fiercely loyal to those he cares about. I can picture him with his wife, happily driving around town. I imagine him torching his steaks. He seems to be the type of person who’s met many interesting people and has many interesting stories to tell. I imagine his son skateboarding off handrails like Tony Hawk, and it makes me wonder if he skates at Dog Town.

@Bootsie,  full of knowledge on all things financial. 

I can imagine @Rosie_0801 as being a no-nonsense person. She can say SO much in only a few words. (Once she asked me if someone painted my dunny door. I don’t know what a dunny is. But I inferred that unless someone has good reason to be able to have influence or power over you, you don’t have to answer to them). I always want to read anything she says.

@Tanaqui insightful. For some reason,     I picture tanaqui in a high-rise apartment.
 

These are just a few. 

 

 

 

[Carrie12345]

I often assume that people think I’m an entire hot mess when the truth is, I am, but mostly on the inside.  There are people IRL who do know what a mess I am, but they also know that I mostly function okay on the outside. Here, I talk a lot more about my crazy and show a lot less of my capabilities.

As far as other people go, I don’t see images in my mind and I can’t put most people into words. Everyone does have a different “feel”, though.  
Meanwhile, for the record, I do see a movie when I read a book. I’m not sure why there’s such a difference for me when I’m reading posts.

[Melissa in Australia]

a dunny is an outhouse. a toilet in a little room behind the house. usually a drop toilet, over a deep pit.  until very recently lots of houses had them in Australia, certainly in my living memory.  they are still found in remote areas

[Ausmumof3]

I’m quite curious with those who say they don’t have a mental picture of what people look like but more a feel for who they are, whether you type as intuitive or sensing on the Myers-Briggs.  I am not one who has a clear visual picture when I read a book or movie but I still have a strong sense that I know who the people are which can be disturbed or reinforced when going from book to movie form depending on the portrayal.  

[Scarlett]

5 minutes ago, Carrie12345 said:

I often assume that people think I’m an entire hot mess when the truth is, I am, but mostly on the inside.  There are people IRL who do know what a mess I am, but they also know that I mostly function okay on the outside. Here, I talk a lot more about my crazy and show a lot less of my capabilities.

As far as other people go, I don’t see images in my mind and I can’t put most people into words. Everyone does have a different “feel”, though.  
Meanwhile, for the record, I do see a movie when I read a book. I’m not sure why there’s such a difference for me when I’m reading posts.

 I Always think of you with a lot of kids in a very small house…..I think you talk about that a lot…lol.  Now you will have a big house. So I feel super excited for you.  
 

I too am much more put together IRL than I appear here I think.  I often use the boards to vent and work things out. 

[Carrie12345]

50 minutes ago, Scarlett said:

 I Always think of you with a lot of kids in a very small house…..I think you talk about that a lot…lol.  Now you will have a big house. So I feel super excited for you.  
 

I too am much more put together IRL than I appear here I think.  I often use the boards to vent and work things out. 

Ooh, that IS another thing, lol. I know I definitely say that a lot because, when I don’t, I get responses that assume an average sized home, lol.  
We’ve had lots of IRL people see our house for the first time and you can see the surprise on their faces, so I tend to preemptively mention it IRL, too!

But, yeah, I often work things out here. There’s only so much dh can listen to!

P.S. Having only 2 kids at home most of this summer was WEIRD! Being in a big house is going to be weird, too. One of these days!

[Indigo Blue]

1 hour ago, Scarlett said:

 

I too am much more put together IRL than I appear here I think.  I often use the boards to vent and work things out. 

Me, too. (Well, except that, to me, you don’t seem not put together here. I think here, you are misunderstood sometimes.) I don’t talk about some of the things I put here to anyone IRL. It has saved my sanity, if nothing else. 

[Indigo Blue]

8 hours ago, Moonhawk said:

especially since the Great Avatar Thread a few months ago.

I feel a little redeemed now. Compared to the really intelligent discussions that are started here, I come up with “I Have a Large Hand on My Avatar”. Derp. Now that it has elevated to that status, I feel so much better. 😁

[Scarlett]

9 hours ago, Moonhawk said:

So it's weird, my perception of people isn't really an image, but a...fuzzy something. I don't see faces or bodies really unless they have photos for themselves. Taking a lot of cues from the circles, especially since the Great Avatar Thread a few months ago. And, it's more the surrounding that I imagine more than the person. 

For example, Indigo Blue is a painter in dark blue overalls, mixing paints from powder. Fraidycat is a brunette woman in a hat (like the cat's) drinking coffee in a cafe. Scarlett is that one lady she had as her picture sitting at a desk with a bunch of sunflowers out a wall-sized window. Wathe has doctor clothing and hair the color of the W circle (one of the few I think that is a little informed by what I know, most of my imaginations don't use my actual knowledge now that I think about it, lol). MercyA sits in a little classroom (like, the picturesque type) in like bright white pastely clothing with crayons and drawings around her. KSera wears chic green clothing with beautiful jewelry that tinkles (I think because it reminds me of the song?).

Anyway, you're all gorgeous, I can tell, I just don't know what you look like! 😄 

That was Scarlett O'Hara.  🙂  

[Tanaqui]

We're actually five of us in a four story (technically two family, but there's only one functional bathroom in the place, so not so much) house with what is, for NYC, a positively *enormous* yard - in fact, even on Staten Island I think it's the largest yard on the block, and definitely the largest in the neighborhood that isn't 95% extremely steep slope or paved over driveway. (The yards are probably bigger on the South Shore, but ugh, I'd have to live on the South Shore.)

And thank goodness for that. If we were trapped in a high rise during this pandemic, listening to the neighbors coughing and the sirens wailing and everybody else fighting with each other we would all have gone absolutely crazy. We may all be staring at 30 years of deferred maintenance in the face, with still no money to pay for some fairly necessary repairs, but at least we have *space*.

[stephanier.1765]

Most of the people I have mental pictures of I've actually seen pictures of so those are fairly accurate but I'm sure there are others I've got dead wrong. Profile pictures do seem to influence what my mental pictures are.

I've been wanting to change my profile picture but I know how hard it is the recognize someone when that happens. It takes me a while to reassociate a person with their new pic. I almost added a real picture of me to this thread but then I worried it might not be the direction this thread is meant to take so I decided to axe that idea.

[Jean in Newcastle]

FYI. I look a lot different than this profile pic of me when I was three years old….

[KSera]

5 minutes ago, Jean in Newcastle said:

FYI. I look a lot different than this profile pic of me when I was three years old….

Is that you?! I tend to be viewing on mobile, and on mobile your avatar looks to me like a 19th century woman sitting at a desk writing. It wasn’t until I just zoomed in that I saw what it actually is. I think I need new glasses 😂. 

[WildflowerMom]

I don’t have pictures in my head of y’all, except for the ones who’ve shared their pics.   I have an idea about personality and temperament, but no ideas about what y’all look like.  

[Pawz4me]

In my mind all of you are a little hazy (okay, a LOT hazy), but you're all very good looking and well put together. In a girl-next-door way, not in a super model way.

But there are two notable exceptions to the above: @Scarlettis Vivien Leigh, of course. 😉 And @Spy Car. He's definitely not looking like the girl-next-door type. 😉 

[Jean in Newcastle]

28 minutes ago, KSera said:

Is that you?! I tend to be viewing on mobile, and on mobile your avatar looks to me like a 19th century woman sitting at a desk writing. It wasn’t until I just zoomed in that I saw what it actually is. I think I need new glasses 😂. 

It's a three year old white girl in a kimono. 

[Scarlett]

12 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

In my mind all of you are a little hazy (okay, a LOT hazy), but you're all very good looking and well put together. In a girl-next-door way, not in a super model way.

But there are two notable exceptions to the above: @Scarlettis Vivien Leigh, of course. 😉 And @Spy Car. He's definitely not looking like the girl-next-door type. 😉 

Did y'all know she was only 53 when she died?  I am already 56.  Here is a link that has a photo of her taken 2 years before her death.  https://honey.nine.com.au/latest/vivien-leigh-career-love-life-death/a3799568-17de-441a-bfad-41cec926b54b  I did favor her in looks and temperment when I was young.  Favor being the operative word.....she was incredibly beautiful and I am not.  Not sure if I now look like her when she was in her 50s. 

I also did not know she had bi-polar.  

[Indigo Blue]

10 minutes ago, Pawz4me said:

@Spy Car. He's definitely not looking like the girl-next-door type. 😉 

Do you remember when he jokingly posted that picture of the farmer-looking guy with the huge flamethrower who was literally setting his whole lawn ablaze? Confession: When I saw that, just for one second, I did a double take and wondered if he had photoshopped a picture of himself setting the world on fire. I quickly realized that wasn’t him, and I laughed at myself. 

[kbutton]

5 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

I’m quite curious with those who say they don’t have a mental picture of what people look like but more a feel for who they are, whether you type as intuitive or sensing on the Myers-Briggs.  I am not one who has a clear visual picture when I read a book or movie but I still have a strong sense that I know who the people are which can be disturbed or reinforced when going from book to movie form depending on the portrayal.  

I have more of a sense than a picture in my head. Intuitive type (INTJ).

When I read, I get a mix of pictures and of a sense of people. I picture the physical setting of the story far more than the physical attributes of the characters. 

[Eos]

6 hours ago, Ausmumof3 said:

you type as intuitive or sensing on the Myers-Briggs

I haven't taken it. 

[MEmama]

I have a mental picture of most of you, at least those who I notice the most. I’ve only seen a couple of actual photos and they looked nothing like what I imagine, though ( @Melissa Louise is waaaaay prettier than she lets on). I think avatars play a role, but so do personalities.
 

 

 

[Spryte]

9 minutes ago, MEmama said:

I have a mental picture of most of you, at least those who I notice the most. I’ve only seen a couple of actual photos and they looked nothing like what I imagine, though ( @Melissa Louise is waaaaay prettier than she lets on). I think avatars play a role, but so do personalities.
 

 

 

In my head, @MEmama, you always have very cool shoes. 
 

Everyone here is beautiful, well put together, and taller than I am. 🤣

 

The 5 - 6 boardies I’ve met in person … the above were all true! We are, apparently, beautiful people here.

[MEmama]

Just now, Spryte said:

In my head, @MEmama, you always have very cool shoes. 
 

Everyone here is beautiful, well put together, and taller than I am. 🤣

 

The 5 - 6 boardies I’ve met in person … the above were all true! We are, apparently, beautiful people here.

That’s the highest of compliments! 🙂 

(in full transparency, the purple running shoes in my avatar are my son's)