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16 October 2005
How tall are you? I'm 5'3" (unless I wear chunky shoes).
I'm 6'2" or 6'3" depending on how much I slouch. Being tall isn't everything it's cracked up to be. People are always asking you to get down high things.
I'm between 5'9" and 5'10", also depending on the slouch and how tall the people I'm standing next to claim to be. I've actually always really liked being tall -- I'd even take an extra inch or two (though a number of 5'9" boyfriends might have objected).
I'm also always asked to get things off shelves because in addition to being tall, I have extra long arms -- "monkey arms," as my mom always referred to them affectionately (being 5'4" herself and unable to get anything off the top of the fridge without the aid of a stepladder).
I'm 6', but I'm also a mutant. My legs are stumpy and my torso goes on forever. I have long arms, so I still have to get the up high stuff for the less altitude enabled.
I'm going to go out on a limb and say we are going to see many more tall self-identifiers here than short identifiers (D'oh! I just outed my self, I bet).
But maybe I can break that with this post! Now we'll never know if I was right.
A positive ape index (the difference between your height and the span of your arms) is a very useful thing for rock climbers. Particularly if you are not too tall (height is generally a disadvantage for climbers beyond a certain point).
6'3" with a small but permanent dent in my forhead just below the hair line from repeated contact with the tops of doorways, overhead cupboards, hanging plant baskets and low flying aircraft, mostly suffered as a clumsy and almost unbelievably gangly yoof.
i am towering over bunnyfire with my statuesque 61.5 inches - girl, i always imagined you were about 8 inches taller ! taz, i always imagined you were 5'7", heh.
6'2" and if I ever build my own house, all the counters are going to be 5 inches higher than they are currently. I don't like having to bend myself to a 45 degree angle to wash the dishes.
6'2" and would probably be a lot smarter now if I were shorter due to the number of times that I've hit my head into low hanging objects over the years. I even managed to knock myself out cold once, standing up under a six foot-high shelf in a warehouse I was working in. Woke up a few minutes later on the floor with cartoon birds and such flying around my head.
I am a 50 ft woman. My hobbies include frolics with orcas, stomping on bad architecture, and duking it out with Mothra and Mecha Streisand as my schedule permits.
And no, I do not want to hear about your fetish. I want to be loved for me, for what's in my heart, a vessel large enough to provide drinking water for the population of a Norweigan cruise for 7 days, as long as everyone's sensible about it.
5'9", which is about as tall as you can be as a girl and not be the Tall Girl, and all legs. I like being tall, except when on airplanes and when trying to look in public mirror, use many sinks, etc.
5'10" and yeah, I'm the Tall Girl and all legs and always have been. Except I have terrible posture as my mother keeps reminding me and will no doubt develop an awesome dowagers' hump any day now. I never wanted to be tall; I used to stand in the doorway where we kids got measured with a waffle iron on my head, hoping to shrink. Didn't work.
I'm talking about strangers, dame. Plus, being tall makes it more difficult to be inconspicuous.
Although, I had a buddy in high school who's dad was 6' 10" and got out of going to Vietnam because of it. Can't say I blame him. The morality of the war aside, being the one head towering above all the others marching in formation would make one too much of an obvious target.
Have you heard of this concept called "a joke"? God you get repetitive.
I knew you were kidding. I just ran with it. My back's bothering me, my feet stink and I've gotta do laundry later. That shrivels my humor gland somewhat.
As far as i'm concerned, one of the great joys of living in New York is that it is about as cheap to have the laundromat do my laundry as it is to do it myself. And they fold better.
I knew you were kidding. I just ran with it.
No you didn't. You acted like it wasn't a joke. "Running with it" would imply continuing a joke.
Thankfully, my laundromat is across the street from a wonderfully scuzzy sports bar that's fond of giving out freebies and lets you smoke. That should soften the blow somewhat. And I'll be much more entertaining when I return.
As far as i'm concerned, one of the great joys of living in New York is that it is about as cheap to have the laundromat do my laundry as it is to do it myself. And they fold better.
It is? I need to use your laundromat. We ordinarily don't do laundry till our clothes walk around by themselves, so that makes it prohibitively expensive.
No you didn't. You acted like it wasn't a joke. "Running with it" would imply continuing a joke.
I used it as an opportunity to tell the story about my friend's father, which I found marginally humorous and mildly poignant.
I used it as an opportunity to tell the story about my friend's father, which I found marginally humorous and mildly poignant.
Again, that is not running with it. And the part I was talking about is this: "I'm talking about strangers, dame." You could have written the whole post without it. But that is what led me to point out I was joking. You know, for accuracy.
It is? I need to use your laundromat. We ordinarily don't do laundry till our clothes walk around by themselves, so that makes it prohibitively expensive.
That doesn't make sense. It costs the same amount per pound once you go over the minimum. The number looks higher, but it isn't "more expensive." Anyway, when you drop it off, it's easy to do laundry once a week, so then you spend less at once. And once you factor in soap and whatnot and the time you save, it's definitely worth it as long as it's under say, seventy cents per pound.
Maybe. But truth be told, I often seize the opportunity to do laundry as an excuse to hang around the bar watching ball games and getting stinko. It's a way to pass a sunday.
matteo, 'grocer' is a term for the 'grocery store' that we used growing up. Old habits die hard. Unfortunately, there are no special markets made for short people and nor would I want there to be, but tall people are often quite put off to be asked for assistance (see jonmc's remark above), no matter how nicely you word it or sincerely you thank them. The result is that I end up feeling like a punk for having lost the genetic lottery and settle for gazing longingly at the top shelf before I purchase something else.
What would be great is if stores, like book shops, had sliding ladders or step stools. However, in these litigious United States such an idea is little more than a pipe dream.
For the record, I am entirely enthralled by tall people and their statuesque nature, ladies and gentlemen, alike.
The other thing that just occured to me is that my perception of height has much more to do with posture than actual height. A short guy who great posture will seem taller to me than a tall guy who slouches. And though slouching, in effect, makes a person shorter, the power of the physical projection that accompanies good posture make a far greater impression on me. Excellent posture is truly beautiful.
5'4". They say that's average height for a woman. Bollocks says I. Even petite clothing (supposedly for 5'4" and under) tends to be a wee bit long for me.
I'm the shortest in my immediate family. My shortest bro is 6'0" and the tallest is 6'5". Even my mum is an inch taller. It ain't freakin' fair.
I forgot to mention all my children tower over me-all three of them. The shortest one is about 5'6". My son is just under six feet tall. Hubby is about 6'2(and a half.)
195 cm (6'1" in medieval measurements), with a very positive ape index. I have never measured my armspan, but I only have one long-sleeved shirt that I can wear without rolling the sleeves up and that is a formal shirt that I paid more for than the whole dinner suit I bought it to wear with.
Being tall has its advantages, but it is hard to find comfortable chairs or jumpers that fit.
um, and you don't have to be tall to run into things - I smacked into some scaffolding a couple of weeks ago & got a nice little mound on my skull...and I'm glad I don't have to be human origami on a plane.
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