Heightism is a reality, an atrocity, and something nobody is marching against.

You may ask yourself, "What is Heightism?"  Good question.  Answer: Heightism is the idea that people who are tall can automatically be placed in certain stereotypes. 

Let me ask you this:
Is racism wrong? 
Is sexism wrong?
Then please tell me why it is okay to AUTOMATICALLY assume that since I am 6'6" I MUST PLAY BASKETBALL.  I mean, of course, I do play basketball... and I played in High School for Minneapolis South... but STILL!

Also, please try to understand what my life is like.  I hit my head on doorframes.  I hit my head on ceiling lights/fans.  This may seem like an exciting concept to you, since it has probably NEVER happened to you, but believe me, it gets old fast... like, half way through the first time.  Here is the process of my brain the first time I hit my head on a doorframe: "OH MAN, did I seriously just hit my head on the freakin--- HOLY CRAP THAT HURTS LIKE BUDDAH!!!"  On a related note, think about how much the fun in my life is deterred by my inability to flourish at the game of hide & seek.

Is anything on the face of this earth made for me?  No.  Not even XXL clothing is made for me.  XXL clothing is not made for tall people.  XXL is made for rotund people. 
Cars? You're joking... you should see me in a car.  There is absolutely no room behind me.  My four-door sedan can fit three people. 
Rollercoasters?  My knees love them.  My knees didn't even go through a rollercoaster of emotions last time, they just had one emotion: extreme pain. 
Jeans?  I haven't found a store that has my jean size.  I can find the WAISTLINE that I need, but, guess what, I live in America, so my waistsize is natural for people who are a foot shorter than me.  I found my jean length one time... it was in a big & tall store... yeah, the waistline was 46...  if you know anything about waistlines, that pair of jeans fits a 350 pound man.
Kitchens?  I work in a kitchen everyday.  I clean dishes everyday.  My back hates me.  I bend over more than a palm tree in a hurricane.  When I make millions after this blog gains the entire demographic of China, I will install a higher counter in the new house that I build.

I could go on, but I shall spare you the agony.  Instead, I will touch on the centerpeice of my argument.  ALL OF THE TIME, people (usually women) tell me that they know somebody that is "as tall as me."  The person is usually their boyfriend or their son.  After a couple simple questions, I find that the person they are referring to is actually 6'2".  I'm sorry, but that is not NEARLY as tall as me.  That is freakin FOUR INCHES shorter than me.  I have nothing in common with a 6'2" person.  Imagine if you were black, and somebody said to you, "I know a black guy, yeah... he's from India."  Or, "I know what you're going through... I once got jipped out of a seat on an airplane."  Or imagine if you were a woman and somebody told you, "I completely understand what you're going through, my teacher once thought I couldn't do a project by myself."

The irony of the post is that somebody complaining about "Heightism" is just as offensive as the examples I just explored about ignorant people thinking they know what people are going through...  Please know that I am doing it all in jest, and being stereotyped because of my height isn't anything in comparison to racism or sexism.  It actually is sweet being tall, I just thought I'd point out a couple frustrations.

Per "tree" Nestingen

Selective Reading

Being an English Major, I have learned a lot about selective reading over the years.  Sometimes, as in the case for me while reading 9,002 pages per night during college, selective reading can be used as an honest way to speed up the process of reading.  I would sometimes read the first sentance of every paragraph, for instance, if I was EXTREMELY strapped for time.  Other times, I practiced a form of speed reading where I would try and pick out only the most important words of the sentance. 

Inversely, similar to selective listening, people are wonderful at reading only what the want to read so as to produce the most advantage for themselves as possible.  This is a more dishonest approach to selectivity.  Case in point: Approxiamately 30 crafter ladies will be arriving today followed by 15 or so tomorrow.  Arrival today begins at noon.  Clearly stated on the contract for their arrival is as follows: "You may arrive any time after 12:00 PM." 

I'm finishing this post as quickly as I can because, even though it is 8:30 AM, I expect to see the first arrivals in under an hour.

Selective reading. 

Cheers to being really excited about scrapbooking!

A day in the life...

The origin of this blog was formed in my brain years ago.  It is something that should have been created when I still had creative juices flowing, when I still was inspired to learn, and when I was still challenged by brilliant professors daily while in college.  Sadly, this blog doesn't begin in the middle of an exciting baseball season or in the process of learning wonderful things in an eye-opening course taught by one of Augustana College's fine professors.  No, this blog begins after all of the excitement of college has come and gone; it begins in the middle of a normal day during a normal week at Sugar Creek Bible Camp; this blog begins on a Wednesday.

I was cleaning a cabin in preparation for a retreat we are hosting for local crafters, scrapbookers, quilters, knitters and any other hobbiests that play to the nice and pleasant octagernarian crowd.  I thought to myself, "Per, you should write a blog about how exciting vacuuming ladybugs off of the carpet is and how exciting it will be to continue your knitting lessons with somebody older than your grandmother."  This is the result, and yes, you are welcome.

More to come soon...