Could Be Better

[mrissa]

It has not been my most stellar afternoon. The checker at Byerly's saw my big bag of apples and asked what I was making, and I told her I was doing baked apples with hazelnuts for the dessert for a friend's birthday. She thought that sounded good, and then she said, "And where do you all go to school?"

To. School.

YARRRRRG! Twenty-seven, people! Twenty-seven! I don't even think I look like a young 27. I don't think I look like an old 27, either. I think most people, without conversational context (which sometimes throws people off) would look at me and think mid-late-20s. Maybe early-mid-20s or early-mid-30s depending on how I was dressed. But just automatically assuming I was a college kid, that there was no other possibility? PSYCHO.

Do only college students eat baked apples, and I just missed the memo?

So I finished the errands and came home and set the groceries on the kitchen table as I was unloading them. Saw a box with my name on it and squealed, "I Arthur!"* Cut it open to get out the contributor copies for a nonfiction project I worked on, and when I lifted the books out, it turned out that they were the only thing keeping our kitchen table from falling over and spilling groceries every which way. This has never happened before in the six years I've been putting groceries on that kitchen table.

I bought 18 eggs. We managed to keep 5.

Also, it is what my mother calls "muggy" out. It is humid, and it is hot. And we don't want to turn the furnace off and on and off and on, so we haven't turned it off and turned the AC on. The leaves are falling, the yard is at its best...and it's over 80 degrees. BLECH.

Also I am exhausted from a very small set of errands, which is not new, but it's not more fun for lasting awhile.

So. Yah. I have had more stellar afternoons, is what I'm saying. The books, however, look great, and they spelled my name right, and I hung out with timprov for awhile, and markgritter and I are going to have a dinner date. So really, it'll be a fine day overall. Just -- frustrating.

And you?

*Combination of "The Tick" and a typo on the packing slip of my first box of author copies ever. What, like you don't have moments of being a semi-literate cloned snot monster?

Comments

[platypus]

I'm 31. Yeah, I work at a university library, but asking me what my major is seems a little silly, since I graduated a decade ago.

[ellameena.livejournal.com]

That happens to me every once in a while, and I'm 33. But I like it when that happens. :-) I would call it a perfectly stellar afternoon. I would chirp back that I go to MSU and I'm majoring in Turf Grass Management and leave her to puzzle it out.

[timprov.livejournal.com]

Moments?

[mechaieh.livejournal.com]

*I* still get that question regularly, and I've got silver hairs starting to show.

Bummer about the eggs. Yay for fresh books.

[tmseay.livejournal.com]

You think that's bad, feel sorry for my poor roommate. When Lane and I are out together, we're always asked if we're students -- and she's 35. A very young-looking 35, but still...

[wilfulcait.livejournal.com]

About three years ago, I had a professor at the college I graduated from in 1983 fuss at me for being on campus during spring break. "I didn't think y'all were getting back until next week," she said. My gray hairs and I were confused.

[angeyja.livejournal.com]

I try to be nice about things like these and the YBs (young boys, most recently Saturday on Student's Day at the Con) at least when I can sense the intent is OK. It is always a severe double take for me though.

My externals had a lot of very angsty people today. Inside the store and I got yelled at twice by other drivers so it was a bit of a weird one generally. (Asshole! Well yes and the surrounding ass is pretty cute also not that you can tell from wher you are sitting.. she smiles, eyes hidden behind her shades but gleaming.)

It is unusually warm here too.

Books? *big grin and huggage*

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Books what?

I'm reading Steven Ozment on family in early modern Germany, if that's what you're asking.

[mkille.livejournal.com]

Didn't someone within the past year ask you if your child went to the college on the shirt you were wearing? If I'm remembering that right, then goodness, you've got a wide range of apparent age.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Yes, some little idiot at the farmstand thought I had a kid who was a Gustie.

And Ctein -- such a Ctein! -- said something at Minicon that made it clear he had estimated me as several decades older than I am.

So I am apparently extremely sneaky about these things.

[cadithial.livejournal.com]

Heh, you can definitely tell you're a northener born and raised with the hot / humid comment :)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

How so?

[cadithial.livejournal.com]

80 degrees or less and less than 90% humidity :)

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Don't know how things were down south there, but it was definitely over 80 here.

[retrobabble.livejournal.com]

Trust me - when you get to your forties, you will bless those genes.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

But it's not at all consistent. It's not like everybody is mistaking me for younger than I am, it's just that some people are really confused.

My mom is 51. My mom looks good. My mom looks 51. I don't see any contradictions there.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

Until my late 20s or so I looked *much* younger - part of that is because I was always smaller than others my age growing up, I think. I didn't mind being mistaken for younger nearly as much as as I minded the inevitable response when I told the story: "You'll be glad about it when you're *my* age!"

My theory is that looking younger just meant I had an undefined sort of face, that would probably age badly and look older later on, whereas the people with classic bone structure tended to be more agelss, so when young they got taken for older and when old they got taken for younger. It's too soon to tell if my theory is correct; at 38 I think I look my age or just a smidgen younger, so I could still be in transition from looking young to looking old.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I don't think I have a very undefined face, but I could be wrong about that.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I think you may be in the other category, with good bone structure. I'm only guessing - it's hard to tell with small photos - but the fact that you've been mistaken for both much younger and much older would tend to argue that you are.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Oh. Um. Thanks.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

(comment deleted and reposted to fix bad link)
Bear in mind the original theory was concocted to explain people's reaction to my face, which has small features and not a lot of definition. (Examples here - photo at bottom right is nearly ten years earlier than the one at top left, where I'm sucking in my cheeks anyway.) I was just suggesting it as a possible reason for people to be mistaking your age in both directions, but you or someone who's actually seen you would have to figure if it applies.

Not to insult your face or even compliment it - it's hard to tell from small photos, especially small photos behind a book!

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I don't mean to be picky, but the link doesn't appear to be fixed.

[dichroic.livejournal.com]

I quit. I am never putting links in LJ comments again - I appear to be cursed (or maybe just incompetent). The other day it took me *four* tries to get one right. Anyway, I was just pointing to my own front page because it has a couple of photos - here (http://riseagain.net). And if this link doesn't work I give up and everyone can just laugh at me.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

Fear not. It worked.