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I just went to meet an architect we work with this afternoon. I'd talked to him on the phone, but never seen him. His name is Vaughn Sollenberger. I was expected someone tall, skinny, dark hair, with a patrician nose.
He's short, stocky, with red hair and freckles.
I said, "You're too short to be Vaughn" and he was, understandably, confused.
Why don't people look like they're supposed to?
Give me your examples of this phenomenon.
Posts: 5462 | Registered: Apr 2005
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When I found out my fourth-grade teacher was named Mrs. Buckingham, I pictured her as a 30-something, blonde, sunny-personalitied woman.
She was short, Asian, and mean. I guess I forgot that she could have a cool last name without necessarily having that heritage.
Posts: 1903 | Registered: Sep 2003
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I used to work over the phone with a man named Tom. Over 8 years or so, I talked with him several times a year and during that time learned a lot. From his voice, I was picturing a man of medium height, thin, dark hair with a bit of gray, but specifically a thin face with round glasses. When I finally met him in person, it was a shock. Here was the voice I knew so well coming out of the wrong man! He was short, very stocky, with a round, jolly, happy face. Wonderful smile lines. His hair was pure white and he had these broad hands with short, stubby fingers. And no glasses.
Oh well. I got over it. When we became co-workers we ended up working together very closely as I took over some of his responsibilites. I can't imagine Tom now as I originally did, but I still remember how shocked I was.
Another man there, Dave, I talked with just as often and meeting him was easy...he looked *exactly* like I pictured him.
Posts: 5948 | Registered: Jun 2001
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This is sort of the opposite of what you're saying, but I think it's still relevant . I had a childhood friend from Oklahoma who hadn't seen or talked to me since 3rd grade. She and I (after talking online for several months) did exchange current pictures and stuff. Well then finally, we met (I came back to visit friends there) and talked. Her first response was "Wow, your voice is a lot deeper than I would have expected."
Posts: 1960 | Registered: May 2005
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Often, because I sit at the back of some of my large classes and my eyes aren't perfect, my image of the professor is actually quite different from what he or she actually looks like close up.
Posts: 8473 | Registered: Apr 2003
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The woman who used to have my job on Kauai was one of those. I talked to her several times a week for over a year before I met her. She had a Hawaiian name, and a bit of pidgen in her speech, and I'd met her son who lives on Maui, so I pictured her as a 40ish Hawaiian woman... slightly chubby, rather short, dark hair, skin and eyes.
We finally met at a Christmas party in Honolulu and she was a caucasian woman in her mid 60's, tall and slender, very fair with graying blonde hair. She's moved to another job (still on Kauai) and I don't speak to her as often as I used to, but everytime I do, I still picture her as I thought of her for so long, even though I know what she looks like now. It was just so jarring to have her be so different from her voice.
Posts: 2069 | Registered: May 2001
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I had a huge disappointment the first time I saw a picture of Garrison Keiller. I was picturing a tall, dark, handsome man, the kind that wears a black trenchcoat and probably smokes cigarettes. He actually looks like a squashed toad. I was horrified.
Posts: 1225 | Registered: Feb 2002
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My college recruiter had a similar experience when he met my dad. They had talked on the phone alot since we were in the process of moving and were having problems getting mail and scheduling a campus tour.
My dad is an accountant and he acts like it. He's very serious and very thorough. The recruiter said he was expecting an older man in a suit with a briefcase. What he got was my dad in frayed shorts, my school's shirt, and a baseball cap, with a 5 o'clock, man-bag, and a huge smile. He took a physical step back when he saw him and had to ask him name three times while they shook hands.
Posts: 1733 | Registered: Apr 2005
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My best friend from childhood turned out to be about two feet taller than me when I met him again. Stupid growth spurts . . . Posts: 1735 | Registered: Oct 2004
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The first couple of conversations I had with my supervisor at Adult Probation were all on the phone. Her voice, which was very soothing, and her name, Anita Salsbury, led me to believe she was an older, motherly type, gray haired, behind the times in fashion, pleasantly plump caucasian woman.
When I went to the office for the first time to fill out some paperwork, my jaw literally dropped when out from her office came a young, thin, brunette, hispanic woman in her 30's who was dressed to kill. I was right about the motherly part, though.
Posts: 378 | Registered: Aug 2004
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When I was a bank teller back in the '80s, my supervisor came up to me one Friday and told me I'd be training a new teller starting Monday. They told me his name was David Goldberg. So yeah, I had sort of a vague picture in my head.
Comes Monday, and this young black guy introduces himself to me as David Goldberg. Turns out his paternal grandfather was Jewish; hence the last name.
Posts: 12266 | Registered: Jul 2005
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My roomate from this year looked entirely different than i expected. We talked on the phone once, and talked online a lot several months before the actual move in. I pictured her short, dark hair, dark eyes,round face, with a very preppy style (her screen had the word Roxy in it) ....
When i met her...She is tall..(taller than me I'm 5'8" ..shes 5'10" which was nice! cause i rarely meet girls that are taller than me) Super thin, blonde, really thin face, greenish eyes and a very laid back style.
Its funny though..if she ever ims me..i always picture her as I used to...even though she is sitting two feet away from me, not looking like that at all Posts: 82 | Registered: Oct 2005
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quote:Its funny though..if she ever ims me..i always picture her as I used to...even though she is sitting two feet away from me, not looking like that at all [/QB]
She IMs you when she's two feet way from you??
Posts: 113 | Registered: Sep 2005
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When I lived in a dorm, my roommate and I always talked more on AIM than we did face to face...even though we were sitting at desks that were facing each other and able to kick each other under the desks if we so desired.
Posts: 378 | Registered: Aug 2004
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My boss will IM me and he is in the cubicle next to me. It is really funny when someone else is in the room and IMing is too slow so we burst out to actually speaking the conversation where it left of and the people are always so confused... It is real funny.
Posts: 1209 | Registered: Dec 2003
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My current flame really threw me for a massive loop when I first met him in person. Over IM I had a mental image of a lean rancher type. Tall, slim, sun-darkened, short-cropped hair. The first time I talked to him on the phone, my image was replaced completely with Denzel Washington but with a hint of a twang.
In reality, he's (in his own words) a chubby hippie. 5'11, about 225, long brown hair with streaks of grey from the temples, soft brown eyes, and a heck of a beer belly LOL. He's about 1/8 Native American (he hasn't figured out tribes yet, someone in the family is doing a geneology project), and the rest a mix of European descents.
I think my mom got pictures of us together at the wedding last night. If so, I'll post them someplace.
Posts: 4515 | Registered: Jul 2004
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I got mental images of a lot of you guys that are very different, either from foobonic pictures, or from your actual selves, if I've met you in person. Not everybody, but a lot of you.
Posts: 7877 | Registered: Feb 2003
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I talked to my roomate on the phone once before moving in. I was actually picturing her as a Faith (from BtVS). She is a lot more preppy then that. I think she is best described as a laid back stoner sorority girl.
Posts: 1015 | Registered: Aug 2004
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In my less than exciting youth I worked for an amusement park, guessing the weight and age of the contestants. A really sad case came up, a chunky, broad shouldered young girl. She was genetically predispositioned to be bulky, not neccesarilly fat, but almost stout.
Her name was "Heather."
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