Today an interview of mine was published at the blog of a dear friend. She's a big penpaller, designs and sells BEAUTIFUL, and I mean REALLY BEAUTIFUL, as in Oh Dear Lord HOW GORGEOUS letter stationary and is also the proud mom of a smart and handsome boy who'll surely grow up to be a heartbreaker, and the nighmare of the dads of all the girls in the neighbourhood. ^_~My friend publishes each Monday an interview of a penpal, who is declared The Penpal of the Week. Well, this week the title was awarded to lil' ol' me. You can read the interview and look at the pictures here: Penpal of the Week #21. No incriminatory mugshots included... I'd say. If you know me some by now, you won't be surprised at my answers. Not the lenght of them or the content of them. In that sense, I believe I can be quite predictable.
The interview was sent to me a few weeks ahead (because it turns out that my friend is just as organized (control freak) as I am, and prefers to have things ready in time rather than rushing in the last minute), so I received at my mailbox a list with 12 questions about myself and my penpalling habits. It took me far longer to answer than what I expected, since many of the questions made me think. For instance, the second question was to describe myself with ten words. How on Earth was I going to do that?? The first word that came to my mind was crazy, which is the way I am usually described. However, after that I stuck there going over and over synonyms of the word, and not new words. Looney, insane, mental, mad hatter, Chesire Cat... you name it. It took me a few days to move from my overwhelming sense of insanity and find other words like Independent, Creative, Writer, Happy, Proud and so on. In a corner of my head I heard Henry Miller, in a quote from Tropic of Cancer saying "Last year I thought I was an artist. Now I don't think that anymore. I am an artist" (free quoting, ain't the exact words). That was the feeling I had. I didn't think I'm creative or a writer or independent or proud. I am all of them.
My friend and I were talking and arranging details of the interview to the last minute, and from the whole process we actually came out closer friends than we thought and now we are penpals as well. Waaaaah~! An exciting experience, specialle because she had already stopped looking for more penpals, had her quota filled, and yet there was an opening for me! Perhaps for many people it would sound stupid, but it did feel like getting into that super cool university or job or club you wanted to go really bad, but knew that you'll hardly get admitted to, and yet place your name on the waiting list.
Well, that's the thing about penpals. Penpals ain't only about getting the letter, reading it and then quickly scribbling some answer and post it, almost as if it were the fee you pay to be amused by someone else's letters. When you get into it, and I mean really get into it, you dedicate time to read the letter and answer it, putting your effort, your mind and the whole of your attention to the task. Those letters break the modern behavior codes, where people rudely SMS and tweet while with other people, as if the distant ones, the "artifact" were more important than the person right before them. A letter, a real good letter doesn't fall there, and leaves no space for that. You don't write it while talking with someone else, but when you write it, like Lermontov would say, you are deep in secret conversation, and you can't be really be pulled out of it. If its real, and not some "chore letter", you are in it, mind and soul as paper and pen and you give yourself to it. This is why the current cyber-pretentions of thousands of followers and thousands of friends and thousands of buddies don't apply. As with children, you should have only the penpals you can truly take care of.
My quota is soon to be filled, and I'm mostly looking for people all around the world to share experiences and shrink the world into one of words and wonders.
Penpals are a great blessing, but also an important responsability that must be shouldered properly.
Well, that's the thing about penpals. Penpals ain't only about getting the letter, reading it and then quickly scribbling some answer and post it, almost as if it were the fee you pay to be amused by someone else's letters. When you get into it, and I mean really get into it, you dedicate time to read the letter and answer it, putting your effort, your mind and the whole of your attention to the task. Those letters break the modern behavior codes, where people rudely SMS and tweet while with other people, as if the distant ones, the "artifact" were more important than the person right before them. A letter, a real good letter doesn't fall there, and leaves no space for that. You don't write it while talking with someone else, but when you write it, like Lermontov would say, you are deep in secret conversation, and you can't be really be pulled out of it. If its real, and not some "chore letter", you are in it, mind and soul as paper and pen and you give yourself to it. This is why the current cyber-pretentions of thousands of followers and thousands of friends and thousands of buddies don't apply. As with children, you should have only the penpals you can truly take care of.
My quota is soon to be filled, and I'm mostly looking for people all around the world to share experiences and shrink the world into one of words and wonders.
Penpals are a great blessing, but also an important responsability that must be shouldered properly.
6 comments:
oh I do really undestand you here, if I had to answer all the questions that you were asked for the interview I wouldn't know what to write. Each person has too many facilities to show them in only a single interview. Anyway, I think you did a really good job and I enjoyed reading it ;) (even though I was at work at that time and actually shouldn't browse the net then)
hugs
patricia
tsk, tsk, tsk... Patricia, what's this about browsing the net while at the office? (Not like I'm not doing that right now...) ^_^
I just read your interview on Julie's blog and WOW! If you're still looking for a new penpal or two, I'd love to exchange letters with you. Let me know if you're interested - I take it as seriously as you do!
Me again! I can't figure out how to send you an email... but yes, #21, you and I shall be penpals. I'll send first and then you'll see how I finish up those gaudy painted envelopes. Can you send me your snail mail address? I'm at shelley.malone at gmail.com. Also I'm not on interpals - I just read Julie's blog for fun!
I was the third penpals of the week in Julie's blog ^^ did you read my interview? ah ah ah not obligations. I love those interviews, but men are missing there! I wished to see more, to show that they aren't just perverts, that's a main vision,isn't it?
I read your and I liked it very much, very honest and complete I must say. I realized that are some not so complete, some people are a little vain, and their interviews say almost the same of a profile where everybody can read. Those interviews needs details, and I guess it is being achieved in a global way.
The little boy of Julie is indeed very beautiful, and I am pretty sure since I saw the first photos of him that he will be a heartbreaker ah ah ah
**
So you are Number 3, J? I'm... #21, right? I know it's some good number. I'm BlackJack-Suzy. Hihihihi!
Anyway, jokes aside, no, I haven't really read many of the interviews, but now that I know you are #3, I'll check you up, if that's okay with you.
I wouldn't go as far as to say that some interviews are plain, or incomplete, or vain, as actually each of them tells you something about the interviewed one. I, for one, am exceedingly "chatty", and if I'm let to my own devices, I could write up VOLUMES, and I mean Das Kapital like volumes for each question, but then again, that's lil' ol' me. Other people achieve the description efficiently in a few words, and others... well, so take each question in a... very personal direction.
I guess everybody looks for something different within an interview. This also tells you about the person. You know, it's like playing "Criminal Minds": you read the interview and set the words aside, the sentences and concentrate in the subtext, the twists and turns, the choice of words, the topics, the way they relate or not to themselves, to others, and suddenly you have this caleidoscopic image that moves before your eyes and shows you new designs.
Post a Comment