Geeks?

[lnr]

So imagine you've just changed the colour of your hair dramatically, and you invite a bunch of friends around to a party and *none* of them comment on it. Is this:

a) because they're all geeks and don't notice these sort of things,
b) because they're all geeks and it doesn't occur to them to say anything,
c) because they think it looks awful and are too polite to say so?

Just as well I like getting dressed up for parties and suchlike for my own sake though, since almost no-one else seems to take much notice.

Comments

[sesquipedality.livejournal.com]

Erm, it didn't look all that dramatic to me, to the extent I'd read earlier on my LJ and then forgot about it. But then I'm extremely non-visual.

[ewx.livejournal.com]

Well, I noticed already, of course. But, I don't think the lighting available this evening showed your new hair color to its best advantage, which might explain the lack of comment.

[kaet.livejournal.com]

IRTA "the lightning available". That would be a dramatic entry, :).

[simont]

I agree that lighting is a big part of it, yes. It was a lot more obvious when I saw you in daylight in the afternoon than it was at the party.

Even there, though, I'm not convinced I'd describe that hair colour as a "dramatic" change. From where I'm standing, a dramatic change to purple would have made your hair look uniformly actually purple - if you'll forgive the excessive geekiness of quoting an RGB value, I'm thinking of something like #400060 (or brighter) all over. What I saw yesterday was subtly purple: at a quick glance it just looked generically dark. On closer inspection it was purply-dark rather than more conventional types of dark, and when the light caught it the reflection was purple, but it didn't shout "PURPLE!" at me the whole time I was talking to you.

Anyway, I was too busy trying to work out whether the tattoo was fake or not and why I hadn't noticed it before if not. :-)

[lnr]

I think it's a fairly dramatic colour really, if not a dramatic shade of purple. But the thing that makes it such a dramatic change to me is how much *darker* it is than the previous colour. I guess I still expect people to notice if I dyed it black. It just looks so very *different* to me, even without the purple bits.

But hey, I'm counting you among the more observant types anyway.

[simont]

Why thank you :-)

Now you mention it, actually, I did notice it looked darker as soon as I saw you yesterday afternoon. I didn't say anything then because I knew from your LJ it was meant to be purple, so I delayed commenting until I got a close enough look to see the purpleness. By which time you'd mentioned it yourself :-)

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

Anyway, I was too busy trying to work out whether the tattoo was fake or not and why I hadn't noticed it before if not. :-)

Yes, I noticed that too! It really suits you.. go on, tell us, is it stick-on or real? :)

[lnr]

Ah, simon had the sense to ask in person. Very much fake.

I wish it was easier to find fake tattoos in nice designs though, an awful lot of the ones you can find are really naff, which is a shame, because they do work really well.

[ex-lark-asc.livejournal.com]

What on earth do you mean the sense to ask in person? You know damn well I've got no sense :)

I did once find some lovely tribal-type fake tattoos in Boots, which I think simont liked almost more than I did - I think they were L'Oreal onhes. The big question is though, whether to get a real one once I'm less overweight :)

[lnr]

Ah, I can't think of a design I would like enough to want permanently. And if the fake ones can look as convincing as they do who cares? I'm happy with cheap and cheerful ones when they turn up, so I just keep looking in Woollies for nice designs as and when. I have another 7 chinese characters left which went with the one I was modelling on Saturday.

[kaet.livejournal.com]

Just as well I like getting dressed up for parties and suchlike for my own sake though, since almost no-one else seems to take much notice.

:) I know that feeling. Sorry I wasn't really up to partying tonight. Coming to yours on thw 10th, though.

I'm very bad at saying things mainly thorugh shyness. I usually say just before leaving "good hair", "I like your top, by the way", or something like that, if I do, because I know how fretful and effortful such stuff is, and you (I, one) constantly teeter on the edge of thinking I look completely ridiculous. So I try to say something even if it makes me look really stupid. I'm worse at doing that at parties with lots of people, though, because I assume other people will have (which isn't really an excuse) but am much more likely if it looks to me that the person is particularly nervous at the way they feel. But I'll not say something if something doesn't strike me, because I don't do that convincingly and it's unfair.

I've often liked things you've worn. I liked the dress that I said, and I like the way you do particularly your eye makeup. I also like leg-slit skirts I'm sure I've seen you wearing in the past, (somehting I've always had a weakness for).

I find, particularly if I'm doing something like wearing any 'female' clothes that I'm always incredibly nervous that everyone thinks I'm ridiculous unless someone says something. I think that's got a lot less as I've become more confident of who I am, but that always takes a dive when I'm down, so I become more insecure about that kind of thing. Still, I'll often shake though through worry for it at the start of an evening. And I guess that the same thing is true if ever you try to do something even slightly unusual or out of the ordinary.

I know a lot of people have said, in passing, that you look good and even happy at the moment.

[lnr]

I sometimes worry about complimenting you on things because you're quite shy about them and I don't want to make you feel uncomfortable.

Anyway thanks. I guess I worry more about how I look when I'm down too, and it's nice to be reassured, but I do hope I'm not turning into a ridiculously vain person instead :-)

[emperor]

d) you'd told them about it in lj earlier

maybe? dunno, I wasn't there.
<soc.bi>gifs! gifs!</>

[ewx.livejournal.com]

No GIFs, if you want crap compression you'll have to arrange it yourself, but there are some JPEGs:

ttp://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/photos/2002-09-29/ (http://www.greenend.org.uk/rjk/photos/2002-09-29/)

[lnr]

At least a couple of the ones outside show really well how it looks purple with the light on it and black when its not.

[emperor]

cool. I see what people mean about purple in light and black in shade.

as to gifs, that's just soc.bi tradition. jpeg! just doesn't have the same ring to it :)

[sphyg.livejournal.com]

png! png! sounds better ;-P

[kaet.livejournal.com]

lnr looks in a very cheeky mood in those photos!

[lnr]

*laugh* I was actually, wasn't sure how well it had come across. Nice to see it does :-)