A Tale of Two Heathers

[morrigirl]

Yesterday, I arrived home from work to find a postcard waiting for me along with all the typical bills and solicitation mail. Delighted, I immediately turned it over to see who sent it. I saw the words "Love, Heather" and instantly thought it was from Heather Frankland. After all, the handwriting looked like hers, there was a smiley face drawn at the bottom by her name, and since Heather is the only one of my friends who is so into paper correspondence that she often sends unexpected gifts and letters through the mail, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the postcard was from her.

I'll admit the short paragraph she wrote on the back did strike me as a little odd. She made brief mention of time spent in New York that was too short before closing with the comment that she'd see me on LJ. My thoughts were A) When the hell was Heather in New York? and B) Omigod! does this mean she's gonna start writing in her LJ again after two years? It should be noted that Heather Frankland lives in New Mexico. Through all my head scratching I managed to overlook the huge ass post mark that very clearly said Eugene, Oregon, but we'll return to that later.

Heather F. and I have been playing phone tag all week, and tonight I finally got a hold of her and we had a really great conversation that lasted for two hours. At one point I said to her, "Oh, I got your postcard the other day, thank you!"

She sputtered a little. "Y..you did?"

"Yeah!"

"The Valentine's Day one?"

"I...think so," I said hesitantly.

"When did you get it?"

"Yesterday."

"Wow," said Heather. "That's really amazing because I SENT it yesterday."

Now I KNOW a postcard can't get from New Mexico to New York in eight hours even with a time change, so I said to her, "Hold on a minute, let me go get the card to make sure we're both talking about the same one."

I ran into the other room, got the card, and re-read it as I returned to the phone. For the first time I noticed the Eugene postmark and even THEN my first thought was "How did a letter sent in New Mexico end up with a postmark from Oregon?"

And then, just as I was picking up the receiver...bam, it hit me! I remembered the Livejournal entry Heather HOLMQUEST posted back in December right before she ran off to France on vacation telling everyone that if they wanted a postcard from Europe they should give her their address. Being an avid postcard collector I naturally gave her my address. A couple days later she posted a follow-up entry reporting that she'd received so many postcard requests there was no way she'd be able to write all of them while she was in France so some of them would have to wait until she returned to the states. All of this flashed through my mind the millisecond before the receiver reached my ear and I said, "Okay, Heather? I just realized..."

So now, having admitted that I am a complete and utter idiot, I would like to send a great big THANK YOOOOO to irishelf for the lovely postcard that I got yesterday but didn't realize was from her until this evening. I'm absolutely tickled that you remembered, especially since I didn't :-)

I have a nice little collection of good stories involving Heather H. The story of how I met her is one of my favorites to recount because it's just so funny, even funnier if you actually know all the players. I still remember the night I asked her to serenade me in the caf, and she did! I remember that silly, zany, great things happen when Heather H. is around and that's just one of the many reasons I adore her.

And, on a slightly different topic, I was thinking about my LJ friends list the other day. Roughly 50% of my total list is composed of people I met at Knox and know in real. Of that 50% maybe 10% are people who I was, and still am, very close to; people who I trust with all my shames, secrets, joys, and triumphs. The remaining 40% are people who, in real life, I would say range from good friend to mere acquaintance. Most of the individuals on my friends list who I know from real life aren't people who I have a very deep relationship with in person. I care about them, that's why they are on my flist. Because I know and like them well enough to want to be continually updated on what is going on in their lives.

But, I notice myself, and most of the other Knox people on my friends list, writing about and revealing very personal, intimate things about themselves on Livejournal, stuff I know it would never occur to us to share with one another over dinner. And I've been wondering why we are able and willing to share these private parts of ourselves out here when we haven't been able to in person? The question itself assumes that everyone's friends list is similar to mine. Maybe it's not. Maybe you, the reader, are very close to almost everyone on your friends list in which case the question does not apply to you. I'm just amazed that simply by opting into someone's lovelocked posting filter I suddenly become privvy to a whole host of things I never knew about the poster and, in all likelihood, never would have known if the relationship had not been carried onto LJ.

So, I ask you, why do you do it? Why do you, personally, choose to share so much about yourself over LJ with people you would probably not have shared it with through other channels?

Comments

[sioux-zee.livejournal.com]

firstly, you might want to check out www.postcrossing.com if you like to collect postcards. i'm a member and i get postcards from around the world all the time! it's aweeeesome.

as for your question: i do it because it's a small form of catharsis. i just like to write what i'm feeling because it makes me feel a bit better afterwards. i don't talk really talk to anyone about my inner most fears/thoughts (except eric), so it's nice to get it out. and anyway, it's easier to type it out then to actually SAY it. basically everyone on my friends list, save for eric, is an LJ friend so I don't have to talk about these things face to face.... which is good because the whole face-to-face conversation about things makes me uncomfortable.
i just woke up and am half asleep, hope that made sense haha

[morrigirl.livejournal.com]

I only learned about postcrossing a couple of weeks ago. I thought it sounded fabulous, but I'm a little hesitant about having my name and mailing address sent to a stranger. I take it you've had a good experience with them? never had any issues with your information going out?

I have a hard time expressing myself verbally, so I know what you mean about it being easier to type everything out. Sometimes I'll spend weeks revising a particular LJ entry before I post it just so I can get my thoughts worded perfectly.

Oh and BTW, I love your icon.

[sioux-zee.livejournal.com]

at first i was kind of scared to give out my address, but i dont really think about it anymore.. i've gotten like 30 something postcards, and sent out just as many and haven't had any issues...

i'm kind of the opposite - i just let everything flow out and post it. then later i read it and go "omg, that is so confusing/poorly written!" but... oh well.

why thank you :) frida = god.