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Judging Books and Covers

I blew the big whad of my travel budget on going out to LA to meet with and interview Rhonda Anderson this weekend. What a hoot. In my brain she typified the proper, tidy, clean cut, conservative scrapbooking woman that I was slightly prejudice against. She turned out to be a very relateable, warm and funny person. Her and her husband Mac had this magical way of retaining their sincerity and being completely transparent - what you see is what you get, but also making me feel like me being what you see: a chubby, sometimes abrasive, sarcastic, skeptical dirtbag in a T shirt, ear rings and messy hair, was somehow OK and completely fine.

This sounds like a no brainer but let me explain. We come from very different worlds. Like 180 different and the basis of her talk I taped was about faithbooking which could have the potential to spook me a little, I pretty much said what I thought about stuff, was talking about something she's dedicated her life to for over a decade and well, she's a business woman that travels in circles that are foreign territory to me and she had no really good reason to grant me an interview. I'm an indy film maker that could potentially be mocking scrapbooking and wasting her time and image.

Deep at the core after talking with her, the people who were hosting the event ( a crop for national scrapbooking day ) and her husband Mac it turns out we have a much more similar perspective on life than I had thought and I was just being a big wussy for feeling intimidated. ;0)

We actually had a blast and she invited me ( and my "crew" my little brother Nate ) over for dinner and a place to stay that night... apparently she picked up on our budget status...

What's happening with her is what I'm seeing throughout the scrapbooking world. 1) I completely misjudge most of these people and make them a one dimensional caricature of who they are by having their identity be "a scrapbooker" whatever that means. It's going to be a big part of the movie. 2) People that take their lives and lay them out in scrapbooks are used to being vulnerable, open and exposed. I'm seeing that many / most of them are forced to be more tolerant than I thought they would be because, well to use a metaphor, they have learned to not throw so many stones because they're all living in glass houses. I hope that makes sense. 3) As much as I try to avoid it I guess I really do care what people think of me.

Well, it was an eye opener to me that people are people no matter where you go. I now call her "My friend Rhonda." I'll post pictures when I get a chance.

posted by wes @ 2:46 AM