The Many Faces of Janice Mills

Apparently I have hyper-expressive facial expressions. I guess I have always been aware of this fact, but over time, it kind of faded from my memory. After all, I don't actually see my face a whole lot.

Several months ago, my friend Duane started commenting on my extreme facial distortions. In fact, he started numbering them... as in "oh, that was a number 9 with a bit of 7 thrown in"  He also started to mock my expressions which, without fail, makes me laugh out loud. I'm pretty sure I don't look like Duane on a regular basis but it is pretty funny.

 This has become a standard and ongoing joke between the two of us and has been the source of some hilarious statements from Mr. Duane. Last week he declared I have "a smorgasbord of events on my face" and yesterday told me to "get my face off my face". I love Duane...he's hilarious.

All of this talk of my face and its contortions has caused me to be a little self-conscious about what exactly I'm doing as I talk to people. I have to admit, I'm a little more cautious as I'm listening to a story or reacting to news. I have, on more than one occasion, been told that I remind people of a muppet. Some might take offence to that, but since I LOVE the muppets...I'll take it as a compliment! In fact, there is already a muppet named Janice. Ironic? Maybe not. And, I do recall something in my college video yearbook about my crazy faces and how they can never be repeated. Oy. All this time I've been a freak show. Thanks for pointing this out Duane.

This might be a good time to re-post my photo of the day project from 2009. Although I didn't pull any crazy faces, it is kind of fun to watch. Perhaps 2011 should see a photo of the day - each with a different expression?