140 days in.

It seems like a good time for reflection on this project. Not just because the number is even, but also because there are some reoccurring themes that have come up since I’ve started this project, and I feel like making note of them.

Last night while hanging out with friends I realized the three people I was hanging out with were all faces of the day at some point. (Jeff on September 1st, Nico on October 6th and Chrysanthe November 12th) One I met completely by chance on the day of his interview. One was already a friend who I then got to know better. And the third was a girl I had met briefly once, but didn’t really know when I interviewed her. In general most people I interview initially fall into one of those three categories: Stranger, Friend or Acquaintance.

However our socializing shows that the interaction doesn’t always end there. And one of the things I love about this project is my interaction with a face of the day does not alway end on that day itself. If you look at the Facebook group for 365 Faces a growing number of officers who have been faces of the day are visible- and many of them I’ve seen since interviewing them.

For example on October 1st I interviewed Valeria, and was observed by her friend Richard. 60 days later on November 30th I interviewed him, and just this last Friday I met him again in a social dance class. One could say this is a result of the small size of my school, and not related to the project at all, but it’s also happened in the surrounding community. Over at Stanford when I was interviewing Chrysanthe on the 12th of November, her former roommate who also present, mentioned that she knew about the project through her friend Jeff. Jeff was my first face on September 1st. Outside of the academic sphere on December 21st I interviewed Anna at the SF MOMA. On January 5th I ran into her at Coupa Café in Palo Alto and she introduced me to her friend Rachel. While I was interviewing Rachel friend a man named Chris overheard and three days later on January 8th by random chance I met and interviewed him at the same café.

In fact many of the people I meet through friends and interview, I end up knowing better and to some degree befriending as well. And some who are strangers when I interview them, I later discover other connections with. In fact looking at the list to see who I’ve met thus far, I feel more like I’m looking at a list of friends than at a group of strangers. (while some were initially friends, most were not when I interviewed them) Yes there are some who the interaction has been limited to a single day interaction. And I would be rather surprised if those I interviewed in Portugal, Spain and London were to run into me while I was running around doing my daily routine. But even those I only see for the length of the interview, I feel like I’ve seen more because I’ve seen their words multiple times while rereading interviews, and I see their faces again and again when uploading and organizing photos. If nothing else, there’s a sense of familiarity and fondness for them.

Song of the Week:
Dancing on Thin Ice - Shock Stars