frames of reference

Vox Hunt: I'll Never Forget This

Show us an unforgettable memory from 2006.  

Salisbury 2006

Won’t forget this one in a long while. It was pretty trippy singing in a place as old (and big) as this.

Nerd? Geek? or Dork?

So, I was browsing my neighbours’ profiles, and deWitte lists himself as a ‘pure geek’ according to the Nerd? Geek? or Dork? Test at okcupid.com. So I took the test myself. Seems I’m a ‘Modern, Cool Nerd’ - 65 % Nerd, 56% Geek, 17% Dork. I’m pleased enough. Jax has also taken the test, but I’ll let her be the one to share her results with the world. Or not.

For the record, here are the definitions:

A Nerd is someone who is passionate about learning/being smart/academia.
A Geek is someone who is passionate about some particular area or subject, often an obscure or difficult one.
A Dork is someone who has difficulty with common social expectations/interactions.

Anyone else care to take the test? Bueller? Bueller?

sailing, sailing

Rigging

I'm a fan of the sail. In fact, aside from the scurvy, the press gangs, and the high likelihood of having your quota of limbs reduced, I'm a fan of the age of sail: the era of 'wooden ships and iron men' and saving damsels in distress.

Kinda funny, in a way. My parents are both the offspring of pacifist Mennonite farmers from Saskatchewan and Alberta—just about as far from the sea as you can get. The fixation on the sea and sailing started shortly after our family moved to BC and I stayed with my grandparents in the countryside. It was the summer Grandma and I picked cherries so I could save money for a new ten speed bike. On the bedside was an illustrated edition of Treasure Island, and each night I would dive into the story.

Steerage way

A year or so later an acquaintance of my parents came to visit. I think he was trying to get in the family's good books, having met and fallen in love with my aunt (unreciprocated, poor guy). He was in the US navy, and he gave me my first Douglas Reeman novel, WWII British naval fiction. I devoured that book, and started buying every novel I could find by Reeman. Then I stumbled upon novels by 'Alexander Kent', who I only found out a few years ago, is actually Douglas Reeman under another name. As 'Kent', he writes British naval fiction from the period of the Napoleonic Wars and the American Revolution. His main character is a man called Richard Bolitho, whose career he develops from teen-aged midshipman on through admiralty status (and now, apparently, we follow his son's exploits).

S.V. Golden Hinde

But this wasn't meant to be a rambling book review. On with the swashbuckling!

So, from my mid-teens onward, my imagination was filled with the adventures of the high seas. I knew how to jibe and reach before I'd ever actually handled a sheet. I even know when to 'loose the t'gallants, topsails and royals' in order to outrun a more powerful ship. Of course, these last bits wouldn't turn out to be particularly useful in later life. But I would built model sailing ships, and toy sailing 'rafts' and float them down the creek on our property. I would fall asleep at night imagining the sound of the hull slicing throught the water and the sounding of the bell each hour, and my dreams would be filled with adventure and fame and glory.

Belay that

I did learn some things that would shape my attitudes later on. Kent's Bolitho was a good captain and commander, kind to his men, and knew that if he gave his all for his men, they would give their all for the King, the ship, and most of all, for him. Of course, he could (and did) flog the men when they needed it (I still haven't found a way of doing that, legally and/or effectively, in my vocation. It's appealing, though, sometimes), but he was fair, and made sure the men had good water and food and rum.

Ever been to sea

So anyhow, my first real sailing happened when I met Jack, and consequently her dad, who owned a dinghy. Finally I was able to put all this daydreaming to good use, and I've been even more hooked ever since. And of course, since then we've always lived on a coast (BC, NS, Scotland, and back again). I've watched the tall ships, gazed longingly at the classic boats, and yes, daydreamed of a time when I might actually have one of my very own. It doesn't help that my 7-year-old nephew Nathan just got Pirateology, a fantastic fold-out book all about the nastier side of the sailing life. I got one look on Christmas Day and was lost for a good hour!

The Meteor

Now that we're back in a marina-laden and sailboat-happy place, it is now my intention to wear down my father-in-law (who no longer owns the infamous dinghy) until he consents to partner with me in getting back into the sailing scene. Don't know where I'll get the time, but I can always dream.

better half

Jackie

Here she is! Jax, the one who’s convinced me to start this blog thing, and the creative genius behind most things I get credit for.

And yes, I am planning a little surprise for our anniversary - which is, coincidentally, New Year’s Eve. But that’s as much as you’ll get out of me! I swear!

It all depends on your frame of reference

Wee Romans

So last year I invested in a good digital SLR for Jack (and me, who’s kidding whom!), and both of us have been having fun and making some profit using it. I’m amazed at how the perspective of the camera is different from how I remember the scene through my own eyes. We fire up a slide show in iPhoto and watch the pics go by, and it’s sometimes disturbing how the memory seems to morph ‘before my very eyes’.

So, now we’re back in the West after 16 years. We’ve experienced many changes in our lives, immersed ourselves in three (or more) cultures on two continents (that's not counting generational complications), and I’m noticing more than ever how our perspective colours how we perceive the world around us.

So, here’s to reflecting on things from my frame of reference. And understanding others’.