The Wart did not know what Merlyn was talking about, but he liked him to talk. He did not like the grown-ups who talked down to him like a baby, but the ones who just went on talking in their usual way, leaving him to leap along in their wake, jumping at meanings, guessing, clutching at known words, and chuckling at complicated jokes as they suddenly dawned. He has the glee of a porpoise then, pouring and leaping through strange seas.

This reminds me of my own childhood. No, I was not nicknamed The Wart. My parents and their friends never talked down to me, so I learned the vocabularies of my schoolteacher mother and pastor father. I really appreciate that knowledge these days as I write my poetry and tutor a couple of students. I still love words; I still have the glee of a porpoise.

• graduated high school
• started writing poetry
• discovered podcasting
• earned an Honours BA in English Literature
• held a steady job
• started to emotionally understand God’s love for me; started to yearn for heaven
• discovered a gift for tutoring and teaching
• made all the friends I have now!

Some of these things my seem basic, but each of these items is very meaningful to me.  That list represents countless late nights, caffeinated mornings, deep breaths, ragged notebooks and resonating heartstrings.

I can hardly wait to see what will happen during my journey from 30 to 39.

Reminds me of Tevye singing "Tradition" in Fiddler on the Roof.

Almost two years ago, my youth group took me to Boston Pizza for a surprise 28th birthday party. For some reason, I looked under my chair, and I found this leather-ish tag stamped with the word “Tradition.” I thought it was a nifty find, so I tied the tag onto my backpack.

Last Fall, the youth group did some geocaching. One of the goecached containers was quite small. I searched my backpack for something small enough to leave, and I found the tag. I left it there, never expecting to see it again. Today in church, my friend Jordan handed the tag back to me! He had gone back to the cache and retrieved the tag, leaving something else on return. I thought it was really cool that my history with the tag did not end when I left it at the cache.

This incident corresponds to one of my interests:  obsolete and recycled text. Think about what happens to abandoned shopping lists, discarded notes and old newspapers. In some cases, the text is read and reread long after it has outlived its original purpose! The word “Tradition” on the tag was probably intended to label/advertize a product. It has had a life far beyond that purpose. It travelled on a backpack around St. Catharines for over a year, spent the winter in a geocache and now makes an appearance on the WWW!

Thanks to jmcphers for this Creative Commons photo! Click photo for more info.

A funny thing happened on the way to the lasagna.

My sister and I has some friends over for a late dinner last night. While we were waiting for the lasagna to bake, a LAN party broke out!  Long story short, I introduced a gamer friend to another gamer and got the first gamer addicted (hopefully) to Starcraft: Brood War. Seeing those connections form was such a rewarding experience. I’ve been thinking today about how effective connections form.

Ppl & Info
I figure that networks (both in real-life and online) are uber-useful for two things: giving away information and connecting people to each other. I’m in a pretty sweet position, because my networks are crammed full of interesting, skilled people and specialized information. Last night was a great example of bringing together a small group of gamers. I can easily connect people who are interested in history or in literature, movies, mathematics, computers, etc. As for info, I have access to information on Christianity, podcasting, a local bookstore’s inventory, and interesting blender recipes, to name the first things that come to mind.

Why Bother?
What’s the use, though? Isn’t the Internet better at connecting people and transmitting info than I ever well be? Yeah, it is pretty good at that, but both information downloads and social connections are often useless without a human face.  You can set up the Internet to look for friends and info for you, but the Internet does not care about you like I care about you.  I think you are more likely to utilize the info I send you and get to know the friends I send your way. That’s because you know I am a live, interested person.

Thanks for your time. Are my thoughts about this topic useful?

Last time I radically changed my haircut, I got a girlfriend for a while. I wonder what’s going to happen this time?