Hello, Discoverylover!

It’s me, Skyring!

Of course I remember last year’s roadtrip and the darling Texaswren. She is the reason that whenever I’m in Texas, even if it’s just to change planes at DFW, I have a big smile.

I met her for the first time in 2005, at the Fort Worth BookCrossing convention, where I also met WhyteRaven, a biker lady from California, and so many other awesome BookCrossers.

I also met chicken fried steak for the first time, and it was not at all the meal I expected!

On the Friday, there was an excursion to Archer City, where Texan author Larry McMurtry has one of the world’s great second-hand bookshops. I found myself in the back of Texaswren’s gigantic Chevy Suburban with Mojosmom from Chicago, Wren’s husband Johnnie driving us along the Interstate and Wren turning around from the front seat to ask if there was anything she could do to make us more comfortable.

“Yes,” I said, looking nervously at the Texan traffic flowing past. “Drive on the other side of the road!”

Johnnie snorted at that and pointed out where the latest twister had touched down.

Wren and Johnnie are one of the great husband and wife double acts. Seeing them perform together is a real treat. We tried to find the Dairy Queen in Archer City, which is the setting for one of McMurtry’s novels.

We had to stop for directions. Without a word being spoken, Wren hopped down from her seat and went inside to ask at a convenience store. Johnnie doesn’t ask, in case people might think he was lost!

I bought far too many books at “Booked Up”, McMurtry’s staggering, sprawling, Texas-sized bookshop. Mojosmom thoughtfully helped by adding titles I might like, until I was all but lost under the load, wondering if Qantas might have to order a bigger plane to get everything back home.

My bad habit is collecting things. Books, games, mugs, every boarding pass on every flight I’ve ever made. I don’t throw stuff away, and I go out of my way to collect more. I have rooms full of books. Rooms full of boxes of stuff which nobody cares about but me. I have, hanging in my wardrobe, clothes that once fitted me neatly before you were born.

It’s not a good habit, but it’s something that comforts me.

I know I’ll have to cull my possessions, and I plan on making a start tomorrow. Or possibly next week.

I have another habit. It’s a bad one. It’s expensive and time consuming. But it’s something that gives me a great deal of joy, and I figure that if some people can spend tens of thousands of dollars on restoring old cars or owning a horse, then I can call my habit a hobby, and make it sound respectable.

My hobby, my habit, my addiction is travel. But it’s not a habit I wish I didn’t have!

So many places! So many adventures to write about. Here’s a photograph of a place and a situation you’ll recognise.

That was a day to remember! Driving a five metre long Yank tank along Route 66 in the heart of America. With you beside me, urging me to pull over for every historical marker, state border sign, or weird food place that came up. You have that delightfully quirky personality that makes quirky obsessions like BookCrossing or Markeroni such fun.

And yes, I had to drive on the other side of the road to get that shot with the sign in the background. Just a teensy bit. And it’s not as if Route 66 is a busy road nowadays. Locals aside, the only people who drive Route 66 instead of choosing the quicker I-40 are those quirky folk who take pleasure in following the old Mother Road.

So that’s one of the places I’ve been. A roadtrip we shared, doing stuff we liked. And isn’t what this blog, this shared internet roadtrip, is all about? Stuff we like?

Yours aye,
Skyring

Hey Skyring!

Remember this?

That was such an awesome day. There was only one person on that trip that I thought I was going to miss out on, and TexasWren was that person. So I’m so glad we got to do that road trip, even if it did mean doing a crazy, crazy route. I mean, who else would drive from Chicago to Kansas City via Texas, other than us! But it was worth it, just to get to see Wren, who is everything I had hoped. Kind, funny, seriously awesome! I’m very much looking forward to seeing her again

Hopefully next time I’ll be able to do some of the driving and less sleeping! Which brings me to a habit I wish I didn’t have – I wish I didn’t sleep so much sometimes! Sometimes I think I miss our on stuff cos I need/get so much sleep. I always seem to get into weird sleep patterns when I’m at home and don’t have to work. Can be annoying at times.

Anyway, I’m gonna keep it short and sweet, cos I need to get some sleep now!

Remember to smile

DL

Hello, Discoverylover!

It’s me, Skyring!

I’ve gone on roadtrips with our friend Cookie a few times now, once in Europe, five of us wedged into a VW Golf, and a couple of times in her big Chrysler van through America. You were in the backseat on one of those trips, along with Cookie’s darling little boy. The van has flip down video screens and I could hear the movies, but not see them from my front seat position.

Cookie’s son loves, in the way that only young children can love, a few movies, which he must have seen hundreds of times. One of them was the movie Cars, which might as well have been on a continuous loop cycle, playing over and over again just behind my head.

So, I’ve heard the movie dozens of times, but never actually seen it!

Until a couple of nights ago, when it was shown on television. I loved it! Quite apart from the whimsy, it was a delightful morality tale, endorsing values I heartily endorse. It had the added bonus of being set in a fictional small town on Route 66, and as you know, I’m a total Route 66 nut.

The main reason we began this blog is to share our recommendations on books, places, movies, music, experiences and just stuff that we like. Pumpkin aside, if you like something, there’s a good chance I’ll like it, and if two of us like something good, then there’s probably bazillions of people who would share the like.

Which is why I chose the subtitle of “Like Letters” for our blog. Letters about things we like.

I like the format – a correspondence between us, similar to 84 Charing Cross Road, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and the Griffin & Sabine series.

My friends don’t all like what I do. Heck, you don’t always like what I like. Love your interest in military history, cannot understand your dislike of root beer!

But if everyone was the same, how dull a world it would be.

Once, during the days of the Cold War and the Warsaw Pact, a Pole was asked if he regarded the neighbouring Russian overlords as friends or brothers.

“Brothers,” he replied. “You choose your friends.”

Even if friends are found through random chance, such as being thrust together at camp or school, or through some weird happenstance like finding a book on a park bench, we choose to keep them. They are the ones whose birthdays we know, who wave at us across the street, whose likes and dislikes we care about.

I’ve got friends from school, work, hobbies. My army buddies, who shared so many days of pain or pleasure. My online friends, found through a love of some arcane topic, whether it be wargames, computers, music or the naval novels of Patrick O’Brian.

If all my friends could gather together in one place at one time for a photograph, I would die from happiness.

So I’ve chosen one of my favourite photographs to illustrate some of my friends. This is the photograph I’ve got as my computer desktop background. This is a photo of the last moments of a fabulous roadtrip from Wellington to Christchurch via Hanmer Springs. A bunch of BookCrossers.

I’m the galoot, crouching down in front – again wearing my favourite hat ever – and reading from left to right we have:

• K-J-H. One of the first BookCrossers I met. We stayed in the same hostel for the Sydney BookCrossing Convention in 2004, and had fun lining books up in Martin Place, handing them out to rushing commuters, talking to television celebrities and just being booky blokes. Kevin has a ton of cool gadgets and is organised to an extent that my jaw drops in admiration. He’s a gentle soul and has a heart of gold.
• MissMarkey. Janice was a surprise catch. She had come out to New Zealand for the convention, but spent a week touring around the North Island. She got off the plane from Auckland, and we held up a sign. She walked straight into our hearts. Such a wonderful sense of fun! On the ferry, the experienced travellers – like you – fell happily asleep, but Janice was out on the observation deck, drinking in the amazing scenery. Her enthusiasm for life and wonder is boundless. I’ve since met her again in various corners of the BookCrossing world, most recently in Amsterdam, where she and Kevin helped with a secret project to bring a smile to the face of someone who couldn’t attend.
• You! We got a blown-up photograph of you, mounted it on a stick, and posed you around Amsterdam – and later Berlin, Iceland, Wales, etc. That was fun! And fun describes you down to the last smile and sparkle in your happy eyes. ‘Nuff said. Anyone reading these like letters knows your heart.
• Let’s skip over the next chap, the one who, if the camera were turned off for a moment, might let his hands wander down a little, and talk of Alkaline-Kiwi, who is your Bestest BookCrossing Buddy Forever (™ DL). She is from the wild West Coast of the South Island, where they breed ‘em strong and true. Kirsty is straightforward, down-to-earth and ambitious within her grasp. She talks of running a bed-and-breakfast or a hostel somewhere, and when she hits her niche in the tourism industry, I will come and be her guest as often as I can afford it. She is great company, and I think that somewhere deep inside her is a great novel or screenplay.
• Earok, the man on the verge of fondle, loves her strongly. It is a pleasure to see the two of them together, taking joy in each other’s company. Another BookCrossing romance. Erik is a game designer, and he has had a few small successes already. Together they live in downtown Auckland, a cosmopolitan life of coffee shops and rooftops, music and late-night talking of deep and interesting subjects. Erik doesn’t say much – a sweet contrast to his lady – but he thinks deeply and together they are well worth listening to.

Taken as a group, we had such a fabulous time together those few days before the Christchurch convention. We have shared more since then, and will undoubtedly knock into each other time and again as the years roll on.

But we are there every night as the computer screens glow. Chatting and blogging and journalling and twittering. My friends are my true wealth, and I am rich indeed!

Yours aye,
Skyring

Hey Skyring,

You’re right, we should divulge some things about ourselves.

This is me with my BBFF (Best BookCrossing Friend Forever), Kirsty, at her apartment in Auckland. I took this series of photographs at her place when I was there one day, using the handy features of Photo Booth. All thats really missing are the pina coladas! We met at the same time I met you, at the Wellington BookCrossing Convention, and we’ve been friends ever since. One of the things I love about Kirsty is that she’s incredibly loyal, and I know I can tell her anything, and she won’t judge (too much!).

Almost all of the jobs I’ve had have had something to do with children, apart from my first ever job at McDonald’s (which is why I don’t eat there), and when I did data entry for a few months while trying to find something better.

I’m addicted to the internet, cos a lot of my friends live there :p Makes my life slightly easier, because I’m hardly ever at home, but I always know I’ve got someone to talk to if I need it.

When I get tired, I get lonely, which makes me stay up late talking to people, which then makes me more tired. Eventually I learn and get a really good nights sleep

When I finished university I tried to get a teaching job, but stopped applying when I realised that it was making me feel worthless as a person.

I haven’t been overseas this year, but I have been to 40 cities/towns in New Zealand, and will be going to at least another 24 before the year is out (plus will be making one short overseas trip in October).

I love that the world is so big and so small at the same time.

It scares me that some people have such little regard for other people, and our environment. It also scares me how stupid people can act in cars. I don’t think they realise that a car can be an extremely dangerous weapon.

My sister is my favourite member of my family, and I don’t know what I would do without her. If I ever settle down I want to be near her. I always wonder if my parents were close to their siblings when they were our age, because it seems to me that they don’t seem to spend a lot of time together, and I wonder if they regret or miss that.

I truly do believe that age is just a number. Mostly cos all my friends wouldn’t like me if I told them they were old :p

I don’t like scary movies because I can’t stand seeing people get hurt and not be able to do anything about it. Similarly, I always cry at sad bits.

My favourite city is Wellington, because I love that it’s so small, it has a really nice vibe to it, and I always feel safe here.

I have 2 favourite hats. One is a rainbow stripy one with ears that I bought at the Queen Vic Market in Melbourne at my second ever BookCrossing Convention. The other one is a BookCrossing cap I stole from you last year after you insulted New Zealand too many times.

My passport photo makes me look like a terrorist, and I can’t believe they let me in to the USA last year. (I am not actually a terrorist obviously).

My favourite kind of lolly (chocolate being it’s own food group of course!) are jellybeans, because I love the bright colours, and cos it can be fun to get on a sugar high. In fact, I’d rather get on a sugar high than be drunk, which is one reason I don’t drink much. Also because I have other things I’d rather spend my money on. Like jelly beans :p

RTS Pete,

Discoverylover

PS… The meaning behind our blog name…as we say on our ‘Hello It’s Us’ page, we chose this as our title because when we were trying to think of a title for this, we consulted our favourite bands (Sister Hazel) playlist, and came up with ‘Hello It’s Me’, which is one of my favourite songs by them. (I’m a softy and a romantic at heart!). I’ll let Skyring cover the subtitle cos otherwise he won’t have anything to write about :p

Hey, Discoverylover!

It’s me, Springtime Skyring.

The days are glorious here in Canberra. The annual flower festival of Floriade is in full swing, fields of tulips and busloads of tourists, filling up camera cards at a collective rate that makes SanDisk stocks soar.

I think it’s time we revealed some things about ourselves.

I’m the guy in the command pilot’s seat, holding the teddybear. And wearing my favorite hat – a BookCrossing cap which got stolen last year.

As various online profiles reveal, I’m a globetrotting taxidriver. I drive the night shift in Canberra five nights a week. I’ve been around the world seven times in the past five years, and have been in eleven different countries this year.

I’ve had several different careers: public servant, computer programmer, political journalist, second-hand bookdealer.

I live in a house that was once owned by Vice Admiral Sir Brian Murray, the Victorian Governor. Hence our nickname for it: The Governor’s Mansion.

I have four free-range chickens in the backyard. They have a fine chookey time, and provide one or two eggs daily.

I have a collection of several hundred board wargames, about half the number it used to be. You want to refight the Battle of Waterloo, I’m your man!

I was once the only simultaneous member of both the Australian Republican Movement and Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy. For the record, the monarchists are generally older, politer and better informed by their opposite numbers. But both sets are enthusiastic in their hopes for a better Australia.

I was once the president of the Canberra branch of a national political party, and spent far too much time working in the Parliament House office of one of our MPs.

As a student, I joined the Army Reserve University Regiment, regularly spending over a hundred days in uniform each year, reaching the substantive rank of Sergeant, and earning a marksmanship award for my skill with the submachinegun. My tip: short bursts, and hold the end of the barrel down forcefully with the free hand. A better tip: more time in study and less in uniform; I never graduated!

I have written several short books and published one. I’d like to write more.

I am a voracious bookworm, having learnt to read before kindergarten and spending a large amount of my childhood reading, often under the covers with the aid of a torch. I have a collection of roughly five thousand books.

I joined Mensa in high school, but never attended a meeting, as I lived in a rural shire, and the buses from the town stopped running at six pm, before the meetings there even began. By the time I had a car, I’d lost interest. I can report that they put out some brilliant newsletters.

I’ve driven around the Arc de Triomphe before a crowd of several thousand – the 2008 Olympic torch was being carried up the Champs Elysees as I made my circuit and the road was closed a few seconds later.

I love Paris, Guernsey, San Francisco, Christchurch and Dunedin more or less equally, but my favorite city in all the world is Canberra. There is no other place quite like it.

I have walked and driven along several segments of Route 66, and plan to drive the whole length next year.

I once appeared on the front page of the Australian Financial Review. In a large full colour photograph with several pages as a special feature inside.

And now, I cowrite a blog about things I like, and this is probably the thing I like doing best.

Yours aye,
Skyring