Aw shucks, is this thread still going? I recall it from long ago, I intended to post then, but didn't. Still with us (me and the thread), better now than never., at my age (70 in December). Indeed, WDTTG?
So which button do I press, coming as I do from here, there and everywhere? Connundrum! (In the end I did Australia, read on and find out why.)
A mixed blood child - Irish-American father, French mother - born in a pleasant hamlet called Chatham, New Brunswick (Canada, not New Jersey). Childhood in a dull industrial city called Moncton, survived by weekends and school holidays in Shediac Cape, a quiet, lovely spot with the nicest beaches out of Ozzz.
As a young adult ('60s) I studied in Montreal (B.Ed.) and Toronto, (Diploma in Commercial Photography), moved to Vancouver, then in California as a studio gopher (= slave) to a renowned photographer (no name) with a carefully crafted image but a classic ogre). A new era ('70s) and back to Canada, Saigon, Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur, eventually Australia, Sydney (10 years), Melbourne (27 years). Now retired in a weird, strange, beautiful alternate universe called Tasmania. Old age is catching up and we will eventually move on to access better healthcare and better stocks of films and other photo stuff, for now OL ordering suffices.
In retirement from varied careers (journalism, media promotion-marketing, civil service, design architect) I now travel to Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei for extended visits. Long treks and a Nikon D700 kit and a Gitzo tripod keep me agile if n olonger young. My partner (Malaysian) iskeen that we resettle in Melbourne or Ipoh, but I don't know... I still can't decide what (or where) I want to be when I grow up.
I enjoy this forum more than any of the others and I have great admiration for many of the posters -Bill Pierce, charjohncarter, Roger Hicks, and Chris Crawford, to name only a few. Posters with the courage of their convictions and not afraid to speak for themselves.
I haven't made a fortune or even serious money in my time on this planet, but life has been fun and I want a few more years of freewheeling in Asia before I buy a rocking chair and sit and read with the cat on my lap. Not likely soon, to me a "rocker" is a musician, not furniture, and our well-fed feline weighs eight kilograms...
In my 70s I'll try to stay home more, play in darkroom and with my cameras (Nikon Fs and Ds, Nikkormats, Rolleis, Contax Gs, Voigtlanders) and try to use up the two fridges of printing paper and films in my garage.
In my next life I promise to hold true to three basic rules - brevity, brevity, brevity.
