The image above, that of a pirate sock monkey, represents me on many levels. First, I really like monkeys. In my early twenties, at a frat party no less, good friends and myself started to come up with this whole monkey persona for ourselves – by the end of the night, we all had primate names. We dubbed the most charismatic of our clique, Larry, as our “leader,” and called him Monkey Man. I was to be named his sidekick, Banana Boy. The other two guys, Gorilla Guy and Grape Ape, well, as time went by we all moved on, and we lost touch. Though I have reconnected with one of them (Gabe, aka Gorilla Guy), Larry and I remain the best of friends (and have been as such since 1987).
During the late 90’s though, when most of this transpired, my family caught wind that I liked monkeys. They really did not know the silliness behind my reasons for liking all things primate though. For each gift giving holiday, relatives would often give me monkey things. I think my collection peaked with about 200 monkey items, most of which were plush animals – with that, I had to cut them all off. No more monkeys. Please. When I moved to AZ, I actually gave away four large garbage bags full of stuffed monkeys to a friend of mine for her two boys. Still, the remainder was about another four garbage bags.
I had a tough time deciding between this image, and one of many I have of a little beanie-baby sized Curious George. Even before the fates delivered me that party in 1996, I had always liked the curious little monkey. I love to travel, and will always take Curious George with me to photograph him in interesting places. I have been doing this since 1998. (Sadly though, my ex has a lot of our pre-digital pictures). If you’d like to see just a taste of some of Curious George’s travels, feel free to check out just a few of his travels on his Flickr page http://www.flickr.com/photos/24032063@N06/sets/
Back to my image of me as a pirate sock monkey: Well, by now you should get the monkey-part. The pirate? Well, there is a lot behind this. I enjoy and embrace pirate lore. I’ve traveled a few times to the Outer Banks (Nags Head, Kill Devil Hills, etc) which is bursting with pirate history/lore. I love all sorts of pirate or pirate-like movies such as Cuttthroat Island, The Princess Bride (<--best movie every), The Goonies, and of course Pirates of the Caribbean (Did you know that Disney, Depp and Bruckheimer are making a 4th movie due out May 2011?). I always celebrate September 19th’s Talk-Like-A-Pirate-Day. This past year, my Department just released a new logo and we got t-shirts, right before the 19th. I quickly ‘decorated’ the back of with a shopped U of Az Wildcat logo in celebration:
Pirates like to plunder. I like to plunder.
Pirates like booty. I like booty. ::smiles::
Pirates travel and go on adventures. I like to travel and like adventures.
So I guess “there’s a bit of the Captain” in me. (<--Captain Morgan reference).
With that shared, how do I think others see me? Well, I strolled around my house looking for something that would trigger something symbolic, and found the answer in my backyard:
This photo was taken yesterday evening and is of a corner of my back patio. We have bamboo, that grows very well here. Then we have this one stalk that grew, weed-like, on its own, away from the others. I think other people might see me a bit like that. I am an individual, and sometimes perceived as such. I can blend in with a crowd if I need to (I look just like the other bamboo), but tend to usually stand out. Being a quiet person, I might be seen as somewhat of a loner by others.
Additionally, like my bamboo, I’m green, or do my best to be. I drive two fuel efficient Minis. I often bike to work. I water my plants only at night. Turn off the water when brushing my teeth, etc. I stand out from others around me at work in this aspect. Most of my coworkers live 30-60 minutes from work and have interstate-commutes and drive big SUVs or trucks. In addition, I’m the only one that’s politically-independent-minded in my work environment that’s full of “raging republicans.”
So I’m this green loaner but can be a chameleon and blend in with others when I need to (a very useful skill when working in a political environment). I think this is how others might see me.
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