A life-changing blog entry
Dec. 22nd, 2007 10:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
skyringThe short version? Go to this site here, look through it, read, comment, maybe press a button or two.
I never thought I'd be a taxidriver. As a boy, it seemed about as likely as becoming one of those astronauts who were bucketing about on the Moon. Yet here I am, driving a twelve hour shift five nights a week.
You know what? I love it. It's the best job I've ever had. Sure, it's nice to climb out of my seat in the early hours with a bag stuffed full of twenties and fifties. Even after I give half to the owner and half what's left to the tax office, it's still a happy chunk of money.
And yes, it's fun to drive around the streets of Canberra, floodlit national monuments, stretches of parkland, Miles Davis on the CD, a leather seat under my bum.
But the best bit is the people. Some of my passengers ask, "Don't you have a lot of trouble with drunks? Don't they want to punch you, throw up in your cab and run away without paying?"
Well, no. Maybe I've developed some gift of dealing with drunk people, but the reality is that I pay attention to the needs of my passengers, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, their need is to be taken to a destination safely, efficiently, comfortably and enjoyably. Drunk people can't drive home, the buses stop running after midnight, and Canberra's so spread out that walking home is usually out of the question, especially for young women in heels. I feel that I'm doing a public service by getting these people home safely. Or business travellers to the airport on time. Or wedding guests to the celebrations. Or old age pensioners home from the doctors.
I like making people happy, and every night my life is full of happy people. Having them pay me for the pleasure is the icing on top.
"I don't need a tip," I'll tell my passengers, if they offer me a little extra. "Just a smile."
They smile at me. And give me the tip anyway.
I say goodbye and drive off, waving as I go. Smiling to myself, feeling pleased and proud.
I love being happy amongst happy people. Simple as that.
Four years ago, I found a great idea on the web. Register a book at a computer site, put an ID number on it, and leave it as a gift for someone else to find. A park bench, a coffee shop. A stranger will pick it up, take it away, read it, and maybe go to the website and add their comments. And then leave it for someone else to find.
It's called BookCrossing.com, and BookCrossing has changed my life. It has led me to a world of warm-hearted people, full of generosity, a sense of fun, a quirky way of looking at the world. And very well read. Chatting in the site forums wasn't enough and I soon plucked up my courage to seek out other BookCrossers in real life.
Since those first meetings, I've found the experience of being part of this community fantastically enriching. I've travelled within Australia, to nearby New Zealand, and around the world to meet other BookCrossers. Everywhere I've been, I've made new friends and shared in the joy of BookCrossing. It's not the books I love so much, not half as much as my fellow BookCrossers.
Every year there's a BookCrossing convention held to celebrate the birthday of the idea. 17 April. The first conventions were organised at grass roots level - just a get together to swap books, share adventures, meet each other. BookCrossing is like that, more of a community than an organisation.
Other conventions sprang up around the world. In Australia, we have it at a convenient time of the year depending on the location. Winter time in sunny Queensland, autumn in Adelaide, and probably midsummer in chilly old Canberra, if we ever have one here. In the UK, they decided to hold an Un-Convention, and unconventional the British BookCrossers certainly are. Daffy and delightful.
I've attended as many of these conventions as I could afford, and I appear in the photographs with a broad smile on my face. No need to ask if I'm enjoying myself. I'm having the time of my life!
Next year's anniversary convention will be held outside North America for the first time. In London. I'm not sure how many Americans will make that transatlantic trip, but the travel market from America to Europe is reasonably competitive and low fares may be had. The literary charm of London, combined with the opportunity to see a bit of the UK and maybe the Continent, will undoubtedly attract many.
In 2009 the convention will be hosted by Christchurch, in New Zealand. If I couldn't live in Canberra, Christchurch would be my second choice in all the world. A beautiful city in a beautiful land. But I wonder how many BookCrossers from the Northern Hemisphere will be able to attend. Likewise, how many Australians and New Zealanders will make the trip to London in 2008?
Science fiction fans (or fen, as the male ones call themselves) have been dealing with this sort of problem for decades. The Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF) and Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) are two of many similar schemes aimed at selecting a science fiction fan and raising enough money to send them to the other side of the world. The fan fund winners report back on the convention, the people they met, the things they did, the friendships forged. Often these trip reports have been packaged up and sold to raise more funds to help send others to the next year's convention.
Perhaps, I thought to myself, we BookCrossers could start up a scheme along the same lines. I consulted with a lot of people, made a few false starts, and finally wound up with a model that addresses many of the concerns raised in discussion.
The stated aim is to send one or two New Zealand BookCrossers to London so as to present details of the Christchurch convention to attendees in London. They will also be able to see for themselves how the Anniversary convention is run. But most of all, they will be able to cement personal links with other BookCrossers. I see it as a way of attracting Northern Hemisphere BookCrossers to New Zealand in 2009. What better way to do it than have some actual New Zealanders on hand to answer questions? Maybe we can get them to do the haka before a presentation.
I'm hoping that in future the same scheme or a refinement can be used to send Northern Hemisphere BookCrossers to Christchurch. People who might otherwise not be able to attend.
Accordingly, I made a post to the BCNZ group, asking that they come up with the name of a BookCrosser who could be sent to London. I volunteered a thousand dollars of my own money as a starter. This is a couple months of tips for me. Money given freely as a personal gift, and I think it appropriate that I pass it on likewise. With a smile.
The BCNZ group, after some discussion, came up with two members who were able to go if selected. There are a great many extraordinary New Zealand BookCrossers, but not everybody was able to take the time off, or wished to put themselves forward.
The nominees were Futurecat and Teotakuu. A very hard decision to select one or the other, because they are both outstanding BookCrossers with huge friendship bases around the world, and both total darlings.
A ballot was held, tallied by DiscoveryLover, and it emerged that FutureCat had won from Teotakuu by one vote.
I've committed myself to at least a thousand dollars, I've had word that I'm likely to have some more money fall into my lap in the next few days, so I'll contribute that as well, and now I'm asking my BookCrossing friends to help out.
My aim is to raise enough money to have both FutureCat and Teotakuu travel around the world. Not just to London, but to other places where gatherings of BookCrossers can meet the travellers, hear their message, and load them up with books. I'm aiming for the oneWorld airline alliance's oneWorld Explorer ticket, which allows four flights each in Australasia, Asia, and Europe, plus six in North America. There are other tickets available, and at a bare minimum we'll certainly have enough for a return ticket to London for one.
I'm also seeking offers of accommodation. In the past, I've slept on spare beds and couches and had the most amazing times meeting BookCrossers around the world and being shown around their cities. Hunting seersucker suits in Charleston, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight, introducing Tim Tam biscuits to Shrewsbury... I have no doubt that we can find a bed or two for our travellers.
I'm looking for people to help run this website. DiscoveryLover has volunteered, but I'm thinking that other tasks will present themselves, such as culling items from blogs to document the travels.
There are donation buttons on the site, allowing people to contribute amounts ranging from one dollar to a hundred via PayPal. This money goes directly to me, and I will pass it on to the traveller(s) early next year, once we've worked out how much we have and how far we can go. In future, I'm looking at setting up some not for profit organisation. Maybe this can be done in the next few days or weeks - I don't know. All contributions will be acknowledged and all contributors will be listed on the site. I'll ask what name people would like displayed (or maybe it will be AnonymousGiver) and whether they would like the amount noted or not.
But in the meantime, may I ask my readers to contribute a little to help start off BookCrosser Exchange, and to pass on the link to their BookCrossing friends? One request I make is that this not be mentioned in the BookCrossing.com forums. There are enough problems with spam in the forums already, and some might ask what makes soliciting funds for this cause any different from a self-published author spruiking their own book. Yahoo or Facebook groups and blogs are fine.
This is the chance to put smiles on faces all over the world, now and in April. And why do I consider this the most important Livejournal post I've ever made? Because it has the potential to change lives. Of the travellers, of the people they meet and the people they persuade to visit Christchurch next year. My life has been hugely enriched by meeting my BookCrossing friends in person, and if I can help change the lives of others in a similar way, I'm going to be the happiest of happy people.
The URL again is http://www.bcx.bounce.com.au/ Pay it a visit, make some comments, suggest ways it can be improved. All contributions very gratefully received!
And finally, may I borrow from Teotakuu some words I found on her BookCrossing.com profile, which I echo from the very heart of my heart:
To the wonderful women and men of Bookcrossing, I salute you, one and all, for the richness and friendship that you have brought into my life.
I never thought I'd be a taxidriver. As a boy, it seemed about as likely as becoming one of those astronauts who were bucketing about on the Moon. Yet here I am, driving a twelve hour shift five nights a week.
You know what? I love it. It's the best job I've ever had. Sure, it's nice to climb out of my seat in the early hours with a bag stuffed full of twenties and fifties. Even after I give half to the owner and half what's left to the tax office, it's still a happy chunk of money.
And yes, it's fun to drive around the streets of Canberra, floodlit national monuments, stretches of parkland, Miles Davis on the CD, a leather seat under my bum.
But the best bit is the people. Some of my passengers ask, "Don't you have a lot of trouble with drunks? Don't they want to punch you, throw up in your cab and run away without paying?"
Well, no. Maybe I've developed some gift of dealing with drunk people, but the reality is that I pay attention to the needs of my passengers, and ninety-nine times out of a hundred, their need is to be taken to a destination safely, efficiently, comfortably and enjoyably. Drunk people can't drive home, the buses stop running after midnight, and Canberra's so spread out that walking home is usually out of the question, especially for young women in heels. I feel that I'm doing a public service by getting these people home safely. Or business travellers to the airport on time. Or wedding guests to the celebrations. Or old age pensioners home from the doctors.
I like making people happy, and every night my life is full of happy people. Having them pay me for the pleasure is the icing on top.
"I don't need a tip," I'll tell my passengers, if they offer me a little extra. "Just a smile."
They smile at me. And give me the tip anyway.
I say goodbye and drive off, waving as I go. Smiling to myself, feeling pleased and proud.
I love being happy amongst happy people. Simple as that.
Four years ago, I found a great idea on the web. Register a book at a computer site, put an ID number on it, and leave it as a gift for someone else to find. A park bench, a coffee shop. A stranger will pick it up, take it away, read it, and maybe go to the website and add their comments. And then leave it for someone else to find.
It's called BookCrossing.com, and BookCrossing has changed my life. It has led me to a world of warm-hearted people, full of generosity, a sense of fun, a quirky way of looking at the world. And very well read. Chatting in the site forums wasn't enough and I soon plucked up my courage to seek out other BookCrossers in real life.
Since those first meetings, I've found the experience of being part of this community fantastically enriching. I've travelled within Australia, to nearby New Zealand, and around the world to meet other BookCrossers. Everywhere I've been, I've made new friends and shared in the joy of BookCrossing. It's not the books I love so much, not half as much as my fellow BookCrossers.
Every year there's a BookCrossing convention held to celebrate the birthday of the idea. 17 April. The first conventions were organised at grass roots level - just a get together to swap books, share adventures, meet each other. BookCrossing is like that, more of a community than an organisation.
Other conventions sprang up around the world. In Australia, we have it at a convenient time of the year depending on the location. Winter time in sunny Queensland, autumn in Adelaide, and probably midsummer in chilly old Canberra, if we ever have one here. In the UK, they decided to hold an Un-Convention, and unconventional the British BookCrossers certainly are. Daffy and delightful.
I've attended as many of these conventions as I could afford, and I appear in the photographs with a broad smile on my face. No need to ask if I'm enjoying myself. I'm having the time of my life!
Next year's anniversary convention will be held outside North America for the first time. In London. I'm not sure how many Americans will make that transatlantic trip, but the travel market from America to Europe is reasonably competitive and low fares may be had. The literary charm of London, combined with the opportunity to see a bit of the UK and maybe the Continent, will undoubtedly attract many.
In 2009 the convention will be hosted by Christchurch, in New Zealand. If I couldn't live in Canberra, Christchurch would be my second choice in all the world. A beautiful city in a beautiful land. But I wonder how many BookCrossers from the Northern Hemisphere will be able to attend. Likewise, how many Australians and New Zealanders will make the trip to London in 2008?
Science fiction fans (or fen, as the male ones call themselves) have been dealing with this sort of problem for decades. The Down Under Fan Fund (DUFF) and Transatlantic Fan Fund (TAFF) are two of many similar schemes aimed at selecting a science fiction fan and raising enough money to send them to the other side of the world. The fan fund winners report back on the convention, the people they met, the things they did, the friendships forged. Often these trip reports have been packaged up and sold to raise more funds to help send others to the next year's convention.
Perhaps, I thought to myself, we BookCrossers could start up a scheme along the same lines. I consulted with a lot of people, made a few false starts, and finally wound up with a model that addresses many of the concerns raised in discussion.
The stated aim is to send one or two New Zealand BookCrossers to London so as to present details of the Christchurch convention to attendees in London. They will also be able to see for themselves how the Anniversary convention is run. But most of all, they will be able to cement personal links with other BookCrossers. I see it as a way of attracting Northern Hemisphere BookCrossers to New Zealand in 2009. What better way to do it than have some actual New Zealanders on hand to answer questions? Maybe we can get them to do the haka before a presentation.
I'm hoping that in future the same scheme or a refinement can be used to send Northern Hemisphere BookCrossers to Christchurch. People who might otherwise not be able to attend.
Accordingly, I made a post to the BCNZ group, asking that they come up with the name of a BookCrosser who could be sent to London. I volunteered a thousand dollars of my own money as a starter. This is a couple months of tips for me. Money given freely as a personal gift, and I think it appropriate that I pass it on likewise. With a smile.
The BCNZ group, after some discussion, came up with two members who were able to go if selected. There are a great many extraordinary New Zealand BookCrossers, but not everybody was able to take the time off, or wished to put themselves forward.
The nominees were Futurecat and Teotakuu. A very hard decision to select one or the other, because they are both outstanding BookCrossers with huge friendship bases around the world, and both total darlings.
A ballot was held, tallied by DiscoveryLover, and it emerged that FutureCat had won from Teotakuu by one vote.
I've committed myself to at least a thousand dollars, I've had word that I'm likely to have some more money fall into my lap in the next few days, so I'll contribute that as well, and now I'm asking my BookCrossing friends to help out.
My aim is to raise enough money to have both FutureCat and Teotakuu travel around the world. Not just to London, but to other places where gatherings of BookCrossers can meet the travellers, hear their message, and load them up with books. I'm aiming for the oneWorld airline alliance's oneWorld Explorer ticket, which allows four flights each in Australasia, Asia, and Europe, plus six in North America. There are other tickets available, and at a bare minimum we'll certainly have enough for a return ticket to London for one.
I'm also seeking offers of accommodation. In the past, I've slept on spare beds and couches and had the most amazing times meeting BookCrossers around the world and being shown around their cities. Hunting seersucker suits in Charleston, crossing the Brooklyn Bridge at midnight, introducing Tim Tam biscuits to Shrewsbury... I have no doubt that we can find a bed or two for our travellers.
I'm looking for people to help run this website. DiscoveryLover has volunteered, but I'm thinking that other tasks will present themselves, such as culling items from blogs to document the travels.
There are donation buttons on the site, allowing people to contribute amounts ranging from one dollar to a hundred via PayPal. This money goes directly to me, and I will pass it on to the traveller(s) early next year, once we've worked out how much we have and how far we can go. In future, I'm looking at setting up some not for profit organisation. Maybe this can be done in the next few days or weeks - I don't know. All contributions will be acknowledged and all contributors will be listed on the site. I'll ask what name people would like displayed (or maybe it will be AnonymousGiver) and whether they would like the amount noted or not.
But in the meantime, may I ask my readers to contribute a little to help start off BookCrosser Exchange, and to pass on the link to their BookCrossing friends? One request I make is that this not be mentioned in the BookCrossing.com forums. There are enough problems with spam in the forums already, and some might ask what makes soliciting funds for this cause any different from a self-published author spruiking their own book. Yahoo or Facebook groups and blogs are fine.
This is the chance to put smiles on faces all over the world, now and in April. And why do I consider this the most important Livejournal post I've ever made? Because it has the potential to change lives. Of the travellers, of the people they meet and the people they persuade to visit Christchurch next year. My life has been hugely enriched by meeting my BookCrossing friends in person, and if I can help change the lives of others in a similar way, I'm going to be the happiest of happy people.
The URL again is http://www.bcx.bounce.com.au/ Pay it a visit, make some comments, suggest ways it can be improved. All contributions very gratefully received!
And finally, may I borrow from Teotakuu some words I found on her BookCrossing.com profile, which I echo from the very heart of my heart:
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 05:17 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 06:52 am (UTC)My only concern is how long it will be before someone mentions it in the forums.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 09:09 am (UTC)I'm just checking out the site now. Very informative.
I plan on making a donation after Christmas and if I can think of any other way to help I'll let you know. If any BookCrossers are passing through Greymouth post-convention 2009 I'm happy to offer the spare room to them. I know that's a long way off but just putting the suggestion out there.
BookCrossers rock.
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 09:22 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 10:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 12:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 02:13 pm (UTC)As soon as all the prezzis are bought, wrapped and posted I'll see how much there is left and haste me to the site.
In the meantime I hope you have the wonderful festive season you clearly deserve!
no subject
Date: 2007-12-22 07:58 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-12-23 12:29 am (UTC)Hey Pete!
Date: 2007-12-22 11:45 pm (UTC)Re: Hey Pete!
Date: 2007-12-23 12:26 am (UTC)Re: Hey Pete!
Date: 2007-12-23 01:50 am (UTC)