Who the heck is this guy?
Good question. I am still figuring that one out myself, which is partly the appeal of hitting the road for a while. Time to ponder, meet a diverse spread of people...bulk up the experience bank etc etc.
Two things I do know - where I have been and where I am headed.
WHERE I'VE BEEN:
I was raised in Hong Kong within a great family of English origin. Being in HK during some of its best years ('79-'96) my upbringing was an outstanding experience.
With hard working parents and living in an economically and politically stable, upwardly mobile, small country, it was like the whole world was encapsulated within the microcosm of where we lived. There were 52 different nationalities represented by the kids at my school alone.
The weather was, mostly, conducive to an outdoor and active lifestyle. When it got too hot, humid, or torrential rain set in, well, there was always an arcade to dive in to and waste some coins playing Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Daytona and Mah Jong (I think I was the only white kid who actually played the Mah Jong game).
Anyway. Sports. My life was all about what I could play and compete in, which was pretty much everything it turned out. Inevitably Sports Science (attaining an ACE certificate in Personal Training at the same time) became one of my chosen A-Levels, along with Business Studies (I toyed with the idea of becoming an entrepreneur) and Design & Technology (loved designing and making things, though was never actually any good at the drawing part or the making part haha).
Pretty diverse stuff with seemingly no particular trajectory, which is how I wanted it to be. Never liked being pigeonholed or tied down to just one thing. I wasn't one of those kids who grew up knowing, or at least thinking, they wanted to be a Doctor, Lawyer or Pilot etc. My first ambition, aged circa 5, was to be a Mad Scientist/Inventor...next came a Knight (bit late, by a few hundred years, for that one). Inidana Jones convinced me to become an Explorer/Adventurer before an obsession with sharks led me down the road of growing up to be a Marine Biologist (which Jaws put an end to). After those eliminations for careers, Plan A (About) stood firmly on centre stage...an ever present and immovable ambition. The goal posts got moved for me, by virtue of genetics, on that one. Not to worry, I could combine sports, business and design to become the next Richard Branson.
UNIVERSITY:
My decision to do Management Science as a degree was determined largely because a best friend was doing it. Yeah, I kind of fall in to things. A shortlist of around 10 subjects (ranging from Architecture to Philosophy Politics & Economics) had to be whittled down somehow.
It turned out that Management Science was a good choice to make because after surviving the first year, the modular system allowed me to ditch things like maths in favour of philosophy (prefering subjects I can waffle on about rather than have to actually know things). In the end I think I have utilised management in a plethora of areas in my life and career *cough*, if you can call it that. Most don't.
I didn't really want to go to University. I wanted to head out in to the big wide world and just have a go at it. See where one thing would lead to another. My parents convinced me (no regrets in listening) to get a degree in the bag and enjoy the life of being a student. So I did just that...with an emphasis on the enjoyment side.
TRAVEL:
I took a year off (Gap Year to some) between school and Uni, so that I could chill a bit, play football, do a ski season (funny story that one) etc. That year was a big contributor to a reversion of my personal philosophies. Doing Business Studies and choosing Management Science had convinced me to become mega-rich (in a philanthropic manner). Time to ponder brought back a deeper, longer lasting notion, that I really didn't have the drive, nor the nastiness in can take, to get rich. So during my final two years of University the embryo of a life revolving around earning a living whilst traveling began to grow. It was also a prolific period of creative writing...the stuff was just pouring out of me (dope induced, perhaps). My spiritual side, which had always been there from the age of 2 when I have my first memories, also came to the fore. What to do about all of that?
Buy a VW Camper van and just start driving. That was the decision towards the end of my 2nd year. I set about making lists of things that would be essential, and other things which would be a bonus (considering the limited amount of space).
Mine would have been a lot less shinny. Cleaning things is something I just really can't be bothered with, but I am trying to change my ways in that regard.
Somehow, somewhere along the way, the van evolved into a yacht! Influenced by spending many a weekend, as a kid, at a boat club where my parents sailed Enterprises (whilst living on a cliff overlooking the sea). I guess the ocean just seemed like a perfectly natural place to be. Feverishly I started researching the option, which although would be way beyond my current budget, might not be totally unaffordable in the future if I went to Asia and bought one I could repair myself...putting to good use my Design & Technology A-Level. A Multi-hull seemed to be my best option. The lines I was thinking along were that with such a craft I could not only navigate blue water crossings, but take it up rivers and further inland. I could possibly even beach the thing for a stay on some secluded island.
I was totally seduced by the notion of a life on the ocean. So much so that in the year 2000 I cam close to snapping up an absolute bargain of a boat that was going on Ebay for only £16,000. It needed some work but most of it I could manage myself as it was carpentry. Being completely seaworthy, apart from requiring a couple of engines, I could have sailed it to the Mediterranean and had it fixed up and ready to cruise for far less than doing so in the UK. Alas, the funds could not be raised in time as the auction ended the day after I viewed it.
[The closest image I can find to what I had in mind]
[The Sundiver I came not-so-close to purchasing]
However...the dream lived on. Chartering a yacht became a realistic option for spreading my search parameters to a global basis. I figured I could easily earn a basic income from taking families on extended cruises or sightseeing jaunts wherever I docked. Scuba or fishing trips, I even entertained the idea of smuggling. Any which way I looked at it, a life at sea could be affordable (even lucrative if I put my mind to it), adventurous, interestingly diverse and I'd have the time continue my creative writing.
GRADUATION:
By the skin of my teeth I had done it, graduating from UMIST (University of Manchester Institute of Science & Technology) with a 2.1Bsc Hons. No one quite knows how I managed that, considering I failed 3 exams in the first year, and their retakes. Getting brutally assaulted by a gang in Fallowfield did actually have a plus side because it led to me staying home more and getting some actual work done - but that is another story.
[That is genuine relief on display there...and the statue is indeed holding me up - should have saved celebrating until after the ceremony]
A flat mate and I decided that after a year of gathering some funds together we would walk to Poland from London and make our way to take the Trans Siberian to Beijing (the reverse train journey my brother made on his year off), then find our way to Hong Kong where we would have safe haven at my parents place for a while. Work a bit, then island hop to Australia - all the while filming our exploits with the view to making a movie out of it. The Blair Witch Project had proven that low-budget, if done well, could sell in the mainstream.
POST UNIVERSITY:
This is getting long, but I've got 40years to bite-size. I'll just do a quick run through and leave fleshing things out for within blogs.
A couple of months of being the only male secretary, possibly, in Manchester, saw me through a summer of fun and frolics to a festive season at home. After one week of training to be a security guard, I quit that job (they made me pay for my shoes...I actually lost money on a salary!!) and started working my parents land. My visions of late night security in a fancy shinny building (eating doughnuts and monitoring TV screens for any sign of movement, yet having the freedom of time and thought to carry on my writing) turned out to be the shop floor of M&S, Sainsburys, and once an entire shopping mall with me and just one other fella.
LANDSCAPING:
Days of clearing decades of neglect on a 12.5 acre estate were broken up by trips to London to The Geographic Association (to look at maps...still early days of the Internet as far as I was concerned). Visa offices and Back Packing agents were visited. I thought, with hard work, I could make a massive difference to my parents place in just one year...dust off hands and pat my back. I was wrong!
Head to T123 for some more details and images.
15 years later and I can almost...almost...declare the project complete. Very early on I fell in love with the potential the place afforded in terms of recapturing how it must once have looked and felt, then putting my own stamp of design and functionality on it. It was never easy work, but I enjoyed, mostly, every minute of it. Certainly with the rose tinted spectacles I intend to purchase (probably off eBay) one day, my time as a Landscape Designer and Manager may be seen as some of the best years of my life.
Working for my parents provided me with a plethora of opportunities to explore many a dormant and dawning interest. Perhaps I took it for granted that the chances they would ever fire me were hovering around the 0.0001% region, but we were all on to a good thing - I was the cheapest of labour and obviously having a massively positive influence on the property.
Diversions came and went and my former flat mate and I never took one single step on our trek to Poland.
[You should see the other guys...all 4 of them]
[Clip-on ties are the best]