Seven Things You Don’t Need to Know About Me

My colleague, Gary Woodill, has tagged me in a recent post, requesting that I provide you with seven things you don’t need to know about me.

1. I’m a figure skating dad.

My youngest daughter has been skating for, as she says, “more years than I’ve not been skating.” She’s 10 years old and began skating at the age of four. Two afternoons per week, we head to the rink. I sit in the stands watching her skate, and, like the ending Dr. Seuss’ the Grinch, I get choked up and my heart feels like it has grown “three sizes too big.” For the last six years, these afternoons have been high points of my life.

A few weeks ago, my daughter came in first in a skating competition. She had never before finished in the top three. She now has a gold medal on her bookcase. I sneak into her room when she’s at school to look at it.

2. I’m a cyclist.

I can think of few things I love more than to get onto a bike and ride country roads on a warm day. I believe bicycles are one of humanity’s greatest inventions. They are inexpensive, non-polluting, quiet, and contribute to health and fitness (as long as you don’t get crushed by a car.)

The biggest benefit for me, though, is that I always have more ideas and clearest thoughts while riding. I’m not sure if this is due to increased oxygen intake or entering a state of “flow.” Inevitably, the fastest route to my finding a solution to a problem is by riding for a couple of hours. Perhaps this is the type of thing John J. Ratey, M.D., is writing about in Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain.

I own two bicycles, a road bike made with a Russian-made magnesium frame that could ignite in a blinding explosion if it were to get too close to an open flame, and a single-speed, fixed-gear “winter bike.” (Yes, I ride in the winter, even with snow on the ground.)

3. I’m a musician.

I’ve been playing guitar since the age of 10. I stopped playing for quite a few years after graduating in music from McGill. I rediscovered my love for the guitar a couple of years ago. As luck would have it, my next door neighbor, Theresa, is a fabulous singer. She and I regularly get together to play a very eclectic repertoire that includes traditional Irish ballads, Leonard Cohen, Coldplay, et al. One day, we’ll let you hear us (maybe).

4. I’m considering a possible hobby building steel string acoustic guitars.

A spin off from #3. More research required.

5. I’m a (very) amateur photographer.

I have a point-and-shoot camera. I point it at things and shoot photos. No fancy gear (for now.)

5. I love to cook.

With the exception of one dish I made years ago featuring squid that could still be in the process of being chewed today had we not given up, I get no complaints from my family. By the way, speaking of food, I think Dave Ferguson’s description of salt cod as a “bit of misguided humor masquerading as food” is one of the funniest things I’ve read.

7. I believe we’re in a golden age of non-fiction books.

It seems as if, every week, a book is published that has the potential to change how you see the world. Could it get much better? Here are some of the best I’ve read in recent months:

The Brain that Changes Itself (Dr. Norman Doidge)

The Black Swan (Nassim Nicholas Taleb)

Survival of the Sickest (Dr. Sharon Moalem)

Well there you are. Seven things about me (published quietly on a Saturday, possibly under the radar).

I now tag the following people to provide us with seven random things about themselves:

1. Joe

2. Josh Cowan

3. David Miller

4. Rhonda Rice

5. Tim Wang

6. Mark Dowds

7. Michele Martin

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Tagged as: Richard Nantel