The Past That Shaped You

[Brie]

We all interact with each other on a daily basis without knowing anything more about the other people we're talking to then that they too like Star Trek. I know threads have been made before for new members to the forum, but we're going to do things a little different on this one!

So this is a thread for all of us trekkies to really get to know each other. We will start with the basics: What do you guys do for a career? How old are you? Where are you from? When did you get into Star Trek and how?

Here's where we are going to change things up. If you were the captain of a Federation Star ship and you had to battle one race or character (It could be a whole fleet or just a single alien in hand to hand contact) who would it be, and why?

All of these are things that could really give us some wonderful insight to the others we are talking to, and even enhance the conversations that are brought up in other forums, past, present and future!

I'll start with myself!

I am likely one of the younger writers on this site since I'm the ripe old age of 21. I got into Star Trek a little over a year ago after countless friends encouraged me to start watching the series. I started with the pilot episode "The Cage" and I haven't looked back since. I have now seen every episode from every series and all of the movies since "Star Trek The Motion Picture." My love for Trek goes even further than the shows though. I became quite enthralled with the show and started collecting comics, books, magazines, toys, games, clothing basically anything pertaining to Star Trek I can find. I was never raised around Star Trek, though I do vaguely remember my dad talking to me about being a fan when he was alive. His passing was another thing that got me into Star Trek, watching a show that he watched helps to to feel close to him even after his death. I enlisted in the military right out of high school, I joined in Florida where I was living at the time, though I'm originally from Maryland. I've been in the Navy for almost 3 years now (I hit the three year mark in June) and have been on one deployment, with another coming up soon. Aside from the military I also teach yoga 4 days a week and model in Nevada and California on weekends. My love for Star Trek sometimes creeps over into my modeling career too, I've done cosplay modeling and promotion modeling for comicons and magazines. Star Trek has basically taken over my life and I love it. I'm pretty new to this forum, I joined a little less than two weeks ago, but I love it! It's so nice to have a group of people to talk Trek with, without people staring blankly at you asking what in the world you're talking about haha. Trek may not have always been my love, but it's my one and only now, and I'm not complaining!

So let's hear about you guys. Write what ever about yourself you think is important or pertinent for other people to know. That when we come across each other on future forums we can have a little bit more background information about who we're talking to!

 

[2takesfrakes]

My father wanted me to enroll at Georgetown University, but I went for the things I liked and pursued a career in Art, instead. Still wanting his understanding and respect, I turned to him at one point and asked him - point blank - if he was disappointed in my decision. My father just patted me on the back and smiled, saying, "you've exceeded my expectations." I couldn't help myself, I broke out in my big ol' Tom Sawyer grin, as my grandfather called it and I knew that, yeah, I did alright ... I stood my ground and took control of my life. I aimed my arrow at the Bull's Eye and hit it. My future's looking bright. I miss my grandfather, though. He was my inspiration. But if he could see me now, I know he'd raise his glass in celebration and call me a chip off the ol' block!

 

[Brie]

Oh I forgot to post which race I would battle.

I think I would battle species 8472. I say this because they appear so much more vicious then they really are and I'm not much for fighting (I'm more diplomatic) so I'd like the opportunity to talk my way out of a situation with them.

 

[Brie]

My father wanted me to enroll at Georgetown University, but I went for the things I liked and pursued a career in Art, instead. Still wanting his understanding and respect, I turned to him at one point and asked him - point blank - if he was disappointed in my decision. My father just patted me on the back and smiled, saying, "you've exceeded my expectations." I couldn't help myself, I broke out in my big ol' Tom Sawyer grin, as my grandfather called it and I knew that, yeah, I did alright ... I stood my ground and took control of my life. I aimed my arrow at the Bull's Eye and hit it. My future's looking bright. I miss my grandfather, though. He was my inspiration. But if he could see me now, I know he'd raise his glass in celebration and call me a chip off the ol' block!

That's great that you had such a great relationship with him.

 

[2takesfrakes]

Thank you, yes ... we all have our own Real Life Heroes, do we not? Althought ... he, reportedly, treated my father and his brothers like they were step-children, when they were growing up. I guess he just believed in Tough Love, or maybe it had to do with having kids later in Life - I don't know, really. But with me, he was always very cool and I got to know him in a way that, perhaps, my father did not.

When he was young, he'd built a one-story home in New Jersey with his associates and my family would stay there for long weekends. And he, my father and myself would take a rowboat out and go fishing, which I personally hated the act of and don't "fish" myself, but it was the excuse to hang out, so I took it. And he would often suggest reading for me, books that he was personally influenced by. Stories about one Man making a difference, which I found very inspirational. From authors like Ernest Hemmingway, for instance. In fact, I've only recently purchased this FINE collection of a few of his classics ...

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/bar...ernest-hemingway/1106658801?ean=9781435129849

And much like how Kirk carries around The Tale of Two Cities everywhere, tucked under his arm, this is the book I'll have with me if I get a chance to read, somewhere. But I do not hunt, or fish, or build houses or any of that shit. I was intended for a more ... leisurely ... lifestyle. And even though my father considered him a prick, he will - albeit, rarely - look at me with mild surprise and go, "you remind me so much of my father ..." And I just start smiling in my big ol' Tom Sawyer grin.

And though I'm certain STAR TREK was never on my grandfather's radar, I'm not entirely sure that his fondness for great literature - like Shakespeare, for example - didn't influence my fondness for STAR TREK, in some way. Wow! I never thought of it that way, before ... that's really nice >: )

 

[Hatshepsut]

If you were the captain of a Federation Star ship and you had to battle....I got into Star Trek a little over a year ago.

Then there's the battles not to fight. The Horta carried an entirely uncharitable attitude until we saw she was a mother and we were keeping her little silicon ones as desk pieces when not smashing them.

It's interesting to hear younger folks getting into something like "The Cage" that's twice as old as they are. A phenomenon that didn't happen in my generation because few Flapper culture items were re-released to benefit kids of the 1970s. There were Superman comics, but old stuff was hard to get and only serious buffs pursued a complete collection. NBC hadn't yet realized its cancellation of Star Trek might be a mistake. I'm not gaga over tech for tech's sake, but it has brought a much larger selection to entertainment consumers and ended the arrogance of outfits like NBC.

I had a career in the foodservice industry and retired two years ago after an accident.

 

[Iamnotspock]

I turned 29 today (actually, right about... now, as I post this). I'm an actor and tour guide, but not necessarily in that order. I'm from Bristol, England, where I still live, although I have a second home in Clearwater, Florida, where my father lives. I've been a fan of Star Trek for 23 years, since I was 6. My uncle was already a fan since childhood, and when the BBC re-ran TOS between seasons 3 and 4 of TNG (well, they resolved the BOBW cliffhanger before the hiatus) he suggested to my mother that I might like to watch - I think he was interested in how the show would hold up for a child of the nineties. The re-run followed the original NBC episode order so I started with "The Man Trap" and never looked back; I followed the whole three seasons before the TNG run resumed with "Family" (though I had seen a few episodes of that before during our brief flirtation with Sky TV). DS9 and VOY followed suit and when TNG ended, BBC2 went back to "...Farpoint" and showed the whole thing again, so I saw the first three seasons after the rest of the series. ENT was screened on Channel 4 shortly after its Sky1 début.

When I studied drama at school, we studied and were examined on the work of physical theatre practitioner Steven Berkoff (who, incidentally, appeared in DS9), and we had to devise a five-minute monologue on a subject of our choice, to perform in his style. I wrote a piece about my love of Star Trek and it got a great reception.

If I had to fight one race or character... hmm. Probably the Klingons; they're straight and to the point, and you know where you stand. They're less duplicitous and underhanded than the Romulans or the Cardassians - they'll give you a run for your money, but they'll attack you from the front.