Blogging is Painting My Story Robe

The Blackfoot Indians in the prairies passed on their history and collective memory through storytelling and in pictographs. Painted images on tanned buffalo leather hide are called story robes. Occasionally they painted stories on tipi covers, blankets and rocks too.

One of several painted stories on a Siska story robe made of tanned buffalo hide. Glenbow Museum, Calgary AB 2013. Photo by J. Chong

Blogging is our 21st century painting and wearing our story robe.

When I began blogging, it was about living in an Olympic city, 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver BC. My blog wove in observations and snapshots from my bike saddle.

However, my blog scope had to expand more than just the Olympics and later, more than just cycling. I mentioned awhile ago in a guest blog post, I certainly wanted to avoid spinning a dull daily cycling training blog. Would  other wannabe cyclists be

Story robe from Siksika First Nations, part of Blackfoot native Indian group. Glenbow Museum, Calgary AB 2013. Photo by J. Chong

inspired by insights, on my sweat, nutritional intake, timing and hill ascents? I doubt such  boring repetitive verbiage would lasso back any reader, months from now. I did the hill or I didn’t do that hill. Move on.

My Cycling or Work Performance– To Fade into Oblivion
Certainly, cycling techie details or my sports physiology, are the last things my family and friends will want to read about me. Nor do they care about my thoughts related to

Magnificent bald eagle spotted high up in cedar tree during a bike ride. District of West Vancouver 2013. Photo by J. Becker. Hopefully what I see is of greater value to others, not my cycling performance.

my career and profession. I am formally trained and career-wise, a  librarian and information professional. A lot of us library folks initially blogged to show for work-related reasons, we could master this relatively simple skill. A lot of my colleagues latched onto it earlier than I did.

However, I don’t see much more unique fodder I could add to  blogosphere on library information science amongst thousands of other  librarians. If I blogged anything work-related, it would be human stories on intriguing people and events that I’ve had the privilege to encounter during my career.*

Tiny 3 inch lizard spotted while we stopped during bike ride. Lahaini, Maui Island. Hawai’i 2010. Photo by J. Becker

My Blog Topic Tasters
Cycle Write Blog to me, captures the synergy of cycling and writing where one feeds the other. Cycling is just a wonderful, convenient narrative thread for me to knit together my stories for my robe, on only a small part of my life journey. As you can see, those stories aren’t exclusively about cycling at all –art, food, culture, history and travel.

Fish mosaics embedded in rocks by beach along the Pacific Spirit bike path in West Vancouver. 2013. Photo by J.Chong. Lion’s Gate Bridge in background.

These are personal favourite hobbyhorses below and reasons for why I trot out some stories and observations:

Art – a lifelong interest since I was a kid. I packed in art courses galore in school. However, I never took any art courses at university. Didn’t  think it would earn me a living no matter how talented I was.  Then when I started working full-time,  I ended up being an evening art course dilettante and art dabbler.  I have massive stock of art supplies I’m still trying to wade through. My art play occasionally pops up on Cycle Write.  Even my family members see some of my art for the first time –on this blog. I live several thousand km. apart from them.   I also enjoy art galleries and all art forms.

Lunch bike stop at Cascadia Bakery, Victoria BC. 2013. Photo by J. Chong

Food – an all favourite subject world uniter. We all need food. Therefore, we all have opinions. It’s not a starring topic for my blog. I just latch onto what I think, are lesser known food dishes or showcase an ingredient not familiar  in mainstream North America. No, I don’t offer heirloom recipes because I’m lazy. That means I have to test ingredient proportions properly. Ok, I might. If you ask nicely.

Painting bag and painting stones that served as brushes for painting a Sikiska story robe. Glenbow Museum, Calgary AB. 2013.

History – usually I zoom into the people side of things. It’s not really about the artifacts, dates or event. I’m a believer that people, a community and a nation, can improve their future if they know and understand their own history. I’ve had a personal interest in historical experiences of the Chinese in Canada and the U.S. I’ve amassed a little

My father. Unknowingly he immigrated to Canada, just 3 years after the Parliament of Canada granted Chinese-Canadians the right to vote in 1948. Photo taken in southern Ontario, approx. early 1950’s, in his early 20’s.

collection of books, both non-fiction and novels in this area. You cannot plan your future a lot better if you don’t know where you are now and how you got there in the first place.

Culture – See history. It’s all fused along with food, art too.

Cycling 35 km. towards Victoria on Lochside bike route from Swartz Bay B.C. Ferry terminal. Vancouver Island 2013. Photo by J. Becker

Cycling – Yes, I’ve done a lot of cycling. But I’m not a racer nor randonneur. Some years I did rack up 7,000 km. annually.  Recently it’s under 2,500 km. so far this year. I’m way past beating up myself. I’m just happy to bike daily. That’s good enough for me. I just bike for transportation, fitness, health and fun. Yes, there’s all sorts of cycling culture. No, I don’t have a fixie bike. I’ve never had a bike with dropped down handlebars and don’t plan to get one. No, I don’t plan on cycling in high heels. That doesn’t sound safe to me.

Ornate church paintings considered as “written” (for Eastern Orthodox Christian Church) because for centuries, they depicted biblical stories for illiterate Christians. St. Vladimir’s Church. Calgary AB 2013. Photo by J. Chong. Alberta has several well preserved churches across the province to serve its large Ukranian community.

Travel – It’s all fused with all of the above topics. Sometimes you’re not sure if I’m actually living or visiting a city.  Great, ’cause you can be a tourist in your own home city too. Suffice to say, that I write as a Canadian who’s lived in Canada all her life.

Brilliant fall colours and mountain cliffs near Sante Fe, New Mexico. Oil painting 2006. By J. Chong. This area inspired painter, Georgia O’Keefe, who lived on her farm, that she named Ghost Ranch.

So I wear these prime subjects on my story robe. The story ink is already embedded into my garb. Unlike war stories that might be found on certain story robes, my blog robe doesn’t have much ranting. It just takes a lot of energy for me to rant …to a bunch of strangers. I’d rather rant and get useful feedback from friends and family who know me well.

Church. Big Hawai’i Island 2002. Photo by J. Chong

After all, a blog is just like a story blanket with limited space. There’s only a slice of time for me to blog for you.

Blog Appetizers
Chong, J. Blogging and Cycling: It’s Like a Drug. Guest blog post in One Cool Site on Blogging Tips, Nov. 21, 2011.

* Observations at different jobs: A well known Canadian, construction site culture.
Witnessed celebratory entrance of this Canadian wheelchair athlete at the end of his worldwide tour to raise awareness for spinal cord injury. He visited our organization, a rehabilation hospital for adults with spinal cord injuries.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Finally Getting the Right to Vote.  Includes a very short videoclip on the Chinese Canadians soldiers and nurses  who served overseas during WW II for Canada which galvanized effort to change federal law. Previously even a person of Chinese ancestry, born in Canada, could not vote.