by Deborah Rogers –
“You take me to all the glamorous places!” Photographer Janis echoed my feelings when I told her we were heading “Behind the Scenes” at Hartland landfill this month (pg. 50). Over the years I’ve had the chance to do some pretty fun things (hello high performance driving at the VI Motorsport Track) and meet some amazingly interesting people, but we’re not Vogue magazine, and Janis, it can’t all be sports cars and celebrities!
The thing is, glamorous or not, we had a fun time being driven all around the Hartland site by a super enthusiastic – and waste management expert – tour guide. Being able to ask questions for a living is really a privilege. It’s the perfect role for someone who is by nature inquisitive, but perhaps too lazy to undertake formal study. With an open, curious mind most subjects are interesting, and with a passionate presenter you can find yourself as caught up in the subject matter as they are.
I recently read the words “concentration is sexy” from a journalist writing about learning a new skill. She was talking about firing a gun, but her idea was that the reason firing a gun is perceived as a sexy activity is because it requires full concentration. That’s deeply satisfying to feel in yourself, and yes, very sexy to watch someone else demonstrate. When someone is fully engaged with what they’re doing it’s a joy to witness them: musician, dancer, athlete but also your hair stylist, fitness instructor or the helpful associate at the garden centre. Experiencing someone immersed in their special-subject area is a pleasure in and of itself.
Our Hartland expert described himself as a “garbage nerd.” I’ve met a self-professed skin nerd and I might, at times, have called myself a grammar nerd. I like the reclaiming of the word nerd as a badge of honour (though much prefer people to use it about themselves than labelling someone else!). What’s your nerdism? Did any of our interesting articles this month spark a desire to learn more? Go for it I say – concentration is sexy; join the nerds!
Photo by Janis Jean Photography. Clothing provided and styled by Cottons and Blues. For more, visit www.cottonsandblues.com.
