Marg is one of our newest community leaders in Vienna. In fact, I think she is the newest still right now, though that shouldn't be for long. Another in our large group of Canadian leaders, Marg has provided invaluable help with suggestions for activities for homesteaders. She continues to strive to make life more interesting in GeoCities Vienna, and is also the January 2000 Vienna Community Leader of the Month. Congratulations!
L-R: Marg, Becky, Benn, Emily at Niagara Falls
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User Name(s) by which you are known in GC: clmu64u, mu64u (music's for you)
Real Name: Marg Leong (born Margaret Anne Thomson)
Geographical Location: Calgary, Alberta
URL(s): http://www.oocities.org/Vienna/Strasse/2943/, http://homepages.go.com/homepages/m/a/g/mags2/mags2.html-my collection of jazz links and midis
Email Addy: clmu64u@yahoo.com
Birthday/Age: March 18, 1954
Neighborhood(s) you are a CL in: Vienna/Opera 1000-1499, Vienna/Strasse 2500-2999
Family: Husband Benn, Chinese Canadian;
Beautiful daughters Becky(15) and Emily(12), both musicians and dancers;
Pets- Carina, our collie, who can only visit, because of Emily's asthma,
Emily's Leopard Gecko, Puzz 3D, who eats live crickets,
Becky's Hedgehog Cornpop, who is yellowish white and pops out quills like a porcupine when threatened;
"The piano bunny"
Job and/or School Situation: Piano teacher, mom, and geocities volunteer
Favorite Composer (classical or not): Can't really pick just one. I guess Schumann(Robert), Rachmaninoff, Chopin,
Grieg and J.S.Bach would be some.
Favorite Composition (classical or not): Rachmaninoff's Prelude in C#-, Schumann's Soaring and Novelleten 21....
Instruments You Play: Piano, flute, and a (very) few chords on guitar.
Marg as a Girl Guide
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Kaulana: So tell us, Marg, how you came to find yourself in GeoCities?
Marg: Well, I was the one in the family who figured out how to get us online. Started with WBS chat and a page there, quite personal, and regarding my struggle with depression. Wanted to decorate my chat and site with music graphics. In my searches I came across quite a few good sites in Geocities. So one day I clicked on one of the free site logo's. I really liked the idea of being in a community of others with the same interests. Unfortunately, at that time, my block had no leader, and I wasn't contacted by anyone, so everything I learned the hard way, and with a little help from my chat friends!
K: What does your family think of your online time?
M: Well, my husband doesn't really understand why I like it so much, but he's glad I've found something that makes me happy. My younger daughter has some interest in what I'm doing, and had me help her with a site on dolphins, but now she can't remember her membername or password (uh-oh...another abandoned site) My older daughter thinks we're all a bunch of computer geeks, but doesn't hesitate to race to the computer to check her mail, and chat on ICQ! My mom doesn't understand much about computers, but is proud of my accomplishments. They all think I spend a "little" too much time on the cyberside ;o)
K: Your page is quite varied, with lots of different levels and subject matter. How long have you been working on it?
M: We got our computer in February 1997, and I had to figure out how to use it before venturing online. I think I opened our first internet account in May. The oldest file dates I can find in my file manager are August 1997, so it must have been summer of 1997. So that makes it about 2 1/2 years.
K: How do you see your homepage growing in the future? How does it help your career and your life goals?
M: I hope to keep designing more, and better graphics. I hope to write more music and add it to my page. I like to always have something new to learn, and with the speed that technology changes, no doubt there will always be something. I want people to use my showcases to display their creations, for the advancment of the arts on the internet. I hope my students and other students of music will continue to use my site as a resource, and also a place to go and play some music games and have some fun!
K: You didn't waste any time becoming an active community leader, playing a big part in helping us put together our Hunt the Hearts contest. What surprised you most about your contest experience?
M: I had no idea how much work and how much cooperation would be involved. I have always worked very independently, and thus only had myself to please. It has been good for me to learn to be a team player, and that one person doesn't have the time or the talent to everything themselves.
Six-year-old Marg learns to sew
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K: What are some of your other favorite activities in the GeoCities arena?
M: Helping homesteaders with their questions and promoting their sites on my homepage. Also learning from others (CLs) about new and creative ways to do things, trying them out, and passing them on to others. Making lots of new friends (from all over the world) and really feeling part of the community. And then, of course, there's the prestige that comes with being a CL ;o).
K: Do you have any spare time? If so, how do you fill it? (Being online doesn't count!)
M: Not much, but I like sleep a lot (but not necessarily at night)! I like science fiction movies, so we rent quite a few movies. We also have our own collection of over 60-about half Disney, and the other half sci-fi/adventure, with a few "girl movies," and other odd ones thrown in. The "Alien" series is my favourite, with Terminator/Judgement Day coming in a close second. I got hooked on the Alien computer game a couple of years ago, and played for hours every day until I beat it. Then along came Nintendo 64 Star Wars Game, same story. Rather than having balance in my life, I tend to get obsessed with things. I sew, knit and do needlepoint, when I'm in the mood for it, which hasn't been lately. Last year I had some trouble with frozen shoulders, and had to lay off the computer for awhile. So, I decided to catch up on my reading. Eight books in a week, no obsession there, eh?
K: In our many chats and communiques, you've mentioned having relatives in different parts of the world. Has the Internet helped bring you together?
M: Yes, especially in two particular cases. The brother and sister-in-law in Australia, where email beats snail mail by a mile. Also with my busy cousins in Ontario (I have 27) who don't have any more time than I do to write letters. Also since meeting at a family reunion last summer, their kids can communicate with my kids!
K: What's the best thing about Calgary?
M: The friendliness of the people. You can strike up a conversation anytime, anywhere, without fear of being rebuffed. I can fairly say that because I've lived in many different places growing up. My dad was in the RCAF. Now that I'm "all grown up," I've lived in the same house in Calgary since 1982.
K: How big a city is Calgary?
M: About 900,000 now. It was about 250,000 when I first moved here in 1980.
K: Where would a visitor want to be certain to visit?
M: The Rockies, of course, then there's Calgary Olympic Park, Fort Calgary, Heritage Park, the Calgary Zoo, Calgary Tower, and our famous Calgary Exhibition and Stampede every July. Yahoo!
K: Does it have a website address we can list?
M: Lots!
http://www.visitor.calgary.ab.ca/calgary/calgary.html - tourists
http://relocatecanada.com/calgary/index.html - thinking of moving?
http://www.calgary-stampede.ab.ca/new99/index1.html - Calgary Stampede - "Yaaa-hoo!"(it's what the cowboys say, and everybody else, too, during Stampede)
K: Favorite sports? Hobbies? Activities?
M: I think I mentioned most of these above. I'm not much of a sports person.
But my favourites (to watch) are gymnastics and figure skating. The "artsy" sports, my family calls them. I like to swim (especially in hot tubs). Oh, and I like to play bridge. And watch my kids' band and dance concerts.
University graduate
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K: Skating and gynmastics are beautiful sports. Who are your favorite skaters? Canada produces quite a few, doesn't it?
M: Yes, well what else would we do in the land of ice and snow? Just joking! Though it' true of the last week or so -22 to -30), we actually had a brown Christmas this year. I've also been here when it snowed in July. You have to keep your skates and golf clubs in the same closet. My brother went golfing during the Christmas holidays. I actually started skating lessons when I was around 5 or 6. Got to something called the "bunny sit" and this bunny fell on her head. That was the end of lessons for me (we didn't wear helmets waaaay back then). Thank goodness there were no such disasters when I started piano lessons at the same age! Anyway, most of us learn to skate in some fashion or other, just like almost everyone learns to ride a bike, and to swim. So I guess there's a big (frozen) pool to choose from. Most boys (and some girls)learn to play hockey, too. Then there's speed skating at the Olympic Oval), but I digress. The first skater I really remember is Taller Cranston, while he was marked low, and many homophobics were much against his style of skating, I loved to watch him. He brought the art of dance to skating. There are so many others: Kristi Yamaguchi, Scott Hamilton, Kurt Browning, Elvis Stojko,Yuka Sato, Ekaterina Gordeeva, Brian Orser, Josee Chouinard ....For gymnastics its Nadia Comaneche and MaryLou Retton. They all are or were a joy to watch!
K: Okay, cool. And you have been a joy to zineterview! Thanks very much for your time, and I will see you in the Vienna Residents Club!
Robert (cl_kaulana) is an Ohio-born Hawaii resident, who enjoys his time off, realizing that it might not always be so available. His relaxed lifestyle gives him plenty of time to volunteer his services to homesteaders in GeoCities Vienna, as well as to nag fellow VCLs for ideas and suggestions for new things to do.
