Manufactured on old Earth date: 29-APR-1957AD
"legal" name: Melanie Jean Mayfield
Gender: FemBOT
Home Base of Operations: Eureka, California, pop: 25,000.
-(Residing in Loleta, a few miles south of town.)-
*GREET.INGS*! {{{{{{{{CYBEARHUGS}}}}}}}} Hello to all my CyberBuddies, "old" and "new"! [There are no such thing as Strangers, just Friends who haven't met yet.] Those who know me have probably read most of my life's story already in various letters and postings, which I've pieced together here. Please forgive the repetition of old phrases. I'm just not clever enough to come up with a new "twist", however, some of it is mildly amusing. It's approximately 5 printed pages of plain text, so, you might want to save it and read it off-line when you have nothing better to do, eh? ;] ROBOWINKY
My main interests are KRAFTWERK and all music in general, STAR TREK and all other SCI-FI, dancing [Square, as well as ROBOTiK], and drawing [Freehand and drafting]. I enjoy reading and watching TV; mostly SCI-FI and Science and Nature documentaries. I try to keep up with all the latest inventions and discoveries. UFOs and Paranormal activity are especially fascinating!
I grew up singing in Church along with my two older sisters because Mom was the pianist. Our names rhyme: Bonnie Irene -(8-MAR-'55)-, Roberta Kathleen -("Kathy", 23-MAY-'56)- and Melanie Jean -(DOB: above)-. Maternal ancestors arrived on the Mayflower. Paternal ancestors met the boat. Parental units divorced when I was 8 and Mom quit the Church gig, but, I continued singing in various Churches and took Choir [and art] as electives all through school. I never did learn how to read music very well, but, I could always pick out familiar songs by ear and compose simple tunes.
How I evolved into the complex BioSynthetic carbon-based unit that I am today takes a bit of explaining. When I was little, I had frequent ear infections and sometimes I was completely deaf for days/weeks at a time. So, I'd lean on the piano in order to get my pitch and sing on key. [Bone conduction] Consequently, I got into the habit of cuddling with the Radio at night so the vibrations would lull me to sleep. I learned how to recognize songs by the feel, more so than just the sound. At age 13, surgery restored most of my hearing. [left mastoidectomy] However, I still love to FEEL the music, so, I still like to hold on to the speakers and soak up the vibes! *MmMmM*!
I've always enjoyed a wide variety of music -Classical, Rock, Gospel, Folk, etc- but, when Mr. Robert Moog developed the first Synthesizer in the late '60's, I fell madly in love with electronic music! I thought "Experimental" music was interesting, and I especially loved Switched-On BACH [W.Carlos] and Pop-Corn [Hot Butter], etc. Even before Kindergarten, I can remember tweaking with the heterodyne on the Radio, playing "Martian Music".
[I'll skip the part about my otherwise unhappy childhood.]
Fast-forward to Eureka High School, class of '75: I was into STAR TREK and SCI-FI since early grade school, but, I never knew about "TREKKIES" until I had read an article about STAR TREK conventions in the big cities. So, I ventured forth beyond the Redwood Curtain and started attending these inter-galactic gatherings. I was the only TREKKIE here in Humboldt County, but, that didn't stop me from wearing my Spock ears and STAR TREK pins all the time. Ofcourse, being WEIRD was not "trendy" in those days. They didn't have Nerds/Punks back then. I was IT. -(way ahead of my time.)- As for being a ROBOT, I had "inklings" as far back as 1974. In fact, my first SCI-FI costume was an Android. But, I was s imply refered to as Spock or STAR TREK FREAK at the time, and I had barely started practicing ROBOT "mime".
Side-Note: I was never "athletic", but, I did pretty well in various dance classes. [I took folk and modern dance, and even belly dancing later on in college.] So, when Squaredancing was required during my sophomore year P.E. class, I loved it so much I joined a REAL Squaredance club! It's FUN! It's good exercise, and you meet the nicest people from all places and all walks of life. Now, if only my husband would cooperate.... -(more later)-
After highschool, I spent a few years living here and there in Riverside, Los Angeles, and San Fransisco, etc. I did a little college and a lot of conventions. By the time STAR WARS came out in 1977 I had already come out of the closet, so to speak. Okay, I'm "queer" for ROBOTS. There. I said it.*blush*. I can't help it. There's just something about COLD Metal and HOT Current that totally turns me ON like a Strobe-Light. go figure. I can't explain it. But, I felt like a ROBOT and moved naturally like a ROBOT, so, I decided to put my weirdness to good use and started street-performing. [I also did some "exotic" dancing in bars for a while when I turned 21. If the tunes were right, I would do a ROBOT strip-tease. I'm a LoveDroid!] This was shortly before "breakdancing" or "pop-locking" was popular. Now here comes the spooky part; I was a ROBOT even before I discovered KRAFTWERK....
The KRAFTWERK Konnektion: A "religious experience". This was when all the pieces of my life fell into place. Date and scene: early April 1978. I'm living with two Fellow Female TREKKIES in L.A, and we're discussing various electronic artists- Jarre, Carlos, Tangerine Dream, Tomita, Fripp & Eno, Cage, Stockhausen, Subotnik, etc. One roomie says, "Ah, you LIKE weird e-lek-tron-ik mu-sik, DO you now? Heh-Heh... 'ever hear KRAFTWERK?", and I say, "Huh?? What, German 'Powerplant'??", and she grins, "yeah, you could definitely say that.". -(Little did I know what I was in for. I was raised in the woods and I'd never heard of KRAFTWERK.)- So, she plays AUTOBAHN for me. As usual, I'm all snuggled up with the speakers and- *OH.MY.GOD* -I'd never felt such incredible VIBES in my entire life! [On a rinky-dinky $5 yard sale Stereo, even. It was an old "K-Mart" type all-in-one Radio, Turn-Table and 8-Track unit with a few car speakers set in particle board with no cabinets. I used to lay betweem them like a sandwich and drift off to dreamland. I have a slightly up-graded sound system nowdays.] Anyway, this was my first real taste of pure Auditory *ECSTACY*! I was instantly hooked. KRAFTWERK took me where no MAN.MACHINE has gone before. This was the SOUND I'd heard/felt only in my dreams!
Note: I had gone into many music stores before this, asking for "ROBOT Music" and trying to describe the sound I was hearing inside my brain, and they'd always suggest plenty of good artists I already knew of, but, no, I wanted ROBOTS! Machines! Pure electronic harmonic sounds with RHYTHM. [Sad story- I did go into a store once in '77 with my boyfriend at the time and he showed me the AUTOBAHN album, but, neither one of us knew about it, so, I passed it up. D'OH! Come to think of it, I'd heard a bit of this strange electronic "car" song on the Radio once or twice, but, I never knew who/what it was. By the time the DJ announced it, I'd eaten the Radio!*YUM*!] There was no such label as "Techno" back then. It's strange that nobody ever told me about KRAFTWERK any earlier, but, I finally FOUND 'em, thanks to my friends.
Needless to say, after I got Assimilated by AUTOBAHN the very first time -(all 22 1/2 minutes worth)-, my room-mates peeled me off the Speakers and I immediately r aided the nearest record store for all the KW vinyl I could find, now that I finally knew who/what to look for. I headed straight for the "K"s, and, as fate would have it, KW had just released The MAN.MACHINE album- WOW! DIG that cover! [see "What is KRAFTWERK?" page for 3 thumbnail fotos and quick enlightenment.] They're ROBOTS! Well, DUH-h, no wonder I was so turned-on by their MusiK. These guys are my Fantasy-come-True! I mean, I was already into ROBOTS long before I'd ever heard of them. I'm on their precise frequency, for sure. It just so happens I think the same way they do, but, it IS pretty spooky! So, I started performing to the tune of "The ROBOTS" and became known from Hollywood to Fisherman's Wharf as The ROBOT. Ah, those were the days, 20 years and 50 pounds ago....
Alas, I bummed around for a while, tried the Army in summer 1980 [BIG mistake], and eventually came back home to Eureka, CA, and faded into the woodwork. I caught PAC MAN fever in the early '80's and invaded the Video Arcades. -(Being a ROBOT comes in handy for mind-melding with the Machines and racking up massive high scores!)- In '84-'86, I completed a Vo-Tech program in Mechanical Drafting/Machine Tool Technology at C/R. -(College of the Redwoods)- I also studied a year of German, and previous courses in Electronics, Journalism, Choir, Dance, etc. I did some Drafting and Electronics Assembly for a while. So much for the '80's.
In Feb '90, I was finally diagnosed as "Bi-Polar" -(Manic/Depressive)- and I was awarded disability benefits. -(SSI, Supplemental Security Income)- Then I met John Stanley Bond -(bio coming soon)- in April '90 and we were married on June 22nd '91.
Well, that's basically my entire life's story. ZZzzZZzz.... pretty boring, huh? Thank you for visiting! I'd love to hear YOUR life story- Email me! It's all about sharing friendship and diverse experiences.
Being on the InterNet has enabled me to communicate with so many nice people all around the world- I'd be lost without it!
