Being Made Fun Of

May 20, 2005

since people have found out about my geocaching,ihave been the topic of much leg pulling

i get remarks like here comes the tupperware man,and how sad are you looking for a tub in a field etc

i was just wondering if any one else has had similar experiences,and if so how they have dealt with it.

1.7k · May 20, 2005

People tend to p**s take at first, but I find they get interested after a while. At work I am now regarded as the font of all knowledge when it comes to Sat-Nav, PDAs and GPSrs. I've had people ask me advice about all of these.

T

1.9k · May 20, 2005

The folks that made fun of me when I mentioned geocaching would rather p**s their wages up the wall every weekend.

They are the losers missing out on the fantastic locations/thrill of the hunt/camaraderie/etc.

Ignore em and keep on enjoying the hobby/obsession

May 20, 2005

You mean you told them what you get upto.

I told every one I have a contract to check the contor lines for the OS in case someone has moved one or stolen some.

May 20, 2005

I had all the lunch boxes hidden as I walked into the canteen However we now have two new cachers so even taking the p*** some are interested.

Andy

1.9k · May 20, 2005

If the mickey takers are workmates don't trade something or sign the logbook in your buttie box

3.7k · May 20, 2005

I had the same remarks from a girl in the office originally - now her and her colleague both have Etrex units for their geocaching...

One of them is even heading for Australia at the moment, and is going to pick up some travel bugs when she gets to Townsville, to take them on her trip to Baffin Island

One or two others insist that it's all some sort of Special Forces cover story!

Edited May 20, 2005 by Happy Humphrey

3.3k · May 20, 2005

Of course we all (or many of us at least)get the mickey taken out of us. Go with it, I make fun of myself as well, and they soon realise that it doesn't bother me. There are many people that I work with who love the countryside, some of them even have GPSr's as well, but they aren't interested in caching. I couldn't care less what they think really, I know I am out getting fresh air and exercise as well as interesting places to see... that's all that matters

Two of the lads I work with will no doubt proudly tell me next week how many pints they have drunk on a stag weekend in Magaluf, Majorca.... They are such amazing men for it, I'll respect them so much more for drinking 70 pints over the weekend.... NOT

May 20, 2005

One of them is even heading for Australia at the moment, and is going to pick up some travel bugs when she gets to Townsville, to take them on her trip to Baffin Island

3.7k · May 20, 2005

What?

May 20, 2005

Certainly had some leg pullin by my work colleagues, but have converted one colleague and her family and now she is desperate to chat about latest caches etc - I found that laughing with them helps. One group of girlie friends that were constantly asking me where my anorak was were just as keen as myself to find a certain cache when on a recent trip to Barcelona. We have visited some great locations since starting cacheing which we would probably not have visited and as they say you shouldn't knock it till you've tried it.

May 21, 2005

Don't worry, it's the usual non-conformist mickey taking done by people who are too insecure to face up to their own limited lives.

The best thing you can do is to invite them out for a caching trip sometime. As said in previous logs, you may even find a convert! Cave Troll and Joan summed it up best. Some like to act the Beermonster and wee their wages against the wall. I prefer to spend it on petrol, a packed lunch and a pint of real ale somewhere on a sunny Saturday.

These people are bullies - and there are ways in dealing with them.

Keep the head up

2.2k · May 21, 2005

sticks and stones etc etc.......

at the end of the day it's your money/time if you choose to do this as opposed to anything else then as long as yu enjoy it what does it matter? i don't need approval from my friends to enjoy this. as it is two of them are now cachers!

just ignore them. and enjoy the views.

May 21, 2005

The folks that made fun of me when I mentioned geocaching would rather p**s their wages up the wall every weekend.

We manage to do both, thats why our numbers are going up so slowly!!

May 21, 2005

If anyone dare take the P**s out of my Geocaching. A quick phone call and the boys pay a visit. All four of them.

1.2k · May 21, 2005

Everyone in my company goes geocaching, the boss even lets me go out during the day sometimes when it's not too busy.

May 21, 2005

Whilst they are taking the p... out of us. Somebody else is getting a rest

May 21, 2005

I took the P**s out of my brother somthing terrible when he first told me about his 'weird' hobby Geocaching. 1.5 years on and I am more addicted to it than he is.

At work they go on about it a lot. Female colleagues seem to be the worst. My male colleagues find it more fascinating as it involves gadgets their missus's don't allow them to buy.

I keep telling the team I will take them out Geocaching one day on a team away day and that I am certain they would all get addicted to it. They just laugh, however, so far 2 people bought a GPS after going caching with us.

I don't care, I rather go out every weekend enjoying the countryside, feeling like I am on holiday, than cleaning the house or sit in the pub all day.

Imke (from Imke&John)

Edited May 21, 2005 by imke&john

May 21, 2005

I've mentioned caching on a rufty tufty motorbike site i frequent. To begin with i expected them to take the p*** in their usual style, but more often than not i've been asked for more information about it and pointed them this way.

May 21, 2005

Not so much a case of micky taking, but an interesting (I hope) tale, so here goes...

A while ago I was out with a non-cacher friend of mine. I knew we'd be passing the Silverlink Park (home of a cache I had yet to bag) so insisted that we take a small detour. On the way I tried to explain to him what this was all about and he just didn't get it.

The cache in question is concealed in undergrowth just off the main path, so I asked my pal to keep an eye out and shout to me if any potential muggles came along, then went hunting.

When I came out a couple of minutes later (OK, more like 10!) my friend was looking very twitchy. When I asked him what the matter was he said (words to the effect of) "I want to get out of here now. What you're doing looks just looks suspicious and I don't want to be involved. I don't want to be around if you're poking around in bushes - it's just seems plain dodgy, and I don't know what the legal implcations of this would be for me."

I am not making this up.

Even having had the chance to calm down a bit, he's still *so* paranoid about it. The other day we were in the pub together and bumped into one of his friends. I can't remember how, but the conversation came around to technology, GPS and the like. My mate said quietly to me "don't mention that geocaching lark to this guy - I don't want him to know I might be involved with anything suspicious".

I thought about seeing if North Tyneside Council would let me place a cache right outside his house, but somehow I don't think he'd see the funny side.

May 21, 2005

On our way back from the Scottish Geocachers' Weekend on Bute, the Edinburgh Cache Gang (Haggis Hunter, Roolku and myself) had our funniest geocaching experience explaining the activity to the local (one and only) taxi driver on the island of Great Cumbrae, who jumped out of the taxi and ran off to try and find the cache before the rest of us had even got out of the car. See our logs here

May 22, 2005

Interestingly, it appears that this thread is uniquely contributed to by UK cachers. I'm just curious, why would this be more of a problem in the UK? In the US it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. I'm interested in these kinds of cultural differences.

Oops, sorry I see this is a UK forum. Was just browsing the results of a search and didn't realize where I was going. I think the question is still valid though.

Edited May 22, 2005 by RakeInTheCache

May 22, 2005

Being in the military takes my team and I erratically to all sorts of corners of the country and even to different countries.

When we go off on these trips, I always take cache details with me and, much to the amusement of the team, I trundle off into the countryside rather than spending most of the free time sampling the local brews.

I've taken several others out on these trips - and we've seen more of the place in these latter geo-geeking driven trips than in the dozens of previous visits.

In particular, I've enjoyed walking in the parks and neighbour areas of other countries, mixing with people walking their dogs and going about their business just like at home! Whether in the UK or abroad, geo-geeking has taken me off the cliche-deleted track and into the real world of the people actually living there. Unusually sights, lovely backwaters (particularly around your own home) - you are guided by local experts to some of the best corners. Surprise you family and friends by taking them to new spots on their own doorsteps.

The "anorak" label soon pales...

May 22, 2005

When I first ordered a gps to go geocaching, Lynne took the micky out of me, but as a dutiful wife came along with me on my first cache. She is now as addicted as me. The same goes for friends I mention it to, but have found they soon get an interest themselves. Some see us as some kind of 'anoraks'. My father in law thinks it is great, and he is 73. He don't do caches himself, but can see the great fun of doing it, and most important the excercise we get while out. Our advice to anyone taking up the hobby is to take micky taking with a bit of fun, and get on enjoying the fun of the hunt..

May 22, 2005

I've had a few people give me bemused looks when I describe it to them.

But then my usual description of it is something like "Orienteering meets treasure hunting for geeks"!

Hmnn, maybe I need to present in a better light...

1.1k · May 23, 2005

Interestingly, it appears that this thread is uniquely contributed to by UK cachers. I'm just curious, why would this be more of a problem in the UK? In the US it doesn't seem to be as much of a problem. I'm interested in these kinds of cultural differences.

Oops, sorry I see this is a UK forum. Was just browsing the results of a search and didn't realize where I was going. I think the question is still valid though.

I don't know about the US, but the UK does have a cultural inclination to take the mickey out of anything that's a bit different. In general, this is just a way of having a laugh, and the subject of the mickey taking finds it as funny as theose doing it (Well, I usually do).

With any hobby like geocaching, the uninitiated find it a bit unusual, so the first reaction is to poke fun at it. Geocaching does get us all out and about, shows us interesting places and things, and involves electronic gadgetry! There is an "element of anorak" (to quote our most famous publicist), but it's much better than standing in the rain on a railway platform looking at trains!

3.8k · May 23, 2005

Don't worry about it too much, I was in a pub full of cachers at the weekend and STILL got made fun of

1.1k · May 23, 2005

Don't worry about it too much, I was in a pub full of cachers at the weekend and STILL got made fun of

You even get made fun of in these forums aswell!

3.8k · May 23, 2005

Don't worry about it too much, I was in a pub full of cachers at the weekend and STILL got made fun of :D

Probably something to do with the terrible dresses you like to wear

3.1k · May 23, 2005

My Parents continuously mocked us... that is until we took them out! Now they are looking at GPS units and cannot wait to get their friends caching too!!

Our friends who we go camping with thought we "were cooler than that" until we took them too, and now one of them grabs the box and runs away so he can see what's in it 1st!!.

On the other hand, around three years ago, Phill's sister was telling me all about letterboxing, and my reply was....

"I can't see that taking off, you mean people run around the countryside looking for hidden tupperware boxes? They must be mad!"

Hmmmm!!!!

May 23, 2005

Not really had anyone making fun of me (but after 15 years in the army I am pretty thick skinned). I am, however, considered the mapping and GPS expert at work which is not bad considering we provide vehicle tracking and I do not know a fat lot.

I have not converted anyone at work but I do have one very educated person with a doctorate who solves some of the harder puzzels for me and asks me how I get on every weekend.

1.6k · May 23, 2005

One of them is even heading for Australia at the moment, and is going to pick up some travel bugs when she gets to Townsville, to take them on her trip to Baffin Island

:blink:

Say no more, Squire.

May 25, 2005

I don't have the problem (as I don't work at the moment) but the parents in law did say "nothing i saw in that lunch box would make me loose any sleep" when I mentioned that the ftf on my recent placement was at the cache at midnight and then 6.40am to find it the next morning (looks like I have serious ftf competition though!)

One of these days I'll persuade him to go caching with me and convert him.....in the meantime he'll just slow me down in my hunt

Edited May 25, 2005 by DomHeknows

May 25, 2005

And from the other side of things I have a mother in Law who goes out of here way to go to car boot sales to pick me up geo-box-treasure !

Mother In Law who does not think her daughters husband has gone potty ! :unsure:

2.2k · May 26, 2005

nah she's just hoping you'll have a fatal accident in the woods one day or just get lost and fail to get home...... :unsure: watch out for the old bird equipped with a snipers rifle!!!!

May 26, 2005

As a cab driver with tomtomgo navigator! When I near a cache either found,not found or placed and a weird sound plays Customers ask what it did that for? It is either speed cameras or geocaches or trig points etc. Some people look at me funny or some are REALLY interested. Some cabin crew wanting to take tb`s round the world but don`t know the first thing about GPS. Some are really curious but most just think I am weird...

I stumbled across the Geo site looking up something to do with co-ordinates and am hooked.

A few years ago I walked the north downs way from Farnham to Dover with father in law and saw some great views and enjoyed it. Since alzheimers and he died and no-one to walk with, I am forced to go alone, boring I know but to walk with a purpose,somethig to aim for,to find etc. I do it and enjoy it.

After all, I wouldn`t wander aimlessly around on my own with no destination otherwise! Friends from up north visited and I took them on one. Leith hill in surrey, they were thrilled at the views and view from the tower! Then we hunted for the box(secretly)! They wanted to do some near home!

It is excercise I need sitting on butt all day.

I get the Pee taken out of me something rotten from mates at the scuba club, I mean I have 3 allotments and go "treasure hunting" which is enough for me to be the butt of jokes for years! especially at only 40 yrs old!

Just passed 40 and smoke a lot but still beat them ALL up a hill in Oban, with some not even making it

only 1000ft,whats the problem?

It is a great hobby with great views seeing parts of countryside that may be local but otherwise never seen!

TB`s are great to track too! One sits there for months not moving anf then it is in Grand Canyon and then california!!!

Love it and hardening to the pee taking!

I get my own back... One of the scuba divers is younger than me and wears a cardy

You can do all these courses about GPS and co-ordinates but nothing is better than using one "in the field" to get the feel of how they really work. A point I have proved a lot! Even against PILOT customers :lol: Scary huh

July 3, 2005

Just came across this thread and thought our latest cache was very apt for this topic!

Brother Nerd!!!

July 4, 2005

I've mentioned caching on a rufty tufty motorbike site i frequent. To begin with i expected them to take the p*** in their usual style, but more often than not i've been asked for more information about it and pointed them this way.

Someone posted about geocaching on a car site I visit and I was amazed at how many do/knew about caching :mad:

1.2k · July 5, 2005

Given the richest man in the world is a nerd I don't see anything wrong with embracing your nerdishness!

I think everyone has a nerdy side. But like any hobby, if it becomes a lifestyle choice you really have to ask yourself if you should broaden your horizons.

There are somethings that I find just too nerdy myself - role-playing games & fire buffs are at the top of the list.

July 5, 2005

There are somethings that I find just too nerdy myself - role-playing games & fire buffs are at the top of the list.

What's a "fire buff" ???

July 5, 2005

Given the richest man in the world is a nerd.....

Hey! There's hope for my family, yet!

Avrohead made a t-shirt that says something about using million dollar military satellites to find tupperware in the woods, and has found it to be a conversation starter when anyone gets close enough to read it. We are quite selective about who we give details about the game, and still have had the experience of getting the rolling eyes, and the "uh-huh..whatever" attitude. However, we have also got people interested in going out with us. Granted, most of them were nerds...

MaisOui

:0)

1.2k · July 5, 2005

What's a "fire buff" ???

These are the guys, and sometimes gals, who diligently monitor public safety channels on their scanning receivers (I say plural because they almost always own several) and when there’s a fire they hop in their cars (or on bikes, public transit etc) and off they go to watch the fire. Given they add absolutely no value to the effort, they live for the 3 alarm type fires so they can offer coffee and donuts to the fire fighters – at their own expense. Being a fire buff is a full-time hobby and almost always precludes participants from engaging in normal social activities.

No, I’m not making this up.

C-A

2.2k · July 6, 2005

the police have dealt with these nutters in the past...the funnist has to be when they put over the radio about a ufo landing. everyone who turned up got their kit confiscated! not illegal to have not illegal to listen just illegal to act on info recieved.

July 6, 2005

I wonder if anybody heard the Afternoon Play on Radio 4 last Friday - Stamp Collecting with Legs by Alan Francis? Or were you all out caching? You can still hear it at http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/arts/ram/afternoonplay_fri.ram but you've only got two days left to do so.

It's actually about letterboxing but you get the general idea. It also features the real voices of Dartmoor letterboxers.

Sad, innit! :huh:

Rosie

Edited July 6, 2005 by enitharmon

1.1k · July 6, 2005

There's some convergence of Letterboxing and Geocaching with the type of cache "Hybrid Letterbox"

Is there any website listing locations of letterboxes?

July 7, 2005

Is there any website listing locations of letterboxes?

Havent seen any, then again I may not have looked in the right places

My partner takes the p*** out of me every day. Usually along the lines of 'Get a life you techno nerd'.

*sigh*

Went to Black's camping shop yesterday to get add-ons for my Garmin, and the woman who deals with GPS devices not only has never heard of Geocaching, but also thought it was a nerdy hobby... :unsure:

July 7, 2005

Is there any website listing locations of letterboxes?

Yes. Just Google Letterboxing. Here's a Start

Being Made Fun Of

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