Henry Seeto, Orr’s
Henry was the self-proclaimed “Pi Man”. He could recite the numbers of pi to 40 some-odd digits, and enthusiastically enjoyed the opportunity to prove this once in the middle of class, oblivious as to how fatal it could be for a reputation when doing such things in high-school.
He was a total dork. He wore regular socks with shorts, pulled straight up of course, on his lanky frame. Sang in the choir. Was a member of the science club, computer club, and mathematics society. Under his picture in the yearbook is Euler’s equation, “e-1 pi = -1″, and he even clarified the way the name is pronounced.
I imagine that he had no contact with females whatsoever. One time, someone happened to have a porno in English class. We were supposed to watch King Lear, but they swapped the tapes when Mr. ______ was out. As soon as he came back, Henry’s edge-of-seat giddiness completely gave us away; the potential to see boobies turned him into a giggling schoolgirl. Mr. ______ knew what we were up to but played the tape anyway. It was in medias res, and Mr. ______ only stopped when the guy pulled out completely and brandished a seven inch dong.
When I arrived at UCC, Henry was my first “friend”. We came from similar backgrounds, had the same interests, and both lacked social skills. It was a natural kinship. But when I started redefining myself, as most kids do in high school, he came to represent everything in myself that I hated. I started picking on him and mocking him. He didn’t deserve it. I don’t think it hurt him, because of how oblivious he was, but that’s no excuse. To this day, I still can’t stand his type of person. As nice as they are, they’re all too clichéd and predictable.
John’s Notes:
“Henry was the archetypal geek. There were a lot of geeks at UCC but even amongst that crowd, he stood out. He was a genius with computers, but he had no other qualities that I can recall. No redeeming coolness at all. None. He was a savant. But he was OK with that. I’ve always aspired to be above the views of others, but Seeto mastered this. He was the kind of guy who wouldn’t think twice about wearing the school uniform, be it for class, gym, or more formal occasions in such a way as to “out” his geekiness to the world.
That’s the kind of place UCC was. A place that toughened you and armored you. You either survived and became comfortable in your own geeky skin, showing it to the world and daring the world to say something, or you just didn’t survive.”
Henry completed his master’s of engineering in telecommunications at the University of Toronto and is with Cisco Systems in North Carolina as an associate systems engineer.
Andrew “Bunny” Bunston, Jackson’s
Even though we were in the same house, I didn’t get to know Bunsten at all. He was a jock, but not one of the mean ones, which I came to appreciate. A smallish guy, he more than made up for his small frame with an iron toughness. Under the hockey section of the yearbook, he’s quoted as saying, “I hate neckguards. I’d rather die.”
John’s Notes:
“I can remember Andrew when we were 12 and he had shoulder length, curly hair. We were in the same form 5 class with Mr. Boyko. He was a real troublemaker, always with a mischievous look in his eye. He had the same look in his eye last weekend at the bar, when we were recounting stories of our misspent youth.
I think his nickname was derived from his relatively small stature (for a hockey player) and high speed on the ice. He still plays, and was captain of the Windsor Law hockey team that won — for the fifth consecutive time — the Law Games hockey tournament. He’s totally on that UCC Old Boy power track, up through the ranks of Bay street corporate law.”
Andrew Bunsten finished his second year of law school at the University of Windsor and worked last summer in the capital markets and securities group. He was also on the secondment to the Ontario Securities Commission in the corporate finance group.
