First off I still feel a bit weird doing this as I don't really like websites like mine very much and rarely go to them. I'd like to call this site something else but the reality is that I can't afford another domain name (no seriously, can I borrow five dollars?). Almost all of these personal websites and blogs just aren't that interesting and/or seem based on the assumption that the person is either so famous you should be interested in what they have to say or so interesting that you should pay attention. If you've made it this far you know I'm neither, just a guy that likes to write in his spare time and doesn't really expect anyone to read. That said, if you're reading and enjoying please continue!*
So, about me. I grew up in the capital of the middle of paradise Missoula, Montana before setting off East to study and swim at Harvard. Caught a swimming bug somewhere along the way and was given the opportunity to train with Eddie Reese and the Texas Longhorns for two years and thanks to them, I won a couple national championships and was ranked as high as 4th in the world along the way. After swimming and working in Austin I was blessed with the opportunity to fulfill another dream of mine: live abroad. I am currently pitching tent in Madrid, Spain and training for Bart Kizierowski and Juan Camus while studying at the incredible institution that is La Universidad Camilo Jose Cela.
Along the way I've met a lot of people funnier, smarter, faster, and better writers than me and learned a lot that I hope to use in someway (not sure yet) to do all that stuff you're supposed to do. You know, help your fellow man, live a challenging and fulfilling life, all that mierda. Please excuse my Spanish :-).
Through my life I think I've had the great honor of learning that there are no superhumans out there, just different people and different passions that can accomplish some pretty cool or, on the contrary, uninteresting things based on that. I've always had a lot of questions and think I've done a pretty good job of putting myself in places where I would find answers. The reality is, however, that I've always just found more questions. I've learned that through writing and talking to all of you guys out there, it makes me feel better about all this. So, really, this is nothing other than something I enjoy and hope you do too.
*I debated really hard about whether or not to put an exclamation mark there. Too enthusiastic? Thoughts?
Likes/Dislikes:
Let's just do this in list form, so first, what I love:
Swimming
Movies (short list): Scent of a Woman, Dead Poets Society, Groundhog Day, L'Auberge Espagnole, A River Runs Through It, Good Will Hunting, The Departed, Before Sunrise/Before Sunset, Godfather I & II, Supertroopers and Beer Fest, Shawshank Redemption, Die Hard, Out for Justice, The Great Escape, The 13th Warrior, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Love Actually, When Harry Met Sally (I'll stop listing how many romantic comedies I like to save some dignity), Hot Fuzz, Cyrano de Bergerac...
Reading (short list again): The Count of Monte Cristo, Call of the Wild, You Shall Know Our Velocity, Perks of Being a Wallflower, Survival in Auschwitz, Profiles of Courage, Collapse, A Clockwork Orange, Jurassic Park, Harry Potter, A Long Way Gone...
Music: Paul Simon, Elliott Smith, Pearl Jam, Billy Joel, Frank Sinatra, Mason Jennings, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper, Van Morrison, Coldplay, Gotta Love the 80's (Journey, Lionel Richie, The Outfield), Bob Dylan, The Arcade Fire...
I love Montana, I love my family, my friends from home and school, my Harvard and Longhorn teammates, reading, fly-fishing, golfing, snowboarding (once I retire, I was forced to quit after some broken bones), water skiing on a lake early in the morning, Montana Micro-Brews, Goofing around on the guitar, and Cooking.
I hate Urban Sprawl, people that write off accomplishments by stating that they could do it (they just don't want to), the following movies: Mercury Rising and Artificial Intelligence. Actually that's about all I should probably put down, I swear I'm actually not a bitter person.