Age:29
Family:
I married Dee (aka. Darcie) last summer. She’s a theater lady; lighting, stage management, electrical & general backstage stuff. She’s an Australian, and still has family down under. Unfortunately no accent. She likes to sew, and take photos. She’s a much better person than I am. We have a cat. His name is Sam. He’s a nice cat 90% of the time, the rest of the time he is the spawn of Beelzebub.
Education: BA Fine Art w/emphasis in printmaking (woodcuts) from the U of Minnesota w/minors in econ, urban development & cultural studies. It took me 7 years and 3 universities to graduate. Whatever I know about design and web stuff I learned by reading magazines, online tutorials, and trial & error. This is both a blessing and a curse.
Best job that’s not this job:
1 – I was a farm hand on a tiny organic farm 10 mins south of the canadian border in washington. I’d get to the farm at around 5am, plant vegetables, pull vegetables, lay irrigation piping, and occasionally I’d get to drive the tractor. Life was sweet (though I think I made about $30 a day).
2 – I helped run a youth development non-profit here in Minneapolis. We focused on providing arts based activities for teens (poetry slams, hip-hop shows, art shows etc). It was an awesome job, but ultimately I ended up spending more time writing grants than I did working with youth. Life was stressful (and I think I made about $30 a day).
Worst Job:
I spent 3 weeks assembling cardboard boxes. They came as big flat perforated sheets, and I would fold them and put them on a pallet. 8 hours at a stretch. I’m amazed I lasted as long as I did.
Books:
I live and die by the word of Raymond Chandler. Also Dashiell Hammett, Michael Chabon, Kem Nunn, crappy spy novels, and overpriced design books.
Music:
I’m a big time music buff. My wife and I go to a lot of rock shows, and I screen posters for local bands here in the twin cities. I was in a crappy punk band for a bunch of years in college. Our only claim to fame was having Chris Walla (from death cab for cutie) record our demo tape (that’s right – tape. it was a long time ago). Lately I’ve been obsessing over the replacements and husker du. I have a piano in my office and I love it, though i still don’t play very well.
Food:
I’m an amateur foodie. I like food. I like fancy food, I like street food. I like food. I don’t cook so well (but Dee is Julia Childs incarnate). I should also lose a couple lbs.
Misc:
I have a crappy motorcycle that I’m rebuilding in my garage. I know nothing about motorcycles or engines or anything of the sort. It now runs which is a serious step forward. I own a really old house (1911) that was severly remodeled in the mid-70’s. It’s incredibly ugly, though less ugly than when I bought it. I’m not a handy guy, but I’m learning. I just took up running. I’m not particularly sold on the idea but I’m getting old and creaky and I need something to offset the 12 hours a day I spend sitting at my computer. I haven’t been clean shaven since 2002.