An introduction

Well, most of you will be seeing this because you know me. For those that don't, a random collection of facts that'll help you get to know a bit more about why I'm so crazy and these rantings will be so incoherent.

I'm currently 19 years old, living in Golden Colorado.

I live in Golden Colorado to attend the Colorado School of Mines. I might live here anyway, it's a really nice town and I'm growing incredibly fond of it, but that was the initial reason.

I'm studying for a Bachelors in Civil Engineering. I play with dirt, concrete and steel. One of my lab classes this semester was just like being a 5 year old all over again, we played with dirt, wet dirt, built reinforcements for dirt. The only difference is how much I'm paying per hour to relive my childhood. And the lab reports. I'm also minoring in Humanitarian Engineering, which is very cool.

I live in a house called Casablanca. It isn't white, except on the inside. It is brown. It's still called Casablanca. You'll have to deal with that. It's a brand new house, essentially, we're the first renters in it, and I'm proud to say that you would not necessarily come to the conclusion that college students live here, let alone college males.

I've got 5 housemates. Curtis is my roommate, a CompSci/Chemistry major (yes he's nuts for it), and is very quiet. Jeff and Jon live directly above us, and are both sophmores. Jon jumps out of bed every morning and sends a huge thumping noise through the house. I don't even bother setting my alarm anymore. Jeff and I love to fight over everything. Mike and Ryan share the master bedroom upstairs. It's the largest bedroom in the house, they have therefore decided to stack both their beds to within inches of the ceiling and leave the majority of the room entirely empty. Mike is a Mechie, Ryan is a EE. The three of us round the house out well. Mike is a perennial contender in the campus Guitar Hero tournaments, Ryan works for a Canadian webcomic company. He's the only one in the house who has a significant amount of money.

I currently am serving with theMILL Northern Hills, and will be attending Denver United Church just as soon as we start meeting on Sundays. When I was growing up in Pueblo, I attended Pueblo Christian Center. I still go back when I'm in town, but I'm discovering that many of my close friends have moved on, and many things have changed since I left. It's rather depressing, really.

When I'm not busy with the above items (or even when I should be), I play paintball. A lot. I'm currently playing with a team called BlackLight Company out of the Denver region. We play Masters level SPPL (after taking the Rookie Division Championship this year in Georgia). I'm also playing with the idea of D4 Speedball for this coming year, although that would virtually ensure I'd be practicing at least 3 times per month. That said, it is a lot of fun, and something that I'm rather good at.

As part of the whole paintball deal, I currently work for a company in Utah called Special Ops Paintball. I was hired there after RECON Magazine, where I was a writer and later the Editor-in-Chief, folded due to the economy. I manage the articles section on the Special Ops website, providing and editing content. It's a lot of fun, you get to meet great people, and it's helping pay for my schooling, so it's been a huge blessing.

I love to bake, to go cycling (when I can spare the time), swing dancing, sword fighting, reading classic books, sitting and watching a stream flow by. I love to play soccer, although I'm not much good, it is the easiest way to stay in shape for paintball. I'm aggressive with life, quick to make a decision and standing by that decision to the end, fiercely loyal, and stubborn on principles. That said, I also enjoy the counsel of others, time spent simply enjoying the company of others, and feel that there are many things on which it is not necessary to have a solid opinion.

I suppose that'll make for a decent introduction.