It seems I've lived all over the place; Nebraska, California, Texas, Arizona, Germany, Oklahoma, Illinois, South Carolina, and now here. It's part and parcel of being an Army brat; and then for some reason I joined the Navy. I still haven't figured that part out. The constant traveling in my youth did inspire a strong wanderlust - perhaps that's part of it. Of course I proceeded to hop on a submarine that will never see a foreign port, so there goes that incentive.

I've seen much of Western Europe, and I strongly desire to return. I've contemplated moving there when I separate from the Navy. As for work, well, that's the big question. Finishing school comes first, but then I think I'll be okay doing anything. It's pretty hard thinking of any jobs worse than electrician on a submarine.

The last few years have been so busy that I've fallen out of most hobbies; I like to play sports when I can (although I'm absolutely horrible at basketball - baseball/softball and football are more my speed). I'd like to get back into mountain biking; I did that quite a bit in Germany and it seems like Washington would be good for it. Unfortunately, when I do have some time off lately I'm so tired or beat-down that I usually end up watching TV or just sleeping. I do enjoy reading, mostly histories, biographies, or fiction. I -tried- reading the Twilight books, and I apologize to fans, but they're atrocious. For scifi/fantasy I'm more a fan of books like Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun (for heavier reading) or Steven Brust's Taltos books (for light reading).

I'm fairly eclectic in my music selection; I won't often listen to rap or new country, but that's not a hard and fast rule. Lately I've been listening to Nightwish and Kerli; I've gone on big AFI or Pink or Lacuna Coil kicks before. I find myself going back to Metallica pretty often, but I'll also listen to Allison Krauss or Martina McBride too. Motion City Soundtrack's always coming up on my ipod, and I've loved Five Iron Frenzy since Upbeats and Beatdowns. I miss that band.

I'm big on self-sufficiency; while it's nice to be needed, it's hard to respect someone who can't show some independence.

My favorite quote is, "Those who would give up Essential Liberty to purchase a little Temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety." (Benjamin Franklin). I find it sadly appropriate for modern America. I wish we'd just finished the job in Afghanistan and not gone crazy over here. Oh well, gotta live in the world that is. Only thing to do is try and make it better.

If you don't hear from me, I'm probably off the coast of country X keeping National Security both Secure and National. Give me a week or two (or twenty) and I'll respond.