I always wanted t...
I always wanted to be a Graphic Designer. Well.... ok.... maybe not ALWAYS.When I was little I played with the idea of being a pilot. A commercial airline pilot. This was, for a long time, my standard response to the standard "whachaWannaBe when you grow up" question. I liked the idea of flying around and going to new places, and meeting stewardess'.Or there was Architect. When I was 9&10, and our family was stationed in Alaska, one of my favorite past-times was drawing up plans for dream homes. The sketches weren't anything elaborate, they were just 2D floor-plans whipped up on yellow legal pads. ( of which we had shit

Farewell....
Dear India,First, I want you to know that I love you. After everything we've been through, you have a special place in my heart... and mind.When I was...oh..... I think 6 or 7 years old.... My father accompanied me on my first ever rollercoaster ride. The Lockness-Monster at Busch Gardens. I was so excited and nervous, but I wanted it. The monster, with me strapped to it's back, prepared to go into a series of "going upside downs" and I panicked. Maybe I wasn't ready after all. I thought I was going to be sick. My father, sitting next to me, told me that it was OK if I wanted to shut my eyes. I was embarrassed by my lack of courage, but I shut them anyways. I shut th

I was 17
I was 17.It seems so long ago.It takes a bit of effort for me to remember what I was like back then.I guess I was a lot like any teenage boy. I was a bit troubled, a bit depressed. I smoked a lot of pot. I went to a lot of parties. I would sneak out of my room at night to meet up with friends. We would stay up all night, driving. We would sleep in class the next day.I was the one who would do just about anything.I once took on a dare to streak the Grand Traverse Mall.As an incentive, my friends promised to pay me $100 as well. I honestly didn't think too long on it. It was my kind of thing. I went to Target first, and bought a skeleton m

Yes I can
I know exactly when it happened.I was serving a 90 day sentence in Grand Traverse County jail. I met a guy. He was serving an 8 month sentence for not paying child support. 8 months sounded like a lifetime to me, for him it was no big deal. He had done longer sentence's. He had been here many, many times before.His crimes were all petty. Six months for a drunk driving here, 9 months for a domestic dispute there...... but they added up. He was 52This guy. Who he was, and what his life had added up to, frightened me. It triggered an alarm inside of me. There was no way in fucking hell I was going to end up like this guy.

significant others....
....and something else happened during my visit to Agra. I met a girl named Adriana.---My first attempt to see the the Taj was diverted by a monsoonish downpour. I had left my guesthouse without umbrella or raincoat, foolishly perceiving the brief morning sun as an accurate weather prediction for my day. The perception wasn't accurate though, and when the rain came down, it came down hard.Drenched and miserable, I ducked into a nice cafe, and sat down with the only other single person in the room. Adriana.The rain never let up, so we stayed inside drinking chai after chai. Breakfast turned into lun