Other Interests

I believe that in order for someone to remain committed to the work that they do, there must be other things that fill the space in between. People get burnt out of their jobs not because they no longer love it but because they love it to death. Personally I want to live a life of love and not a life of a work. Some of my loves include: my wonderful wife Jamie, running, Ultimate Frisbee, constructing things among many others. On this page I have just a few snippets of thoughts on some of my loves

Running

I started running in 9th grade for indoor track team and learned quickly that I am not a fan of running in circles repeatedly. But in doing so, I realized my love for cross country running. As high school progressed, cross country defined my life and predictably I was unwilling to part with it when I went on to College. So starting my freshman year I went out for the DIII cross country team at Clarkson University and made the team (pretty easy since there were no tryouts). It became apparent quickly that college sports are much different than high school sports and I never really got what I initially expected from running in college.

But during my Sophomore off-season, I began working for Dr. Helenbrook and his graduate student Mike at Clarkson. It was at this time that I was initiated into the barefoot running craze (through Mike and Brian of course). If you have never heard of such a thing or are still a skeptic, I strongly recommend listening to the video below. I was skeptical initially but this video convinced me to read the book "Born to Run" which got me fully hooked.

Woodworking

I am not totally sure that the heading "Woodworking" is necessarily appropriate for this past-time... perhaps something like: "large-scale crafting." I find a lot of fulfillment in making things with my hands and it is always an added bonus when you can actually use those things! Since moving to our new place (it has a garage!) and inheriting a number of power tools from my late grandfather, I have spent a considerable amount of time working on fun projects. Generally, I have a tough time actually documenting the progression of my work but here are some links to some of the things that I have worked on:

• Found an old rolling desk and turned it into a movable kitchen island
• A Drexel dresser we found on the side of the road and refinished.
• Another dresser we found on the side of the road and fixed up in the same style as the first dresser.
• An old printer cart that now houses enjoyable adult drinks and glasses.

Ultimate Frisbee

When I first came down to Tallahassee the first thing I found difficult adjusting to was the lack of a structured team atmosphere that I had been dependent on for the past 15 or so years of my existence. We had played Ultimate Frisbee in cross country just as a fun workout type activity but it was more focused on the running aspect of the game. Never before had I encountered an organized style of Ultimate where there were people specifically designated to make good accurate throws upfield (handlers) and also people whose sole purpose was to find an open area to make a stellar catch (cutters). I started off playing just fun pickup games where the fields are made up and the points don't matter but I got so caught up with it that I craved more.

There is no other sport (aside from maybe running) that has such an open, friendly and accepting community than Ultimate. This most likely stems from the fact that the sport is built on something called: "Spirit of the Game." Spirit of the Game means that competitors can go out and push their bodies to the limit trying to best their counterparts in speed and skill but at the end of the game everyone gets together to shake each others hands in friendship and mutual respect. This is the reason that I love sports, the reason I play the game and the reason that I do not understand anyone who tries to hijack sports to use them for their own personal gain.

Below are some of the Ultimate teams that I have played on while being down here in Tallahassee!