I was born in Troy, New York in 1973

I spent most of my childhood in the woods of Schaghticoke, making forts, knocking over dead trees and drawing mazes. As I got better with the pencil, I started to draw cars. My father worked for Ford and my grandfather owned many classic muscle cars, so I was influenced by the motor city before even moving there.

Schaghticoke, New York (1973-1986)

I often explain my childhood experience by the school bus that I rode. Kindergarden kids and high schoolers all rode the same buses in Schaghticoke. All the white kids were taken to the same two schools. I recall having one girl from Asia in my class, the other kids teased her by calling her "chink". Even back then, I knew better than to pick on her. My empathy was always the most reliable part of my compass. Thanks mom

Not much happened in Schaghticoke. My dad drove in the town's demolition derby, which I recall being slightly terrified for him. The Schaghticoke Fair was a huge event for our small town, there were lots of rides for the kids. The 4H buildings had displays that showcased artwork by the children, some awards for the boy scouts and brownie members. My mom spent the majority of her time fussing over my sister and I. We often went camping during the summer, where I was able to begin my life-long commitment to bicycling. The family always went camping during my birthday, one year I received a dirt bike (photo above). They had kept the bike hidden from me the entire trip. That dirt bike may have been the best birthday present, ever.

Somewhere around this time, the Apple IIc was released. I remember being glued to a sample computer, playing with the graphic interface. My parents made a big decision and bought a brand new Apple. I ate it up. I learned how to program some simple code and quickly found out ways to install small security programs on the family's commercial software.

I think the passwords often revolved around complimenting "Ace."

The Apple was my first step into the world of code (and games). Somehow, I got a copy of Ultima IV and played that game until I was done with it. I did not win Ultima, but I was able to gain some valuable problem solving skills (while avoiding my homework). Although we had a modern computer, I was not introduced to the internet until I started looking for a university during my enrollment at Oakland Community College in Farmington.

Hansen Road was a "dirt road", but that meant the road was paved with inexpensive tar and pebbles. During the summer, I remember walking out in the road to pop the tar bubbles that were created in the hot sun. I would pass the time by shooting hoops, little did I know that practice would come in handy in a few years.

My family lived in a small ranch house that my father built himself. I may not come close to achieving such a monumental task. I could see cows grazing from my bus stop. My bike rides often involved riding past farms and inhaling the "lilacs" (my family's slang for cow shit). We had a simple New England life. I think the greatest danger I faced as a child was almost riding my bike into Buttermilk Falls. I had to walk home with a number of scrapes and bruises, but at least I didn't fall into the water. The real danger would be presented to me when the family moved to Detroit in 1986.

Detroit, Michigan (1986-1993)

Before I could experience High School in Schaghticoke, my dad was offered a promotion if he and the family moved to Detroit. I recall there was a long period of time before we moved. My dad put down money on a house in the suburbs, right outside of Detroit city limits. My dad flew out to Michigan to begin working before the family packed up their belongings and got out of the way while the big movers hauled our boxes into the moving truck. Ford covered the cost of moving the family, I recall. We had a full mac truck and also had to move dad's vintage Ford Edsel. The first night that our moving truck was parked out front of our house, some "kids" spay painted both the moving truck and the side of the Edsel. Seemed like an appropriate way to say, "Welcome to Detroit, hillbillies." Things didn't get much better from then on...

We spent our first few weeks in a nice hotel with an indoor pool. Once we got settled into the new house, my sister and I went to our first day at school. The first day at school was intimidating. I had very little interaction with black, brown or yellow people before. It was hard for me to not appear scared. I remember getting cornered in music class and punched in the kidneys. I may have cried. I don't remember the details. I do remember being very thankful to get back home.

When my mom greeted me at the front door, she asked, "How was your first day?"
I replied by puking on the floor, right there.

I had another close call after insulting a Chaldean kid in the middle of class. The teacher was going over some basic Sex Education and everyone was making fun of the words. The teacher verbally criticized the kid, suggesting he might be acting homophobic.

I added a short, "yeah, homophobia"
The kid was not impressed. In fact, he threatened to kick my ass after school.

That may have been the longest school day that I can remember. I was sure to grab my stuff fast after last class and sprinted to my bus before anyone could challenge me.

My dad encouraged me to run cross country, I gave it my best shot, but mostly just wanted to hang out in the woods by myself.

Needless to say, I graduated from Middle School without any races won or broken bones.

Harrison High School

My shakey relationship with school was intensified upon entering Harrison. Of the 4 years that I attended Harrison, the football team won 3 state championships. I could care less. I just knew these guys were as big as adults and didn't miss a chance to shove me into the lockers.

I remember even being locked inside a locker during gym class.

Whatever, I had no use for gym. The only class that I looked forward to was Drafting class with Mr. Swysten. My drafting teacher saw the potential in me and offered his classroom as an asylum. When I had a chance, I would skip other classes to go work on my drafting projects. The drafting room had some of the first computers that I was able to work on. Mr. Swysten entered a few of my projects into drafting competitions, I was invited to a large dinner and even was presented an award.

Over time, I learned that I could get by if I:

Did not look people in the eye.
Smile as little as possible
Draw sports cars for the jocks

My friends in high school were mostly nerds who were over achievers. My grades were barely passing, but they allowed me to sit at their lunch table. I was not vegetarian in high school, but I knew the Wendy's burgers were healthier than a McDonald's burger. Since I had a job, I would often treat myself to Taco Bell, which wasn't far from my school. Taco Bell was cheap and international!

My development during high school was mixed parts of insecurity, basketball, gangster rap, my 1968 Mustang, absorbing the local homophobia and Sega Hockey. There are some traits that I carry with me still, and am thankful when a compassionate friend points out how I can grow from knowing myself better.

Little did I know, the defense mechanisms that I picked up in High School would come back to haunt me when I began dating girls in college.

I acted like I had it all figured out, but I didn't.

Central Michigan University (1993-1996)

My friends had at least figured out what University to attend. I think my main motivation to apply for a university, was knowing I would move into my own place. I decided to investigate the community college computer lab and look up universities. Dreams of higher academia inspired me to engage in my homework with a passion. I managed to get a Bachelor's degree in arts with a 3.5 grade average.

I found that both Central and Eastern Universities had good art programs and spent a day on both campuses. Eastern was closer to Detroit city limits, so I was less interested in being so close to home base. Central was an hour north of Lansing (Michigan State), the campus was surrounded by farms and parks. It felt like we were a million miles from Detroit. I chose Central and began the process of transferring my credits immediately.

Before I was accepted to Central, the mascot for the sports teams was a native American Chippewa. When I arrived, the school had paid for a new logo and now went by the name "Chips." I wasn't alone thinking the new look was ill conceived and boring. I liked the Chippewa association, it made the school feel more respectable.

All freshmen and first year students were dumped into "the quad towers." Rooms in the quads were pretty tight. I ended up living with the resident assistant because we ran track together in high school. It was an inconvenience, but I quickly figured out that I could have fun in most other dorm rooms on my floor. I just couldn't smoke in my room. That's all.

The first year at CMU was mostly filled with forty-ouce malt liquor, Night Train, cigarrettes, chew, weed, girls and Super Mario Cart. I did some studying, too. I remember that I became vegetarian that year (1993). The transition was not very smooth, I would often purchase hamburgers without meat. I liked getting baked potatoes at Wendy's. Taco Bell was still a big favorite. The dorms had an excellent selection for vegetarians. I recall there was one day of the week they would serve a steamed broccoli casserole with cheese that I would eat until my stomach was hurting. I was not a committed vegetarian until I moved to Oregon in 1999. I was a big fan of chicken patties while still living in Michigan. I had very little exposure to cooking for myself. Lots of veggie burgers, salads, mac n cheese and soups were in my cabinets. We ordered pizza, all the time. In fact, I spent many days at the Malt Shop eating pizza and playing video games in the basement. My roommate challenged me to a competition at Breakout. I guess you could say that I played too many video games, but haters gonna hate.

I also played my guitar as often as I could. I even sang while playing at the coffee shop, a few times. I think once I started recording myself, I realized that I should stop singing. Ultimately, I became focused on music without lyrics (like techno). I have been producing electronic music for at least 10 years, you can stream some at soundcloud.

I also did some cartooning at CMU, my strip called "SPEC" was a weekly in the school paper. I also made advertisements for the campus newspaper, then the Mt. Pleasant newspaper. Both jobs were a quick lesson on why speed matters to employers. At the Morning Sun, I would sometimes walk in with beer in my soda cup. I could get away with drinking at work, because I was on the night shift. I find that I am still productive during the wee hours of the morning, to this day.

I became active in promoting causes for the environment. To be honest, I probably thought it would be a good way to meet girls, but eventually found that I cared deeply for animal rights. I am still most at home camping on the side of a mountain, or biking up another mountain. The outdoors are fun, let's keep wild places available for kids. I ended up joining Student Environmental Alliance at CMU. We did a few protests in Midland against DOW Chemicals, we also hosted Earth Day. A full day of music and organizing the local non-profits of Mt. Pleasant.

Although I did not graduate until 1996, I stayed in Mt. Pleasant for a few more years to be with my girlfriend, Nicole Dufour.

I suppose this would be a nice segue. Nicole and I had some fun in Mt. Pleasant, Toledo and later Oregon. I'll save those stories for another post.