Me

Born in the Upper Pennisula of Michigan in 1980. When I was five my family moved to northwest Washington state, practically on Puget Sound and in the shadow of Mt. Baker. Five years later we moved to Fargo, North Dakota--in the middle of a wide valley in the middle of a prairie in the middle of the continent. Since then I've lived back in Michigan, Minnesota, and in South Dakota for the last five years.

Scandanavian heritage--both parent half Norwegian and half Swedish. Farmers on both sides--got off the boat and settled in northern Minnesota, just south of the border with Canada.
Both grandmas still alive on or near where they've spent most of their lives.

My dad majored in music education but felt called by God to be a minister. He's been a minister for almost thirty years now--of the "sit down-don't clap--keep your hands by your side" Lutheran species. Nevertheless he can play a mean guitar, and get by on a lot of other instruments. Tunes pianos for fun. Picked up his dad's quiet nature and his well-timed humor.

My mom went to nursing school and then got married and had kids. Raised us, fed us, spanked us and educated me from second grade on with some help from my dad. She's the fire to my dad's ice and the core of the family. Taught me the power of cleaning up before visitors come over, the need for a spirit that doesn't accept everything, and the energy that gets things done, develops a good conversation, and makes quality friends.

I'm the second of six kids--two boys and four girls.

I've been married. I'm not anymore. I have a four-year-old daughter named Alaina Skye. We talk like adults and that scares me.

An internet start-up

And it begins.

In a nutshell, here's my plan:
I'll leave late in August 2005 for Cairo, where I'll study Arabic at the American University in Cairo, or AUC. I hope to be funded by an National Security Educational Program grant, which I've applied for and should hear about in the next few weeks. If it comes through, it should pay for all my expenses. Hedging my bets, I've applied for scholarships and financial aid, which would just cover everything if I don't splurge on anything.