About
I grew up in the greater Grand Rapids, Michigan area where I was fortunate enough to have been provided with room to explore and develop my love for the outdoors. After graduating high school, I chose a path that afforded me plenty of time outdoors by enlisting in the United States Marine Corps. I spent four years as a Fire Direction Controlman in artillery batteries and I was lucky enough to live around the United States and in Japan, seeing and experiencing as much as I could have hoped for. When my enlistment ended, I returned to Michigan and began work and concurrent higher education. In the years between then and now, I met and married my wonderful wife and we have established a great life together with our two dogs and cat.
Outside of work, I greatly enjoy outdoor activities with canoeing, camping, and hiking among my favorites. I am also an avid woodworker and I am in the process of honing my metal working. Most of all though, I enjoy learning new skills and experiencing different aspects of life. I purchased and lived on an old, 1970s sailboat for a summer on Lake Michigan while commuting into Grand Rapids for work because I thought it'd be fun. I soloed an airplane for the first time at sixteen as part of my love for aviation, and for the desire to learn a new skill. This website exists because it was a good opportunity to learn to write HTML and CSS instead of utilizing a prepackaged service. My interests are diverse as a result of the abundance of fascinating things in the world and my goal to learn about as many of them as possible in the time I have here.
This desire to learn, however, is not a staple of my personal life exclusively. I endeavor to learn in anything I do because I enjoy learning, and because I firmly believe in striving to be the best at whatever activity I may be engaged in. Although it may be a tired adage, if it's worth doing, it's worth doing well.