Particulars
- Height: 6'3"
- Weight: 205 lbs. The swimming and diet are paying off.
- Colors: Brown hair, hazel eyes.
- Age: 51. I no longer have "character flaws"; I have "crotchets."
Professions
- I most recently worked for
Glyphic Technology
in Mountain View, CA. If you're interested in the gory details, see my
resumé.
- Before moving to California, I was an assistant professor of
journalism and mass communications at the
University of Northern Colorado.
- Before moving to Colorado, I was a high school teacher of speech
and English at Benton Consolidated High School in Benton, Illinois.
- I have also been a freelance science journalist and a commercial actor.
Recreations
Adventures
What is my life like? Well, to get a good, close look at what's
been happening for the past three years, see
The DonWatch Journal,
the journal I kept as Don and I went through his illness and
death. I still update it from time to time with the unfinished
business of his memorials, his poetry (now available through
Beautiful Dreamer Press),
and the grieving process.
Prior to Don's illness, I kept a journal of my experiences as
I explored new ideas, tried new (and sometimes scarey) activities,
and reflected on my relationships with my family and the men I
was meeting and dating.
I wrote about these adventures partly to keep them in mind
and partly to help me examine them intimately and honestly. The
journal is part diary, part confessional, part meditation. It's
the record of a gay man's journey through life. Because of their
personal nature, you are advised not to read them if you find
intimate personal details, including sexual material, offensive.
Autumn Adventures, 1998
Summer's adventures may have been full of daring-do, but nothing compares
to the guts I had to muster to pull off this autumn's biggest news:
I've quit my job at Sybase and gone to work for
Glyphic Technologies.
This change means a significant drop in annual salary and a noticeable
reduction in benefits. But it is the job I have been saying I was
looking for and working towards ever since coming to Silicon Valley.
Now I have to see if I can really cut it. Stay tuned.
Summer Adventures, 1998
The Grand Summer Adventure of 1998 is over. I'm beginning to
translate my journal entries into legible form. I've completed a
calendar
to help you navigate to the entries. However, I haven't debugged
all the links yet, so don't be surprised if you get a few "file
note found" errors.
You can still skip the narrative and check out the
poems
that the trip inspired or the unedited
pictures
I took with my digital camera. Plus, by popular demand (e.g.,
sheer narcissism), here is a link to the
X-rays
of my broken arm (with thanks to Patrick).
Spring Adventures, 1998
I'm adjusting to my new home and my new lack of disposable income.
Actually, all my income is disposable now, and it's disposed
of immediately. My housemate is proving to be someone I can live
with. My relationship with Curtis has its ups and downs. My
relationship with Don seems to be going rather well. I am planning
for my grand summer vacation, and it looks like it's shaping up to
be a great deal of fun, involving many of my friends and a few of
my family.
Sybase continues its long slide toward dissolution, and that has
me worried. And sad. It was a fine place until the East Coasters
look over. What a bunch of jerks.
Winter Adventures, 1997-98
I spent Christmas alone in my new house. I did this by choice.
Although the house has proved to be more expensive than I thought,
I suppose I could have scraped enough money together to visit the
folks back in Wisconsin again this year, but I really felt the need
to be alone. I even turned down a Christmas invitation from a
gentleman I'm dating. At first, I was afraid I had made the wrong
decision, that I'd feel lonely and blue being by myself. But quite
the opposite happened. Both Christmas Eve and Christmas were very
relaxing, tending only to myself and my needs, which were simple:
a movie and a good Mystery! episode on PBS. Two days after
Christmas, Luke and Patrick came to visit for five days. They
were delightful. I don't
think I've had a more enjoyable holiday season in years. I'm
looking forward to seeing them again when I start my sabbatical
sojourns this summer. The financial and logistic planning for the
sabbatical have forced me to conclude that I must rent out the master
bedroom in order to have the income I need. It will be a shame to
give up living alone, but the benefits will be worth it. I already
have a lodger in mind, and he will move in in February.
Autumn Adventures, 1997
I bought a refrigerator, a stove, a washer and dryer, and a bookcase
for the new house, and ordered new drapes for the two larger bedrooms.
Then I ran out of money. In the process, I also had the floors
refinished, replaced the linoleum in the master bathroom with tile,
and insulated the attic. Then I called up all my friends and neighbors
and had a combination house warming and birthday party.
During the party, I had a pot of
melted beeswax in the kitchen with a sheet of virgin beeswqax beside it.
Each guest tore off a piece of the
wax, thought of a wish or blessing, then rolled the wax up and dropped
it into the pot. At the end of the evening, I poured a candle from the
melted wax. From Autumn Equinox to Halloween, I burned that candle
in my kitchen window every night I was home and thought of all
those wishes and blessings filling the air.
Summer Adventures, 1997
I've bought a house. Eeeek! But first, I went to a Science Writers'
Workshop in Santa Fe, New Mexico, followed by a high school reunion
in Murphysboro, Illiois. Both were very enjoyable. August saw a
return trip to Rancho Cicada for square dancing au natural. It was
definitely a relief from the pressures of work and home ownership.
But the big new is definitely the house. I am going so far into debt
to buy it that I finally feel like a real American.
Spring Adventures, 1997
Well, something must have happened between April and June, but
I sure don't remember what!
Winter Adventures, 1997
I had a wonderful time attending a week-long Body Electric workshop
at Kalani Hanua, Hawaii.
Autumn Adventures, 1996
September brought me to my forty-sixth birthday, a time to reflect on
the men in my life.
In October, I went to see the "final" display of the Quilt, completing
a sort of circle.
As part of that weekend, I celebrated
Canadian Thanksgiving
with Brian and Kent and several other good people.
The American Thanksgiving I celebrated in November was, by contrast,
complex and confusing,
with an interesting
aftermath.
Perhaps the most moving experience this fall,
one that still provokes insights and dreams, was the
erotic massage workshop
I took through Body Electric.
The year closes with my spending
Christmas
with my sisters and mother in Wisconsin, and then traveling on to visit
other relatives
in the state.