I grew up in Greeley, Colorado, and nothing happened. Then I went to University at the University of Colorado, and almost nothing happened, but I did go on "Semester at Sea," a study-abroad program that takes place on a ship that goes around the world, stopping in a bunch of different ports along the way. Thus, I was bitten, and the travel bug infected me. Then I graduated.
After graduating from the University of Colorado in 2006, I worked as a 'design engineer for a small engineering firm in Denver, Colorado. I knew going into the job that I didn't want to do it for long, but I quickly got tied down by bills and whatnot. I constantly told my friends about how great it was going to be when I quit my job and started traveling the world, but didn't actually DO anything to make this a reality. Eventually I realized this, and at a friend's Christmas party in December 2007 (where has the time gone?!), I got drunk and ordered a non-refundable one-way ticket to New Zealand. Best drunken decision EVER.
I lived in New Zealand for 7 months, working about 5 of those months as a lift operator at Coronet Peak, just outside of Queenstown. It was probably the best job I've ever had. The rest of the time I spent living out of my car (I bought a $700 1988 Honda Civic), hiking, taking pictures, and generally having a better time than I would have had I NOT drunkenly bought a non-refundable one-way ticket to New Zealand.
Then I moved to Australia, where I wanted to learn to surf. I didn't really learn to surf, but I did drive around the whole country in my amazing van that I lived out of, stopping for a few months in Byron Bay, on the east coast, and Perth, on the west. I worked as a dishwasher, a bus driver, a waiter / handyman, a general laborer, a forklift driver, and a fence builder during my time in Australia. While there, I made a ton of friends from around the world - the backpacker scene in Australia is huge. Finally, I took a ton of pictures. I'm an amateur photographer with some aspirations of becoming a pro, but lacking the drive to make it happen presently. I'll have to get some pics up on this site later.
Then I moved back home, because I hadn't done enough paperwork in advance to secure a job as an English teacher in Asia. I spent 4 months in Colorado, where I camped, reconnected with old friends who remain my best friends, and again, took a shitload of pictures.
And then, hours and hours and hours and hours of paperwork later, came to South Korea to teach English to elementary school students at a private school in Tongyeong, a city of 130,000 people on the SE coast of South Korea. And succeeded in my goal of having a great time.
Now, I'm done with my contract, and I'm going to Nepal to hike for a few months, then off to SE Asia to do... I don't know, really. But the next 6 or so months should be awesome, and hopefully I'll be able to write some good stories and post some good pictures here while this takes place.
