Biography by hobbies

In my early childhood I:

learned Transcendental Meditation at age six. I remember reciting my mantra while walking in slow circles around my bedroom, stepping over Legos

became clinically obsessed with the music of Cat Stevens

blew up GI Joes with firecrackers

played with my big sister who was and still is my hero

vandalized entire neighborhoods at a precociously tender age

and hid, as best I could, which was not very well, from my violent alcoholic father

In my adolescence I:

discovered punk rock and began my lifelong worship of Joe Strummer, from The Clash

plunged into martial arts

devoured hundreds of books on spirituality, books I kept hidden from my parents in boxes under my bed

discovered, at age 15, a remarkable Zen Master, driving—thanks to my squeaky new drivers permit—from our suburban house into the city to train under him

fell in love with the author Henry Miller and, through him, with writing

Oh and I still hid from my violent alcoholic father though by now with greater adroitness

But mostly I discovered punk rock

In my early adulthood, specifically at age 17, I:

moved into Minneapolis where, instead of going to college like a normal person, I loitered with my ragamuffin punk rock friends at bars and coffee shops

played in an awful New Wave band

studied acting and acted (poorly) in 3 or 4 plays

trained fanatically in exotically violent martial arts

rode my Kawasaki GPZ motorcycle (which I bought solely because Lou Reed sang about his on the song New Sensations) to the Zen center where I continued to train in Zen Buddhism

bartended at a popular club called 1st Avenue where, one night, I called the lead singer of Gang of Four a “limey fuck” to his face

lived in Boston for a summer

and, at age 22, met the woman I would marry and spend my life with

From then until now I have:

attempted to engage a spiritual practice

done a few metric tons of therapy, plowing through some pretty gnarly trauma from the aforementioned violent alcoholic father

become a raging health fanatic

fawned over 5 cats (6 if you include Little Ratty, but she didn’t live with us for long)

Professionally I've:

tended bar (like I said), worked in my mom’s bookstore, driven cab, painted houses, landscaped, taught martial art (for over 20 years), taught PE in a Waldorf school, Rolfed people (Rolfing is a kind of therapeutic body work), nutritionally coached a small army of clients, and occasionally made money through writing, writing I've done in hipster coffee shops with old-timey pens (the glorious Bic 1.6mm) and halcyon-day spiral-bound notebooks, virtually every morning of my life for decades. Oh and I guess I did eventually go to the University of Minnesota and get a BA in something unmemorable and unmarketable

These days I:

meditate pointlessly (by far the best kind of meditation) a lot

sit in front of the fire or walk around the lakes talking about dumb fun shit with my wife and co-conspirator in life

listen to old punk, New Wave and reggae. Especially Joe Strummer

choke down hideous green smoothies

watch podcasts with Bobby Lee on them (usually while wearing Bobby Lee merch, like a teenage fanboy)

hang out with my buddy Drake

and write in hipster coffee shops every morning