Well... where do I start?
OH! That's right... at the beginning.
Turn the way back machine to 1971. Setting:
Small town in central Kansas.
I was born in March and the world's food supply
hasn't been the same since!
I lived in central Kansas for the first 18 years of
my life. Graduated High School in 1989. I'd have to say
my high school experience wasn't all that great. I had a few
friends that I hung out with but was always the picked-on kid.
Once I graduated, I left my classmates behind. Attended my
10-year reunion in 1999. It was about the same as high school.
All the same cliques were there hanging out chatting like they did
back then. Some things never change...
In the fall of '89, I started attending Hutchinson
Community College as a music major. I had a great time!
Made lots of friends and attended lots of parties! Of
course... then reality sets in. After my first year
there, I got a job at Pizza Hut. My focus started to shift and
I was working more than studying. So, needless to say, I
didn't graduate. I had a less-than-stellar 2nd year. And
after the 2nd year, I cut my school schedule down to two classes:
band and jazz band. Not exactly a good curriculum.
I ended up working for Pizza Hut for 4 years.
Then landed a job at Subway as a management candidate. And in
less than 2 months, I ended being a manager. After the first
year, I was a multi-store manager (not a regional). I was
managing 3 locations in the Hutchinson area. It was a good job
but I got burnt out far too easily. A change was needed.
In May of 1997, I made a big change. I moved
to Lawrence - home of the Jayhawks and got a job at Target. I
lived in a 2 bedroom apartment with a then friend of mine by the
name of Chris (female). We were decent friends but living
together made it hell. We started arguing, not getting
along... stuff like that. (go figure!) And after the
first year of living with her, she decided to move out. That's
when I got a new roommate - John H. John was a nice guy.
His best friend was also named John (P.). (stick with me here...
the 2nd John becomes relevant later).
In the spring of 1999, I decided that maybe
attempting to get my degree again would be a good idea. So I
moved back to Hutchinson in August for 10 months and went back to
Hutch Community College and actually finished my Associates
Degree... then moved back to Lawrence in June of 2000 to attend the
University of Kansas (KU). While I lived in Hutch for this 2nd
run-through at college, John P. (the 2nd John mentioned above) was
my roommate.
He had turned into a real asshole while living with
him. He had the gall to ask my friends about me instead of
just asking me directly. And the question? "Is he gay?".
Well, you know... I didn't even have a clue at that point...
but was starting to suspect my own sexuality.
Well, we're now back to Lawrence and it is the
summer of 2000... I'm still working at Target at this point and am
actually getting into the groove of the job. School started
the following fall and I took a leave of absence from Target to get
myself into the game of school.
Now... fast forward to 2002. I'm still
attending KU and still trying to get through school. And now
coming to terms with my sexuality. In the early part of 2002,
I started chatting with a gay man. I had gotten to know him
through a message board we were both members of. He had given
me the best friendship I could ever have as he answered all my
questions without prejudice or sarcasm. I had also decided
that if I was going to explore my sexuality it should be soon.
So I did. I sought out my first sexual
experience with a man. I had tried sex with women and it just
didn't do anything for me. So in June of 2002, it happened.
And after that experience, I have always considered myself gay.
No passing "go", no collecting $200. ;)
After finding out about myself, I started letting
others know. And I was feeling out my newfound identity.
Now with school, work, and sexuality all competing for my time, I
came to a breaking point. Something had to go.
I let my schooling go. It was one of the
hardest and painful decisions, I ever made. I don't regret it
as I learned a lot at KU. Not only about computers, but about
myself. College truly is a journey of self-discovery.
So.... now that I knew what I was (gay). I
decided that maybe I should start mingling with other gay men.
I started with the internet - the easiest avenue available to me at
the time. Now while living in Lawrence, I found a lot of
friends in Kansas City. I started traveling there on weekends
to go to the bars and meet other guys. Which brings me to
where I'm at currently.
I lived in Kansas City since June of 2003 and enjoying myself
most of the time.
When I moved, I also dropped Target and starting working for a temp
agency to find a better job outside the food and retail industries.
I landed a permanent position with a company doing data entry in
October of 2003.
ADDENDUM: 05.22.2006
In February of 2006, I found out that my company was
going to close the Kansas City office in which I worked. In my
utter shock at the news, I found out that I had the opportunity to
keep my job but there was just one problem...
I had to move to Dallas, TX.
On April 21, 2006, I did just that... I packed up my
life and relocated to Dallas, TX. The ride has not been the
best so far, but when start at the bottom, the only way to go is up.
UPDATE 09/05/2007 - As I have stated on the
home page of this website, I have met some great people here in
Texas. However, I have concluded that Dallas is not the last
place that I will live in this lifetime. There are many great
places to live across the US. So I am still searching for my
"home".
No matter where I live, I will always consider
myself a "Kansas man" because that's where I grew up and lived for
the first 35 years of my life.
Anybody want to import a genuine Kansas-made cub?
;)
Well.... that's my story and I'm sticking to it!
:P