1962
Born in Chicago in June. Dad works nights for Associated Press. In Sept. we move to Madison, WI
1963
At U of W, Dad works on MA in Political Science. Mom starts PhD in English and soon switches to Linguistics. Both have jobs w/ the university. A neighbor takes care of me during the day along w/ her own small children.
1964
I go to the Salvation Army Nursery School. In Sept. we go to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania where Mom has a grant to do research in Swahili. There's plenty of grant money to support us, but Dad goes back to Madison. I go w/ him b/c there's no daycare for me.
1965
Dad and I are living in an apartment. Dad is working full-time for the University PR office. Mom returns from Africa in the late Spring.
1966
In Sept. Mom and I move to Washington, DC, where Mom starts teaching at Howard University after getting her PhD in Linguistics in August. Dad is working for the State Dept. of Education in Madison, but Mom thought he was going to be based in DC. Dad visits occasionally. I am in a good nursery school on Capitol Hill.
1967
During the summer I stay w/ my Dad while my Mom is at a Linguistics Institute. I start Kindergarten in the Fall in DC.
1968
Mom decides we all should live together and quits Howard Univ. We move back to Madison in January. In July though, Mom and I move to Kampala, Uganda where she teaches at Makere University. I start first grade. After trying two schools which were a bad fit (one where all the kids spoke Arabic, the other a strict British school), I land at Kitente Primary School which has both local Ugandans and expatriate children.
1969
Dad joins us in Uganda to work on his dissertation in Journalism on the history of East African newspapers. We live on campus. I play w/ Magesi and Segwa who are the sons of Rose, who cooks and cleans for us.
1970
In the summer we go back to the USA. On the way we stop to be tourists in Egypt. Dad has a job at South Dakota State University in Brookings. We have a collie named Entebbe. Mom has a horse named Moja. Dad finishes his PhD in Journalism. I join the boy scouts.
1971
We almost adopt a child my age, but the agency doesn't like that we're going back to Africa. In August we move to Lagos, Nigeria where Dad is the Dean of Mass Communications at the University of Lagos. I go to the Lebanese Community School which is taught by an American couple from Iowa.
1972
In the summer we go back to the US for a vacation where I stay w/ each of my sets of grandparents for a few weeks each. Dad then goes back to Lagos. I go w/ my mother to Kenya, where she starts teaching at the University of Nairobi. I go to the Hospital Hill School.
1973
Dad takes a job teaching composition at York College (part of the NYC College system). Mom and I leave Nairobi in October to join him. We live in Massapequa Park on Long Island where I start 6th grade. We have a German Shepherd named Twiga.
1974
Mom moves to New Haven to teach at Yale. Dad gets a job more in his field of Journalism at Penn. State. I move to State College w/ him. Mom commutes there every other weekend. For 8 weeks in the summer, and for the next three summers, I go to Camp Choconut in NE Pennsylvania.
1975
After a year w/ Dad, I move to New Haven to live w/ Mom who has bought a house in Woodbridge. Dad is now teaching at Temple U. in Philadelphia and commutes to New Haven every other weekend.
1976
In order to live together, Mom and Dad both take jobs at Michigan State University. We buy a house in East Lansing. My main friends are a Japanese exchange student, Aki, and an americanized Asian Indian, Anil.
1977
I start going to an alternative boarding school called Putney School , in Putney, Vermont. I do my last three years of high school there.
1978
Dad takes a job at Marquette Univ. in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Mom isn't happy about being left. They never live together again, and get divorced three years later.
1979
Dislocate my right shoulder cross-country skiing, and later playing basketball. Best friends are Josh U. and Peter W. First major crush on Beth B.
1980
Graduate from Putney, dislocating shoulder for 3rd time on graduation night.
During the summer, take 1st and best college course (U of Mich.'s Intro to Geology in Jackson Hole)
Freshman year in Residential College at U of M
1981
Take LOA from U of M. Buy used Audi Fox, my first car. Spend 1st half of summer traveling around Pacific NW w/ Josh. 2nd half of summer w/ Peter in Santa Fe, where I work at Bishop's Lodge.
Return to Mom's w/ no plan for the Fall. Work in pizza restaurant.
1982
Transfer to and start Sophmore yr. at Grinnell College in Iowa (my mother's alma-mater). 1st r/ship w/ Lisa I.. Dislocate shoulder for 4th time throwing a snowball. Summer w/ Mom in off-campus housing. Operation to tighten tendons in my shoulder. Take astronomy course at MSU.
1983
Spend Spring Break hiking in Big Bend Park (in TX) w/ GORP (Grinnell Outdoor Recreation Program). Lisa moves back to Hawaii to finish college there. Summer w/ Dad. Take courses at Marquette. Move back to Grinnell early. Work on student radio station, KDIC, w/ Alan A. Live in off campus house w/ 4 others. R/ship w/ Karen S. (we have the same initials).
1984
GORP trip to go x/c skiing in Boundary Waters (MN) for 2 weeks. Become manager of KDIC. Summer w/ Karen in Baraboo, WI. Work at Wisconsin Dells. Live off-campus w/ Janice. Graduate from Grinnell w/ Bachelor's in Psych.
1985
Lead x/c GORP trip. Vacation in Florida w/ Karen. We visit Twin Oaks (a commune). I join in April. Hike fifth of AT in Sept. back to T.O. after visiting Karen in Connecticut.
1986
R/ship w/ Earelin. Visit Dandelion community in Ontario. Diagnosed w/ testicular cancer in the summer. Luckily, the cancer was caught early. There is no sign of it after I have the tumorous testicle removed, and so forgo having standard followup surgery to remove abdominal lymph nodes in favor of alternative surveillance only approach. Earelin leaves me for McCune (my next door neighbor in the T'chai residence at Twin Oaks). Move to the Tupelo residence.
1987
Focus on work at the commune. Earn thousands in 'OPP' for hammock shop's CD collection. Write O&I papers. Dislocate shoulder for 5th time horsing around with Zheriph.
1988
1st half of summer w/ Lisa G. in Santa Ana. Sept. in Mexico w/ McCune. Visit polyfidelity commune Kerista in San Francisco.
1989
Buy Virginia Soyworks & Toyota Pick-up. Parents loan me $10K to buy tofu biz, after Twin Oaks turns me down. Live and work on my own in tofu shop in beautiful location in Nelson County, making deliveries in Charlottesville twice a week. R/ship w/ Brenda (from T.O.). Work is very demanding. I pay off loan in first six months.
1990
Continue to save 95%+ of what I'm earning, which gives me $50K in 2 years. Still life feels harder and lonelier than it has to be. Don't recognize the value of the structure, purpose, and money that I'm getting. Put the biz up for sale. Personal philosophy gels of what I later call 'Environmental Engineering'.
1991
T.O. takes over tofu biz even though I discourage them a bit b/c I have other buyers. Drive to San Francisco to see Lisa G. and join Kerista. Kerista gives me cold reception, doubting whether I'm poly enough. Buy camper for pick-up; Outfit it w/ solar panels (which I install in the 'Real Goods' parking lot). Summer in my camper in the Mendicino National Forest in N. Calif. Drive back east. Help w/ sorghum harvest at Sandhill commune in MO. Rejoin Twin Oaks as resident. Befriend Tom (Forest).
1992
After initial feeling great to be back at T.O., old feelings set back in. Visit Earelin and spend month in TN looking for land. Decide not to homestead. Move-in w/ Mom in Columbia, SC. Mom's father dies. Take some computer programming courses at Midlands Tech. Start investing.
1993
Stay w/ Mom for more than two years. She is gone half the time on trips, so I dog and housesit. Some of the time she is home, I spend in my camper in national forests in SC, NC and VA.
1994
Decide to get camper ready to do long-term vagabond in Southwest. Leave in November to spend month w/ Dad & Christine in Milwaukee. Visit ends badly. See grandmother in Minneapolis for the last time.
1995
Stay w/ Josh in Santa Fe for a week., seeing Peter as well. Vagabond in Arizona through the Spring, always camping on free public land. Then spend year vagabonding in southern Utah, camping as high as 11,000 feet.
1996
Move into western Colorado in the summer. Drive back to Mom's in the late Fall. Visit at Twin Oaks, staying w/ Brooks and housesitting in Josie's trailer (which I would later buy) during my time away.
1997
Rejoin T.O. as resident. Learn how to use HTML to design web pages. Join weekly Men's Group (which is mainly McCune & Rollie). R/ship w/ Mara and very briefly w/ Allegra. In the aftermath of this, reading books on ships frozen in arctic ice. Likewise, I feel emotionally stuck, and don't want to commit to becoming member at Twin Oaks partly b/c I don't plan on being there long, and partly b/c I don't want the community to get to make money off of my tofu savings (especially since T.O. doesn't compensate for inflation reducing the real value of $). Consequently, since I am doing two residencies and two long-term guesting periods at the commune, I have to go through several polls. Though accepted, I get enough reject votes each time to have 3 feedbacks in 14 months. Spotty involvement w/ Shanti. I visit her in NYC after she leaves.
1998
After spending a month away from T.O., I resolve to 'free myself from the ice' and 'wolf ' 3 visitors (Theresa, Jackie, Megan) in as many months on my return.
1999
Jackie returns as my guest for a month. We plan on my moving to Toronto to live together. Mutually we decide it will not work. Instead, I leave T.O. to housesit for Michael & Roseanne in C'ville, who are away most of the time driving a truck. I start my CD Shopper's Guide web site, which thrives during the dot-com boom. I cycle to UVa twice a day to use the computers and fast internet access there.
2000
Move w/ Michael & Roseanne in May to Lake Monticello when they buy a house. See Theresa in NYC on way to visit relatives in Boston. Buy MAG notebook computer, and new road bike. R/ship w/ Shakti (from T.O.). We vacation at Virginia Beach (First Landing S.P.) w/ Steve, Rollie, and Liz. Shakti and I have no fights for 1st nine months.
2001
Roseanne decides to quit trucking, and so I move back to T.O. as guest in the Spring. Big fights w/ Shakti begin. Summer in Carborro, NC, housesitting for ex-members Matthew & Christina. Mom's mother dies. CD Shopper's guide becomes 2save247.com . Shakti and I plan on vagabonding for a year, but then 9/11 happens. Shakti feels she can't leave her teenage daughter at Twin Oaks. I buy eight acres of land eight miles away.
2002
Buy and move Josie's trailer onto my land. Move-in and work towards occupancy permit. Get cats Tigger & Dragon from the county shelter.
2003
Shakti brings rabbits. 1st Break-up w/ Shakti. Fence in yard for mom's dogs who I take care of for some of the next three summers. Shakti and I camp in her new tent at False Cape SP near Virginia Beach. Hurricane Isabel knocks out power for a week. Adopt two angora goats.
2004
Lose 1st goat. Shakti moves in for five months during her Sabattical, spending much of her time working at cleaning jobs. Break-up several times. Ducks (while we are at False Cape) and Rabbits die. Tigger disappears. We get kitten Miso as replacement. Cycle 3K miles.
2005
Assets top $150K. My income continues to be under $10K, but it exceeds my expenses. Adopt Zazen from shelter as replacement goat. His aggression brings much frustration. 'Final' Break-up w/ Shakti. Meet and ride w/ Theo, local Dutch cyclist. Play piano regularly again. See Theresa 7x in Cville in July. Begin personal web site and (resume) daily log. Put up 1000 feet of fencing for goats. Shakti and I resume r/ship after not having spoken for 8 months. Things are better, in part due to her weekly date w/ Rollie, which I encourage. Cycle 4.6K miles.
2006
Shakti moves in to begin 12-month PAL(Personal Affairs Leave). She only lasts a month before returning to Twin Oaks. Although again it's her acting unilaterally, this time we don't break-up. New road bike. Mom's dog (Bora) drops dead during walk w/ me on day she is driving to pick them up. Mom's angry I'm not enthusiastic about idea of her moving to area. She moves back to East Lansing, MI, and has house built. I help her pack-up for a week in SC. Cycle 260mi in 2 days to Reading, PA to visit Alan A., and get picked up by Dad who is driving to Boston to see his mother. Take bus back to Reading, stopping in NYC to stay w/Theresa overnight in hostel. Empowering cycle home helped by rain, and camping on C&O canal towpath. Meet Joyce at singles event. Shakti's first supportive of my starting a r/ship w/Joyce (while staying involved w/her), but then as before, without discussion she ends r/ship and friendship with me.
Miso disappears during the summer. Get Africa as replacement kitten. R/ship w/ Joyce ends. Cycle 7K miles.
2007
Hard times spur me to get counseling, go on anti-depressants, and get my first real job - as relief staff in two Region Ten halfway houses in Cville for adults w/schizophrenia. I date several women, but none lead to a r/ship. I also get out more by taking a waltz class, going on group hikes, and playing cards and frizbee at Twin Oaks regularly. Long talks with McCune.
Have vet put down Sebastian(goat) in January b/c he can't close his jaw. Mother's replacement doberman, Sukhari, is killed by a car while under my care.
Playing piano almost daily after buying digital piano last year. Zazen(goat) dies suddenly after having digestive problems for months. Fly to Michigan to visit Mom before Christmas. Cycle 5.5K miles.
2008
Shakti and I resume r/ship, seeing each other only once a week.