Passions

Creative Writing

See my "Creative Writing" link to the left for what I've been up to. I can't imagine not writing, and I try to get down at least a few hundred words every day -- or else a few lines of poetry. And the more I write, the more new ideas flood onto the pages of my "to do" list!

Equestrian Sports

My other passion is my horse. My wife and I raise and train horses, and over the past five years I've become involved in eventing -- competitions that involve dressage, cross-country jumping, and stadium jumping. My current project is an eight-year-old Thoroughbred who is an ex-race horse. My real enjoyment is the little day-to-day victories both in and out of the practice arena, but it's equally nice to have the pay-off of going to competitions.

Outdoor Rec

I love to cross-country ski in the winter time. I prefer the quiet outback -- and lack of fashion etiquette! -- of logging roads to the lift lines. I've given snowshoeing a try, which I also enjoy. Summers I mountain bike those same logging roads.

Other "recreation"

Okay, okay, so I'm also a nerd: I like to translate Middle Egyptian Hieroglyphic texts and Late Kingdom Hieratic texts. (Sometimes it's too cold to ski and I'm letting a story or poem percolate for a few days before I commit words to paper or screen.) But my wife and I also play and perform with doumbeks -- Middle Eastern drums. Hm, doesn't really sound like I'm helping myself here. Still pretty nerdish, huh...