| What is your most memorable childhood experience? | Playing baseball. My grandfather played all his life and passed the game down to me. While I certainly enjoyed the sport itself thoroughly, what truly made it central at the time was how it brought my family together. |
| What immediate family member do you closely identify with and why? | My sister. We are only a few years apart and our experiences are incredibly similar. We are different, she is incredibly passionate and I tend to stay fairly even keeled, however we still feel strongly about many of the same things. |
| What character traits do you admire in an individual? | Intellect. Someone who can maintain a conversation on more than base topics really catches my eye. Humor always helps too. |
| What is the funniest thing ever to happen to you? | I was eaten alive by some sort of desert insect during Christmas a few years ago. I was in the military at the time and we were deployed in a desert environment over the holidays. Christmas Eve, I was on a mission that required me to stand alert (basically just sit there and wait) over the course of the night. Ended up sleeping on a pile of Quick-Rete there by the base wall. When I woke up for Christmas morning, my entire face was covered in bites. When the birds came and picked us up, my Sergeant made me report to medical because he thought I'd caught small pox. Not exactly the funniest story when told, but I didn't live it down until I left the service. |
| If time and money were not an issue, where would you travel and why? | Antarctica. I've been to 5 continents so far and only have Australia and the Antarctic left. While I am certain that I will one day be able to book a flight to Sydney or Melbourne, the South pole is not nearly as easy to access. Plus, I love penguins. |
| When and if you ever have children, what would you like to pass on to them? | Respect and a sense of duty. While I think it's important my children develop and maintain their own opinions, I think it even more important that they learn to respect and seek to understand the views of others, even if they don't agree. Additionally, finding a purpose in something bigger than satisfying personal desire frankly makes for a more fulfilled life in my opinion. |
