A little background about me for people who know very little about me. I was born in Tokyo, Japan. I lived in Japan until I was 16 (attended St. Mary's International School, good school, scary teachers and mostly bad memories, but aren't all all-boys catholic schools kind of like that?).
I moved to a little town called Superior in Montana after my dad retired. To say that moving from a Japanese city of 12 million to a little mountain town in the US of 1200 was a cultural shock would be an understatement. What amazes me is that I made a lot of good friends really fast (it kind of tells you what a decent town it really is). I really miss my friends, I get to talk to them only rarely.
After High School, I attended the University of Montana and majored in Journalism. Following in my father's footsteps.
A little side trip here, in 1986, I joined the Army to get more money for college. 3 years later I was out and went back to college.
The last year in college was probably the best memories (and worst) of my life. I met some wonderful people and if it wasn't for my own stupidity I would have kept in touch with them (there's a lot more to tell, but not in public). The only thing I have to say is that there are some people I really miss. Dawn & Korki, I miss you.
After college, I rejoined the army as a member of the Special Forces. I know this sounds weird, but I just couldn't stand to be in an undisciplined environment. Too many people in the civilian world are untrustworthy (not that I'm any beacon of shining character). As much fun as I had, I got injured really bad and 3 years later I was out, for good this time.
I've lived in some wonderful places and been working at many newspapers since. I've lived in Vancouver BC, Bellingham & Bellevue WA and presently in San Francisco CA. I run the Advertising Department of the Recorder, a Legal paper and website for the American Lawyer Media. Probably the best job I have had since I started in advertising.
Now that my short story is done, I hope you get in touch with me if you remember me.
Thanks,
Jim
