I'm an animal lover. Always have been. Cats, especially big ones, have been my favorites. The link to this page depicted a beautiful old male cougar that I used to care for (he has since passed away). The pic to the left is of a young female cougar---and some goofy guy named JP.
Although I have a wide range of interests, all of the pics on this page were taken from my recent stint as a Seasonal Relief Keeper at Northwest Trek Wildlife Park. What does a relief keeper do? Well, it was my responsibility to take care of any animals in the Core Area of the park who's primary keeper was off for the day. Since NWT is constantly understaffed, I was kept very busy. Some days, I cared for the entire Core collection myself! It was a great experience. (And I am looking for a permanent position somehwere! Hint! Hint!)
A smattering of facts:
I was born in New York and lived on Long Island until I was nine. Then I moved to south Florida for nine years, north Florida for four years of college (UF!), Georgia for six years, and Washington for three years. I also spent many summers as a child in Ireland. In other words, I got around.
School was never tough for me, at least until my last year or so of college, where I obtained my BS in Forest Resources and Conservation (Major: Wildlife Ecology, Minor: Zoology). In high school, I was a National Merit Scholar with an SAT score of 1470. Woo!
I was always a bright kid, with my nose buried in a book or my eyes glued to the TV. I enjoyed fantasy and sci-fi, anything to feed my imagination. Legos and cartoons were mainstays, and I later developed an interest in theatre, which got me over my shyness.
I love acting, especially in musicals. If I could make a living out of it, I would in a heartbeat. Some of my favorite roles have been Fagin in Oliver!, Kenicke in Grease, Bernardo in West Side Story, and minor roles in Fame and Li'l Abner. (If you're ever in a tiny town called Fairburn, Georgia, make sure to check out the wonderful theatre there, The Southside Theatre Guild. Wonderful, wonderful group of people.)
I'm a huge fan of all things Disney, especially the theme parks. My goal is to ultimately get a job in Walt Disney World. I was on vacation down there in 1998 when I was talked into attending an audition. I had to dance, do comedic pantomime, and perform puppetry. I aced the audition and beat out about 200 other people for a part as Goofy/Baloo/Beast in The Magic Kingdom. Unfortunately, I had to decline the position because the pay was too low to live off of---it was a really hard decision.
I consider Jim Henson and Walt Disney to be my heroes. And Cyrano de Bergerac and Don Quixote are my favorite fictional characters. Blend the four of them together, and you have an idea of my personality. Make sure to add a liberal dose of maniacal humor---a gift from my departed father.
While I'm not a sporty guy, I do enjoy volleyball, fencing, and solo backcountry hiking.
I could keep babbling on about myself, but I'm sure I've bored you enough! So just enjoy the pretty pictures....... |
