About me

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Here's the quick and dirty on me, "Have you enjoyed the outdoors today?". My name is Andy and I'm in my late-20's. I have a beautiful partner of 4+ years named Claire and we share a home in Oregon's scenic and mild Willamette Valley. We have two yellow labs, Graham (3 years) and Jake (2) and a cat (?), but I forget his name*.


I enjoy the outdoors nearly as much as I enjoy being married and that's something that's obvious once you get to know me. In talking with folks that I meet or know one of the primary things I tend to do is to find out their level of outdoor activity and make that a centerpiece for conversation. This isn't to say that I don't know lots of people who don't enjoy the outdoors as much as I do, but the simple fact that we live on Earth means that we are inherently tied to the natural world. As a general rule, the more people appreciate this fact, the easier it is for me to communicate with them.


The hobbies I engage in are relatively all the same, in that they involve two of life's great pleasures; beer and exercise. Here's my list in particular order:


Beer: camping, playing board games, cooking/baking, SNOB (Supporter of Native Oregon Beer)


Exercise: running (preferably trail), hiking, sport climbing (both indoors and outdoors), backcountry hiking, canoeing, snowshoeing, photography (a stretch for being in the "exercise" category I know)


I understand that diversity is a very important part of our evolution and economy and therefore I am a supporter of just about any (legal) idea or belief that keeps people different or allows the underdog to succeed. Examples of this include the idea that Wal-Mart is not a business that I support if at all possible (simply because it is the largest retailer on the planet and they don't need any of my money) and that racial minorities are far and away more culturally important than many of us realize. The fact that when many of us were born there were 6,000 languages being used on this planet and now there are fewer than half of that remaining indicates to me that our loss of diversity is happening at an alarming rate. See this video for an excellent explanation of this problem by National Geographic Explorer Wade Davis: www.ted.com/talks/wade_davis_on_endangered_cultures.html


This is really just a scattered run-down on how I view myself. My posts will be a much more accurate depiction of who I really am, as the content starts to paint a picture that reflects my own thoughts, beliefs, and opinions. Stay tuned for more!


*The cat is Claire's and I really don't care for him. He's mean to me and he pukes a lot. Enough said.