NEW! (October 2010) This is my current profile photo

NEW! (March 2010) I loved checking out the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington DC while visiting my friend, Rob, to celebrate his graduation from medical school. The tree blossoms around the Tidal Basin surrounding the Jefferson Monument during that brief time of year are truly stunning and something that I hope everyone can have the opportunity to see at least once.

NEW! (June 2009) After walking around the streets of Paris all day, it sure was nice to find this ideally-situated bench to rest just a bit before ascending La Tour Eiffel!

NEW! (May 2009) I have always loved this particular spot on the edge of Brooklyn for the picturesque view of the Manhattan skyline framed beyond that iconic Brooklyn Bridge.

NEW! (March 2009) I wish that I could claim that I had climbed the canyon wall, but the views overlooking the Grand Canyon in Arizona are sufficiently breathtaking to satisfy the appetite of the eyes!

NEW! (September 2008) During a tour of the Sacred Valley of the Incas along the Urubamba River, I came across these folks dressed in traditional Peruvian outfits along with one of the local alpacas. Naturally, I could not resist the opportunity to snap a photo of the locals proudly representing their culture.

NEW! (September 2008) Pictures cannot possibly do Machu Picchu justice. This UNESCO World Heritage Site simply leaves any visitor in awe when pondering how it might have been built, especially when considering that the Incas had not applied the wheel as a work tool and, of course, they had no computer-aided design capabilities. I so enjoyed exploring all of the nooks and terraces of this intimidating city that I nearly lost track of time. I sure hope that I can visit again some day.

NEW! (March 2007) Kapellbrücke (Chapel Bridge), built in Lucerne, Switzerland in 1333, is such a beautiful monument to the industriousness of Switzerland. Although a tad on the cold side while I was there, I enjoyed my visit to the country and would rank Switzerland high on my list of places to revisit.

NEW! (March 2007) This was a fun pic to take at Checkpoint Charlie in Berlin, Germany. Of course, that particular area has been thoroughly converted into a tourist trap since its previous stint as the focal point of tensions between Western Democracy (from the US Zone of West Berlin) and Soviet-style Communism (from the Soviet Zone of East Berlin), but my visit to Berlin was so educational and pleasantly enjoyable.

NEW! (November 2006) The Iguazu Falls (or Cataratas do Iguaçu, as they are known in Portuguese-speaking Brazil) are the most majestic waterfalls I have yet had the pleasure to visit. I instantly fell in love with this park, which straddles the border between Argentina and Brazil. It is so well-designed that I believe that it should serve as a model for any natural-themed parks. The walking paths are non-obtrusive upon the scenery and even blend into the background for the most part. The interior is completely devoid of all of the trinket shops that one would normally expect around such a tourist attaction. When walking through the park, in fact, the only sites that you are likely to see, other than natural ones, are the walkway itself and other tourists enjoying the scenery as much as you are. I offer my kudos to Argentina and Brazil for keeping the commercialization of this treasure so minimalized!

NEW! (July 2006) In the summer of 2006, my friend and I toured Japan (Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hiroshima). During a walk-through of a major Shinto temple in Tokyo, we ran into this priestess in full formal dress and I just had to have a photo to keep the memory.

NEW! (July 2006) My friend, Rob, snapped this photo of me being just as happy as an unattached traveler could be. We met these geishas just outside one of the beautiful temple gardens in Kyoto, Japan.

NEW! (May 2005) I enjoyed strolling along the canals and taking in the sites of Amsterdam during a 3-week hop through Europe at the beginning of the 2005 summer. That tour started out as a 1-week business trip to Birmingham, England. While exhibiting at a trade show in the United Kingdom, my company advised that all employees would be required to take 1 to 2 weeks of furlough time over the next few months in order to manage market difficulties. Since I was already in Europe, I opted to take my furlough immediately and prolong my Europe trip by two weeks. A bit pricey to do so, but I am forever grateful that I seized that opportunity. From England, I went on to Ireland, the Netherlands (as pictured here), Belgium, and France.

NEW! (May 2005) This is one of my all-time favorite personal travel photos. During my first couple of visits to London, I noticed that one of the Underground stations bore my name. On this visit, I finally managed to set up this shot at Earl's Court.

NEW! (May 2005) One of the aspects of travel that I most enjoy is meeting and interacting with people from all over. Of course, the Beefeater (or, as he is more properly titled, The Yeoman Warder of Her Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress, the Tower of London) in this photo is serving as a classic tourist-trap photo op. However, despite the apparent kitschy aspect of photos like this, I still enjoyed the tour of the Tower this fellow provided and he was very kind to pose with me after the end of the tour.

(May 2003) This is a fun pic that I took at one of the tourist traps in Niagara Falls, Canada. You lookin' at me? You wanna piece o'me? I always knew I shoulda been a gangsta!

~ Pictures from California ~

(May 2002) After going to a cousin's wedding in San Francisco, I took a few days to sight-see. The Golden Gate Bridge does not look so tall from here. Of course, standing where I was, I was probably a good half-mile or so from the base of the tower in the foreground, so maybe it is pretty tall, after all!

(May 2002) During the same trip to San Francisco, my dad, stepmom, and I went to see one of the local redwood forests.

(October 2001) Here I am, chillin' at home.

(June 2000) My mom and I at my graduation ceremony, upon completion of my Bachelor degree at the University of Phoenix, San Diego campus. The ceremony was held at the San Diego Convention Center. As you can tell elsewhere in this site, I am extremely proud of my mother and feel immense gratitude for her influence in my life. I keep trying to get her to move out to California so that she will be nearby, but she actually prefers the dry Arizona climate. That does give me a good reason to go back and visit my old stomping grounds every now and then, though.

(June 2000) My stepmom, me, and my dad at UoP graduation. My dad and stepmom sure talked to me often about going back to school. I am so grateful that they never gave up pushing me about it. Always enough to keep it on my mind; but, never enough for me to feel like I was being nagged. Thanks, dad and Barbara, for always pushing me to get that degree!

(June 2000) My great-aunt Berenice, me, and my grandma at the UoP graduation. This was a very proud day for me, as you have probably surmised by now.

(June 1998) What can I say? It looks like I am Mr. Popular! This was a digital photo of me, accompanied by two lovely attendees of the Computer Expo that year. I was there on behalf of Byte & Floppy Computers and these two ladies stopped by our booth, where we were demonstrating a digital camera and photo printer not too long after these products first came out. One of the perks of being in technology is being able to play with all of the new gadgets as they are released!

(August 1994) Here I am at Six Flags Magic Mountain, California shortly before I moved out here.

(August 1994) At Six Flags again...this time, with a good friend of mine! If you look closely, you will also see another little friend (in the bright yellow shirt between Bugs and I) that I did not know about until after we had developed this roll of film!

(August 1994) At a friend's wedding in Marina del Rey. Those are my friends: Robert Huffman and Greg Kist, along with me.

~ Pictures from Arizona ~

(June 1999) I was living in California at the time, but this picture was taken in Arizona. This was from my high school class's ten-year reunion. Go Buffaloes!!

(August 1994) Some friends and I found a patch of wild flowers growing in a field while we were on a group date near Payson, Arizona (click for map). We could not pass up the opportunity to snap some pictures. This portion of Arizona is absolutely beautiful and one of my favorite places in the world --- the Mogollon Rim. This is where the high desert of Arizona meets the evergreen forests of the northern part of the State (about 150 miles south of Grand Canyon and 80 miles north and east of Phoenix). If you would like to visit this wonderful place, drop me an email and I would be glad to give you hints on neat places to visit in that region.

(May 1994) Another picture from the Mogollon Rim area. This one is near the Verde Valley, about halfway between Phoenix and Flagstaff. The canyon in the background has an absolutely beautiful creek running through it.

(Summer 1994) Mark (my brother), me, and my mom enjoying a day at the Phoenix Zoo.

(October 1989) This is a picture from way back in the day. The only (short) period in my life that I kept long hair. I grew it out during the summer of 1989 due, in large part, to a dare from a friend of mine who noted that I had been very conservative in my life up to that point. That was such a fun summer! I started taking a lot more chances after that summer, realizing for the first time that life was too valuable to not be fully experienced. Of course, the long locks were just for a brief stint of 6 months are so, but it sure was fun while it lasted!