Sam

***************************** UPDATE *****************************Another Update 12/10/06I have put my bike to full force. I did a 55 mile ride two weekends ago, a memorial/awareness 10 mile and 30 more this weekend. Of course I will be riding again, every Saturday in fact, 40 - 50 this coming weekend.***************************** UPDATE *****************************I made it to Phoenix. The weather here is HORRIBLE!!!Honestly how bad is it when it is blue sky and 74 degrees everyday? I am joking of course. I walk home from work, hop on my bike, and fly… paradise in a sea of asthma saturated air.I’ve got some new photos from driving down here that are pretty sick… I haven’t tweaked them yet but once I do I’ll probably either add them to my web page or here… we will see.The place I am living in is crazy. I live in copper square which is quite literally “downtown Phoenix” just across from the Chase Stadium.Phoenix has its price though and I always have other plans.***************************** UPDATE *****************************Moving to Phoenix In and odd twist of events I have excepted a job in downtown Phoenix working for Norris Design.I will be moving on friday and staying with a friend of mine down there for a few days until I can find my own place close to downtown.Thank god for ASU there are tons of nice places to stay real close by.=================================================Old news....I am currently living in Rapid City South Dakota working for the Forest Service as a Wildland Firefighter. I am working on getting some new pictures up... I am so scared to bring my camera with me on a fire. I am going to buy a case very soon keep checking in.On another note. I won the Best Design Thesis award for my urban design project. I am going to be presenting it to the city sometime in the very near future. We will see what happens with it.Otherwise I am in a big transition period between fire and getting a real job. I might chase after some jobs in Philly, Boston, San Fran, and Seattle... if I could ever get a day off to work on it.The info below is old... but relative.Anyways,Some of you have added me to friends and such... sorry I haven't replied or said much. I am going though hell right now working on my thesis. Most of the time when I actually log on for this shit my brain is just mush.I don't really care for Myspace. I post a lot of my Photography on Deviantart... or http://frankrizzo.deviantart.com/It has been quite a trip to have some of you from Libby get a hold of me... surreal in fact being that I have been incognito for what 8 years now 10?Instead of me writing a letter to each of you I'll just post part of the last one I sent to an old friend.I'm still in school. I graduate in May with a BA in Landscape Architecture, a BA in Environmental Design, an emphasis in Art and a half assed (meaning not finished) minor in Business Administration. I am planning on going back to school in about 5 years for a Masters in Business and Finance. I am still feeling that one out.I have been working on my thesis for almost a year now. It is an Urban Design project in Rapid City, South Dakota. To make things simple it focuses on the revitalization of the downtown through place making: plazas, street trees, new buildings and businesses, sculpture, etc. It is a pretty big deal; there is talk of my project actually getting funded for eventual implementation. Millions of dollars, I would have to have a licensed Landscape Architect push out the final plans but my name would be tagged to them. It is pretty crazy to still be in school and playing hard ball with businesses and government officials. That usually doesn't happen until you have been in the field for around 10 years, but my plan is rock solid and the professor that is critiquing me is wicked smart so I feel good about it.As for what I have been up too in my spare time…. I'm a busy guy. I like business, I run my own and dabble in the stock market "renewable energy" if you can imagine that, mostly solar and wind… I am waiting for a good biodiesel to hit the market. I'm still a nut job. I stopped driving my car and canceled the insurance. I hate oil and Bush. I do my part to save the whales, you know how it is.Hmm, I picked up photography on a serious level about a year ago. I shoot a Nikon D70 and do commission work here and there depending on how busy I am. I need to get myself a new solid portrait lens the Nikkor 1.4d is gorgeous but I can't justify the expense right now.I just started scouting jobs on a low key basis. I'm not too aggressive right now because I think my thesis is going to open a lot of doors. I have a few portfolios in route to Boston; I'm going to be over there on the 17th to travel so I figured I would hit some firms up.I picked up Wildland Firefighting after I left Aberdeen, spent a few summers doing that then moved into Forestry and did part time Firefighting. I might go back for a month or two this summer depending on how the jobs look. If the jobs are crap then there is a real good possibility that I am going to Peru, Bolivia, and Brazil. I've been wanting to get down there for years now. Machu Pichu is calling me, among other things. I have offers on the table to work in a couple firms in Rio... but they don't pay near what the states do :PI'm not much into the scene, I am a closet guitarist and that's about where it ends.I picked up rock climbing a few years back and absolutely love it. The problem ironically enough is that I get vertigo. So I can out-climb a lot of people for about 20 feet then my head gets messed up. If it wasn't for the vertigo I would be leading 5.11's and 5.12s. I just need to take some hard falls and get it out of my system. I don't get to climb in Fargo but when I am back in Rapid I hit up Mount Rushmore as mush as possible.As for relationships, you know me I haven't changed much, although my taste has become even more intellectual over the years. My roommates give me shit on a continual basis because "I think too much."Otherwise, I am just grinding trying to stay on the level, burnt out yesterday doin good today, it's a rollercoaster.Sam,