About Me
•••FMF••• My Portfolio Site •••FMF•••
I grew up in good 'ol Hemet, California. When I was 18 I moved way up to Santa Rosa, CA and stayed with my brother Chris, passing the summer of 1995 waiting for school to start.
I got my first BA from UCSC, did a little study abroad in Michoacan, Mexico (at CU), and when that was done I took an invitation to spend a summer in Olympia, Washington. My Junior year at UCSC came and went, and by the middle of my Senior year I was accepted into the Global Politics / Economic Development program at Meiji-Gakuin Daigaku in Japan for a semester.
As a student, I was allowed to work 20 hours a week, so I made the 2-hour trek into Tokyo by myself for the first time and got a job waiting tables at the infamous Las Chicas cafe in Jingu-mae, Tokyo. Crazy, crazy days. Ask me about it. •••Visit Las Chicas•••
After a year in Tokyo (and once my visa expired) I was sponsored by a Japanese company to manage and develop their language school, which gave me another year of legal stay in Japan. I continued to work a little at the restaurant, continued to put on Sci-Fi events, worked with Eyesaw a bit to put together Peko Classic (ha ha!), hung out at the De-Fens design studio and Warner Music building for a chunk of time, and made some of my best friends ever. It's a shame to have them so scattered around the globe.
Tokyo was really a full palate for me. With that, I left snow-sprinkled Tokyo in the winter of 2000-2001 and went to Australia with my friend Megan for her sister's wedding outside of Melbourne. I decided early on to skip the wedding and dragged Megan to Sydney with me, where she introduced me to lots of great people and left me to my own devices.
After a few weeks in Sydney I met two of the greatest people in the world, Greg and Nikki. I spent nearly a week with them in Bondi Beach, crashed a great New Year's Eve party at the Olympic Stadium (thrown by this chick I met in the park months back in Tokyo, funny enough), and when Greg and Nikki's holiday ended, I made solid plans to visit them on the other side of the continent in Perth, Australia in a few weeks.
I took the flight over and spent another 2 weeks with them, seeing the sights, meeting more great people, and coincidentally hanging out with some very naughty friends from Tokyo. I've got some great photos. Ask me about 'em.
My return to Japan at the end of January 2001 was relatively short-lived. I had a place to stay and a few job interviews lined up.
Rather than getting the ball rolling again, I decided to return to the States. I called my birth mother up (my brothers and I, all biological, were adopted). She lived in Las Vegas, and I didn't feel opposed to relocating so, with an invitation extended, I boarded a flight within a week.
Vegas had me in its grips for two solid years, but by 2003 I was ready for another move. At the time I was working for D&G Dolce & Gabbana. Upon request, the company transferred me to sunny South Florida, where I spent the next 2 years.
I've been here in San Francisco since August of 2005. I live with my friends Anthony and Danny (my best friend!) on Noe St., which has got to be the best street to live on in San Francisco (it's FLAT!)
At the moment I'm pursuing a second bachelor's degree in product design at the Academy of Art. It's a 3-year program, for those of you wondering how much longer I'll be in school. I've got the first year under my belt, which leaves...2! Check out my portfolio? •••FMF•••
If you made it through this bio, thanks for taking the time. Maybe pick up the phone and call me, I probably miss you.
( ( ( ( john ) ) ) )
