A Little About Myself
Well I have written alittle bit about everything. It's maybe a little long in parts but I sure got a warm fuzzy feeling while writing it all.
At around age 10 or so I saw a bagpipe band and decided I wanted to play that too. After many phone calls I finally came across the KANSAS CITY CALEDONIAN PIPE BAND and began taking lessons under the tutlage of pipe major Jonathan Hartsock. I am greatly indebted to him for his very generous support of my piping over the years but unfortunately in high school I had decided that I wanted to do more than just piping and couldn't devote the time to being a playing member of the band anymore. I dissappointed him greatly I know but I still love the pipes and appreciate him very much.
While I was playing the pipes in junior high I became more and more interested in Celtic culture. In my freshman year of high school I decided I wanted to go to Scotland on foreign exchange. I remember I told Jon at somebody's wedding we had gone to. We were in the grooms basement and there was a party. Anyway I ended up after a year searching coming upon the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and I immediately applied to go to Scotland. The reply came back and there was nowhere to host me there apparently and I was encouraged to try a different country.
At this point it was close to the end of my sophomore year and I had been studing French quite intently so I decided to reapply to go to Belgium. It was late in the year and a reply came back that all positions had been filled. The supervisor of exchange activities for the midwest region at that point suggested I go to Japan, as there were lots of people coming and almost noone going there. There would be lots of positions open. I had made my decision...
I am the eldest son of my family. I have a younger brother, Michael, two years younger than me and a little sister, Laura, five years younger than me. My Mother, Diane, and Father, Joseph now live in Kansas City with my Grandmother, Dorothy who is not well these days. My wife, Ayumi, and I were married in January 1990 and recently celebrated our 6th wedding anniversary. My brother lives in Lawrence and my sister lives with her husband and son (Ya, I'm an uncle) in Florida. I haven't seen my sister for three years now but saw my brother and parents in September last year. I miss them, a little.
I started skateboarding in my sophomore year of high school when my best friend at the time, Ameen Kern, and I tore around our tiny little town jumping loading docks, flying off of launch ramps and doing power slides. I later took my Skull Skates deck to Japan when I left the following year and skated alot in Fukui, where I lived, as well as in Osaka and Kyoto, where I would frequently go visit friends. I finally learned how to ollie and started riding lots of launch ramps. I hated/hate freestyle tricks and can't get into the "New School" skating as it looks alot like my friend getting excited about spinning around in circles on his back trucks. I used to tell him to go jump of a bridge. I never told him to do it without trying it myself first... I stopped skating around my junior year in college after my, gosh what was that... well it was a powell board anyway it was thrashed.
I started surfing in high school when I was on exchange in Japan. I lived in Fukui city which is located on the Japan sea side of Japan. The waves are pretty wimpy all summer but you can get so big surf once winter starts. Not very clean though. I finally bought a board last year in May. I had to then buy a car to get to the beach. I surfed generally once a week but there were times I didn't make it. I haven't been lately and the last time I was out was in December, 1995, early in the month. My suit is shot and is pretty chilly. I have a 7' board with lots of dings. Bought it for 10,000 yen. Waddya want...
I bought a Burton 58 Twin, snowboard when I was back home in September last year. This season has been great. I have been out about twice a week and have really taken to it. I like it alot more than skating or suring. It is nice having the board stuck to your feet and what's even better is you don't bleed when you fall down. My wife recently bought a board and so we went out twice last week together. We are enjoying ourselves. I have taken the video camera out a couple times but haven't got much footage. Mostly just jiggling img of snow as I am going down the mountain jumping things. Maybe I will get some pictures up here soon.
I grew up in the outdoors. I wouldn't want to live anywhere without. We live in Kanazawa city now and it is really too city for me. There are people everywhere and not even an annoying weed on any bit of the ground I pay rent for each month. I went through Cub Scouts, Webelos, and Boy Scouts. I am an Eagle scout and have all kinds of laurels on my uniform. Not such a big deal anymore but I am still really proud of all the little patches and medals I accumulated. I have a nice mountain bike which I ride to work everyday, and am a 25 minute bike ride from mountains and ocean riding in either direction from my house. I really like the Kanazawa area as there is city just the right size with all the nature I need, plus work to keep me and my wife fed. I haven't been camping much lately but I try to go out at least once a month. Never reallyreach once a month though, more like once every three. My wife and I both share an interest in camping and stuff. She grew up in Hokkaido. Go figure...
My mother was a speech and drama major in college and I share her interest in the performing arts. From as far back as I remember I loved music and wanted to be performing. In fifth grade elementary I started playing the french horn which I played until leaving high school. At around age 10 or so I saw a bagpipe band play in Lawrence and decided I wanted to play that too. After many phone calls I finally came across the KANSAS CITY CALEDONIAN PIPE BAND and began taking lessons under the tutlage of pipe major Jonathan Hartsock. I am greatly indebted to him for his very generous support of my piping over the years but unfortunately in high school I had decided that I wanted to do more than just piping and couldn't devote the time to being a playing member of the band anymore. I dissappointed him greatly I know but I still love the pipes and appreciate him very much.
While I was playing the pipes in junior high I became more and more interested in Celtic culture. In my freshman year of high school I decided I wanted to go to Scotland on foreign exchange. I remember I told Jon at somebody's wedding we had gone to. We were in the grooms basement and there was a party. Anyway I ended up after a year searching coming upon the Rotary Youth Exchange Program and I immediately applied to go to Scotland. The reply came back and there was nowhere to host me there apparently and I was encouraged to try a different country.
At this point it was close to the end of my sophomore year and I had been studing French quite intently so I decided to reapply to go to Belgium. It was late in the year and a reply came back that all positions had been filled. The supervisor of exchange activities for the midwest region at that point suggested I go to Japan, as there were lots of people coming and almost noone going there. There would be lots of positions open. I had made my decision...
After arriving in Japan I played first chair french horn in the Hokuriku High School Brass Band, which I probably didn't deserve. The second chair player (she was girl) was much better practiced. I never could take my horn home so the only practicing I did was during class rehearsals. I made a bit of a boo boo at a big concert once too. Everyone hated me after that. I stopped going shortly after that.
At the same time though, I was taking Japanese Koto lessons. The Koto is a 13 stringed harp with moveable bridges. I practiced that for 10 months while I was in Japan and took one back with me. My host mother had generously given me one. After I got back home I and only one other person in the midwest could play the Koto. She died several months after my return which left me. I was asked by the Japanese consulate and other universities and organziations to play at Japanese festivals around the Kansas City area. I very much enjoyed playing and think I may have been able to demonstrate my gratitude tomy teacher and host mom in a small way.
When I arrived back in Japan in 1993 to work here in Kanazawa I brought my Koto. I found a teacher and started learning Shamisen as well. Shamisen is a three strings guitar like instrument. My wife also started practicing koto as well. We were always embarrassed going to these festivals as people would get confused and think she was the performing artist. Anyway she practiced like crazy and soon surpassed me. ;)
A friend of mine got me started practicing the Shakuhachi, traditional Japanese flute, last February. I haven't picked it up lately and can't really say I play it. I was able to produce sound from the first time I played it which surprised my friend. I should practice more though so I can actually play something on it.
In May of last year I finally took up a normal instrument--The Guitar. My friend gave me some money for my birthday to buy it and I wish I hadn't waited so long to start. I have been playing it for more than six months now and can play simple things even while singing. I'm pretty excited about it. Usually when I get home, while I'm eating or watching my wife watch TV, I am picking away on it. She usually tells me knock of the racket after awhile though. I hadn't been using a pick but recently started on the advice of a friend.
In college I finally got the chance to play a "normal" instrument and started a band with some friends of mine in the CS department. We practiced several times but after school started everyone got busy and the band kind of dissolved after that. I had a band going last year from May to August. We did one performance at a big summer festival in Kanazawa and then our guitarist got transferred to Toyama, the neighboring prefecture to Ishikawa. We haven't met since, but I am in the works of starting a new band.
As you can guess my music interests are pretty wide. I like free Jazz, other stuff like Phillip Glass. I like grungy stuff. All through my skateboard period in High school (most of high school i guess) I was listeningto Black Flag and the Clash. I also was very deep into Pink Floyd. In my junior year that's all I listened to. Well not true but that was my main interest. I like most of the "Sixties" music but Jethro Tull albumnsoccupy my music collection.
I shall begin at the beginning...
I was born in North Kansas, Missouri in the United States sometime in the early morning--I keep meaning to ask my mom when exactly but haven't got around to it yet. My father was working for Coca Cola bottleing and we were living near the Plaza downtown until I was two, when we moved to Baldwin, Kansas. There my dad began school at Baker University. We lived there until for a while. I think until I was four or so. We then moved back to Kansas City and started living in Raytown, Missouri.
I liked my neighborhood. We lived in the middle of a street which ran through the middle of asmall valley between two big hills. I can remember riding a wooden skateboard and my bicycle at speeds then unknown to mere mortals. I also remember walking down the street when I was five and thinking to myself that I had been alive along time but couldn't really remember much of it all that clearly. I decided that I would stop walking and take a good look around so that I would be able to remember even just that moment. It worked. I also remember walking around in my friends backyard and looking up at the afternoon sky of that cold winter and thinking it was so eerie how dark it was outside even though it was the middle of the day.
I started school there and went to elementary school there until the third grade when my parents--read my Dad--decided to move back to Baldwin. We had five acres of land there and started building a small ranch house. The time we spent the summer the house was being built I remember very well. There were huge holes in the ground and even bigger piles of dirt to play on. When my brother and I played kind of the mountain we really played king of the mountain. The winter came and we enjoyed the mounds of dirt even more. Climbing to the top and diving down on sleds, or just generally pushing each other off to go tumbling down slidding on our backs. After the spring came though the dirt piles disappeared and we were left with two huge fields neatly divided with our little house in the middle. There was a forest on our neighbors farm right at the back of our property that we often went rabbit hunting and other ramblings. My brother and I were usually the ones rambling around but out little sister sometimes tagged along too. At anyrate we played outdoors alot and were always building something it seems like. My brother and I built a three story tree house that served as our home base and hideout until we had to tear it down when my folks sold the house two years ago. I was sad to see it torn down but they had a hell of a time dismantling it. I laughed when I heard that. I have a tendency to be somewhat of a perfectionist and I guess it might have been nicer to dad to have made something smaller and more like to fall apart of natural causes. Speaking of which all through junior and high school my dad was always complaining about how all 2x4's, wood, nails, and barn iron he would by would disappear. He never realized where it all went till he tried to tear down our 25 square meter tree village... ;~)
Growing up in Baldwin has shapped my character in a number of ways. First there was plenty of raw nature and not alot of concrete or people. I don't generally like crowds and big cities and prefer to be outdoors. The population of Baldwin is 2500. That's not alot of people. Most of the people I went to school with don't share alot interests, hobbies, or character traits with me and I got used to being the "different" kid very early. I kind of like being different. At least I'm not working at WalMart on Saturdays...
 HOME | Nihon Links 1209 Orville Kansas City, KS 66102 USA Fax+81(913)321-5661 |