Allow myself to introduce...myself

I figured my first blog would be an expansion of my post in the "New In Town" section. Kind of a more formal way to say hello and to paint a better picture of who you'll be playing with...and to answer any questions you might be asking yourself after playing with me.

37 years old...not sure when that happened. I still feel like I'm twenty something on the inside! Although, one morning I thew out my back...and all I did was get out of bed! Ugh, I think that was the one moment I thought: man, I'm getting old...

Either that, or it's time to get a new mattress. I'll opt for the latter, yeah...that's it.

So, why do I feel like you might be wondering about a few things about me during/after a multiplayer match with me?

*cue People are Strange by The Doors*

Well, I'm pretty much an introvert; INFJ, or, Introverted iNtuitive Feeling Judging to be exact. In laymen terms, I more comfortable being alone, with the exception of my wife and the very select few I let into my inner circle. So outside of the internet, I'm pretty much socially awkward, and rather stick to the wall if I happen to be in a social gathering, yet, I'm still friendly and willing to help anyone if they need it and it's within my means.

Ok, enough of that bullshtine. (any Johnny Dangerously fans out there?)

So, as I said in my intro thread, I'm a stay at home husband. I used to be a cook, until I finally realized it wasn't for me. In 2001, I was part of a culinary program that would take me to northern Italy for 6 months to learn everything about Italian cooking (I love Italian cooking and their whole approach to life) Anyway, my flight was to leave JFK,  and on towards Germany where I'd make my connection to Italy.

Thing is, my flight was scheduled to depart Sept. 11th...and I was at 4 WTC the night before having dinner at an Italian restaurant with my travel group.

My wife and I lived in NYC for almost 30 years before moving to New England; her grandmother who lives on Long Island (Lon Giland for you locals) was away, so we stayed there to be closer to the airport. My wife got up early to go get some breakfast. When I woke up I turned on the news, and saw one of the towers smoking. Like everyone else at the time, thought it was a fire. That's when I saw, live on TV, the second plane crashing into the tower.

Fast forward a few hours, days, weeks...I had thoughts that I think most people did: being reminded how precious life is, and am I doing what I really want to do with it? So I hung up my chef's jacket and tried a few other things. Recently, it's been auto detailing. But, for much longer, it's been music. I've been playing instruments and composing original compositions and songs since I was maybe 15 years old.

Right now, I mostly compose film score type orchestral pieces. I'm not thinking rockstar like I was when I was starting out. Not that I really wanted to be one...I just wanted to do what I enjoyed doing and get paid for it. (don't we all) Even then, I wasn't looking to make a mark on the musical world. (I wonder if I would've end up being one of those famous artists who hated being famous–lol!) I'll post some of my pieces some other time.

Of course, the music industry is a "it's who you know" business, and I don't know anyone. lol! There's organizations that act as a middle man for you (Taxi being the most popular one) but it's really expensive and there is still no guarantee that any of your music will be heard by people who can actually sign you up. So, I'd have to build my library of songs just to have enough to make it worth it to join up and send out material.

Okay, I feel like I should wrap this up now...as it's way past my bedtime *yawn*

But, that's me in a NUTshell. There's darker things, but why bum people out when I don't have to. Ha!


So if you happen to be matched up with me, and it seems like I'm not interested in what's being said or seem distant, or anything along those lines, it's not you (or is it?  ) and I'm not being a jerk...it's just me learning how to interact with all you weirdos again. lol!