“Most human beings have an almost infinite capacity for taking things for granted. I want to know what passion is. I want to feel something strongly.”

– Aldous Huxley, Brave New World

When describing myself, the first word that comes to mind is passion. Passion for life, and passion for the things that occupy it.

As you may have figured out, I have a great interest in anything creative. I Love writing, poetry, photography, web design, graphic design, etc… Writing is near the top of that list. Although I have no aspirations of fame, I still get a great satisfaction from putting a piece of my soul on paper.

Another Love of mine is photography. A Love that caters to the basic need to remember, and to capture a piece of the earth’s beauty. One thing that always makes me sad is knowing that I will never have enough time to see even a fraction of the beauty the world has to offer. This is a fact that bothers me
almost every day, and is a prominent factor in my writing and photography.

On a lighter note, I’m actually not as academic as you might think by reading this. I Love to laugh and have fun, and when I’m not releasing myself in ink or capturing life in pixels, I tend to get lost in music or movies, or playing games with friends. I Love playing cards, board games, trivia, and definitely sports.

Vital Statistics

Nickname Maverick
Height / Weight 5’8″ / 200 lbs
Born & Raised Midwestern Indiana
Current Home Evansville, IN
Relationship Status Married (happily)
Rooting Interests IU, 49ers, Steph Curry
Pets Spades & Arlo (dachshunds)
Blood Type Type O+

Professional Life

I graduated from Indiana University in 2002 with a Business degree in Computer Information Systems. IU helped to instill me with an entrepreneurial spirit, and I have started, helped start, or ran several business in my life, including a programming consultant business, a wedding photography business, and a digital advertising firm. I currently have a successful real estate rental business: Maverick Real Estate Investments (www.mavrei.com.

As for full time employment, I have been a Systems Administrator for about 20 years, currently with Hoosier Wheel. I still consult on the side with web design, graphic design, and various other projects. Get a hold of me if you have a project that needs my attention. I will be glad to discuss it with you.

Personal Life

I grew up in a small town on the border of Indiana and Illinois with roughly 200 people in it. I spent my summers and weekends riding my bike, or at the park playing pick-up basketball and football with the other town boys. I played 7 sports in high school and graduated 3rd in my class. Then I went to IU and spent the most amazing 4 years of my life there. It helped shape me into the person I have become, and I miss it often. After college, I moved to Evansville to pursue other things, and I have been there ever since. I recently got married on 6/14/14 to my beautiful and Loving bride Amanda, and we spend our time working on projects, playing with our adorable dachshunds Arlo Spades, working out, or playing board games with our large group of friends (you know who you are). My hobbies include golf, biking, writing, photography, cards & games, poker, movies (I built an awesome theater in my house), fantasy sports, watching sports, playing sports, etc…

Goals

One of my major goals is to write a very successful novel, or series of novels. This of course means getting published by a legitimate publishing house, and landing a book deal. I am currently working hard on that goal. Another goal of mine is to travel a lot more. I have a huge bucket list of places I would like to see, and have yet to make a dent in it. Now that I’m married, I hope the two of us find time to see a lot of the amazing things this world has to offer. Professionally, I plan on having 20+ rental properties by the time I’m 50, and possibly be able to work only part-time soon after that, and spend the extra time flipping houses.

Favorite Movies

Top Gun & Top Gun Maverick (of course)
Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Star Wars Original Trilogy
Avatar
The Matrix
Gladiator
Garden State
Shawshank Redemption
Indian Summer
Jurassic Park
Braveheart
Forrest Gump
Inception
American Beauty
Crimson Tide
A Few Good Men
National Treasure
Gone In 60 Seconds
The Thomas Crown Affair
Twister
The Rock
Tin Cup
Fight Club
Slumdog Millionaire
Boondock Saints
Bad Boys
Serendipity
300
Blood Diamond
The Island
Wedding Crashers
Anchorman
Love Actually
It’s a Wonderful Life
The Big Lebowski

Favorite Books

Brave New World – Aldous Huxley
Lord of the Rings – J.R.R. Tolkein
Life of Pi – Yann Martel
The Time Machine – H.G. Wells
DaVinci Code – Dan Brown
Dune – Frank Herbert
1984 – George Orwell
The Great Gatsby – F. Scott Fitzgerald
Great Expectations – Charles Dickens
Les Miserables – Victor Hugo
Lord of the Flies – William Golding
Ishmael – Daniel Quinn
Animal Farm – George Orwell
The Way of the Peaceful Warrior – Dan Millman
To Kill A Mockingbird – Harper Lee
Dances With Wolves – Michael Blake
The Watchmen – Alan Moore
The Alchemist – Paulo Coelho
Ravens in Winter – Bernd Heinrich
The Island of Dr. Moreau – H.G. Wells

Favorite Bands

Pink Floyd
The Eagles
Third Eye Blind
Linkin Park
Led Zeppelin
Angels & Airwaves
Breaking Benjamin
Chicane
Blackmill
Imagine Dragons
U2
Eminem
TuPac
Matchbox Twenty
Skillet
Brooks N Dunn