1. What's your favorite piece of clothing that you currently own?

I have this japanese silk shirt I absolutely love, it's ripped on the shoulder and about 4 sizes too big for me now, but I can't bear to part with it.

2. What piece of clothing do you most want to acquire?

I once tried on this Donna Karan sport coat that just blew me away with the way it looked, felt, and was tailored. I would love to be able to afford designer clothing like that.

3. What piece of clothing can you not bring yourself to get rid of? Why?

Besides the shirt mentioned above my leather motorcycle jacket from the 80's. The belt has fallen off, the zippers are all messed up and it's completely worn out, but I won't part with it.

4. What piece of clothing do you look your best in?

I don't know if I can answer that, I can say I really like japanese style clothing like shirts with tab collars. I do think I look pretty good in a nice suit.

5. What has been your biggest fashion accident?

Oh I'm sure I have had lots of these over the years. I like to contrast colors so I'll wear a smoke colored shirt with a bright red tie or something just to give it spark. My wife isn't fond of outfits I put together like that.

1. What is your current occupation? Is this what you chose to be doing at this point in your life? Why or why not?

I really have 2 occupations right now, I'm a full-time stay at home Dad and part-time UPS International Training Lead. I definitely chose to be a stay-at-home Dad, it's something I have known I wanted to do since I was young. The UPS job in someways is an extension of being a Dad, my job is to train all new hires in the policies and procedures of international shipping. There is definitely a part of me that loves to teach and help people succeed. That said I would really rather be a stay-at-home dad and student right now.

2. If time/talent/money were no object, what would your dream occupation be?

I'd love to have my own recording studio/label where I could not only record and release my own music, but also work with other musicians as well. At this point in my life though I don't particularly want "rock star" type success. The sacrifices I would have to make aren't worth the gain.

3. What did/do your parents do for a living? Has this had any influence on your career choices?

My father had so many jobs I don't know what they all are. Most revolved around fixing things, cars, water pumps, cannery machinery and now he is an almond farmer. My mom primarily was a forklift driver for Del Monte. I guess the only influence they had on me is to show me that I definitely am not cut-out for physical labour.

4. Have you ever had to choose between having a career and having a family?

Not really, since I knew at an early age I was going to be the stay-at-home caregiver of my children when Brie and I decided to have our first child it wasn't anything we really had to decide. Recently when Brie got a new job that requires her to commute 2.5 hours a day, plus travel to Arizona and Texas I was ready to leave UPS, but they were kind enough to find a way to work around my new family schedule. I'll be forever grateful for my bosses doing that. I really love my job, but I would never put anything in front of my family.

5. In your opinion, what is the easiest job in the world? What is the hardest? Why?

That's such an unfair question. The easiest thing in the world is to be critical of what other people do. The hardest thing is to be supportive of everyone regardless of what position they hold.

Not much had really been going on for the last month or so. We got a new sectional sofa for our home theater now all that's left is the walls, we need wall art and black-out curtains. Have I mentioned that we watched "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and it's simply amazing. If you don't love that film you can't be my friend, leave this site right now and don't come back.

Yesterday I got an email from someone I knew briefly my sophmore year in high school, Meredith. She was briefly involved with Darren, a friend from high school whom I lived with after I graduated and who introduced me to Brie. It's been fun corresponding with her, she has brought up people from High School I hadn't thought about much. She mentioned that Darren was now on Classmates.com, I had searched for him several times over the last few years, but never found him. Since I'm not actually a member of Classmates.com I don't have access to his email address so I can't send him email. Of course, if I could I still don't know if I would. I wonder if he knows about this site and if he did would he want to contact us anyway.

I'm hoping Brie and I can make a trip to Vegas for my birthday in November. I've been having the urge to have more ink done on my left arm, the question now is what. I have an idea of the look and style I want, but not the actual elements. Time to start researching.

We are one week into the fat flush plan and here are my results. By Friday I had lost 9 pounds, but Saturday night we went out to dinner with Brie's brother Brian and his girlfriend and I had a few drinks and pasta. because of that at the one week point I had only lost 6 pounds. I have lost inches, in particular 2 inches around my waist. I survived the headaches and listlessness as my body adjusted to the lack of sugar and carbs. However, I have yet to feel the "surge of energy" you are suppose to get once your body adjusts. Instead I'm tired all the time.

1. Do you have a car?

We have 2 cars and a motorcycle. "My" car is a 1999 Dodge Durango SLT 5.9 liter V8. "Brie's" car is a 1993 Honda Civic Ex Coupe. The motorcycle is a 1983 Yamaha Virago 750cc in desperate need of a major tune-up.

2. Do you drive very often?

When I'm working every night my commute is 72 miles round trip. When I"m not working I tend to try and stay home. The majority of the time we got out I am the designated driver.

3. What's your dream car?

I'm not a "guys guy" in this respect. I don't think much about cars. Recently I've been wanting the new 2002 Lincoln Navigator. Mainly because of the cool electronic hatch and side rails. I have no real interest in sports cars because at my heighth most sports cars a terribly uncomfortable to sit in.

4. Have you ever received a ticket?

I received 1 ticket the day of my 18th birthday party. Then 2 tickets about a week month apart from each other. The first two were for driving 65 mph on the freeway back when it was 55. The second is because on a really cold morning a cop noticed that I didn't put my feet down when I came to a stop on my motorcycle, it's not a "complete stop" unless you put your feet down.

5. Have you ever been in an accident?

I have been in 2, both times I was hit. The first time I was hit by a drunk teenager on my way to a high school dance. The second time Brie and I were on our way home from San Francisco, at a stop light, when this guy just drove straight into us not paying attention. Neither involved serious injury.

Today was the big day. After many postponements Brie and I finally started the Fat Flush Plan. Though it currently doesn't feel like a shock it should. I've had to give up all carbohydrates which make-up about 90% of my meals. No more popcorn, rice (I will have to make an exception for Sushi though, I can't live without Sushi), chips, cereal ... the list goes on and on, but I don't want to dwell on that. The real scare for me was stepping on the scale and seeing that I have gained 17 lbs. in the last 7 months or so. Eek!

I have to get back to writing reviews again. I watched Hedwig and the Angry Inch this weekend and it's the best movie I've seen in a long time. I've seen a lot of movies I think are good, but this movie I can honestly say is great.

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from?

My father is 100% Portugeuse with his parents coming from the Azores. My mom's side is a little more mysterious. I believe my grandmother was at least partially Spanish, but we aren't actually positive who my grandfather is, if it's the man that is on my mom's birth certificate then I am also German.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit?

Germany would be my first choice, but I'd also like to go to Portugal and the Azores.

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why?

Least likely would be Spain, but I'd really love to go to Spain, it's just last on my list because I don't feel Spanish in any way.

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage?

Nope, I can't remember any of the recipes I learned growing up for Portugeuse dishes, I do have a love for fine beers and I get along great with my friends from Germany.

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)?

I believe my father's parents moved her from the Azores and I know extremely little about my mother's side of my family. They all passed away when I was really young and I never really learned much about them.