Hello! Thanks for coming here to learn more about me. I've always had a hard time writing an about page that I'm completely happy with. It's fun and challenging at the same time. I think this might be my 13th attempt. My favorite about pages are descriptive but short, clever but sincere, and personalized but not too personal. Here's my best attempt at walking that tightrope:
Born, raised, and live in the Heights neighborhood of Jersey City in New Jersey, directly across the Hudson River from lower Manhattan. I love lots of things about living here: family nearby, incredibly diverse population ethnically and socioeconomically, and a lot of character (and characters.) Plus, I'm a few minutes away from one of the greatest cities in the world.
I lived in Providence, Rhode Island for about a year to attend culinary school at Johnson & Wales University, but I dropped out because because I didn't have the necessary passion/desire/insanity to remain a professional cook. I still have a tremendous respect for my friends in the industry, but now I observe and admire my hardworking, phantasmically pale friends from afar. I still maintain that there is nothing tastier than a cold shift drink after a relentless 15-hour day.
Along with cooking and anything food-related, lots of things interest me, from beatboxing to web design (I "designed" and coded this site.) But, I have a few favorite hobbies that I tend to focus on: I love food (as you can see from the photos.) Current food obsessions include uni temaki, potato salad, and unctuous lattes. I also play, teach, and coach tennis. Nothing like a cleanly struck down-the-line one-handed topspin backhand. Of course, I also love photography, especially documentary photography, street photography, and portraiture.
I graduated from New Jersey City University with a degree in English Literature and certification to teach high school English. I'm currently working as a high school English teacher at Newark Prep Charter School in downtown Newark.
I had the luxury and good fortune to travel the world in 2012, and I hope to continue that trend in 2013. I am itching to go to Japan as soon as possible. Other plans for 2013 include continuing to learn Tagalog with the help of my patient parents, selling my sizable Magic: The Gathering card collection, and organizing and scanning family photos. Long term dreams include teaching English in another country, opening up a pay-what-you-can restaurant and soup kitchen, and owning more than one pair of jeans.
If you actually got to this point, thanks for reading all of this/thanks for taking the time to scroll all the way to the bottom! You deserve a cookie. I recommend compost or cornflake cookies from Momofuku Milk Bar. They're wonderful.