My first big trip was to Cambridge, Mass., to attend Harvard the summer before my senior year of high school. I lived in Thayer Hall (an ivy-covered dorm in Harvard Yard), which was mostly full of other high-school students going to summer school there. The classes were regular Harvard undergrad classes; for 2 classes, I had to buy something like 15 paperback books. I had great teachers: Dr. Robert Paul Wolff for Philosophy, and the brilliant and genial Dr. Patrick Riley for Political Philosophy.

During my senior year, I went to Paris for 10 days with some other members of the Morro Bay High School French club. Paris was fantastic; seeing the city from the top of the Eiffel Tower or the Arc de Triomphe is a memory to last a lifetime. The Louvre museum was an eye-opener -- and that's not to mention the Jeu de Pomme, the Musee Rodin, or Versailles. One day I hope to go back.

In the summer of 1987, I participated in a program offered by Irvine Valley College that allowed me to take two classes at the University of Guanajuato, in central Mexico. That trip was a revelation, especially the pyramids (at Tula and Teotihuacan) and the murals of Diego Rivera. People who have only been to border towns like Tijuana don't know what they're missing.

I spent 8 years in California. Santa Barbara was my ideal city -- I'm so glad that 4 years of my life were spent there. I covered countless miles in walks and bike-rides; a couple times I rode my mountain bike from Goleta to Ventura and back, about a 90-mile round trip. California also has another of my favorite places: Yosemite National Park, where often you feel as if there's nothing but beauty as far as the eye can see.

After finishing college, I headed back to Vegas. I'm comfortable here, but I often miss the ocean. I've made a few getaways, most notably a trip to New Orleans and Mississippi. While in New Orleans, I took the free ferry across the Mississippi and back, just to be on the great river.

I spent about 10 years working at hotel/casinos. It wasn't what I went to college for, but it wasn't just wasted time, either; I learned a lot about dealing with people and handling pressure. I took a few community college courses, like law and Japanese, before finally going back to school full-time. I enjoyed studying history at UCSB, but my new Associate's in computer networking is a better career match for me.

My favorite hobby is tennis. I'm not a highly competitive person, but I simply love hitting the ball. I played intramurals at UCSB, but my playing time has slipped in recent years.

Another big hobby of mine is music. Not performing it, and certainly not singing it; just listening to it and learning about it. For a while I was really into jazz, and I still love the music of John Coltrane and Miles Davis. I like both classic rock (Beatles, Stones, Hendrix, Led Zeppelin) and alternative rock (U2, R.E.M., the Cure, the Smiths). I have no problem listening to country/western, but I have no critical ear for it.