The biggest life-change in my twenties

By far the biggest (and best) life-change to occur in my twenties took place December 14, 2002. You guessed it: that’s the day I was married. I was 21-years young. Nicci Quiroz said “I do” in a church in Seal Beach, California, and so began our life with the same last name. I’ve broken promises—and [...]

Korean B-B-Q: prepared at your table. By you.

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“We should look for someone to eat and drink with before looking for something to eat and drink,” Epicurus. Family. Friends. Food. All three are things that are important to me; all three are things that I enjoy together. Add to these a new experience (ex. Korean B-B-Q) and you’ve got a meal worth eating and [...]

Five Days to Seven Years, pt. 5

nick and nicci waters at bonfire - dec 2009

The day we continued… The cake has been eaten, and the presents unwrapped; the guests have all gone home. The wedding is over, and the tuxedos returned; the marriage has “officially” begun. Now what? Welcome to the best-of-the-rest days of your (wedded) life. The future will be what you, and your spouse, choose to make [...]

Five Days to Seven Years, pt. 4

Four Keys to a Happy Marriage: #1 Five days, four keys, one marriage, and it all comes down to the “secret” that is no more once I share it. This tidbit of marital insight was caught (versus taught) just within the past year, and a-half of our matrimony. It’s return-on-investment is worth its weight in [...]

Five Days to Seven Years, pt. 3

Four Keys to a Happy Marriage: #3, and #2 With the recent celebration of a seventh wedding anniversary, a time of personal reflection only seemed appropriate; a time for remembrance, and sharing. Among the things that I’ve learned these past seven years are: how to be a husband, how not to be a husband, and [...]

Five Days to Seven Years, pt. 2

Four Keys to a Happy Marriage: #4 Having been married seven years—yesterday—I’ve learned a lot about myself, and my wife, Nicci. Namely, that we’ve changed. We’re not the same exact people now that we were the day we wedded. Life happens in a span of 2,555 days: a job change, a broken bone, the death [...]

Five Days to Seven Years, pt. 1

The day we began… Seven years ago, today, we did. My fiancée, and I said “I do” before God, and a chapel filled with a host of Californians who would soon became my family. We laughed, I cried A LOT, and a marriage began. Let me clarify that it first took two years to reach [...]

Movember–the growth stops here

Hello, December. Good bye, Movember. The month “formerly known as November” has come to an end, and with it a celebratory shave seemed appropriate. It’s been over a year (June 2008) since I last wore facial hair above the lip. Moreover, due to an agreement with my wife, I never foresaw a mustache making a [...]

So, I applied for a job…

First, let me clarify that I am happily employed as a part-time high school sports writer. Secondly, as a free-lance author I am (almost) always interested in unique experiences, untold stories, and once-in-a-lifetime opportunities. One particular opportunity presented itself to me in the form of an online job offer, yesterday. An acquaintance “tweeted” the announcement [...]

'Safe places for dangerous people'

It took 14 hours, two bags of corn nuts, and a 900-plus mile road trip to arrive at this moment: the end of day one of this year’s ”Catalyst Conference” Experience. Technically considered the pre-portion of the conference, today’s schedule of events included four “labs” and a bloggers meetup to conclude the day’s festivities at a nearby pub. [...]