Introduction

Hi, I'm Mark.

I don't know quite how to introduce myself because I lack your perspective, so I'll largely avoid the important things like adjectives about how I'm "open" and "honest" since those don't mean much without knowing what they're relative to. I'll stick to facts for now. Feel free to ask anything you wish.

I was born in Houston, TX in 1980. My parents are older than all of my friends' parents and I have a brother who is 10 years older than me. I hear that makes me like an only child. We were a middle class family. I say were because I haven't lived with family since high school so I don't have that lifestyle anymore.

Politically, my parents are probably moderates, but they live a very secure and mundane existence. Lots of worry and overprotection. Lots of nice stuff and sedate activities. Still, they weren't strict on me. I was almost never punished and I was a good child as far as I remember.

In elementary school I was rather good at most things compared to others. I got a big head and it caused some problems. At some point I realized subconsciously that I was very arrogant and I became self-loathing to fix it. I spent middle school going from self-loathing to apathetic. It was not great times. I played a lot of soccer and Nintendo and read a lot of fantasy novels.

In high school I fell in love and all that negativity was gone for life. My senior year of high school was possibly the best year of my life. When college began I screwed that up. I think I was afraid of commitment. Again, this was subconscious, else I'd not have started fights until I was dumped.


I just went to college because it was expected. Because it sounded fun. My freshman year at UT Ricky Williams won the Heisman. I started a psych major, but changed to economics. Later I began to dislike capitalism the more I understood about the abuses of power that occurred not only among large corporations, but among the government organizations aiding them (like the WTO). The movie Fight Club really summarized those feelings well and after seeing it for the second time in the spring of '01 I dropped my economics major and became a philosophy major.

Philosophy was very fitting. I loved it. I hadn't even had a date other than that first girlfriend even through college so I had plenty of free time to think. I used that time to become vegan in 2000, to join Amnesty International for a while, to march in protests against the IMF, for the Zapatistas, and for a moratorium on the death penalty.

Then I fell in love again. I knew better with this person, but I'd not even had a date in years. When I met her I didn't think she could be trusted in a relationship and I turned out to be right, but it was good times. In every other way she was exactly what I like. Pretty hippie with a close family and many values that I wished to adopt. We were together a few years and I became a much more outgoing and laid back person because of it.

Nearing college graduation I had no idea what I wanted to do. I was told that a PhD in philosophy was pretty useless and that there are no jobs. I thought about teaching, but didn't want to stay in school an extra year or two. So I went to law school. It was basically a way to stay in Austin and at UT. It worked out. I was in a relationship and didn't want anything to change so I remained at UT.

The relationship finally ended near the end of law school. Again, as I neared the end of law school I had no real goal. I like to keep myself open to potential. I guess that's another way of saying I recognize the loss that comes with commitment very strongly. I'm not scared of commitment really, I am just VERY cognizant of how important it is to pick correctly. That's probably why I'm still single. So I hadn't picked a particular type of law or career path to follow. I had a generic feel for trial work because I knew I didn't want an office job.


My final year at UT Vince won his first Rose Bowl (not the national title one, that was a year later). I finished law school, took the bar, and finally started dating that summer. I had never really dated. I was 25 and was just finishing up 20 years of public school. I'd been a full time student my whole life. I'd had two friendships turn into loving relationships, but knew little of the world. I still didn't own a bed or a tv. I had always had roommates or girlfriends with things. I'd lived on campus for most of undergrad. I was even an RA one year. Anyway, that time after law school before finding work was amazing. Despite not having money (or even a car after mine broke down and I got a bus pass) I was able to have a large network of friends and participate in much partying and debauchery. I want to thank The League for taking me into their ranks. I had a great group of friends that made a tough time in life wonderful.

Finding a job was difficult. I applied to just over 100 places over the span of a year. I finally found work the fall after graduation, but I had to move to Dallas. I was a personal injury lawyer. The small firm was dramatic. The turnover at many positions was high. I don't think I'll stick around in such a job again if I ever get one again. After a year, the secretary who's always trying to get everyone fired had said enough to the boss to get him to phase me out as well.

I fell in love for a third time in Dallas. It's amazing how comfortable and good a relationship can be even when it's with a completely wrong person. After that first job I wanted the opposite kind of work. I also wanted to get back to Austin one day. I did not like Dallas. So I looked for government work and found it with DPS. I am basically a civil DWI prosecutor. The job doesn't pay much, but I get benefits, training, and security. Things I didn't have at the old job.

When I ended the relationship I began looking for a transfer to Austin. New Year 2008 I moved back and currently work for DPS. I have that amazing group of friends still here for the most part and Austin has all the laid back qualities I've been trying to adopt for years. I love this town and I've been very happy lately.

I don't know what's next for me, but I'll try to keep improving and loving life. I hope to make even more friends and to be closer to the ones I have. I hope to get back into dating, find love, or at least lust, and enjoy the ups and downs life throws at me. For now I'll just enjoy my fun coworkers, poker nights, volleyball games, and Rick's dinners.


Any thoughts? I hope I didn't ramble too long, but I'd love to hear everyone else's life story.