Profile

Ren·ais·sance man
/ˈˌrenəˈˌsäns man/

noun
1.a person with many talents or areas of knowledge.

Oxford Dictionaries

Writing has been a passion of mine since my youth. Like most, it started with journaling (and some really bad poetry), but later I moved into short stories and later travel. I love to write about the things that inspire me. I try to capture the essence of the ever-changing world around me and share it with others so that they too can share in the experience and find their own story. Most of my writing is in blog form (on the home page), but I still write short stories. You can see more about them on my Stories page.

Our recent move to Portugal has given me a new topic on which to write. The trials of immigrating to a new country. I share some of our crazy stories, as well as tips to making the move easier for others. I’m a contributor on several Facebook group pages devoted to expats, as well as the Prisco Business Group web site. Prisco is the team here in Braga who assisted us in getting our Portuguese residency and in starting a business.

Outside of writing I have a wide area of interests. After all, I am a Renaissance man! Obviously I love travel, but I also love to cook. I briefly attended culinary school and I am a card-carrying “foodie.” Having spent many years in Kansas City, I am also a huge fan of BBQ! So much so that I have become quite a pit-master in my own right, and my wife and I were even Certified Kansas City BBQ Societ judges. We participated in several high-stakes BBQ contests across Missouri and Arizona, that required trained judges from across the country. But what’s BBQ without beer? I love a good craft beer and I’m even a home-brewer.

I also love dogs and woodworking. You can read more about my projects on that page, and you’ll see plenty of pictures Murphy, of our St. Bernard/mix around here as well.

Now that I’m here in Portugal, my other necessary passion is learning Portuguese. I have two teachers, Ricardo (Viva Portuguese) and Patricia (Fun Languages) along with a collection of mobile apps and flashcards to help me slog through this. In 5 years, I hope to pass the language test, but in the meantime, I need to be able to communicate with the locals.