My life experience and education could be just a long list of time-wasting jobs which were soley taken and performed with the intention of living. I've often worked to live and rarely lived to work - at least when money is involved. I think I'll do this differently.
I wrote this for the about page at Vagobond and I think it does a fairly good job of summing things up:
"I'm a father, husband, brother, son, writer, editor, philosopher, visionary, app developer and former Marine,former publisher, former stockbroker, former archaeologist, former publisher, former air traffic controller, former antique store owner & appraiser, former anthropologist, former columnist, former waiter/bartender/barista/cook/dishwasher, former anarchist community organizer, and former a bunch of other things. I've traveled a fair bit of the world, explored many of the great religions, and lived both as a rich person and as a homeless person along with everything in between. I've written books, written screenplays, directed films, recorded music, played in bands, and love to paint and make any kind of art. Creativity is my main mode. I'm secular with a great admiration for Buddhist philosophy and stoicism. I am a disrupter, a rabble rouser, a shortish middle-aged bald man with skin that looks whiter and pinker than I feel. I like VW vans, sailboats, islands, and very long walks. I enjoy the ideas behind cryptocurrency, universal basic income, a border free world, and an end to toxic masculinity. My motto is "Stop doing bad things. Start doing good things. Help others to stop doing bad things and start doing good things." I try to live up to it, but since I'm human, I don't always."
Work
This isn't even close to a full list, but there have been some jobs that were particularly interesting or which took a high enough amount of work to achieve that I'd like to list them.
- Newspaper Bicycle Delivery Boy. The News Review. Canyonville, Oregon.
- Dishwasher and Taco Maker. The North Shore Tavern. Fawnskin, California.
- United States Marine Corps. Sergeant. Air Traffic Controller. Honorably Discharged
- Head Bartender - Top of the Towers. Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Morning Show Producer and DJ - KISM - 92.9 Independent Rock. Bellingham, Washington.
- Commerical Copywriter. KISM/KGMI/KAFE. Bellingham, Washington.
- Publisher and Editor. Conchsense & Cascadia. Bellingham, Washington.
- Craft Services. John Sayles' film 'Limbo'. Juneau, Alaska
- Forced laboror when abducted by Irish gypsies. Rugby England.
- Casting Assistant. Hubbard Casting. London, England.
- Technician 'Partner'. TechPlanet. Seattle, Washington.
- Community Organizer. ACORN (Association of Communities Organzing for Reform Now). Seattle, Washington.
- English teacher. New Bridge School. Parapat, Indonesia.
- Hostel Manager. Polynesian Hostel Beach Club. Waikiki, Hawaii.
- Stock Broker. Philips & Co. Portland, Oregon.
- Kayak Guide. Paradise Kayaks. Kapa'a, Hawaii.
- Casting Assistant. The Apprentice, Wife Swap, etc. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Luxury Tour Guide. Carey Hawaii. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Nature Tour Guide. Oahu Nature Tours. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- TV Game Show Host. "Brain Burnout" Honolulu, Hawaii.
- English Teacher. American Language Center. Fez, Morocco.
- English Teacher. American Kultur Dernigi. Manisa, Turkey.
- Hotel Manager. Ayasofya Hotel. Istanbul, Turkey.
- Travel Blogger and Tourism Consultant. Vagobond Travel Media. Worldwide.
- Life Insurance Agent. Bankers Life. Coos Bay Oregon.
- Antique Dealer. Reedsport Antiques. Reedsport, Oregon.
- Newspaper Publisher. Reedsport.info. Reedsport, Oregon.
- Archaeologist. Pacific Consulting Services. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Cryptocurrency Co-Founder. LUPX. Online.
- CEO and Founder. ZguideZ, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- CEO and Founder. Iwahai, Inc. Honolulu, Hawaii.
- Founder and Revealer. Bald Jesusism, Bald Jesus Movement.
Education
My PhD was the best decision of my education as well as being the most cost effective. Most of my family and friends are unaware that I even have it. It seems so silly to list the schools and degrees. I'd rather list the teachers and professors who actually impacted me. Actually, I'll do both.
- North Shore Elementary, Big Bear Lake, California. Kindergarten Graduate
- Mrs. Bartolini (had a ten foot weenie) - Kindergarten
- Ms. Hart once tied me to a chair and had kids throw paper at me.
- Mr. Parmali was a WWII vet who played piano in our 2nd grade class.
- Mrs. Ryan was a lovely 3rd grade teacher.
- Coffenberry Junior High. Myrtle Creek, Oregon.
- Mr. King used to beat me regularly with a paddle
- Mr. Heddins was a very kind algebra teacher
- Mrs. Datig read us 'Summer of the Monkeys'
- Mr. X was the most insane junior high science teacher ever. We made bombs from sodium. He taught us how to make poison.
- The library at this school was amazing. I saw the space shuttle challenger blow up there because they had it playing at the time of the tragedy.
- Big Bear High School. Big Bear Lake, California.
- Ed Stalcup, the AP English teacher met me the first time and said "Damitio, huh? I don't like your father, I didn't like your brother, and I'm sure I won't like you."
- Mr. Smith, the typing instructor used to smoke cigarettes in class.
- The driving instructor was an amazing guy. I forgot his name.
- Shasta High School. Redding, California. - High School Diploma.
- Mr.Lynne Aase. My favorite teacher of all time. He taught about life.
- The drama instructor was kind.
- Mr. Shoemacher, the geology and chemistry teacher was an interesting guy.
- Mr. Peterson, the computer teacher took a subject I loved and made me hate it.
- North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina.
- Whatcom Community College, Bellingham, Washington. Associates Degree - Journalism.
- John Stark. A fantastic newspaperman who taught a truly great journalism class.
- University of Hawaii at Manoa. Honolulu, Hawaii. Bachelors Degree in Anthropology.
- Dr. Alex Golub. An amazing professor of anthropology who brought me back to my love of technology and the culture that surrounds it.
- Dr. Jaida Samudra. Another amazing anthropology instructor who understood that what we are looking at is not material but what guides the material.
- Dr.Christine Yano. Anthropology of pop culture and Japan. Really intriguing and fun classes.
- Adly Mirza. I'm terrible at learning languages but somehow Adly got me through several years of Arabic and gave me enough to get me in trouble.
- Dr. Les Sponsel. Les's Social Ecology and Peace Studies classes were astoundingly impactful.
- Abide University. PhD in Pop Cultural Studies (Hon. Causa).
- ITT - International TEFL and TESOL. TEFL Teacher Certification.
- Asheford Institute of Antiques. Antiques Appraiser Certification.
- Y-Combinator Startup School. Certificate.
- PreX Startup Accelerator Program through Sultan Ventures. Honolulu, Hawaii.
Other Stuff
While these are not accomplishments typically put on a CV, this is not a typical CV. This strange stuff is just as important as all the bullshit above.
- Baron of Sealand
- Owner of several large parcels of lunar land through the Lunar Embassy
- Ordained Minister of Dudeism
- Ordained Minister through Universal Life Church
- Democratic Socialists of America -dues paying member.
- Polar Bear Swim. Birch Bay, Washington.
- NFT enthusiast and early 'degen'
A note on religion. I was more or less forced to become a 'Born Again Christian' as a pre-teen. In my twenties I joined Soka Gakkai and became a Nichiren Buddhist. In my thirties I converted to Islam, mostly so I could marry my wife. As noted at the top of this page - I am secular. I believe in something that could be called God, but I don't have any illusions about knowing what or who that is. I respect many of the teachings of Jesus, the Buddha, Mevlana, the Prophet Mohammad, Krisnamurti, Lao Tzu, and many others. My life philosophy comes from many sources but I'm not so silly as to say that I have the answers. I talk to God frequently, but have never been fortunate to be spoken back to in anything like words. All of this changed with the birth of Bald Jesusism. Bald Jesus led me to the light.
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