NAME: Mike
NICKNAME: Uncle Mike
NOT MY NAME: Gurn Blanston
ABODE: Southern California
HEIGHT: 6'2"
BODY TYPE: Teddy Bear-ish
HAIR: Brown
BEARD: Brown
EYES: Blue
PIERCINGS: Three
FEET: Big
HUMOR: Sarcastic
LANGUAGES: English, Spanish, Korean, Lumanian
DISPOSITION: Sunny, with patchy early-morning clouds
TURN ONS: Movies, camping, books, shopping, amusement parks, nudity
TURN OFFS: Smoking, opera, country & western anything, parking in
San Francisco
Basically, I'm a big hairy white guy. I tend to look like
Hollywood's idea of a computer geek: round face, beard, glasses,
somewhat unruly hair. Either that, or a cross between Grizzly Adams and
Benny Hill. Whichever analogy you use will go pretty far in showing how
old you are.
I'm a Libra (and a Rabbit), born in 1963 (do the math).
Even though I'm close to the cusp, I tend to be a pretty true Libran.
It takes me a while to make a decision, because I'm constantly weighing
the possible outcomes of whatever I decide to do. Sometimes that's a
good thing, like when I'm buying a new car, or deciding on a career.
Sometimes, it's a pain in the ass, like when a former girlfriend and I
would spend 45 minutes trying to get the other person to decide what to
order for dinner.
Not that I believe any of that new age, tree-huggin', liberal,
commie-pinko, hippie crap.
Wait a minute. I am a new age, tree-huggin', liberal,
commie-pinko hippie. Hmmmmm...
I am also in charge of your children (that threw a little
blood into your stool, didn't it?). I have been a teacher for many
years now, since 1990. I've worked in the Bay Area and in South Korea. It's a wonderful career, and
I highly recommend it for anyone who wants to be in an enclosed room
with 31 9-year-old personalities for 6 hours at a time, trying to get
them all to do the same thing at the same time, and getting paid one of
the lowest salaries around. And, no, I can't picture myself doing
anything else. Ever.
Unless you wave a lot of cash around, and it has to do with
Halloween or writing. My two other loves.
Halloween has always played a big part in my life. I don't know why,
I just dig anything spooky and scary. I do a lot of work at GYRO's World of Terror, a very
cool haunted house in the San Jose/Santa Clara area (as well as
Sacramento and Las Vegas). I have been on the Design Committee
(responsible for the overall "look" and scariness of the house) since
1991. I have built rooms, supervised and trained actors, created
special affects; you name it, and I've probably done it at GYRO.
As for writing, I used to have a travel column being regularly published in Big World Magazine, and I've been
working on two different novels (in my copious free time) for years
now. I'm sure they'll see the light of day at some point. Really.
Honest.
My family is totally important to me. My mom and dad are terrific
people (even though we argue about politics every once in a while) and
I love being with them. We've had our ups and downs, but it feels great
that, as adults, we can spend time together and still like each other
afterwards. My dad is a great guy with a slightly sarcastic personality
who can fix just about anything. My mom teaches kindergarten and
watches as many movies as I do. I love them both a ton.
The most important person in my life, however (sorry mom and dad!),
is my sister, Courtney. Even though she and I were born 11 years apart,
I have always had a special place in my heart for my younger sib. I
helped raise her, I babysat, I changed her diapers, I watched her try
to walk (after scooting on her elbows for what seemed like years), I
helped her with homework (well...sometimes. I was in college by then),
I talked with her about sex (on the way home from Disneyland...how
weird was that?), I helped her pick out a computer, and I can still
make her wheeze by tickling her.
And I love her more than life itself. In my little world, she is the sun. Shine on, Sis.