Matt Stobbe:  

Life I suppose the last 13 years in the desert have turned me both redder and into something of a smartass, but when one works for the government, I'm told that's encouraged. :) Seven years of procrastination, blarneying, and underwater basketweaving saw me to two pieces of tree bark, at which point they let me loose from the nicely padded cell to do some field work in addition to writing reports! Along the way, I picked up interests in league bowling, skydiving, four-wheeling, racquetball, swing and latin dancing, and KWV pinotage (a South African wine). Unfortunately, this city still lacks a barbershop singing chapter. The trip to the UK in 2002 (Ireland and England) left me with a few new friends, a new appreciation for Guinness, sideburns, a campaign against roundabouts, and an ability to finally think in metrics naturally. I was glad to have had the chance to renew some friendships and create other new ones upon returning in May 2005. Continuing on with May, the excursion to Pretoria, capital of South Africa, gave me the opportunity to finally meet my carrot-topped horsey pen pal. I had a great time seeing some of the country and made African landfall for the first time. Every animal at Kruger National Park that could cross the road did cross the road - some quite excellent shots were taken. Of course, when one is less than ten feet of open air from a lion, that's bound to happen! I still seem to prefer long distance relationships, despite the challenges they provide, but maybe that's because I finally found someone who has more of the qualities I look for. Jean and I have been rather happy together since November 2006, when our first night out was to The Phantom of the Opera at The Venetian. She's finishing up her political science degree, and her two little ones seem to have gotten attached to me as well. I wouldn't say marriage is immediately on the horizon, but the considerations have definitely been running through my mind. I do kind of like this one. :) School Making friends was something of a challenge for me until 9th grade, due to being so darn defensive and sometimes acting like a know it all. Kudos to my junkie and abusive stepmother for causing that. But oh well. Life goes on, my dad finally divorced, I eventually grew out of those attitudes, and too many nice friendships were formed as a result. Now they extend all over the world, particularly in England, South Africa, and Australia. Ah, high school. Being a well-rounded nerd, music, card games, and chess were my major social circles while at Monty, where Friday afternoons were usually spent playing pool with the band crew at The Bull Moose pizza shack. I was also both a chemistry and physics lab assistant. While working for Elaine Trowbridge in the chem lab in my junior year, I did more dishes than anything else but still found time to contemplate not-so-household chemicals in the proper proportions. Then in my senior year, I had too much fun with a voltmeter and anything metal in Charles Rhodes's physics lab. Most memorable moment: Saturday, April 29, 1994. The junior prom. Erin Koski became my first girlfriend. Most idiotic moment: Accidently started with the wrong song at a football game. How embarrassing. Had a high school crush? Of course. :) Wasn't meant to be, but still no less fun for trying then. "Most Likely" vote: To change the world. Voted together with Miles Hyson back in sixth grade. I still remember this interesting note. At the moment, this means attempting to save one pilot or soldier at a time. I hope for the future that that will mean passing on the possibilities of imagination to coming generations in the format of sci-fi and/or fantasy novels. Creative writing remains a passion of mine. 09/17/05: The 10-year reunion I thought was rather fun, even if they did run out of the tenderloin early on. A hearty thanks go out to the efforts of Amy Chaffin, An...Expand for more