Timeline

of my life
(Part I).

I’ve not made one of these
ever,
but my memory seems to be
malfunctioning,
and it would seem that the time
has come.

November 30, 1983: I am born in Lee’s Summit, Missouri
(You might not believe this,
but I don’t remember a whole lot
for the first couple of years of my life,
so…)
For the next couple of years I appear to have wandered the
Midwestern plains with my family—Arkansas and Missouri
specifically.
Eventually, in my early childhood, we landed at:
1132 NE 52nd Terr, Kansas City, Missouri
where I attended Davidson Elementary School and
Eastgate Middle School.

1996: the most notable event is moving slightly farther north to
10304 N. Baltimore, Kansas City, Missouri

(I want it noted here that all throughout my childhood we took a string of family vacations and wrestling trips that took me to most of the lower 48.)

For the next few years I wrestled—a lot and with some success (3rd place at state my junior year), met my best friend Agent X, and met my first girlfriend. I also went on a wrestling trip during the summer of my sophomore year to Bulgaria, France and Italy where we were escorted by “George.” Two stories about that: 1st – I got food poisoning and missed a couple of vacation days on the Mediterranean because I was vomiting. 2nd – One day, we noticed a sticker on George’s Bodyguard’s car. “What’s that sticker mean Ivan?” Deep in thought for a second, he said after his pause, “If someone, not us, touch this car… the, uh, doctor… writes them a prescription.” Beautiful country, Bulgaria. The cities are grimy, but the country is stunning. Also, I bought a porno in Nice that starred Ron Jeremy, then enjoyed a meal by the sea.


2000: a knee surgery which effectively ended my hardcore wrestling career and opened the door to a hardcore life.

2001: Went to the University of Nebraska at Lincoln to study biology and become a neurosurgeon. Transferred after one year.

2002: Simpson College to study English and wrestle passively.

2004: Study abroad in Chirstchurch, New Zealand for one academic year. I was there for a year. I studied at the Christchurch College of Education. I had to homes: one in Shirley and one in Burnside. I met a Korean student (a twelve-year-old who consistently beat me at chess) named Kim Dong-Hi in Burnside. In Shirley I met the people who would become an adopted family to me. This was a big year, obviously. I went mountain climbing for the first time. I went hitchhiking for the first time. I got lost in the mountains for the first time. I climbed a glacier with Agent X—who had come to see me for his birthday. I went bungee jumping. I worked for a temp agency and laid Astroturf, re-worked grocery stores, and held the position of quality control agent for a plastics factory. I went tramping about as much as I could. The Abel-Tasman trail (the five day version) I did with my pack AND my guitar. Herbals and nights out that lasted until 9am with the mates, the stay culminated with a naked party in the back of our house. It wasn’t an orgy. We were just so comfortable that it didn’t really matter. We all cried at the airport.

After New Zealand I went on a small vacation to Australia and Fiji to celebrate my 21st birthday. In Australia (Sydney) I met a girl who would affect my life. We emailed for four years before seeing each other again. She’s Italian. She lives in London. She’s a doctor. She’s married to my best friend.

I went to Surfer’s Paradise and celebrated my 21st birthday in an Australian Time Share. I had a box of wine, a joint, the world darts championships, and a meat pie that I’d had the kitchen warm up for me.

On Fiji I bought some sustenance then headed out to a tropical island for three days. I ate fruit, wandered around, and generally lazed on the beach for three days drinking kava and smoking ganja—apparently that’s what one does in Fiji.

I finished my degree in English from Simpson College in the summer of 2005. In January of 2006 I started at St. John’s University studying for my Master’s Degree in English. I had a part-time job at The Container Store, and the same girlfriend from 2000-2001. I wrote "My mind at 23: confessions of a doddering sophomore" during the winder break of the 07-08 school year.

In May of 2007, I graduated from St. John’s University with my MA--wrote my thesis on Hunter S. Thompson, situating him both inside and outside the school of "New Journalism." Instead of pursuing something else academic, I decided to make my part time job full time and entered the workforce as an overnight supervisor at The Container Store.

Important note: it was during the fall of 2008 that my Italian friend who lives in England came to see me and fell in love with my roommate—who was a friend of mine from wrestling in high school who had come to NYC to fill up a room for us...

Continued at: http://themindofeli.blogspot.com