More... As I said before… I've managed to travel most all of the US and several other countries. I love meeting new people and doing new things. I’ve recently had the “experience” of Salt Lake City, Utah and the “joys” of living there. In the interest of following mom’s advise (at least once in my life time) , I will keep my mouth shut on that subject, lest I should have something “nice” to say.

Moving on…. My interest in creating this page is not just to share with you my views and opinions of the world around me but hopefully to also give those curious, a little insight into my abilities and talents (i.e. prospective employers or colleagues). For those that are interested, I have included my resume in “.pdf" form for you to download. If you require the .doc version, please message me.

As you will notice by the picture above and by reading this site, there is nothing overly extraordinary about me that anyone would find fascinating or newsworthy. I’m not secretly gay living in some disillusioned state of thinking that demands the world accept me ‘cause I’m different, and because of those differences I deserve some kind of preferential treatment. I also am not a religious zealot here to tell you the world is coming to an end, and that lest you “convert to Jesus” or some other deity, and share your wealth with some organized faction set on crippling, depressing, and dehumanizing you through repeated commentary of your unworthiness, you are going to suffer “Eternal Damnation”. (Don’t get me wrong… I have my beliefs and allow you to have yours… in many ways they are the same… right up to the point where you ask me for my wallet, or try to cast judgment on me based on your humanistic interpretation of spiritual insight) I shoot straight from the hip with a rather heavy dose of satire and sarcasm. I don’t really apologize for offending your feelings (not here anyway) as I live by the philosophy in this world that you can always visit other sites if you feel I’ve offended you. I don’t claim to be perfect, and will occasionally admit it when I’m wrong (actually I admit it most all the time… but then that’s only happened once or twice… he he he) . I could continue this rant for ages, but then you’d never get past this page.

Ohhh... and just to clarify for those masses that are put off by the above. I am very much a Christian. I believe in GOD, and his son Jesus Christ. For me they are very real and important aspects of my life. I believe that "every life has a right to life" and that a marriage is a "union created and sealed through the blessings of GOD". I'm sorry, but in no way does the GOD I know support abortion or homosexuality. In fact he talks rather plainly to his objection to such in Leviticus 18:21 through 18:26 including the idea of incest, adultery (verses just prior), and bestiality. Now it is not my place to cast judgment, nor is it my place to hold you accountable for your thoughts and actions. Hell, you may not even believe in GOD. But I do, and this is my site, and I get to speak my mind here. If you don't like it... that is OK. Send me your message of discontent and I may or may not give you the gratification of entertaining your argument.

So… I think I have successfully introduced myself. While this page does say “Personal" and is supposed to reflect information “about me”, I’d like to think that the content of this entire site achieves that purpose, and this page has provided an ample forum for me to impress or disgust you.

If you’re a “Professional Interest” visiting in an attempt to gain a perspective of me and my “ethics”, well I’ll say this… “I’m a hard worker. Yes I’m opinionated, and my opinion is not usually that of the majority, but I am honest both here and in my life, and I feel that is more important than anything”. My previous employers will tell you they always knew that “my job” would be done “on-time, on-schedule, and right the first time”. Am I bragging? You better believe it. Does that offend you? That’s OK! You see, if it does, you’re right, I likely would not fit with your organization, but if it doesn’t, I think you will want to ask yourself these questions and will feel confident with the way I help you answer these questions. Ask yourself this… “Do you want to make money; make your clients happy; and be able to enjoy a vacation with your family, all because you have a guy that will take the responsibility of ensuring that you look your best, and that your company is the best? Do you want to be able to go home and sleep at night knowing, (barring an act by some form of "deity" or "natural" force, of course) you have nothing to worry about when it comes to the position I fill within your company? The job is being done right and by someone who will not quit until the job is done.” If you answered “yes”… well I’ll be pleased to meet your acquaintance, when you drop me a line so that we can meet. Oh I know… I’m not “certified” up the “wazoo”, but let me assure you I know my job… and lots, lots more. You've got access to my resume... it's in there. I’m loyal, faithful, honest and have great integrity. I consistently push myself to exceed the “call of duty”, and to go that extra mile that makes the difference between “normal” and “extraordinary”.
Am I “cocky”? No…. I’m confident, and you should be too in knowing the job “can and will” be done, on time, on schedule, and right. Are you concerned maybe I already have a job?... Well if I did... I'd be here telling you how great it is. In fact, I won't lie to you... I'm looking for my "new start". Yeah... remember to those mistakes I mentioned earlier... well... let's just say I've grown past them. Nothing serious mind you... but something I'm sure you'll want to ask me about; and, I'll be more than happy to tell you how I learned from them.

September 20, 2004
Lull @ Velvet Lounge, DC if you missed the show, I'm sorry, you missed a good one. Yet again, Dan and the guys pulled off yet another amazing show. The Velvet Lounge, only a few blocks from the well known 930 Club, in Washington, DC hosted an amazing night full of talent. Lull was fortunate to open up for "Channel-43" (an amazing lead singer/drummer with some excellent "dark, guttural" vocal talent), and Visqueen (these chicks are ROCK... in an Aerosmyth meets Hole sort of way... amazing!!). I did my best to capture the night with my little iPAQ camera, but the lighting just didn't favor... that said, I've taken my best three shots and placed them here (Lull:above, C-43:below, Visqueen:bottom)

Slaghuis.com, ...do you enjoy music? Are you one of those people that must have music in your ears on an almost 24/7 basis? Well I am, and I'm not that fond of commercial radio either, most of the time. I mean if I wanted to be onslaughted by commercial after commercial, I'd turn on my TV and get my fill both acoustically and visually. I tend to like music of a little "darker" nature than most people, but then I also enjoy hearing music that puts me into that "trance-like, catatonic, focus on the job and get it done" state as well. There is nothing better to me than being at work and all of a sudden someone comes to you and says, "Hey man, it's time to go home!" All of a sudden you look up, realize you've done three days work in the time of one day and your 8 hour servitude, has gone by in the blink of an eye. Your mood is one of lightness as you realize you were there (but you weren't), and yet it all got done.

Well, if this is you as well or you'd like to experience the same, let me introduce you to my friend SAM and his "Radio Free Abattoir" aka. "Slaghuis.com". Sam has been entertaining the internet masses for quite some time now, and honestly, he has one of the best sites, out there hosting and sharing music of great bands, that I've seen. He tries to keep it updated as well, entering new playlists on a monthly basis, sometimes more when he gets an opportunity. There is no charge for this great site, just the request that you respect the site, and the artists featured (of course I'm sure Sam would love it if you shared some of that green paper in your pocket, for his ability to provide you such great services).

A couple people have asked me, "Erik, how did you come to know Sam?" Honestly, I've never met him, but I have chatted/emailed with him a couple times. I found his site about 4 years ago, and have been listening ever since.

Sam features some really good bands such as Type-O-Negative, Wednesday's Child, The Cruxshadows, and many more.

Pohick Bay Church is where I attend services every Sunday. I encourage you to stop by and check them out.