After high school I worked and partied for a bit. I sobered up and started getting my life in order in the summer of 93. I went and took the Vocational Rehab test to help me narrow my focus and hopefully help me find a path the school could not provide. When the 2 weeks of testing was done, the instructor told me, “I have some good news and I have some bad news. The good news is that you have scored above 80% on all the tests…the bad news is that we have not been able to help you focus your abilities. You can do whatever you want and you’ll succeed at whatever it is you do.” F ME!!!...

So, in 1994 I move back to my hometown in Carbon County Utah and attended the College of Eastern Utah (CEU). I received my 2yr degree in Psychology and did some volunteer work for Four Corners Mental Health doing intake evaluation and supervised group session for people with drug and alcohol abuse. Was also given the chance to attend some satellite classes and summer classes at the University Of Utah to further my work with chemical dependence and complete my degree. The same time that I attended CEU I worked part-time for The College of Eastern Utah Prehistoric Museum as a Layout/Exhibit Designer. I also had the opportunity to help with guided tours through the museum and help build community action programs. This was the museum that I grew up in as a kid and had fond memories of. It was one of my dream jobs. But, I also had to work full-time for Key Bank to pay the rent. I also had the honor of working as an Assistant Teacher from mid 96-98. Where I taught History, Geography and Math for grades 8-12.

February 1998 I moved back to the Midvale area and went to work for Spencer’s Gifts in South Towne Mall. In a short time I worked my way up and made a position for myself as Trouble Shooter which over looked all the stores in Utah. By February of 99 I was tired of working retail and began working for SignPro in Midvale, UT. It was a great place to get creative again. I was able to learn a few new skills and hone in some old ones.

In March of 2000 I decided to apply to Western Culinary School in Portland, OR (Le Cordon Bleu). June 2000 I moved to Oregon and graduated from Western 2001. 52 weeks of sheer goodness. My belly was finally full, or I thought. I purchased my first camera at this time to build a photo portfolio of my culinary skills. I worked at Elephants Delicatessen as a Rounds Man, while attending culinary school. Made tons of new friendships and finally decided to keep Portland as my new city. If you are every in the Portland area I HIGHLY recommend stopping here for a quick bit or a full meal. They have everything you could think of and want. Also another great place to stop, Moonstruck Chocolate Co. they are still one of the few places in the world that hand roll and hand dip their truffles. I worked there 2 yrs as their one and only mixer. I also gained 80 pounds in the process. I had to taste everything to make sure it had the right flavor and mouth feel.

January 21st 2004 my world fell apart and I was lost. My partner of 4yrs, (Ryan “Joey Saavedra” Visser), overdosed at the age of 32. He had received an email 2 days prior that his foster family disowned him due to the fact that we were living in sin. His broken heart and shattered mind could not take it. He is survived by his daughter Zoey. I’ll always miss you Joey.

By the End of February, I had left Moonstruck, was pretty much homeless and I didn’t have much of anything other than the clothes on my back; a place to stay that wasn’t mine, and my little camera. I found myself taking pictures of everything, and everything i took pictures of reminded me of Joey. All the places we had gone, all the things we had done together, all the smiles we had shared and all the hardships we had faced. I would see a bit of him in people’s faces that I would pass on the street. One would have his bright eyes, one his innocent smile, one would have his same build, and one or two looked just like him from behind. I began photographing these things, places and people and now almost six years later I am still taking photo that make me feel the way I did when I was with him. Thank You Joey.

I am a current employee with AT&T as a Retail Sales Consultant. (Hahaha) I do it to pay the rent. However, I am currently working on building my photo empire. I am finally putting together a portfolio of all my favorite works, am honing in my skill working with Photoshop CS4 to produce some large scale digital paintings, putting in some time finishing up a couple of commercial project that I am Producing/Editing on, i still due catering on the side when my schedule allows, spend some time cooking for friends and people in need, and last but not least cleaning my room.