9 things you didn’t know about Snowden

One

I’m a humongous sports fan. Playing them, watching them, talking about them– if it’s an athletic pursuit, I’m probably interested. One of my previous jobs was as an editor/blog manager for the Sporting News’ website, and it’s a perpetual challenge for me to rein in my desire to spend my whole night watching various highlights and thinking about playoff races. The pandemic has slowed down the plan, but I’m currently in the process of getting my credentials to become a basketball official, with the hope of calling some local high-school/college games for men and women.

Two

I was born in Texas, but my family moved to Colorado Springs in the late 90s, where I grew up and graduated high school. Despite growing up in the West, I have an incurable case of love for the Midwest. I have degrees from the universities of Michigan and Minnesota and am constantly trying to convince people to come on road trips to the Great Lakes with me, to no avail. My ideal US roadtrip runs from basically Duluth all the way across the Upper Peninsula and down into Northern Michigan. Put another way, the only coast in the country that I care about is America’s North Coast.

Three

After college I spent a few years as an animal-rights activist in the Front Range area, while working at several different Whole Foods and/or Wild Oats. (In fact, our old friend Luke and I probably worked next door to each other for a few years in the Denver West shopping center). Although I’m without an animal companion these days (gotta find one that doesn’t trigger my partner’s allergies!) I’m still a big fan of animals, and would love to meet any that you may have in your lives.

Four

I’ve done a bit of traveling to cool places in my life. I studied abroad in Sweden for a semester of law school (International Tax Law and EU Treaty Law). Fun fact, the Swedish Tax Agency is the most popular governmental agency in the nation! This is probably in part due to the fact that the agency does everyone’s individual tax returns for them on their behalf, free of charge. Okay, it’s probably not that fun of a fact, I’ll admit. I’ve also been fortunate to teach English in a girls’ school in rural Rwanda, and had a counterterrorism fellowship in Israel. If I could return to any place I’ve been, however, it would be Cuba.

Five

I am a big hot beverage guy. Coffee, tea, tissanes, you name it – if it comes in a warm mug or is steeped, I’m here for it. I have like five different coffee brewing systems, and get excited about finding new varietals of tea. If you have a fav spot in Colorado, I’d love to know about it, I’m always excited to find a new hidden gem. My current favorite in Denver is Sweet Bloom Roasters.

Six

I like trying any endurance sport. I’m not the quickest, but I enjoy motoring along, and (to be honest) it’s my preferred way to enjoy cannabis – a little bit of marijuana before I start a long run or swim is the perfect recipe for a relaxed workout or training run. I’ve run a few half marathons, completed a few triathlons, and still dream of completing an ultramarathon at some point. Also, in what experts are calling a “world class attempt to embarrass one’s self,” I recently picked up a pair of Nordic rollerskis and am going to try and learn how to not look like a total doofus out on the bikepath.

Seven

I took a semester off from college to work in the national headquarters for the reelection campaign of Bush-Cheney. I coordinated campaign appearances for a number of prominent tele-evangelists and megapastors, and was a primary contact between the campaign and evangelical organizations. Over my adult life I have progressed to the other end of the political spectrum from that time, to the point where a picture of me holding a pro-immigration sign was used in a Republican scare ad in Minnesota in 2018. I still keep the signed thank you letter from GWB in my office, however, mostly as a reminder that it’s possible for any person to change (and to not take myself too seriously).

Eight

I have a rad girlfriend, Kristi. She’s from Isleta Pueblo, just south of Albuquerque. She is, unfortunately, from a family of Lakers, Dodgers, and Cowboys fans (the worst!). Such is my love, however, that we somehow make it work.

Nine

I got pranked on a hidden-camera comedy show on the Oxygen Network called Girls Behaving Badly, which starred Chelsea Handler at the time I appeared. The prank wasn’t very funny in my opinion (although I’m obviously biased), but it was notable that at the time I still had a mop of hair, and for the rest of my years in college random people would tell me they thought I looked familiar. The episode aired in 2004, which is (mercifully) before YouTube had really caught on, so the last known copy of the episode was on my parents TiVo, and has since been lost to the sands of time.