My family is the main focus in my life and I spend most of my non-working time with them.  We enjoy hanging out, playing Guitar Hero, swimming, trampolines, driving around and exploring our city, and spending time with our two dogs.  

Outside of that, I also:

Photography

My newest hobby, picked up in September 2010, is photography. I couldn't play volleyball nor run around and do a great deal of activity.  I picked up a camera and started really enjoying it.  Being immersed in the lens and the shot is completely different from what I am used to doing.

Play Volleyball

Ever since early high school, I've played both indoor and beach volleyball. I took a long break, but started the game up again in November, 2008. In April of 2009, I started an adult volleyball club called the Hill Country Volleyball Club. In 2009/2010, we played with 2 men's teams.  In 2010/2011, there was one women's team.  What will come in 2011/2012, I don't know. 

During a tournament on February 13th, 2010, I landed badly and tore my ACL, MCL, and meniscus as well as damaged my patella (kneecap) bone.  On March 22nd, I had surgery to have my ACL replaced with my patella tendon, my meniscus repaired and my patella shaved to fix the divot. 

Because of this and the time commitment, I made the decision to not play serious volleyball again for a while.  Perhaps I will start again in a few years.

 

 

Expand my Horizons

It is a challenge to truly get out around the world when you have work, family and responsibilities.  I have the advantage of having lived all over throughout the US, Europe and Asia as well as having traveled to Africa and South America. The only two continents I still need to get to are Australia (eventually) and Antarctica (a pipe dream).  

That having been said, I still enjoy being mentally challenged and pushing myself to the limit. In my spare time, I read books about project management, employee morale, call centers, and technology.  I have learned enough about PHP, CSS, HTML and design to be effective in understanding technical discussions.  It is rare that I am not teaching myself something new related to technology or business.

Game

Although I don't have a great deal of time, I enjoy gaming of all sorts.  I used to be an avid roleplayer in my earlier days, running online text games, playing table top and generally pretending to be people I wasn't.  Now a days, most of my gaming is on the computer, Wii or PS3.  I enjoy co-operative games that I can play with my family (Guitar Hero, Wii Sports, and others), but it's great to also have a break and play other things such as Madden NFL, World of WarCraft and Dragon Age: Origins.  If you've got suggestions for me, I'd be glad to hear them!