About 40 posts in, and I just realized I never really said hello. 
My name is Mark...born in Wisconsin, but I'm fully converted over to Minnesota courtesy of my wife.
Quick facts about me:
Hockey (Minnesota Wild) FANATIC. I don't miss a single game all season...if I'm not at the arena, I'm watching at home. I DVR them if I'm going to be away during the game. I used to blog on the side about the team in a paid position, so I'm relatively knowledgable about the sport.
Firearms instructor...teach everything from carry permit courses to defensive handgun.
I've had a myriad of different jobs over the years...corrections, network admin, touring sound engineer, IT director...but I've landed in a job I really enjoy, doing IT sales for a large Cisco partner. For the most part, I like people. For the most part.
As for diving, for me it's all about wrecks. I've been fascinated by shipwrecks ever since I was a kid and the National Geographic issue about Bob Ballard finding the Titanic was delivered to my grandparent's house. I developed an interest in diving during college, but never really did anything about it. There really weren't any shops where I was living at the time, much less good dive sites in close proximity (limited budget, limited transportation). I moved to the Minneapolis metro in late 2005, and spent the next few years establishing a career, getting married, all that fun stuff. I was talking to my wife around February of this year, and just blurted out "I want to get certified as a scuba diver." And now I am.
I'm getting wet in the local lakes as much as possible, and should have Nitrox, Stress / Rescue, and Navigation classes done in the next few weeks. I'm fortunate to have a great dive buddy who is of the same mindset, but I'm always looking for other folks in the area who don't mind the low-viz and green hue of the 10,000 lakes around here. I won't know what to do with myself when I visit the Keys this fall...
-Mark
My name is Mark...born in Wisconsin, but I'm fully converted over to Minnesota courtesy of my wife.
Quick facts about me:
Hockey (Minnesota Wild) FANATIC. I don't miss a single game all season...if I'm not at the arena, I'm watching at home. I DVR them if I'm going to be away during the game. I used to blog on the side about the team in a paid position, so I'm relatively knowledgable about the sport.
Firearms instructor...teach everything from carry permit courses to defensive handgun.
I've had a myriad of different jobs over the years...corrections, network admin, touring sound engineer, IT director...but I've landed in a job I really enjoy, doing IT sales for a large Cisco partner. For the most part, I like people. For the most part.
As for diving, for me it's all about wrecks. I've been fascinated by shipwrecks ever since I was a kid and the National Geographic issue about Bob Ballard finding the Titanic was delivered to my grandparent's house. I developed an interest in diving during college, but never really did anything about it. There really weren't any shops where I was living at the time, much less good dive sites in close proximity (limited budget, limited transportation). I moved to the Minneapolis metro in late 2005, and spent the next few years establishing a career, getting married, all that fun stuff. I was talking to my wife around February of this year, and just blurted out "I want to get certified as a scuba diver." And now I am.
I'm getting wet in the local lakes as much as possible, and should have Nitrox, Stress / Rescue, and Navigation classes done in the next few weeks. I'm fortunate to have a great dive buddy who is of the same mindset, but I'm always looking for other folks in the area who don't mind the low-viz and green hue of the 10,000 lakes around here. I won't know what to do with myself when I visit the Keys this fall...
-Mark
