CURRENT MISSION

To learn — tirelessly, indiscriminately, from whatever sources I can.

ABOUT ME

Put simply, I'm a nerd. As an erstwhile English major and eternal copyeditor, I wield a figurative red pen with the righteousness of a knight but the delicacy of a surgeon, and use words like "erstwhile" in everyday conversation. My obsession with the English language, as well as my denigration of its sins, befits the obsessive-compulsive, anal-retentive grammarian that I am. I read voraciously, write occasionally, sleep sporadically, and pursue knowledge in all its myriad forms ceaselessly.

I've worn many hats in the past few years —€” cook, bookseller, tea connoisseur, Game Master for World of Warcraft, bartender, ice cream sommelier —€” and, as Mark Twain so eloquently put it, have never let my schooling get in the way of my education. My current goal is to pursue the subtle alchemical art of mixology and sommelier training whilst cultivating both my love of food and my skill in writing as, well, a food writer.

Paradoxically, I'm both a hopeless romantic and a hardened cynic, prone to both condemning society and crooning showtunes when the situation calls for it. I'm known for always having a book all but surgically bonded to my hip, musing on the origins and vagaries of the English tongue, and speaking with an unplaceable "accent" despite having lived in an unassuming Southern California suburb for the majority of my life. (Most people guess Irish or Australian, but I think "Mid-Atlantic" fits best. Kelsey Grammer, in "Frasier," also uses it.)

I am, and always will be, curious about everything.

PHILOSOPHY

The noblest pursuit to which I can devote my life is learning — building perspective by observing and experiencing the world from a number of viewpoints and locales, talking to (and learning from) everyone I can, studying subjects from all manner of disciplines. I believe in living to the fullest, and am an unrepentant hedonist. Live, love, be kind to others.

Interests

Food and culinary science; wine, beer, and spirits; linguistics and etymology; literature; grammar, spelling and punctuation; nerdery.

• arts
• writing
• books
• literature
• education
• dining
• cooking
• wine
• beer
• cocktails
• drinking
• teaching
• etymology
• history
• languages
• medicine
• science

Music, Movies, and Books

Books: The World According to Garp, A Prayer for Owen Meany, Cider House Rules, The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, The City of Dreaming Books, For Kings and Planets, The Land of Laughs, Who's Who in Hell, Frankenstein, The Tao of Pooh, King Rat, The Shadow of the Wind, The Eyre Affair, Shades of Grey, Tales of Redwall, Beowulf, The Canterbury Tales, Franny and Zooey, The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay, The Harry Potter Series, The Vampire Chronicles, The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe, H. P. Lovecraft, Charles Baudelaire, Arthur Rimbaud, Bill Bryson. Innumerable others.

Music: Rufus Wainwright, Muse, Radiohead, Fleet Foxes, Mumford and Sons, The New Pornographers, Kanye West, The Weeknd, Coheed and Cambria, She & Him, Bon Iver, Maroon 5, Sara Bareilles, Beirut, KT Tunstall, The Faint, Death Cab for Cutie, Bad Religion, Phantom Planet, Keane, Josh Groban, The Beatles.

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

Nightfall in the Mojave Desert, when a velvet curtain blazing with light is pulled over the world, bringing millions of stars into perfect clarity.

Teach, Learn, Share

I'm trained as a professional copyeditor — I can impart knowledge on spelling, grammar, punctuation, style and even parenthetical citation. I've amassed a healthy amount of linguistic and etymological lore, from the origins of everyday words to the intricate interconnectedness between the world's ancient and modern languages. Yes, I'll edit your academic paper.

I've also studied the culinary world for the past few years, with an intensity allowed by my obsessive personality. World cuisine is an especial focus, as is the history and language interwoven with food both past and present. Want to know why a pasta has its name? If I don't know, I'm happy to research it so we can both find out.

Lastly, I'm a self-taught classical bartender, steeped in the ways of the old school of mixology. Want to know the philosophy behind mixing a drink — why we shake some and stir others, how to balance the primal flavours of strong, sour, bitter and sweet? I can teach you how to make a proper Manhattan, offer the history behind classic cocktails like the Negroni or the origins of the Martini (insofar as we know them), and generally inform you on the world's spirits and beers (and soon wines).

Really, I study a little of everything. Ask, and I may be able to help!