I'm a musician. I don't want to be a rockstar... I don't want to get signed to a record deal... I don't want to tour the country. I just want to play my guitar, record my stuff, and enjoy the creative process. I'm not the best songwriter, but I have a few tunes I can be proud of. I'm not the best guitarist, but I'm getting better. My most prized posession is my Fender Stratocaster (a gorgeous shade of midnight wine). I just finished my first CD, Caffeine & Sanctuary, a live acoustic/vocal album.
Other than music, I spend a lot of my time reading sci-fi and fantasy novels and playing either the Pen & Paper RPGs or MMOs with the guys. I also dig writing, mostly essays. One day I may finish some short stories about the original Obed character.
I'm on the board of directors for the Spring of Hope Foundation, a non-profit organization that supports congregations and ministries in Israel. Other than that, I'm taking an extended break from ministry. In the past I've lead worship, done a lot of teaching, and addition served as a deacon. I've got a real fascination towards religion in general. I'm a third generation lay minister: my grandmother's an ordained Episcopal deacon, my father has served as both a deacon and elder in the past, and my brother is currently in the middle of his rabbinic studies. Most of my ministerial experience is in Messianic Judaism (though I'm not Jewish), and I'm currently studying for my MA in Religion at a Baptist university (though I'm not a Baptist).
I work as a Residential Real Estate Appraiser in the San Antonio area. It's a good gig, though the market is a bit scary right now. The best part of appraising is that I get to spend about 50% of my time doing fieldwork. That means I'm driving around the beautiful Texas landscape looking at houses. I've even appraised a couple of famous athelete's homes, historical homes, and multi-million dollar homes.
Though I'm not very inclined toward performing any of the visual arts, I've got a lot of respect toward those who can. Photography, filmography, painting, sketching, etc all interest me very much, especially since my artistic talents are all literary and musical rather than visual.
For those who are wondering, "Obed" was originally the name of a character I played in Star Wars Galaxies for four years. I've taken up the name as my default online pseudonym. There are some screenshots and caracatures of the original character in my pictures.
Check out my music page! It's the first friend on my list!
~IJR
