Monday, March 01, 2004
About Drew
I was born at 9:36 PM, April 18, 1977, at Scott & White Memorial Hospital in Temple, Texas.
At the ripe old age of 6, I had my first life-altering experience. I watched the Texas Longhorns lose to Georgia in the 1984 Cotton Bowl, marking my earliest memory of a pasttime that has grown into an obsession. I bleed Burnt Orange, and for three months of every year, my life almost revolves around the ups and downs of Longhorn football.
I had a similar experience at the ripe old age of 9, when I watched the Houston Astros lose game Six of the 1986 NLCS in extra innings to the New York Mets. Though not quite as obsessive, my loyalty to the Astros extends beyond mere fandom, and I tend to spend many a Summer night following the ups and downs of Astros baseball.
You'll notice a lot of Longhorns and Astros content here on the site, along with politics. Now before you see one post and start calling me a closed-minded Righty, consider this. My parents were Democrats, like their parents before them. Therefore, they raised me as a staunch Democrat. I first noticed my conservative leanings during my senior year of high school. Still, I voted for Bill Clinton in 1996. Why? I don't know. I didn't think Bob Dole would make a good president, and I refused to waste a vote on Ross Perot.
Things started to change the following Spring, when during my sophomore year at the Univ. of Texas, I enrolled in J312: Critical Thnking for Journalists, taught by Mr. Marvin Olasky. His life's journey from a Jewish upbringing to Marxist/Atheism to Conservative Christian influenced my own growth, and I soon found myself embracing the more conservative aspects of my worldview, grounded in my own Christian faith.
From there I continued my degree plan, taking Prof. Olasky twice more (Sports Feature Writing and Journalism and Religion), along with other influential professors Terry Hemeyer and Frank Kalupa. I graduated in Dec. 1999, with a Bachelor of Journalism-Public Relations.
I atoned for my earlier electoral transgression (hopefully) with boisterous support of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign. I also briefly volunteered with Sen. John Cornyn's campaign in 2002, and my recent conservative grassroots activism includes a stint as a Distict 10 delegate in 2004. And of course I try to further the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy via my blog.
As the blog's tagline suggests, I do try to "cover it all." I have no delusions that this site will ever rival the work of Glenn Reynolds or other blogging icons, but writing helps keep me sane. I'm a journalist at heart -- and an opinionated one -- though I chose to eschew that calling in favor of public relations, a field in which I've never even found a job. As a child I never entertained writing. Playing second base for the Astros, perhaps? Maybe I could be the next Billy Doran, I thought. That dream ultimately died around the age of 12.
Not long after a lack of athletic ability relagated my glove and bat to a future in rec league softball instead of the Majors, I decided to try my hand at Journalism. Under the guidance of the legendary Elton Brett Voss, I soon found myself as sports editor of the high school paper, which at sports-crazy Temple High was not a bad post to have. I realized I had at least some talent for writing, creating a desire to have my opinions published that still exists today (even if that has, to date, occured on a relatively small scale).
I have also written since late 2000 for INsite Magazine, a monthly entertainment tab here in Austin. It's not the most glamorous endeavor, but I enjoy it. They let me write about pretty much whatever I want, and sometimes I get free concert tickets.
In my free time I like to play softball, water volleyball and golf, and I spend way too much time posting on Longhorn message boards.
Since you might have clicked on this link hoping to see what I look like, here's a picture of me and my friend (and fellow LM blogger) Matt with future U.S. President J.C. Watts. (I'm the guy on the right with the goofy grin):
It's not the best photo, but I hate having my picture taken. If I did I would have pursued broadcast journalism, not PR.
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At the ripe old age of 6, I had my first life-altering experience. I watched the Texas Longhorns lose to Georgia in the 1984 Cotton Bowl, marking my earliest memory of a pasttime that has grown into an obsession. I bleed Burnt Orange, and for three months of every year, my life almost revolves around the ups and downs of Longhorn football.
I had a similar experience at the ripe old age of 9, when I watched the Houston Astros lose game Six of the 1986 NLCS in extra innings to the New York Mets. Though not quite as obsessive, my loyalty to the Astros extends beyond mere fandom, and I tend to spend many a Summer night following the ups and downs of Astros baseball.
You'll notice a lot of Longhorns and Astros content here on the site, along with politics. Now before you see one post and start calling me a closed-minded Righty, consider this. My parents were Democrats, like their parents before them. Therefore, they raised me as a staunch Democrat. I first noticed my conservative leanings during my senior year of high school. Still, I voted for Bill Clinton in 1996. Why? I don't know. I didn't think Bob Dole would make a good president, and I refused to waste a vote on Ross Perot.
Things started to change the following Spring, when during my sophomore year at the Univ. of Texas, I enrolled in J312: Critical Thnking for Journalists, taught by Mr. Marvin Olasky. His life's journey from a Jewish upbringing to Marxist/Atheism to Conservative Christian influenced my own growth, and I soon found myself embracing the more conservative aspects of my worldview, grounded in my own Christian faith.
From there I continued my degree plan, taking Prof. Olasky twice more (Sports Feature Writing and Journalism and Religion), along with other influential professors Terry Hemeyer and Frank Kalupa. I graduated in Dec. 1999, with a Bachelor of Journalism-Public Relations.
I atoned for my earlier electoral transgression (hopefully) with boisterous support of George W. Bush's 2000 campaign. I also briefly volunteered with Sen. John Cornyn's campaign in 2002, and my recent conservative grassroots activism includes a stint as a Distict 10 delegate in 2004. And of course I try to further the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy via my blog.
As the blog's tagline suggests, I do try to "cover it all." I have no delusions that this site will ever rival the work of Glenn Reynolds or other blogging icons, but writing helps keep me sane. I'm a journalist at heart -- and an opinionated one -- though I chose to eschew that calling in favor of public relations, a field in which I've never even found a job. As a child I never entertained writing. Playing second base for the Astros, perhaps? Maybe I could be the next Billy Doran, I thought. That dream ultimately died around the age of 12.
Not long after a lack of athletic ability relagated my glove and bat to a future in rec league softball instead of the Majors, I decided to try my hand at Journalism. Under the guidance of the legendary Elton Brett Voss, I soon found myself as sports editor of the high school paper, which at sports-crazy Temple High was not a bad post to have. I realized I had at least some talent for writing, creating a desire to have my opinions published that still exists today (even if that has, to date, occured on a relatively small scale).
I have also written since late 2000 for INsite Magazine, a monthly entertainment tab here in Austin. It's not the most glamorous endeavor, but I enjoy it. They let me write about pretty much whatever I want, and sometimes I get free concert tickets.
In my free time I like to play softball, water volleyball and golf, and I spend way too much time posting on Longhorn message boards.
Since you might have clicked on this link hoping to see what I look like, here's a picture of me and my friend (and fellow LM blogger) Matt with future U.S. President J.C. Watts. (I'm the guy on the right with the goofy grin):
It's not the best photo, but I hate having my picture taken. If I did I would have pursued broadcast journalism, not PR.
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Astros Sites