When Introducing Yourself...

One of the most daunting tasks for me to perform is initiating conversation. I just don't know how. How do I just go up to someone, say "hi", and then follow up with just some random question? What if I come off as weird or what if I choke in the process? I hate the anxiety I get when meeting new people. I hate that I so easily forget people's names because I am so busy making sure I don't look like a doofus when first introducing myself.

And like first conversations, I am not sure what exactly to share in the first post of my new blog. So I guess I'll start off with a basic introduction.

Hi! I'm Evan. I'm a mid-twenty-something year who is employed on the IT staff at a local university. I have lived in Texas forever and really don't ever plan on moving away for the sake of being relatively close to family and due to both mine and my fiance's career track. There's a lot of little things about me that make me unique. I am definitely a bit of a nerd. I own all three major consoles. I sometimes get these month long bursts where I become intensely interested in creating Android mobile applications. I think those bursts re-appear when I watch or read something along the lines of that film "The Social Network." The idea of developing something independently without restrictions and corporate money just seems a little bit of a thrill to me.  Right now mobile application development is on a hiatus because of the work required to create this blog.

I was raised Mormon and still have a level of respect for how I was raised and the history of my faith. I sometimes go on these stints where I meet with other disaffected Mormons about what it was like growing up that way. Never have I ever experienced a prolonged sense of being a TBM (True Blue Mormon? True Blood Mormon? True Believing Mormon? I still am not totally sure what that acronym means in Mormon circles). I still have my Book of Mormon (the actual book, not the musical) sitting on my shelf. I drink coffee every now and then, but only if it doesn't taste like dirt. Except for the few accidental moments, I have never tasted alcohol and don't ever plan to consume it unless someone happens to hand me an appletini while I'm watching a pride parade go by in Salt Lake City.

Like I said, I have a fiance named Brian. And he's a man... and yes, we are both gay. Kind of like Kurt and Blaine from Glee. Does that make you cringe? If so, just imagine us like you do your parents and don't worry about what goes on in the bedroom. Maybe that will help. We have been engaged for sixteen months and are planning on having a legal wedding ceremony in New York City this March.

Brian has also lived in Texas since the day of his birth, but has been even more limited to have only lived in the Houston area. He is on the IT staff of a fancy pants research center in the Medical Center. Brian is a nerd on a different front. He doesn't really care for video games, but loves science fiction movies.  He wants to have our entire home completely automated via his iPad and iPhone. I like to say that he is practically an Apple fanboy even though he still hasn't done his yearly iPhone upgrade. He also comes up with some of the most creative and interesting house projects... stuff I could never ever think up. Like what he did to our shower:

Brian used to be married to a woman who is now a wonderful ally and supporter of us. We both have a great relationship with her and her husband. Out of Brian's last marriage came two boys who are eight and nine. They primarily live out in the suburbs with their mom and step-dad, but we have the pleasure of having them over Wednesdays and every other weekend.

We all live in the massive Houston area and outside of the politics, we really do like living here. Most people in Houston seem to be very accepting of us. We love our friends. We like being close to Brian's parents and it's not absurdly far to see my parents on long weekends. We like the stable career environment we have here and find it unlikely that we will ever actually move away.

So that's an intro to who I am and a few of the important people in my life. Not too awkward, right?