FAMILY:
My dad always offered support and encouragement, expecting the best of us.  He was just short of a terrible husband to my mom, but he was an excellent father to his children.  He was also a great example of manliness for me, as he was strong, tough, as well as intelligent.  He taught me how to fight (even if I was often too wimpy to use his lessons correctly), to fix things (ever the do-it-yourselfer), inspired me to read (Tom Clancy was probably his favorite), and to continue my education (he achieved his Masters in Business while working full time and with 2 kids).  To me he represented muscles, tools, guns (he was a cop for 23 years), and brains.  His biggest shortcoming was treating my mom poorly and working too much, with a full time job and 4 evenings of additional side jobs on average.  Although it did inspire me to be a hard worker, it also made me realize that money and work shouldn't take precedence over your family, nor should it be a substitute for other aspects of life, such as social and spiritual.

My mom offered me the spiritual encouragement and guidance I needed to become a Christian.  Mainly, she took us to church and was the other side of the scale in our household to my father's Atheism.  She also has no fear of what others think of her in regards to God.  I don't think she will ever hesitate to speak her mind about God to anyone.  She is the most comfortable and reckless person with her faith that I have ever met.  At church, she gets completely into the worship without a care in the world of what she looks like.  She sways from side to side and occasionally makes odd noises of affirmation or simple jubilation.  At first this made me very awkward.  As I grew older though, I felt like it was a bit of a challenge for me to redirect the discomfort that I felt back toward others.  I used to look around and wait for someone to look at us funny so I can look right back at them sternly, as if to say "What the f*#k are you looking at?  Just go about your damn business and don't worry about us."  There have been many occasions where I roll my eyes or have completely cringed when I hear of how boldly and unabashedly she has spoken to people about Jesus, almost out of nowhere.  I keep thinking "That will never work.  It would only turn someone away and leave them thinking what a freak you are".  But then I hear other stories of the effect she has had on various people through her words and actions.  There have probably been more than a few people who have either become Christians or been persuaded in that direction because of her, or her allowing God to work through her.  Her fearlessness inspires me to set my worries aside when an opportunity is presented, and to just speak boldly about what I believe.

My sister set the bar high for me to choose a wife.  She's funny, friendly, smart and spiritual.  It's a good thing God gave me a wife that is not only all of that, but also an even better fit for my personality.

My brother is a really cool kid who inspires me to continue working out and trying my best to remain as cool as my otherwise geeky self is able to be.

Amanda, my wife, has inspired me to express myself a lot more readily.  She is uninhibited, unashamed, and unafraid of what others will see or think of her.  She can dance, sing or just act like a dork with no or very little hesitation.  Yes, my mom is like this too, but Amanda (perhaps simply because she is my wife) does this in a way that is greatly contagious to me, pulling me into the moment.  In addition, since I've known her she has developed into a leader and an organizer (work and high school reunion).  She has also inspired me to learn more about the Bible, history, and geography with her wonderful memory and recollection.  Amanda has also encouraged and inspired me to sing on the worship team at our previous church.  Another thing that I have accomplished that I never would have without her is to run a marathon.  In mid-2003, she made it her goal to do just that, and I simply tagged along with her.  So on May 2, 2004 we ran in The Flying Pig marathon in Cincinnati Ohio.

ROOMMATES:
Giovanni Ucciferri was my first official roommate, although I was still living at home.  He rented out my sister's room at my mom's house after her and my dad had separated and my sister was away at school.  At first I thought that we wouldn't get along very well, as he seemed kind of reclusive.  As time progressed though, I learned that he had a fascination with martial arts.  Having taken kickboxing for a stint and appreciating self defense myself, we quickly found a common thread.  Outside of experienced kick-boxers at various gyms who can beat me pretty soundly, he has consistently been my most evenly matched sparring partner.  

Besides a love for martial arts, Giovanni was the first male who seemed young, cool, and tough to mention the word God in a sentence without hesitation or discomfort.  My dad always shunned religion and made fun of my mom for being drawn toward it, so even though I was already a Christian, I never felt comfortable mentioning God in a non-church setting.  It was just a separate part of my life.  After hearing him talk about it like it was just another topic of conversation, I realized that it didn't sound girly, it didn't seem nerdy, and I actually admired him for stating what he believed so easily.  

He is also an opera singer.  He sang at my wedding (a duet with Amanda's best friend Christa), at my rehearsal dinner, and whenever else he gets the opportunity.  In essence, he inspired a new outlook and vocalization of my belief.

Frank Liljeros was one of two roommates that I still maintain a relationship with to this day.  He was the inspiration for me to continue with and persevere through Engineering school.  He had the same major as me, but his study habits were much more aggressive and overall impressive and as a result, his grades were consistently better than mine.  He would sit on the couch, open up a book, and just get it done.  It didn't really matter what was going on around him, or what options were available for him to spend his time with.  School came first and when he was working on homework or studying for a test, everything else went by the wayside.  He was remarkably able to ignore distractions and just tune everything else out.  

Not only did he study hard for school, but he made time daily to study the Bible and usually some other Christian book as well.  He has a good sound knowledge of the Bible and understanding of proper Christian Theology.  If I needed a partner to fight in a spiritual battle, he would be the first person I would want by my side.  As a result of his friendship and example, I am by far a better Christian and Engineer than I would be otherwise.

John Marsden was somewhat on the other end of the spectrum.  While he is a solid Christian, even working full time for Young Life at some point, he played far more than we worked or studied.  An English major, he spent most of his time mountain biking, surfing, sitting on our back porch playing guitar and singing, and hanging out with friends.  Not only that, but he was a complete and total slob.  My favorite quote from him was (paraphrased) "If there was a pile of crap in the middle of the living room, as long as it didn't smell bad I would just leave it there and it wouldn't bother me a bit".  When I first moved into the apartment, I was pretty much an anal neat freak.  While him and I butted heads quite a bit, eventually we both influenced each other toward a healthy middle ground.  He helped me to be more relaxed and I helped him to be a little more concerned with cleanliness.

Steve Kessel was, and still is the goofiest guy I have ever met.  He, like John Marsden, have very little inhibitions regarding their actions and self-expression.  A Spanish and Economics major, his license plate appropriately said "El Dorko".  Despite his silliness, I was surprised to find that he is also quite capable of having serious and intelligent conversations.  He was also very active politically, as a staunch supporter of Pat Buchanan.  Aside from taking life a little less seriously and acting a little more politically, he taught me that if someone does something that annoys or bothers you, don't react to that action by itself, but look at the bigger picture of that person's habits.  Is this action the normal pattern regarding the area you have a conflict with?

Bryan Curtis is an eccentric type of guy, with a taste for culture, computers, cooking, and collecting stuff of all types, most of which is probably junk.  He was a considerate and pleasant roommate and a good friend as well.  What I learned from him most specifically and importantly though, was an appreciation and understanding of computers, especially in a Windows operating environment.  He helped me more times than I can count to fix and improve my computer both in hardware and software.  He set up a LAN in our apartment, introduced me to multiplayer PC gaming, and helped me build my first computer.

FRIENDS:
I think Nathan Seaman was my friend at first when we were in middle school because of a video game console that my dad picked up at a garage sale.  It was called Intellivision and it was pretty sweet for that time period.  Then I believe he just let me tag along for entertainment, since I was the biggest dork of his other friends (including Mike Sandeman below), and was therefore the brunt of most of the jokes from all of them, if any were to be made.  Eventually though, I think we became genuine friends and were maybe even best friends for a short time.  Nathan was undoubtedly my social role model.  He was friends with a wide variety of people, and would often get invited to parties because of it.  He was always quick with a smile, not afraid to handle himself in a conflict, and a great story teller.  If a conversation needed to be started, he would just start one up with "Yeah, the other day I...".  I remember most of his stories being true, but they were often either exaggerated, or just told in a way that would make any hum-drum daily activity sound like an adventure.  He was a really smart guy, but an equally crappy student.  In fact, I think I would attribute most of my academic decline in high school directly (from hanging out too much) or indirectly (from just following his always cool lead) to him.  Luckily I was able to pick my grades back up later, but the positive social influence that he had on me will probably benefit me for as long as I live.

Michael Sandeman was, and probably still is, the most critical, cynical, insulting SOB I have ever known.  However, he was also tremendously patient with my lack of coordination when participating in team sports (he was a natural athlete), great at cracking jokes (even if it was at others or even my own expense), and a pretty good friend to a spastic dork of a kid like I was in the teenage years.  Him and Nathan (above) could almost always be counted on to come up with something to do on an otherwise boring summer's day.  Above all else though, he and probably he alone kept me from trying and maybe even becoming a serious user of drugs.  He was the leader of our little group of friends, and would spare no harshness or criticism for the stupidity of people who tried and used drugs, even cigarettes.  There were several situations when drugs were presented to me, even where I was the only one who denied them amongst several others, because of his words and disgust for them entering my mind.  I can't say that I continued on through adulthood without ever trying any drug-type substance, but I can say that he had a profound influence on my decision on numerous occasions to not try them or to become friends with people who used them regularly.

CO-WORKERS:
Bill Preston was my boss at Lockheed Martin where I worked as a co-op student, while attending UCF for my Bachelor's degree.  He was a Christian with a passion for truth and a keen mind and specifically a desire to debunk evolution.  He had a passion for the Bible and the truth it held, researching topics that drew his interest such as the genealogy of Jesus through both of his earthly parents all the way back to Adam and Eve.  He significantly increased my desire to understand the Bible and be able to debate its merits with anyone with whom the subject might arise.

Jim DuPree was another senior Electrical Engineer at Lockheed Martin during my Bachelor's degree.  An older wiry black man (which is rare in the Engineering field), he spoke clearly and authoritatively on most any topic that was brought up.  He also had the best attitude of anyone I think I'd ever met, especially at work.  He would greet people by exclaiming their name with a great deal of enthusiasm.  When asked how he was doing he would always reply "Fantastic and improving".   Another favorite quote from him was "I get paid to show up.  Work is extra."  His cheerful attitude made work significantly less stressful and more enjoyable.