INTJ. There are very few of us.
Adventurer to the max. Fiercely independent. Highly motivated to accomplish incredible things that few have ever done. My dad told me that my profile is overwhelming, but keep in mind that I can't do all these exciting activities at the same time, and it's fun to chill out after a successful adventure particularly with an awesome Asian or Indian meal! Seek out your dreams. When it matters, give it all you've got. When it doesn't matter, chill out and have fun!
I'm really satisfied with the direction my life is going, but it has been a long time in the making and lots of hard work was involved. My life is not for everyone and that's fine. I am an explorer in every sense of the word. From outdoor adventures to wandering historic cityscapes, I have constant wanderlust. Over the years, I have tried many activities related to going places and the great outdoors. Geocaching (found 6000), powered paragliding (BEST FEELING EVER!), caving, mountain climbing, canyoneering, rock climbing, hiking of course, rappelling down mine shafts, and most notably urban exploration, going in tunnels and abandoned buildings because we're curious what's there. I starred in the first documentary to be made about urban exploration. But as I've seen more places over the years, I've come to focus less on the excitement of the next adventure and more on what I'm leaving for the rest of the world to explore. Curious? Read on!
I've always wanted to create my own tunnel maze, with rooms and cool architecture and features, for others to explore, or design my own house, perhaps similar to House on the Rock only more elaborate with many levels, or something of the like. For over a decade, this seemed like an unreachable dream, but a few short years ago I decided to give it all I've got. Despite most country folk being very averse to a group of eccentric city boys doing something crazy in their quiet neighborhood, I was able to purchase a beautiful wooded ravine about an hour away in Wisconsin with the right geology and topography and minimal zoning laws. Five years later and I'm the proud founder of Sandland, featuring a confusing, multilevel spaghetti bowl tunnel maze in the sandstone bedrock that is now complete after five years of hard work, a large treehouse, a 300-foot zip line under construction, and my friend brought out the disused monorail (!) from the Minnesota Zoo which we use as cabins of sorts. Next on the list is an underground amphitheater and party room at the end of the tunnel maze with elaborate multilevel connecting tunnels. This will take several years to dig, but we have a dedicated and motivated team! Explorers come from all over the Midwest to help us dig, build, and chill when the day's work is done. They love the place and share our vision. Will it ever be open to the general public? Probably not, liability law is too much of a hassle. But it's a great place to explore and share good times with friends and I fully expect it to be part of our explorer community for 1000 years or more. If you want to see more, check us out at tunnelcity.com! If you're not interested in Sandland, that's totally fine too! I'm not looking for someone who will accompany me on work trips to Sandland, but you do need to respect that it's a major part of my life and I spend a lot of time there. Usually one day per week. Perhaps you're passionate about a different kind of project or goal that you could be working towards while I'm out there digging. I know there are many awesome artists out there. :)
Aside from Sandland, my activities come and go depending on which friends are available and how far I'm able to travel. These days, I've been staying closer to home and spending more time hiking through the forest and along steep bluffs with incredible views over ravines and rivers looking for new caves that have never been explored before. When I have a long weekend, I sometimes visit another Midwestern city, one of the first cities in the Midwest to grow large in the 1800s, in search of a couple dozen lost caves deep under the city with rich histories but that have been lost and not seen by human eyes for over a century. My endeavors here have not yet yielded a single cave, but they're surprisingly addictive. It's the ultimate treasure hunt on steroids. And we get to see a lot of beautiful Victorian brick tunnels along the way.
And that's just my most recent endeavors. In the future, I want to spend more time hiking in the mountains and enjoying spectacular natural scenery. Utah has the most breathtaking scenery I've ever seen. I've rappelled down many slot canyons there and look forward to seeing many more in the future. I would love most of all to find someone special to share outdoor adventures with!
Professionally, I'm a senior engineer at a typical soulless large corporation that couldn't care less about its employees, but my job pays for my adventures and everybody on my work team is really nice, so I'm happy there. My job definitely does not define who I am.
If you're genuine, direct, trustworthy, non-judgmental, passionate and energetic about something, whatever it may be, and you love adventure and the outdoors, I'd love to hear from you!
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