about robjmann
The "about me" page on a personal website must be a pretty lousy place to find real details about someone--though is maybe only slightly less useful than someone's curated Wikipedia page. But if you didn't come for facts, then you came to the right place. Please indulge me as I cherrypick some biographical info, which I spent an embarrassing amount of time selecting.
bio info
I am a father of two sweet, very curious young boys.
I had a career as a diplomat, before trying other things.
I grew up in a pretty pleasant, mid-sized city in Oregon.
I happily spend a lot of time on two wheels, but am still unsure of whether to own the moniker "cyclist."
I worked for a year in the White House.
I haven't discovered a type of skiing I don't love.
I got so lucky in marriage--she's kind, hilarious, beautiful, genuinely easy-going, and a supermom.
I can't stop watching Whit Stillman films.
I get energized from social time with people markedly different from me.
I have a garage full of "gear."
I have many obsessions, but perhaps none more unceasing than the Olympics.
I finally joined social media, mostly out of pragmatism.
I am middle-aged, but haven't yet learned to sit still.
and a story
I once received a bowling pin as a birthday present. The buddy who gave it to me asked everyone we knew at the time--mutual friends, my language tutor, even my boss--to write on the pin something meant to roast me. Those who indulged my friend's insidious little request tended to fixate on my appearance ("pretty bald"). Several comments are not fit to print here, but among those that are, this quote has always stayed with me: "Somehow a useless object of a working-class sport seems a most appropriate gift for you."
If you found the upper section too self-flattering, enjoy the bowling pin.
