Tale of the Feistydude
Feisty ( Eric Olsson ) was born in Tacoma, Washington at 5:02 pm on October 27, 1969 ~ Scorpio.Taurus.Rooster. For eighteen years I was sheltered from the real world in a small neighborhood called Normandy Park, south of Seattle. For those of you from the area, it's affectionately known as the Bellevue of Burien.
Childhood was full of good times and good memories: Scouts, swimming every day of the summer at NPSC, soccer, camping on the Olympic Penninsula and Central Cascades, road trips to Ocean Shores and Road's End, slaving in the yard for my parents, building tree houses, campfire dinners down at the beach, taking care of 17 cats and occasional mudball wars down at West Miller Creek. Living a few blocks from Puget Sound, I developed a healthy love of water ~ swimming, skin diving, beach combing, boating, body surfing and one meter springboard.
School was always an adventure and from the first day of preschool, I was hooked. My learning curve started at Normandy Park Elementary, progressing to Pacific Middle School and graduating in the top 5% from Mt. Rainier High School, Class of 1987. After graduation I worked with the Highline School District in Outdoor Education in the foothills of the Central Cascades at the foot of Mt. Si. A graduation trip to Oahu inspired me to attend college there at Hawaii Loa on the Windward side.
Hawaii changed my inner perspective forever. I'll always pine for the rain forests, the sweet breath of the Pacific Trades and the white sugar sands of her shore. My courses included English, Japanese, photography, psychology and computer sciences. Many a priceless memory was made mudsliding in a rainstorm, whoopin it up over Coronas at Lanikai, cruising to the North Shore, raising hell on base at Pearl with Navy buds, snorkeling off Kane'ohe Bay with hammerheads, photojournalism adventures in the wilds of Waikiki, working at Marys, and playing poker with the gang until 3 in the morning on many a school night. This was a brilliant shining point in my life. It brought a joy and sense of discovery I'd never known. Fate intervened, as it will do in Life. Mom fell ill with cancer and I returned to Seattle.
To lose a parent at such a young age is tragic in any case. The challenge is to pick up the pieces and move on. My mother always reminded me of a particular axiom,
" In every adversity there lies the seed of equal or greater benefit"
After losing her battle with cancer on December 16th, 1990, she left me with a dire paradox; tremendous grief coupled with a dedication to see something good through it all. I left for California in emotional despair and ended up in the Soma district of San Francisco. Most of my time in the Bay was spent working two jobs to make ends meet. Eddie Bauer on Post Street was a haven of crazy characters - right out of Tales of the City. They were invaluable in helping me sort through the rubble of grief. At nights, I was a bouncer at The Stud on 9th and Harrison - the oldest Family bar in San Francisco. My fortune was great - I loved my coworkers. Damn, did we have a blast running that place. Between EB and my bouncer shift, I'd shoot pool, play pinball and move closer and closer towards who I am today.
Leaving pain behind you is an amazing struggle. Particularly when you JUST WANT THAT PERSON BACK AGAIN. I wish I could comfort anyone reading this that has suffered loss. My formula for "getting over it" is a simple analogy. Pain is like manure. You keep watering it and turning it over - eventually, it will fertalize beautiful flowers in the garden of your Life..
After getting back into focus nearly a year later, I moved back to downtown Seattle. Since returning, I've lived in the Madison, on north Capitol Hill and the Eastlake - a great neighborhood not far from the University of Washington. My folks met and fell in love at the U Dub in the late Fifties. The area has tremendous character, houseboats on the shore of Lake Union, good bike trails and it's adjacent to a famous art community ( Dale Chihuly, David Smith, Ursula Dodge ) called Fremont. I've finally purchased my first home in a small community north of Seattle called Edmonds.
I earned an AAS in Commercial Photography with Bart Attebery at SCCC, class of 1995. Definitive Imaging (my company) is an old fashioned location business. I've worked with corporate clients, but prefer bread and butter imagemaking with real people, like myself. My primary career is with AT&T Wireless Services. Guess Mom was right when she called me a fiddlefinger and button pusher. Really dig the technical challenges in my work, solving riddles and unraveling technical snafus. With respect to comedy, working for any phone company can be a can of mixed nuts. You should rent Lily Tomlin's Earnestine series from Hollywood Video to get a better idea what I mean.
Life is full of pursuits: cooking, travel, BBQ's with buddies, running the photo business, and of course BODY IN MOTION. I keep very active with weights, biking, snow boarding, alpine skiing, summer water sports, blading and hiking whenever I can get away. Friends take very high priority and are scattered around the western US. I've just moved into my first property - a condo up in Edmonds, WA. I'm hoping to have a larger property within a couple of years that I can renovate and landscape. As of Winter 2000, I'm 30 years old, 6', 192 lbs, 33W, 45CH, buzzed head, furface, brown hair and green eyes. Please return for new items on the site, as it will evolve with time. New friends are always welcome, so feel free to drop a line ~ feistydude@bigfoot.com
