Introductions

"Do you suppose I could buy back my introduction to you?"

--Groucho Marx

This being my first blog (at least on this website) I figure I should start by introducing myself. Some of you already know me, or at least know me as a co-worker, but this will give you a chance to see me outside of that setting, able to articulate views I might otherwise not be able to with the hustle and bustle of work, or because of the presence of customers. Other still may know me more intimately and this may be nothing more than a reiteration of what you've heard me talk about for years. But life brings changes and I hope those changes bring you back to this blog to hear what I have to say and to question your own values.

With that being said, let me start. My full name is Patrick Joseph Molling. Born February 27th, 1985, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. My birth parents are unknown to me, I was put up for adoption at birth. I have a single sheet of paper that has scraps of info on my birth parents. My mother was Irish and Italian, and she stated her reason for adoption was not wanting to be a single mother at age 42. My alleged father was African American and Indian, who was married and had a family. I consider myself lucky. Many make it into the foster care system and never make it out. I'm short, about 5'5, and skinny ~110, probably could be in better shape. I keep my hair shaved short because I don't have the patience to style or dry it. (This has not always been the case.) My moods sometimes depend entirely on the weather. Like Superman, sunlight gives me strength. Growing up in Wisconsin, you learn to appreciate the summers. But for the most part, I generally have a positive attitude.

My adoptive parents took me into their home in either June or July of '85. My mom is almost fully Irish, born and raised in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania. My dad is German and Polish (go figure) from Port Washington, Wisconsin. Where this show took place. Presumably with much less pot smoking. Both of them are Catholic, my mother more so, in the fact that it influences many of the decisions she makes. My dad, not so much. He is a taxpayer first, and a Catholic second. I mean that in the best possible way.

I have one younger sibling, my sister Elizabeth. Born a year after me. Takes after my parents. I almost still hate to say it, but she's smarter than me, and much nicer than me. We had a typical childhood growing up. Barbies. Ninja Turtles. The suburbs. Family dinners. You know, WASP crap. Went to Catholic school from k-8, public from 9-12. It was there in high school that I first started understanding who I was and what these emotions that I felt meant. High-school can be a scary and dangerous place. I didn't dare tell anyone, save for one person, what I was feeling. I wadded through the mud and denial for a long time, going so far as my first year of college. But it was then that with lots of love and support from my friends, I allowed myself to exist as who I was, a boy who liked boys.

Even then, I still wasn't out to everybody. My family's Catholic roots made it quite obvious that issues of that nature could never be brought up. I have never been very open with my family anyways, so I felt, and still somewhat feel, that my business is my own. But I digress.

I graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with Bachelors in Creative Writing, something I'm very proud of. I know people with Masters and PHd's that look at a BA with the same disdain as a high school diploma. But so be it. If I had the time and money, a Masters would be easily obtainable. Anyways, after college I knew a change was needed. I'd never be able to be myself living at home. I had taken a few trips to Seattle with friends, and fell in love with the city. The landscape, the skyline, the welcoming atmosphere, the excitement. I had made up my mind that Seattle was to be my destination.

I worked two jobs to save, and along the way, met a boy. A cute boy. A cute boy named Jason. Having never felt love, I could just feel... something. I knew I wanted to be with him for a long time. This seemed to throw a wrench in my moving plans though. I was planning to move in one year. I told him this from the start, and told him to honestly think about what he wanted to do. It wasn't an easy decision, but after a year of being together, we moved to Seattle together. It was a rough couple of months. My job lineups had fallen through, and he was desperately missing his family. We roughed through it, got jobs, and made new friends. Our two year anniversary will be on August 8th. With that, here we are. We have a nice apartment, good jobs, good friends, and two crazy cats. Money is tight, but money is always tight. It's practically a non-issue. There are always things to work on, progress to be made, complacency to fight off. So we will.

There's still more you don't know about me. Books, movies, and music I like, pet peeves, matters of honor, and sublime moments of stupidity. More to the point, how I resolve myself in the choices and decisions I make, while still participating as an active member of the world we live in. 'Cause it ain't always easy, and quite frankly, there are times I'm not even sure how I do it.