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WHERE IT ALL STARTED

I was born in Kuwait on October 25th, 1980. I lived there for about 7 years and came to the U.S. at that point and settled in New York. Alright fine, if you want to be totally picky, my family settled in NY, which of course included me. I didn’t pack my 6 year old body from Kuwait and just move here.

We all lived in Middletown, NY for about 3 years or so and then relocated (unfortunately) to Monsey, NY. Even as a 10 year old I knew that this was going to be a rough time. I was right. The people were horrendous, the apartment complex we lived in was an absolute sh*thole, and it seemed as if we were in a hole the entire time. This, however, could be attributed to the fact that we were in the basement.

If there was one positive thing out of all of it, it was the eclectic mix of people we lived around. The apartment landlord, “Mary”, was Russian Jew. As a result she had a penchance for those who were exactly the same as her. Along with the Russian Jews were the Orthodox Jews, another interesting mix. Add to that the large Haitian influx in the Spring Valley/Monsey area, and you get a boy who gets slightly confused as to which culture he needs to fit into. However, here’s a bit of silver lining- it also provided an amazing source of accents and mannerisms that I still use today in acting.

NORMAN
In January of 1997, I moved to Norman, Oklahoma to live with my cousin. This was to be the most eye-opening experience of my life. Binu and I lived like two college students- living day-by-day, doing what we needed to get by. Whether Binu worked overtime to get some extra $$ or I stayed up until all hours of the morning doing homework, it was a good experience. I learned a lot from him especially, and appreciated his drive, even when times got tough. Of course, the best thing was his people skills. He could connect with anyone, regardless of age/sex/religion/race/intelligence level, etc. That’s probably where I learned the same skills…

COLLEGE
When most people first get to college, they’re overwhelmed by the ‘endless’ freedom, the massive numbers of new faces, and the lack of ‘rules’. This had, at this point, become very old to me when I started at the University of Oklahoma. After living with Binu for a while, I learned to set my own rules in order to get stuff done and done adequately. So I didn’t really get into much trouble, was able to keep up with deadlines, etc. The thing that surprised me however was– check this — three meals a day. Hadn’t had that in two years. I had grown accustomed to having a huge pizza once a day as my nutritional intake. Honestly though, what I think I learned as a result of college is this: every single person matters. Whether a janitor or the CIO of a University, be courteous and help each person as much as possible. They won’t forget it- might help you in return, but more importantly will respect you.

INDIA
Edit as of April 11, 2007:
Well I’ve now lived in India for two years, and it’s been a wild ride. I came originally to shoot a movie, but that never came to fruition. However, that doesn’t mean that this trip was entirely a failure. In the time I was here, I was able to work as a language trainer and different companies including Microsoft, and when I worked with actual students I felt alive. I always knew that I loved teaching, and as gruelingly tiring as it can be, it’s also very rewarding. I’ll remember all of my students’ faces that I’ve had the entire time. (Even if I forget their names, because I’m terrible with names.)

And that’s it for now! If you’ve read this far, I’m truly impressed. I’ll put you on the list for my autobiography when it comes out in 30 years. It’ll be a New York Times Bestseller, I swear. I may keep editing this as time goes on, or, as I’ve done in the past, leave this as is for another few years.

Thanks for reading. Enjoy the rest of the site.