My "Walter Mitty" Resume

 
 

In short, this isn’t a work experience resume, this is a life resume.

After watching The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, I connected with the idea of creating an entirely new resume that gave more insight to my life than simply where I put in most of my hours for the day. I looked around online to see if anyone else got something from this “new Walter” and it seems that California Experiment [archived] shared my thoughts.

Walter's Old Resume:

  • LIFE MAGAZINE - Negative Asset Manager, 16 years. Reference: Sean O'Connell (address upon request)

Walter's New Resume:

  • One of 3 known non-Navy SEALs to helicopter “free release” in gale-force waters (North Sea).

  • In a single day: Biked, ran, and long-boarded over 17 kilometers to Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption.

  • Scaled highest peak of Noshaq Mountain (northwestern Afghanistan face)

  • On Icelandic fishing trawler, earned keep as boatswain (unpaid deckhand) for one day.

"To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel. That is the purpose of life."

- The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

I’ll be adding my own experiences here as I remember old memories and make new ones.

  • Summited my first 14,000 foot peak during the inaugural GORUCK Ascent.

  • Narrowly avoided flash flood conditions while hiking in the canyons of Capitol Reef National Park, Utah.

  • Visited the deadliest hot dog stand in the world.

  • Through an open tent on the Yosemite Valley floor, I was lulled to sleep by moonlit winter rockslides.

  • Smacked in the face by a giant sea turtle while SCUBA diving in Hawaii. Later ran out of air at 40 feet underwater. Unrelated.

  • Past family trips have included exploring ancient petroglyphs in Arizona and playing soccer with local kids in the mountains of Romania.

  • Personally seen [what I consider to be] the original stealth aircraft, the Lockheed YO-3A Quiet Star, in an Edwards Air Force Base hangar.

  • Caught a fish with my bare hands in an icy Colorado stream. Promptly cooked over an open fire and eaten.

  • Skinny dipped with my wife in a pitch black Hawaiian beach.

  • Climbed halfway into the cockpit of one of my favorite aircraft, an F-8 Crusader, at an air and space museum before getting caught.

  • Walked 42.5 miles in 14.5 hours.

  • The first vehicle I ever bought with my own money was a motorcycle.

  • Hunted and found a shark tooth on the shores of North Carolina’s Kure Beach.

  • Came in 2nd place in the first mountain bike race I’ve ever entered.

  • Followed bear tracks up a snowy trail on a Virginia mountain.

  • Twice hit a steel target at 1,000 yards with a bolt action rifle.

  • Got my first tattoo while on vacation in Hawaii. Got my first speeding ticket that same night.

  • Dropped a cantaloupe out of a high rise hotel window into an empty alley in London. It was a lot louder than expected. Wasn’t a smart idea but I was young and I know better now. Scout’s honor.

  • Turned a 1 day visit to California into a 3 day, 1,100 mile road trip.

  • Drove 40 hours to mountain bike for just 10.

  • Nearly run over an armadillo while mountain biking in Texas.

  • Shared 1,481 photos on Google Maps. They have been viewed over 67 million times.

  • The 98 photos I’ve shared on Unsplash.com have a total of 105,243,852 views and 881,970 downloads.

  • Invited by Unsplash, I was part of a panel at the SoHo Apple Store to give a talk on how to take great iPhone photos.

  • Maintained a written log of my daily activities since May 17, 2011.

  • Recorded a one second video every day since 2013. Ok, I did miss a few days here and there but not too many.

  • Was the first person to summit both Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford (14,000 foot peaks) on September 3, 2015.

  • Drove 1,400 miles over 44 hours to experience the 2016 solar eclipse with my brother. And I’d do it again in a heartbeat. You owe it to yourself to see a solar eclipse in totality.

  • Swam within arm’s reach of Bull Sharks during a shark feeding dive in Fiji. No cage and 80 feet underwater.

  • Put together a last minute cross country Amtrak trip from Seattle to New York. 3,282 miles for $266.

  • My wife and I (and pets) have moved 7 times in 10 years.

  • Rode a motorcycle 300+ miles (mostly off road) from Sequoia National Park to Yosemite. With extremely little off road motorcycle experience.

  • Parked in every non-handicap parking space (168 spaces) at my office. A different spot each day. Just because.

  • My longest solo nonstop flight in a single engine piston aircraft was just over 500 NM. Roughly: KDKX NC05 NC14 KGEZ



What’s on your "Walter Mitty" Resume?