ALL ABOUT ME:

A Tribute to Narcissism
 WHO I AM
    My name is Daniel Joseph Shannon.  It was almost Edward Joseph Shannon IV, but my dad wouldn't have any of that.  He figured that there were enough Edward Joseph Shannons already.  Good for him.  I guess I was also almost Patrick Joseph Shannon, although I don't really have an opinion on that.
    I'm 20 years old and I live in Danvers, Massachusetts, which is about 20 minutes north of Boston.  It used to be a part of Salem back in the day, and the Salem Witch Trials actually took place in my neighborhood.   In the 1700's Danvers became its own town, so now, all the touristy witch stuff is in Salem and everybody thinks the witch trials took place there.  Now you know better.
    I don't much like Danvers.  It's sort of a nothing of a town.  It revolves around kids' sports and roast beef restaurants, which tells you about all you need to know.  I'll be heading on out of here as soon as I'm self-sufficient.  So, I'll be here for the rest of my life.
    For high school, I went to  St. John's Prep, also in scenic Danvers.  All boys Catholic school...  it fit me like my dad's pants.  But, I got a good education and made some good buds, so it was all good.  The drama department was nice enough to let me and a couple of friends of mine put on a play there last summer, so that was nice of them.
    When I'm not living in Danvers, I'm at school, being Wesleyan University in Middletown, CT.  It's a hippie school.  I'm not a hippie.  Enough said.  Middletown is sort of like a bigger Danvers.  Nothing happens, nothing to do, no reason to leave campus.  No real reason to stay on campus either.
    All I really want from life is a published novel, a supervillain who wants me dead, and the Red Sox to win the World Series.  We're 0-3 so far, but that's OK, I've got a lot left to live.  In the meantime, I'd settle for graduating college alive and finding some sort of a job I don't hate.  Those seem to be more within the realm of actual possibilities.

WHAT I DO
    I don't really do much.  Right now I don't do anything at all, because I'm at home during the semester.  I'm going abroad to Argentina this semester, but I don't leave until March 2nd, so I'm at home with nothing to do because all my friends are away at school.  I'm working, but that doesn't really count.
    Time at home tends to get divided between reading, writing, card games, and video games (my personal preference being Civ/AOE types).  I also go to shows, movies, and the occasional sporting event.  I go into Boston when at all possible, as the suburbs are known for their lack of entertainment and redeeming social value.
    At school I major in English.  I'm a junior, and next year I'll be writing my thesis.  Ugh.  I'm going to write a collection of short stories, because I want to be a writer and I figure that'll be a good start.  At some point I need to figure out what they're going to be about and all that, so I can fill out all the forms they've given me.
    My life at school consists of writing papers, reading books, bothering my house mates, and going to meetings.  I'm not much of a socialite, per se.  I lost a bet with a friend of mine and she was supposed to take me to a frat party as punishment...  I forget how I ended getting out of that one.  But I did.  I'll go to great lengths to not have to leave my house.
    I've been known to do a little theater.  In the summer of '99 (insert Bryan Adams song here) two of my friends and I directed and starred in a production of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead by Tom Stoppard.  It was a trying experience, what with cast members not getting along and the three of us getting way too much in each other's faces, but it was a great experience and we're all glad we did it.  I might direct a play at school next year.  We'll see.

WHAT I THINK
    I think a lot of crazy things, among them being that people shouldn't hurt animals, that 1/5 of the population shouldn't control 4/5 of the wealth, and that Weezer is the greatest band in history.  I try to act on my beliefs at all times...  I'm of the opinion that you can't say you believe something and not have that belief affect every decision that you make.  Of course, I'm just as much of a hypocrite as the next guy, so that that for what you will.
    Animal liberation has been my big cause in recent times.  At school I run the Wesleyan Animal Rights Network, a group of crazy cats who campaign for better vegan dining options and less animal testing.  I'm a strict vegan (no eggs, no meat, no dairy) and I volunteer at a no-kill animal shelter every week.
    Sticking it to the capitalist man is another of my favorite pastimes.  I don't know if I'd call myself a Communist...  I'm not down with the whole thought-control/genocide thing.  But I don't drink Coke, buy Nike, shop at Borders or Starbucks, etc.  At school I do Food Not Bombs, a group which collects unused vegan food from local businesses, cooks it, and serves it to the homeless and hungry.  I also volunteer at Haven From Hunger in Peabody, MA, at home.  I don't think private interests should control education, medicine, or shelter, and I think that capitalism is the root of all evil in our society.

(gets down of soapbox)

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE
    You shouldn't.  This website is something I made to entertain myself and possibly my friends, who are geeks like me and will probably get a kick out of some of this.  Yes, it's self-centered of me to put all this stuff about myself on the internet.  No, I don't really care.  If you like AD&D, Star Wars, bad writing, or any of the other stuff I have on here, then I hope you enjoy it.  If not, then I don't know what to say.  It's your own damn fault you wasted your time here.  Sorry.


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