Thanks for visiting my home page. In summary, I'm a 22 year old single gay male alumni of the University of California, Berkeley. I currently reside in San Francisco. My current projects include work and fitness. On the side, I enjoy music and art, computers, exercise, and clubbing. You can either keep reading for more info or you can go to the Gallery of the Self to see photos of me. Oh, one more thing: you can catch me on IRC (Internet Relay Chat) under the nick Violateur or Violator usually on channels #gaysf or #gaysanfrancisco. or on America Online as FoxyDinSF.
School As a kid, I attended an Armenian (yes, Armenian) Catholic school. It was a small school which grew eventually. Most of my friends there were the girls. My best friend, Arthur, with whom I shared many interests, was killed in a car accident after the 8th grade. So I guess I'll never really find out why he and I were so close in school...
After the 8th grade, I went to another Armenian (non-religious) Armenian school in Hollywood. This was the worst school I ever attended. The quality of teaching was bad, most teachers were ignorant, and everybody hated the principal. I had the most homophobic experience of my life there. Without getting into details, basically, the principal "supported" those who engaged in homophobic actions. So I left - quick! Anyway, for the 10th grade, I attended a private boys' Catholic school. When that closed due to lack of funds, I went to another Catholic school for the 11th grade.
I was always at the head of my class. Until I came to Marshall High School, that is. This was my first public school. Some of you have probably heard of this school in L.A. because of it's academic reputation. Anyway, I was surrounded by brainiacs and my grades suffered only somewhat hence. But nonetheless, I made it to the University of California, Berkeley, from which I just graduated in psychology. I also learned French in one year (4 courses total). In my last two years, I embarked on some research in psychology. I really wanted to continue my education and pursue in a Ph.D. in the field but am now lost in the career world and will probably pursue an education in either business of information technology. In the meantime, I'll be working.
U.C. Berkeley was a very positive experience for me. There, I met some great people and partied quite a bit too. But the greatest thing about coming to Berkeley was getting away from my parents. This meant gaining independence and becoming a new person. It's amazing how much I changed. I had the room to grow without parental restrictions. It was one of the best things in the world for me! Now, I've graduated and am proud of my academic career at Cal.
Family My nuclear family consists of Mom, Dad, two older sisters, and an older brother. All my siblings are in their thirties, so one can see that growing up, I felt like an only child. Nobody in my family knows about my sexuality and what I do in San Francisco. They only hear about the good things. Living at home was bad for me, mainly because of the personality differences that exist among us. Moving to Northern California has brought me and members of my family much closer and we are all happier living apart, even if Mom & Dad don't think so. "Coming Out Nite" and Beyond I first came out - ever- to my small group of gay friends in high school. We were at a gay birthday party in Hollywood and two of the hottest boys wanted to dance with me. Isn't that cute? So I couldn't resist the temptation. I danced with them and eventually pursued a very short-term relationship with each of them. When I came to college, I didn't really tell anyone. That's not to say that no one suspected, though! I came out slowly to some friends, and I still have friends who don't know, but I don't put much effort into hiding it from them. Friends have found out that I'm gay in various ways. One came to one of my parties and saw another guy hugging and holding me all night until she finally broke down and asked flat out. The whole thing was funny, really. Some others were left in the dark until they, too, saw me holding hands (or what have you) with other guys. Others I've told - or warned rather! Anyway, coming out is no longer a big deal and living in San Francisco, I don't see the point in hiding it.
Relationships My first relationships were when I first came out in my senior year of high school. In fact, I only came out because it was going to be impossible to kiss a guy at that party and pretend I was heterosexual! I had two boyfriends in one week; both heartbreaks, of course. I led a serious relationship with one boy I met at Berkeley. It lasted a week, I think. Now, we realize that we would have been better off as friends, which is where we stand now. No further serious relationships until April of 1996, when I met a cute boy in the air force. It lasted about seven months. I'll spare y'alls the details. I don't remember much of them anyway... After that (and maybe even during that), I've been looking for a new love. Any offers???
Yup, being single isn't fun, at least not in my opinion. I live with one roommate, who is of a different age cohort than I. Nonetheless,he has grown to be one of my best and closest friends (emale him). Having lived away from family for such a long time, I have begun to miss the love, care, and support. This is where a relationship comes in; someone to share my huge queen size bed. I've only had one long-term relationship so far (the Air Force boy). That was fun while it lasted. Now, my eternal search for a boyfriend continues, although it doesn't seem like gay San Francisco is actually a good place for me to find a significant other. I was talking to a good friend in Oklahoma City recently who told me that all the people out there are so nice to each other, saying "Hi" to each other on the street, and always making it a point to introduce themselves to newbies in town. So I'd like to make it out to some small town someday just to remind myself that nice people are still around (I grew up in L.A. and now live in San Francisco, so...) Well, I'll keep y'all posted on how this search for a boyfriend is going (or shall I say, is NOT going).
What am I looking for, you ask? Well, I prefer guys who are mature, somewhat educated, relaxed, yet sensitive. I think I feel the same way about myself. Hmmm... What does that say about relationships? Physically, I find myself attracted to taller guys (I have yet to meet a guy shorter than me), a lot of blonds, guys who look like surfers, skaters, or frat boys. And sometimes, redheads just make me drool! However, I find myself dating guys who are not even close to this 'type' and are equally as attractive. I guess there's a lot of factors that I consider individually in each guy, and I can find the ugliest of men to be totally hot and vice versa. See below for more info.
Who's Cute Val Kilmer, David Duchovny, Ben Affleck, Nick Hexum (the lead singer of 311), Chris O'Donnell, Harrison Ford, Dan Cortese, Simon Rex, A.J. Hammer (VJ at VH1), Dennis Rodman, Enrique Iglesias, Dr. Drew (psychologist at KROQ), a lot of other redheads and blonds...
Who's Not Cute George Clooney, Tim Allen, Jon Bon Jovi, Bono (U2)...
Hair...A History As a kid, my perfectionist father always kept my hair short. He'd spend about three to four hours just trimming every single hair to the right length. When I got to college, away from parents, I painted my hair blue as soon as they left me alone in Berkeley. After a while, I added some red. Then some yellow. Faded to orange. The black grew out. It was definitely unique. The first time I went home at the end of the summer, I put black shoe polish in my hair (because all the stores had closed before I could buy any dye) so that my parents wouldn't see my real hair. Of course, they noticed the shoe polish. I didn't shower for three days. Eventually, I showered and they saw the orange underneath it. They learned to live with it, after screaming at me for a while. Anyway, eventually, my hair started growing long and the roots did too. I had to dye it black. I let it grow out for about a year or so (long enough that I once had dookie braids) before it went back to crew-cut short, and that's where it's been since.
Clothes Many of you may already think that I'm a "fashion queen," but I assure you I'm not! I try hard to blend well with a crowd, but stand out as well-dressed. Capisce??? My interest in fashion is rooted in haute-couture designers, their histories, and their designs. My closet may include a number of labels, but they're mostly subtle numbers I use for various occasions. To see my favorite designers, I'm sure you've already checked out my Favorite Designers list.
Favorite Designers Gym & Body The first time I ever went to a gym was my freshman year in college: the campus Recreational Sports Facility. At the time, I was mostly engaged in aerobic exercise. When I moved to San Francisco, I joinedMarket Street Gym, one of the gay gyms in the Castro. Now, I just use the gym at hotels when I'm on business travel. My primary areas of focus include my chest, arms, and legs. Lately, however, I've been concerned about gaining too much mass and have ben focusing on the treadmill for about 15-20 minutes, and then doing some limited muscle training afterward.
Funny Things I Can Do With My Body I can move my earlobes. I can move my pecs. I can crack my ankle and make a funny noise. And funnest of all, I can move my pecs up and down.
Attitude I can't stand the stuff. My friends know me as friendly, amiable, and approachable (I AM a psychologist, after all!). Many people tell me that my pictures portray me as having a lot of attitude, but I was just trying to make sure those photos didn't look like cheesy tourist photos, so I took a unique approach to them (unique in comparison to other photos of myself). So, don't fear me, but write me!!!
Clubbing The first club I attended was the Arena in Los Angeles. At the time, it was a gay club some straight friends took me to. Now, it's a different place. That was when I was 17, and my attendance at clubs and bars has only increased since. I used my brother's old driver's license at the time and that worked fine for me until I turned 21 this year (even though the ID said I was ten years older!). The clubs I frequent the most are Club Universe on Saturday nights, which is a long running and very, very popular San Francisco dance hall open after hours and filled with big buffed boyz and the Endup on Friday nights or Sunday mornings. I used to go to The Cafe (Cafe San Marcos) a lot, which was once a lesbian bar in the heart of gay San Francisco, but is now an extremely popular mixed bar. Sometimes>, I can be seen at some of the less-hyped bars around the Castro (THE gay part of San Francisco), including the Phoenix (dancing), the Midnight Sun (a video bar), Badlands (a big dark bar), Detour; (a darker bar), and Harvey's (the newest bar in the Castro, relaxed and very friendly). However, I go to these bars only occasionally and never alone! Two other spots I highly recommend are JR's in Walnut Creek and the Alta Plaza.
Music My earliest influences of music come from my older sister, who would listen to early 80s music, before there was a division among pop, rock, rap, house, etc. Madonna was my favorite artist in the world until she started gaining excessive fame around 1989 and 1990. Then, I switched to a different type of music which was definitely not too popular at the time: alternative. My favorite band in the world came to be Depeche Mode, whose every single career move I followed for years and years, and still do, but not as religiously. In the past couple of years, I have opened up my tastes and now listen to a variety of music, including some world/ethnic, rap, house, pop, rock, alternative, and especially "dance" (a term I use to define any type of music to which I can dance) and soul. I enjoy dance music simply because I'm surrounded by it so much at the clubs and it's got such great energy. Lately, however, I've been REALLY getting into classic soul, like the Isley Brothers, Rose Royce, Billy Paul, etc. Just great "chill" music. Lastly, I don't mind country, jazz, tango, and some other forms of music which I don't normally listen to unless there's nothing else to hear. I'm not particularly fond of Mariachi music (unless I'm in Mexico) and will try hard to leave any situation which forces me to listen to it. For a list of my current favorite bands, check out my list of Favorite Artists (below)

Favorite Artists
Favorite TV Shows I don't watch much TV, and I'm not really sure why the hell I'm throwing it in here, but here's a very short list of my fave TV shows:
Employment Before college, I held a variety of odd jobs around Los Angeles. When I came to college, I found a job I loved at one of the campus departments. In the beginning, I held mostly clerical duties. After a couple of months, I was moved to the accounting and bookkeeping unit, where I became an assistant accountant and financial analyst for over three years. After I obtained my degree, I got a job as an accountant at one of the biggest investment banking firms in the country. Now, I'm an Applications Consultant and spend much time travelling across the country and across the world. I'm not yet sure if I want to invest a career in technology or investment banking but at least now I have the experience of both behind me.
So where are the new promised photos? These photos are actually new, October 1997. All the color photos toward the end are old, from October 1995. Not much has changed since. My hair is still short. It's got that shaved look. This is as risquee as it gets for now. When I find that I'm actually photogenic when nude, I may post those pictures too :) So, in the meantime, sit back, chill, and enjoy my Gallery of the Self and don't forget to send emale to dsafaria@ocf.berkeley.edu.

Go toDerick's Gallery of the Self