This is my blog.  There are many like it, but this one?  Is MINE.

My name is Grant Chastain.  I am a 36 year-old corporate trainer from Chandler Arizona.  I live here with my wife, Allison, and my daughter Kendall.  Apropos of nothing, here's a picture of all of us holding some parrots.

(I am the one on the left.)

As well, here's a fairly recent picture of me with my daughter.

(Again, to relieve any confusion, I am the one on the left.)

I work for a Tempe-based software development firm as a corporate training specialist, for which I am handsomely paid tens of dollars.  In my free time, I enjoy cycling, playing video games, watching scripted TV dramas, and consuming vast amounts of junk food.

Additionally, I have moonlighted for the past few years as a graphic novelist, producing work for Arcana Comics.  I have a few books out on Amazon that you may have heard of.  Some people thought they were pretty good -- people like AV Club, Ain't It Cool News, and other major media outlets.  So that's kind of nice.

In both of my lines of work, it's vitally important that I have good places to work to allow for creative thinking and writing.  When I'm placed in the wrong kind of environments -- busy, loud, uncomfortable -- it's difficult for me to write my best work.  I take great pains to ensure my corporate office as well as my home office are comfortably furnished and the temperature is right.  Which, in Arizona, is kind of a job all to itself.

I enjoy writing and feel like that's one of my strengths -- I also have a mind that can regurgitate trivia and other mental flotsam on command.  I am good with mental games and those that require extensive knowledge of pop culture.  This has basically resulted in my friends no longer having an interest in playing against me in pop culture'y games, which makes me a sad panda.

I am also a huge St. Louis sports fan, and have been since I was a child.  My favorite team?

I have lived in Phoenix since 2000, having relocated here from Chicago.  The things I love about Phoenix?  Oh, there's a lot.  Ten.  Or possibly right around there.

TOP TEN FAVORITE THINGS ABOUT PHOENIX:

1)  The temperature, aside from June-August, is pretty freaking amazing.  Friends from Illinois love to call and hassle me in July when it's at its hottest.  I in turn call them in December to wish them a merry Christmas -- usually while I'm outside grilling.
2)  All four major sports are represented here, so I can always catch a baseball, football, basketball or hockey game any time I want.  There is also NASCAR, but this isn't strictly speaking a "sport."
3)  There is a lot of natural beauty in Phoenix.  Mountains, paths, trails, summits... it's a veritable boon for people that like to spend a lot of time outdoors.  Unless you're looking for the Lost Dutchman's Mine, and get yourself lost, in which case this probably isn't one of your favorite things about Phoenix.  Also, I hope you brought water.
4)  We are literally a 5-6 hour drive from Las Vegas, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Mexico.  Of course, this supposes you want to go to Mexico.  But at the other three places, you can do very easily, and it's highly unlikely you'll be kidnapped or forced to listen to a Mariachi band.  Or kidnapped by a Mariachi band.
5)  Cacti can live with a minimum of care and feeding.  Perfect for people with brown thumbs who cannot sustain anything living.
6)  There are many technology jobs here in the Valley of the Sun at manufacturers like Intel, Avnet, Sun Microsystems, SAP, and others.  If your skills skew towards the nerdy, this is the place for you.
7)  We have "freeways," as opposed to Chicago, which has "toll roads."  These "toll roads" are never actually paid for, and serve only to continue funding Chicago's crooked political machine.  This is possibly the nicest thing I can say about Chicago at this time, aside from "boy, do I miss the pizza."
8)  If we wished to drive for 3-4 hours, we could see the Grand Canyon, one of the greatest natural resources of the world.  With full disclosure, I have lived in Phoenix now for 12 years and have not yet, nor do I have plans to, see the Grand Canyon.  BUT I COULD.  OH YES.
9)  If you play your cards right, you might be able to entirely avoid traveling to Tucson, which is -- if I'm being nice -- a toilet.
10)  I can't remember the last time I had to drive further than 20 minutes to get to anything I wanted food-wise.  There are, in actuality, more restaurants here than people.  True story.

GRANT'S PERFECT DAY!

Grant's Perfect Day doesn't start until 9:00am, because I live in a bizarre alternate universe in which my daughter does not wake me up with the incessant demands of an 8 year-old.  I am able to rise and shine at my leisure.  It is March, or possibly April.  Warm, but not yet oppressively so.

After a quick shower, I throw on some gym clothes and go hit Lifetime Fitness for an envigorating workout, which afterward I will completely destroy by a visit to Dunkin' Donuts.  After picking off the last of the doughnut crumbs, I hop into the car with my wife and kid, and we go to a local dog park with my borderline-developmentally-disabled beagle/mutt mix Copper, and we throw the Frisbee around for a little while.  Afterward, it's off to Ted's Hot Dogs to destroy my waistline even further with hot dogs and onion rings.

In the afternoon, we go to Bookman's, a local used book/magazine/DVD reseller in Mesa, where we find books for each of us to read.  After a couple hours, we decide to go to a movie, where we find something that's suitable for all three of us and sit in air-conditioned comfort for a few hours.  Dinner follows at the local Mongolian BBQ place, which is perfect for all of us since we can each get what we want.

That night, we settle in at home with our stupid dog and three stupider cats.  Kendall goes to bed early, tired from all the running around.  My wife and I stay up playing games and having a great time, until we too collapse into slumber around midnight.

Oh, and did I mention this entire day went without ANY OF US checking our cell phones for messages, emails, or texts?  It did.  And it was heavenly.

I will write more soon, I promise.

Before I go, though, here is a picture of a dog wearing a necktie.