User:Gimlet

Otto-Matthias (born April 12, 1973) is a thoughtful and frustrated human being and aspiring artist. He spends his days seeking love, death, knowledge, companionship, understanding, self expression, purpose, free time, the novel and the strange.

While studying Business in Germany in his 20s, he participated in a seminar in which participants had to formulate a goal for their life. While most responded along the lines of “Controller for Siemens” or “Marketing manager at BMW”, Otto responded “I want to read my name in an encyclopedia before I die”. The instructor crouched in front of Otto, looked up at him and shook his head. “That is not a proper goal”, he said.

In 2004, Otto watched Mel Gibson's film “The passion of the Christ”. He was impressed at how a man could be true to his highest ideals in the face of social opposition, torture and death. He was frustrated that his own life was a comprise in the name of survival that he did not care for. Then and there he decided to quit his job and travel to India, a journey that he embarked on six months later. To keep in touch with friends, family and strangers, he started a blog that grew unexpectedly personal, introspective and meaningful to him.

When he returned he took up playing the guitar and, after a year, decided to compile his blog in a book entitled “Adventures of Toot”, after a nick name or “burner name” given to him by one of Vancouver's burning babes.

Having made contributions to wikipedia.com – including Uli der Fehlerteufel, Scooby Snacks, Flying ointment and Astral projection – he decided to make real his desire to read his name in an Encyclopedia. This is his entry, under the same name he is using for his book. Not only is he not that fond of his last name, but he also left it off to maintain a veil of anonymity, because you never know.

Milestones and memorable moments

Moving from Germany to Canada in 1980.

First orgasm at age 11.

Life defining Psychedelic and Mystical experience at Peachfest at age 19.

Train Story, his first short story written in 1995.

His first girlfriend and a string of other ruined relationships.

Core Adytum, his first website.

Going to Burning Man in 1999.

Traveling to India in 2004 and starting his blog.

Learning the guitar and writing a book (which he hopes to publish in 2007).