Hi, I'm Nate

Hello, fellow Hist 17A'ers -

My name is Nathan Gomer. I'm 36, an Air Force veteran, father of two sons (Alex is 6, Daniel's 4), and husband to one super-hot babe. :) I have a full slate of four online classes this semester (Hist 17A and 17B, ENGL 30A and 46B) and keeping up with them is already a bear. I also do work-study part-time at the Sacramento Vet Center on Howe Avenue from time to time, which is a counseling center for combat veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. During my 13 years of service in the Air Force I fixed computers, including soldering and component-level repair, and then spent 10 years as a Spanish linguist. I can't speak the langage in person very fluently, but if you want to chat me up here in espanol, I can probably hang with ya. :)

In my spare time, I write fiction. I've had one short story published, and have spent the past 30 months working on my first novel. It's finished, although I'm in my fifth draft now and hope to finish up for good around Christmas. I'll be trying to solicit a literary representative to sell it around that time, as well.

My major is currently the ultra-generic and all-encompassing Liberal Arts for convenience reasons (in other words, the G.I. Bill will pay for just about any class under this major). I'm hoping to change it soon to what I want, though, which is English. However, my ultimate goal remains to be able to make a living off my published novels. I admire the work of John Irving, Poe, Doyle, and Steinbeck, but I want to sell like King and Koontz! :) (Wait, this is History class, not Lit! ha ha)

I must be frank and say I'm taking this course because it's required and sounded slightly -- and only slightly -- more interesting than Political Science. I'm not any kind of proactive history buff, but I won't let that affect my doing well in this course. And I do think that the more well-informed about your country, the better your life and healthier your overall perspective will become.

What I hope to get out of it is to learn, read, and retain our history and its facts, since I've not studied it since 10th grade in 1988. I think it's important to know your past so you can interpret your present (and future) accurately, as well as learn from others' past mistakes.

The class being online is very convenient for saving gas and parking costs! :) There's something to be said for the classroom environment and getting out of the house (and away from noisy kids), but as I learn best by reading anyway, I think it'll be good. I finished Math D online recently with an A, and THAT was a challenge! I won't take another math class online. Some things you need to see done in order to learn.

That about does it for me. I look forward to learning and chatting with all of you!