About Me

My arc of life from a few months old to a few months ago.

I am a native of Scottsdale, Arizona. At seventeen I rejected my straight A’s, color inside the lines future which likely would have landed me on Boardwalk or Park Place. More an artist than a warrior (feel free to read between the lines, I always do), I knew I’d miss the pleasure of passing Go a few times. I fled the desert for the cool, fertile pastures of California hoping to find adventure. I did, and then some.

I landed straight away in a lot of kitchens. Ironic when you consider I couldn’t stand the heat. For much of my life I’ve served as a waiter in fine dining venues alongside celebrity chefs, culinary impresarios, food geeks, and cork dorks in Los Angeles, Maui and San Francisco. I’ve accommodated movie stars, gazillionaires, rock legends, captains of industry, and political icons with and without secret service in tow. Entirely dependent upon the kindness of strangers (and their gratuities), I paid for a couple of expensive degrees in private universities. I honed my writing skills, sold some freelance, published half a dozen short stories and had a lot of time to, not only provide service, but also continuously contemplate the mechanics of what I was doing. I’ve sized up my lifelong experience with what others promote, teach and provide in numerous realms of service. Though I would never presume to call myself an expert, I do have a unique point of view. This website is the result of my grinding mental gears.

Now I’m back in Scottsdale. When I’m not working or writing I’m usually reading fiction or science or watching reality trash TV. I’m happily married for too many years to say out loud. My greatest joy is often found in the music of my iPod. I declared Frank Zappa a musical genius when I was sixteen.

Since I still work in service and don’t relish people comparing what I say with what I do, I. Surve Daly isn’t my real name. Please don’t  tell the cat.

Sometimes life completes a full circle.