JUSTIN O’MALLEY
TECHNOLOGY SYSTEMS DESIGNER

Involvement
Volunteer for Habitat for Humanity
Volunteer for Volunteers of Colorado – Trail Restoration

WHAT’S YOUR FAVORITE QUOTE?

“Many men go fishing all their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.” -Henry David Thoreau

WHAT BOOKS ARE ON YOUR NIGHTSTAND?
Anarchist Workbench – This is an anecdotal ‘how-to’ book on building an affordable and useful woodworking bench. The author explains how they got their start at Woodworking magazine and how they had to elbow their way into getting a floorspace in the magazine workshop.

The Wild Truth – This is a follow-up book to Jon Krakauer’s Into the Wild, a story about Christopher McCandless and his great Alaskan adventure that ended with his demise. The Wild Truth is written by McCandless’ sister and details not only his family’s pain of losing their son but also the family struggles that drove Chris to leave society for the wilderness.

WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DO IN YOUR SPARE TIME?
I play a game called Subbuteo with some friends every week. It’s a tabletop game based on soccer, that requires dexterity and strategy to flick your players into the ball to score. It’s much more popular in European countries than in the US, but a few of my friends are nationally ranked and will fly overseas to play in competitive international tournaments.

WHAT DO YOU DO TO RELIEVE STRESS?
I love woodworking! I am slowly but steadily building a woodshop in my garage and use it to make furniture, cutting boards, gifts, or anything else I can come up with. I see woodworking as a great stress reliever because I can put some headphones in and lose track of time working on a project. It’s a great creative outlet that pushes me to learn and perfect different techniques, all while building something that I can use and be proud of.

WHAT’S THE BEST PLACE YOU HAVE EVER VISITED?
Glacier National Park – My partner and I went on a backpacking trip through arguably the most beautiful natural landscape in the lower 48. My favorite leg was the Highline trail which was a 17-mile out-and-back route at about 9500’ of elevation. It was a pretty grueling hike, but the mountains, wildlife, and post-hike beers were definitely worth it!

WHERE ARE YOU FROM?
Kansas City, KS — Kansas City has more barbeque restaurants per capita than any other US city. And we are thankful for it!