Name? Jeffrey Drakos
Hometown? New Canaan, Connecticut.
Current Residence? Boulder, Colorado.
Occupation? I am a philosophy and political science undergraduate at the University of Colorado.
What is your plan for next year? I really don’t have a plan. I graduate in May and want to do some traveling before I find a job or even decide where I want to live. Its going to be a lot of guess and checking the next 12 months.
What do you daydream about? I want to open a coffee shop sometime in the near future. I often daydream of all of the small details needed to open it up, costs, location, design, etc...
If you could plan a week long dream trip, where would you go and what would it entail? I would rent a motorcycle and cruise down the coast of Chile stopping occasionally to ski in the nearby mountains and ending in Patagonia. I think that has the full “dream trip” criteria.
What is your favorite meal? Tomato salad with feta cheese and cucumber.
What scares you? I recently developed a fear of heights. I don’t mind high elevations like airplanes or mountains, but if I step near a cliff or edge of the building my blood starts rushing.
Ideal mode of transportation? Sailboat. There is something enchanting about being able to sail endlessly with no energy but the wind. It’s a bizarre, but weirdly comforting, feeling being at complete mercy of nature. At sea you can either be cruising along, or utterly stranded, depending on the temperament of the wind, with absolutely nothing that can be done to change it. I like that.
If you could go back in time to one decade, which one and why? Probably the 1920’s, I’ve always had a dream of being a bootlegger and living in a society where everyone wears suits. Other than that almost all of the wilderness outside of the east coast had been unexplored. It would be surreal being the first one to fly fish a fair amount of the western american rivers.
What is the best adventure you have taken your Alues on since you have been together? I just got back from a week on the island of Eleuthera in the Bahamas. We were a match made in heaven for the entire duration the trip - completely inseparable. I was amazed at the incredible spectrum of colors that the glasses offered. We were fly fishing for a majority of the trip and the Alues let me spot the fish and depth of the waters far better than my friends.
Whats the last creative thing you did? What is the last thing you made by hand? I just fancied a contraption in my bedroom with string, metal hoops and screws, so I can shut off my overhead light right from my bed. I’m pretty proud of the seconds I am saving every morning and night. The last thing I made by hand was a bamboo skimboard with my friend.
What creative outlet do you get the greatest satisfaction from? I enjoy writing a lot. I write a decent amount of philosophy but also poems, short stories and recently screenplays. I don’t really plan on doing anything with any of them but I like writing enough to keep it going.
Is there anything you constantly draw inspiration from? I get really into music and usually only listen to one band at a time for about two months and then switch to something new. I’m listening to John Mayall right now, last phase was J.J. Cale and Rolling Stones and Lou Reed before that.
Who is your favorite American hero? This might be a little cliche but I have gotten back into my High School reading list lately and must say that my favorite American hero is Jack Kerouac. I’ll always have that traveling bug in me and while I’m in school rather than the road nobody but Kerouac can settle those nerves.
What is the one thing you can't travel without? This question is a softball. The one thing I can’t travel without is my Alue Optics. I don’t even go to class without my Alues. Colorado weather changes so quickly that you can never be too prepared.
What are you doing with the rest of your day? Walking my friends puppy in the Boulder foothills, watching Jeopardy, and then grabbing a drink with my friends at a local bar. Not a bad day.
