My name is Waleed Hawatky but nearly everybody, as much as I have tried to ditch the moniker, still refer to me as weed. I’m a virgo and act a lot like one. I am Egyptian and very proud of it; sometimes in this day and age, people try to escape who they are because they are unable to cope with difference. I was like that for many years but I am fortunate to have come to a point in my life where that is no longer the case.

 

I was born and raised in Sacramento and have lived in the bay area, Davis, San Diego and now Long Beach. I used to have a distinct wanderlust but I think I’ve finally decided to settle down into one spot for a while. I wasn’t a very good college student despite having the best of intentions. I am one of those who learned more from college than what I was taught in the classroom. When I finally graduated, I had a degree in Genetics but I have had many occupations since then ranging from being a scientist to a tour guide to a teacher and ultimately (and currently) to an insurance salesman.

 

The one consistency throughout the strange pattern is my commitment to art. I am not naïve to believe in popular success as a personal achievement and do not seek it because I have learned that life is best lived in cruise control with an appreciation for what one can do rather than at full throttle with the envy of what one can not. I don’t play by the rules and have, as a result, found myself at the center of many controversies. However, I consider this an honor rather than a detriment.

 

I don’t concern myself with material troubles; I have only a few priorities in life and they are living and providing for my beautiful daughter and expressing my love to the people most dear to me.

 

I am a cheesy ol’ school romanticist at times and a hardnosed, railing realist at others. I am easily riveted by sunsets and rainy days but when necessary, I handle my business with a cold efficency.

 

Like all Egyptians, I’m superstitious, spiritual and love cats.