HAWLEYJ's VirtualTourist Home Page

I currently live in Rochester, MN. I'm a born-again Christian who is passionate about Jesus, truth, music, and travel. I also like a good chicken parmesean with fettuccini alfredo now and then. Anyone is free to e-mail me here on VT. I love meeting new people!

1. First of all, please rate people accordingly. I have seen some very quick, cheap, sloppy pages with "extremely helpful" ratings because people are to scared to get a negative rating in return. We do not get prizes, my friend, so feel free to truly build this community through honest feedback. If they are wonderful and filled with great, useful, interesting content, give them a great rating! My general rule of thumb is that a page must have at least 4 pictures, most of them original, in order for me to give it an "extremely helpful" rating. But if there are only two pictures and little relevant information, give them a bad rating and tell them why (unless they are clearly just starting to build it, then give them time!) This isn't to be mean, but just to make the entire community a better place! :-)

2. Try not to steal pictures unless absolutely necessary. As of the time I wrote this, I used only 1 stock photo, taken from a hotel website, because I didn't have an appropriate photo and I felt that the hotel deserved a picture. Using other people's pictures is fine if the situation calls for it, but people are here to hear YOUR story, not a recycled one. :-)

3. Most important, find out about a person before you take their advice. There is a fellow VT member that lives in Rochester (my hometown) who recommended an absolutely ATROCIOUS bar as a favorite spot for nightlife. I wouldn't recommend it to a dog. But upon closer examination of her writing style, personality, and passions I realized she wasn't my type of travel companion at all, although I'm sure she is a great person. Take this into consideration when you are looking through people's pages.

Just so you know my personality, and can decide if you would like to learn more, this is who I am: I would rather make a life-long friend and have an adventure than get drunk or visit the "sex museum" in Amsterdam. Some of my interests include history, fine food, music, the arts (so long as they do not glorify sin), site-seeing, hidden jewels of cultures and places, those "picture perfect" moments where time stands still and you feel like you are in a magazine, and most important, I enjoy meeting new people of all nations, religions, and races and finding out more about how my HUGE God works in this world. There is a proverb in the Bible that says, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the honor of kings to seek it out". It truly is an honor, isn't it? :-)

I also love meeting other VTrs! E-mail me if you want to make a new friend!!

I hope the info I've provided has been useful, and if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me! God loves you a whole lot.