Resident Profile – Matthew Dyer

matthew dyer columbus

Matthew Dyer

1.       What is your full name and its origin, or how was it given to you? Are you named after anyone? Do you have any nicknames?

My name is, but wasn’t always, Matthew Dyer. I was adopted when I was three months old, and a few years ago I worked with a local private investigator to find my birth mother. Once we located my birth mother and I spoke to her, I learned my given name was Justin Michael. It was quite a shock to learn I had a different name before I was adopted. My parents, who were supportive of my search, didn’t even know about it, and my birth certificate reads Matthew Dyer.

I talked about the search in a Pecha Kucha presentation in 2010.

2.       How old are you?

I’m 34.

3.       Where do you live in Harrison West? Do you own your house or rent?

I live on Pennsylvania, dangerously close to Katalina’s. When I moved here, a friend told me I had to check out Katalina’s since I live so close and never been. About a month later he commented on the frequency of my Foursquare checkins and pancake ball references. Now when Tyler at Katalina’s sees me walk in on weekday mornings, he’s got a coffee cup waiting for me. I really like that place 🙂 Sadly, I rent and while the space is cozy and convenient, I haven’t had an entirely pleasant experience. I try to keep my public ranting to a minimum and I know it wouldn’t be prudent to call out the landlords in a forum like this.

A friend has been trying to convince me to investigate buying a home, so I’m going to start looking into it this year. I sure hope I can stay in the area.

4.       If you own your house have you done any significant renovations to it? Please describe.

Sigh. Nope. When I first signed my lease, there were holes in the doors like someone had punched them. The property management company told me they would be repaired by the time I moved in. I assumed that meant the doors would be replaced – but you know what happens when you assume. They sloppily patched the holes and didn’t even bother to sand or stain the patch.

So, to make the place more livable, I bought a whole bunch of vintage sheet music on eBay, made a simple wallpaper paste from scratch, and covered the doors with sheet music. It’s not exactly a renovation, but it was a fun, crafty project.

Some of the sheet music was too beautiful to destroy, so I framed several pieces and hung them throughout the apartment.

5.       How long have you lived in Harrison West?

I’m a newbie; only since March of 2012.

6.       What brought  you here (HW) and where did you live before?

I moved here from German Village after the end of a long-term relationship in 2012.

7.       Where were you born and where did you grow up?

Cincinnati, Ohio. Pretty, hilly, nice-to-visit-but-wouldn’t-want-to-live-there Cincinnati, Ohio.

8.       How did you end up in Columbus if you are not from here?

OSU originally brought me up in 1998. I only attended for a year.

9.       Did you go to college? If so, where and what did you study?

When I was at OSU, my declared major was International Studies and my minor was Russian. I never took a class in either area. (Although I did take Slavic 130, the vampire class. It was amazing). I ended up finishing my undergrad at Franklin University in 2006. I double majored in Human Resources Management and Business Administration.

I just got accepted into grad school (my acceptance letter arrived this week); I plan to start library school in the fall.

10.   What do you do for a living? How did you end up in that occupation?

I’m the HR Guy at the State Library of Ohio. My official title is “Head, Employee Services” but I like “HR Guy” better. I kind of stumbled into Human Resources accidentally. Back in 2000, I was working as a temporary HR Assistant for a woman named Barb. She showed me all the good things HR could be, and she had a lot of faith in me. It was really because of her that I decided to go back to school to get an HR degree. I’ve definitely had an awesome career, but the highlight has been my work at the State Library. It’s a wonderful feeling to be surrounded each day by artisans of information science and purveyors of possibility. I feel like I’ve really found a home in the library community, and I can’t wait to start my graduate studies in this field. I don’t know exactly how my career will unfold, but I am certain libraries will play a role.

11.   What do you like to do for fun?

Eat food from Katalina’s

Create PowerPoint presentations.

Take a pulse on our creative community at Pecha Kucha Columbus

Sing with the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus 

Nap

12.   Do you have any pets? If so what are they and what are their names?

I have two dogs: a Beagle named Lucy, and a Shiba Inu named Bonsai. If you see them roaming the neighborhood without me, it means they’ve escaped the back yard again (the landlords won’t secure the shoddy fence – more reason for me to start investigating homeownership).

13.   What do you like about living in Harrison West?

Location, location, location. It’s close to the bike trail, it’s close to the highway, it’s close to work, it’s close to friends, it’s close to the Short North, it’s close to everything.

14.   What are your favorite places to go out?  Do you frequent any of the neighborhood businesses?

Katalina’s, Brother’s Drake, and Local Bar.

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