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Who is this guy?

My name is Allan Hurst. Originally born in Chicago, Illlinois, and raised in a luxury hotel (my father was the general manager, and we had to live in the hotel), I now live in the San Francisco Bay Area, roughly halfway between San Francisco and San Jose. I've been square dancing since 1995, when I took my first Mainstream class with El Camino Reelers. I've been calling on an informal basis since 1997, when I attended my first GCA Caller School in Las Vegas. In 2004 I attended my first CALLERLAB annual convention, and had a lot of fun.

As a caller, I subscribe to the dictum that says one should dance one level higher than one can call. This means that I dance Mainstream through C2, and I call Mainstream through C1. In 2004, I completed a C2 class with Midnight Squares in San Francisco, but wasn't comfortable enough to dance the level. I retook the class in 2005-2006, but I still feel a little unsteady at C2. I'm taking a refresher course from a different instructor in 2006.

As a dancer, I enjoy dancing to many different callers. Since I'm a member of five clubs, I have several club callers to brag about. I learned all of my levels through A2 from Andy Shore, who used to call for El Camino Reelers and Foggy City Dancers. Sadly, Andy has left the SF Bay Area and retired to Hollywood, Florida. My first calling teachers were Anne Uebelacker (Squares Across The Border) and Saundra Bryant (Chi-Town Squares).

(In no particular order,) Andy, Anne, and Sandie have had the most influence on my calling style and choreography. Since they're all capable of both very easy and very difficult choreography, they've taught me the skills necessary to dance on nearly any floor, to any caller. There are many other callers for whom I always dance happily, but that list is long enough, that I won't bore you with it here. Mike DeSisto has also heavily influenced my calling performance style, though you wouldn't know it to listen to me (unless you're also a caller and/or you listen very closely).

Professionally, like so many other San Francisco Bay Area dancers, I work in a high technology field. I design, plan, install, and troubleshoot computer networks. I'm a partner at KIS, in Fremont California, where I run the Enterprise Systems Group.

I hold several levels of certification from Novell, Inc., including Master Certified Novell Engineer. I've spoken regularly at both Novell BrainShare and the NetWare Advisor Conference. I've also presented at Hewlett-Packard's annual technical conference, HP World.

As a speaker, I talk about a number of very sexy topics, including Service Location Protocol and moving to "Pure IP" operation, migrating to Linux, the basics of DNS, and (with my speaking partner, Dirk Smith) network server crash prevention and recovery.

A longtime Novell devotee, I recently added "Director of Linux Strategy" to my title ... which should give you a hint of where both Novell and I intend to take our customers over the next few years.

Personally On 3/9/04, after nearly 20 years in San Mateo, I moved to Foster City, California with my husband, Randy Hensley, our roommate, Larry Callahan, and three tortoises (one California Desert Tortoise, two Three-Toed American Box Turtles), since I'm allergic to most animals with fur. I've known Larry since 1995. Prior to Foster City, I lived in San Mateo from 1985 through 2004, San Francisco from 1982 to 1985, Berkeley in 1981, and Chicago before that.

On July 7th, 2006, Randy & I bought our own home in Sunnyvale, California. Larry moved up to San Rafael shortly before we moved to Sunnyvale, so it's just us and the tortoises at this point.

On May 21, 2002, Randy and I became engaged. During the following Presidents' Day weekend, we engagement rings from a traveling jeweler in the vendor room at 2003 International Bear Rendezvous.

During the 2003 Squares Across The Border 20th Anniversary Fly-In, on Saturday, November 29th, 2003, at 12:15 PM, Randy & I became legally married in Canada in a civil ceremony at the Scotiabank Dance Centre on Davie Street (at Granville) in Vancouver, British Columbia. Click here for pictures of the wedding, and a write-up of our experiences getting married in Canada.

Other than square dancing, I enjoy reading (SF&F, mystery, and nonfiction), movies (old and new), watching very specific programs on TiVo, amusement parks, and travel. I'm also a fan of L/G/B/T choral music, to the point of dragging my mother to a GALA Choruses regional festival in Seattle. (She and I both had a blast.)

I combine several of my hobbies when I travel during the year to attend various square dance fly-ins all over North America. Each trip, I not only attend a fly-in, but also visit that city's local independent bookseller (such as Seattle's Elliott Bay Book Company, or Powell's City of Books in Portland, OR). My two favorite cities in North America are Vancouver, BC and Chicago, IL.

For other personal information not listed above, please contact me directly. I have several personal web pages which are neither hosted here nor linked with this site. I'll be happy to give you the URL upon request.

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Content © Allan Hurst 1995-2007 - Updated 21 January 2007