About

As I mention in my first post, the purpose of this foray into web logging is to:

1. Honor heaven’s personal tutoring by recording, examining, and sharing the things God is trying to teach me.
2. Leave a record for my children of these “conversations” with the Lord in the hopes that they may learn to be more wise than I have been.
3. Compare notes with friends, family, & students with the hope that something may spark interest or insight.

There is nothing special about my background. I was born and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area, served a mission to southern Argentina, received a degree in Spanish Translation & Linguistics from Brigham Young University, then graduated from BYU’s J. Reuben Clark Law School.

While at BYU (1992-1999), I taught  at the Missionary Training Center, enjoyed many seasons of intramural sports, dabbled in (and dropped out of) BYU’s MBA program, started a couple of businesses, and met and married my wife, Elizabeth.

Hired by the LDS Church Education System in 2000, I moved back to the Bay Area where I taught Institute at several community colleges, Touro Medical School, UOP and UCSF Dental Schools, Stanford, and U.C. Berkeley. Additionally, in 2004, I opened Celaya Law—an Estate Planning law firm specializing in wealth preservation and Elder Law in the Napa Valley. After retiring from teaching at U.C. Berkeley in 2018, and while continuing my law practice, I completed coursework for an MFA in Film Production and have grand plans to tell visual stories that will change the world ;).

Elizabeth and I have six children ages 16-25 (as of January 2024). She is my friend, my partner, and the love of my life. Her work as a marriage and family therapist reflects perfectly who she is — an empath who has a deep understanding of the minds, hearts, and behaviors of God’s daughters and sons. She seems always to be a step ahead of me. Frankly, there is nothing I have done during my married life that isn’t equally hers as it is mine. So while this blog is dedicated to my family at large, it is more specifically dedicated to her. In any event, I made a promise to her that I would continue it.