About Me

portrait

Philip

in my backpack you'll find:

Hello, and welcome to The Goblin Campfire.

If you've ended up here looking for my social media, you've come to the right place. Over the years I found myself spending less and less time on social platforms. I missed the feeling of the older internet, when personal websites felt less like carefully managed profiles and more like places that reflected the people who built them. Rather than trying to keep up with another feed or algorithm, I decided to build a small corner of the web that could simply be my own. This website is that corner. It's a place to keep the things I enjoy, the things I make, and the things I don't want to forget. My hope is that it feels less like scrolling through someone's profile and more like stopping by a campfire after a long walk.

A little about me: I'm Philip, and I live in the St. Louis area. During the day I work as a civil engineer, but outside of work you'll usually find me somewhere outdoors, at a tabletop game, reading a book, learning something new, or working on one project or another. I love wandering through forests and parks with a camera in one pocket and a field guide in the other, stopping to admire mushrooms, interesting rocks, old trees, or anything else that catches my attention. I'm an avid reader - especially fantasy - and I spend a lot of time running D&D games and participating in live-action roleplaying events. Music is almost always nearby, whether it's coming from a battered old cassette, an album I've recently discovered, or my guitar. I also enjoy building things, whether that's a bit of code, a prop for a game, or simply a good meal to share with friends. I'm happiest when I'm making, exploring, or learning.

You'll find a little bit of all of those interests scattered throughout these pages. The journal is where I keep notes from walks and photographs of places that made me stop for a while. The book trail records the books I read and how they connect to each other. The tape shelf is a growing collection of albums and mixtapes that have become part of the soundtrack to different seasons of my life. Other pages collect recipes, projects, roleplaying worlds, and whatever else seems worth bringing back with me. None of these sections are meant to be comprehensive or authoritative - they're simply records of the things that have meant something to me. If they happen to inspire someone else to pick up a new book, explore a nearby trail, listen to a new album, or start building something of their own, then that's a wonderful bonus.

More than anything, I hope this website encourages a slower way of sharing things online. There's no expectation that you'll read everything here, and there isn't a schedule I'm trying to keep. New pages appear whenever I've finished a good book, discovered an interesting place, completed a project, or simply have something I think is worth remembering. In many ways, this site is a digital field journal: a collection of observations, memories, and curiosities gathered over time. Whether you're a friend, someone who wandered here by chance, or simply another traveler from the Indie Web, you're welcome to stay awhile. Look around, sign the guestbook if you'd like, and thanks for stopping by the fire.