Raj Gurm has had many professions, speaks four languages, lived in a few countries, several U.S. cities and presently San Francisco is his home. He has never shied away from the unknown or an opportunity to experience an adventure.

In 1974, Raj left Asansol, a coal mining town in West Bengal, India and joined the American Army. Although he was not sent to Vietnam, he is considered a Vietnam Era Veteran. His tour of duty took him to Fort Ord in California for basic training, and then to Oklahoma, Kansas, and then Germany.

After the service, he moved to Chicago. Three of his four sisters were still living in India, and he brought them to the United States, and they too settled in Chicago. For the next four years Raj became a mailman for the United States Postal Service. He also worked part-time at Kinko’s where he learned Reprographics.

He married and after time, he and his wife grew weary of Chicago’s chilling winters and in 1987, they drove cross country to Los Angeles. He began a full time career in Reprography. He reproduced graphics, through mechanical or electrical means for architectural and engineering blueprints.

A year later their son, Sunny was born. Today, Sunny is studying bio medical engineering in Toronto.

Although he and his wife divorced, they left Los Angeles in 1991 and spent the next decade in San Jose where Raj continued to make his living in the Printing and Reprographics industry.

In 2001, shortly after 9/11, Raj re-located to Phoenix.

“The day I got there, it was 95 degrees. Blue skies, no humidity, no wind. From October to April it’s the best weather anywhere.”

The Printing and Reprographics industry was not thriving in Phoenix after 9/11, so he went back to school to study Hydrology. The United States Geological Services needed technicians and he completed an internship in Missouri with the Surface Water Resources Department. This position had him traveling throughout the state measuring the water flow in rivers and streams, jumping off water trucks, being bitten by chiggers and operating the water gauges.

“I decided to can that and got a job in Reprographics in Dallas.”

He stayed in Dallas for a year.

“I hated Dallas. I’m a weather person. I got another job in Reprographics and re-located to San Francisco.”

As this industry moved from manual to digital, Raj felt movement in another direction was critical.

In the past month, Raj has embarked upon his next venture as an Independent Contractor for E Z MENUS. He works out of his home in the Inner Sunset and approaches new clients both on-line and face to face. This company provides interactive restaurant menus and an on-line ordering system. A particular restaurant is charged $1.00. The customer can order on-line for pick-up or have their meal delivered for the restaurants that offer a delivery service. They can also create a web-site for restaurants that do not have one or can host their web site.

How does he feel about his next adventure?

“As a young boy the motto from my father was, Life is in the struggle. He was a businessman and always had ups and down. That’s what I learned from him.”

Raj has his own definition of accomplishment:

“Were you able to pursue some of your dreams?”

Some of those dreams he still would like to see come true….

“I’d like to write a book or a screenplay. Maybe open a restaurant. Paint some abstracts.”

Raj seems to embody the quote from Mark Twain,

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the things that you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

NEXT WEEK: MEET MURAI, CAB DRIVER BY NIGHT, ARTIST BY DAY.