Who am I?
Early Life		I was born in March 1966, in Alaska. My parents soon moved to Vermont, where they lived in Proctor for a short time before settling down in Chester. I was 2 when they arrived in Chester, so unfortunately I don't remember anything of Alaska. We lived in Chester (my parents, my older brother Carl, and I) until well after I graduated high school.
Through High School		I went to school through grade 6 at the Chester-Andover Elementary School. My father taught music there, so naturally I was a very good, well behaved student. ;-) After that, I went to Green Mountain Union High School, a small but very highly rated public high school. I continued to excel in school, being held back only by my lack of motivation, and my procrastinatory tendencies. I did, however develop many very good friendships which I continue to nurture to this day. I think I had many unique and enriching experiences during high school. I graduated third out of 88 (yes, that was a very large class for our school)
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute		Rensselaer was a great learning experience for me. I learned so much there that they made me leave. Seriously, though, it was the pits. I didn't know why, but I never REALLY enjoyed it there. I did very well in my classes, even doing better than many of the Juniors and Seniors in my classes. I made friends with the wrong people and learned from that. But what I really learned was that I wasn't ready for college. When I was asked to leave, I realized that I needed to grow up more before I would be ready to return, but I couldn't yet tell my parents that.
The University of Vermont		And so, when I couldn't return to RPI, I had to go somewhere. Where better than the local state school, the University of Vermont? So I went. That's about all I did. UVM was known as a major party school, and though I was never really a socialite, I partook of much more than I should have. When I finally completed the semester, I had amassed an amazing 1.0 GPA. Needless to say, I was asked to not return.
United States Navy		I bummed around for a while, not knowing what direction to take. Early in 1988, I began dating a young woman named Jennifer and we became very good friends. One day I found myself being taken to a Navy recruiter by a good friend from high school (and yes, I do still speak with him ;-) ) and I soon enlisted.
Recruit Training Center, San Diego, CA (May 1988 - July 1988)		I went to boot camp in San Diego, and though it was challenging physically, otherwise it was just mind games. All you had to do was follow directions to the letter and keep your nose clean (not brown, clean!) and you were fine. Many people got in trouble for the stupidest things. I didn't. I did what I was told and got through with very few problems.
Naval Construction Training Center, Port Hueneme, CA (July 1988 - October 1988)		After graduating boot camp, I left San Diego, filled with all the patriotism they force into you and the skills that every fleet sailor needs, to go to Port Hueneme, CA for specialized training for my selected job. I didn't know what I was getting into, but I soon found out that it wasn't the fleet. I had signed up into the Seabees, the Navy's construction force, and would only once in my career set foot on a navy vessel. While in training for my job, I did very well in classes, and continued my long-distance relationship with Jennifer. About half way through this training she decided to come out and visit for a week. That week stretched out into a couple, and we had a very short engagement before we got married in September.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FORTY, Port Hueneme, CA (October 1988 - June 1992)		I loved my time in NMCB-40. I made 3 deployments: to Rota, Spain; Jubail and Tanajib, Saudi Arabia; and to Edzell, Scotland. I was also able to take a special side trip to Berlin. I loved my job, and did it well. I was doing mostly soil testing and surveying. It was good to get out in the sunshine to work. The deployments were hard on the family, but we got by. In February, 1990, Timothy Andrew was born, and in April, 1992, Christopher Alan came along.
Naval Construction Battalion Unit 418, Bangor, WA (June 1992 - March 1995)		Here I went to an desk job inside. I did a lot of paper shuffling, making sure that things ran well behind the scenes. I did no soils testing and very little surveying. I did quite a bit of drafting, and though I never really became good at it, I began to enjoy it. Life at home went to pot. At one point my wife left and we spent a lot of time working out our problems. We got things going well enough that she decided to move back in. Unfortunately, in the middle of this working out, time came for me to transfer, and I returned to another battalion in Port Hueneme.
Naval Mobile Construction Battalion FOUR, Port Hueneme, CA (March 1995 - May 1997)		I had hoped that our entire family would go to California together, like we had before. Jennifer decided that she wouldn't, as she hated it out there, the schools are better in Vermont, and she grown to greatly appreciate the support and help her family gave her. I supported her in her decision, and we went our separate ways. I made a partial deployment to Puerto Rico, and then a full one to Okinawa, Japan. I was now doing work which was totally different from my chosen job. When I arrived at NMCB-4, the position of Local Area Network Administrator was about to become vacant. The unit had done nothing to prepare for a replacement and, as I was both willing and able, I took the job. I loved it so much that at the end of my enlistment, I got out to pursue a career in that field. During my two years in California, Jennifer and I grew apart. So far apart that she finally asked for a divorce.
		A Chronology of my Naval Career. Photo of the Seabee Memorial in Washington, D.C. My Naval Awards
Spring & Summer 1997		After I got out of the Navy, I found myself unemployed and in the game of job hunting. I moved in with my parents, planning on staying there until I found a job and moved away. It took a good part of the summer for me to realize I really didn't look forward to working for someone else. I decided to take matters into my own hands and try to start my own business. Over the summer I spent much time accepting the divorce, and subsequently become very close friends with one of my on-line buddies, named Laurie. She quickly became much more than just a friend, and I value the time we spend together greatly. She has done (and continues to do) great things to help me to improve myself. I have spent a fair amount of time with my kids, and am finally starting to learn who they really are.
Fall 1997 - Winter 1998		This was a very busy year and a half. I took my site down because of the divorce, and didn't bother updating it during that time. On the employment front, my computer consulting business officially closed it's doors for good. It was just the wrong thing for me. Near the same time my friend Paulo and I started an antiques business. We are buying locally and selling on eBay, an on-line auction forum. The business is growing rapidly, and we've gone so far as to buy a house to live in and run the business from. It's a historic house (very likely the oldest house in town) and we're also having fun with upkeep and improvements. If you care, you can view our current items for sale here. On the personal side, I've enjoyed getting to know my kids better and spending more time with them. My relationship with Laurie has grown, and we seem to have found a comfortable bit of ground to sit on for the time being.
1999 Jan. 21		The divorce is final. (finally!) I must say that as much antagonism as there has been over the past year, I got basically everything in the final agreement that I wanted. I know that it is a much fairer settlement than I had anticipated. It was a very long morning, and we were able to agree on everything. We only had to go before the judge to legalize it. It is a tremendous weight off my shoulders to have it done, and I feel much more able to move on with my life now.
Where I am today		I am happy not to be seeking employment. I still spend overly too much time on the internet, but now I spend it surfing, and I very rarely stop by in IRC. I don't think I'll ever give up on ICQ. Yes, I have gone through many changes in my life, and I find that even through my hard times, this universe is for the most part a good place to be. I wake up every day, eager to see what new discoveries, challenges, and smiles the day will bring.