After graduation, I attended Ohio State for 5 years and changed majors who knows how many times! Joined a Fraternity (Sigma Pi) and moved into the Frat house which pretty much was the downfall of my GPA! After I left Ohio State and moved back to Mansfield, attended a technical College for three quarters and obtained an Associates Degree in Mechanical Engineering, graduating with Honors (3.96 GPA !). From there, I managed to obtain several worthless jobs (it’s Mansfield!) before settling on a position in R&D at a local pump manufacturing company. I really enjoyed that position due to the variety of projects I was assigned and did a bit of traveling with the position. Well, that wasn’t meant to last! The parent company decided to pull Research & Development from my factory and they laid me off 2 days before Christmas in 1992 !!

It turns out that I was heading to Key West, Florida for New Years vacation, so when I went, I had a new attitude towards working for someone else for a living! I met a guy who had a business running Jet Ski rentals there and saw the money he was making and decided I could do that. Next, me and a friend of mine bought equipment and started a rental business in Ohio. Well, we made nothing the next summer because we played more than we rented! It was getting cold at the end of 1993 and I decided it was time to either get a real job or move south. That choice was easy. I packed up everything and moved to Key West since it was the warmest place I could drive to!

In short (and leaving out many interesting stories!), I bought a Chris Craft houseboat to live on and cruise the waters of Key West in my free time. I worked in KW for about 5 years in the watersports and tourist industries. Most times I never did earn much, but the jobs kept me on the water and in shape, not to mention providing a little beer money!

In the mean time, a bartender I knew at my favorite watering hole bought an old rickety 36’ sailboat. He told me he wanted to sail to The Bay Islands of Honduras but had no clue how to sail! Since I’m always up for an adventure and a decent sailor & navigator, I told him I would lend a hand! The boat was a real piece of work and after a one month journey, several storms, almost sinking in the middle of the Gulf Stream, running aground, breaking the rigging and living conditions that I really don’t want to think about, we arrived a Guanaja, the Eastern Island in the three Honduran Bay Islands chain. Along the way, you learn many things about a person when on a small boat. That’s why I got the hell out of Honduras and headed for Key West again!

After returning to Key West, I decided I had my fill of the Keys for a while so I sold my houseboat. I packed up my belongings, the cat and my girlfriend (now ex – she kept the cat) and we moved back up North (still not sure that was the best move!). Anyway, to keep busy, I have taught myself HTML programming (still learning!) and started several projects that once again keep me in beer money! It’s been 12 years and I still don’t have to answer to a boss and beg for vacation time, so it hasn’t been bad at all!

It sucks up here so I'm now saving up to get back to the Keys (or farther South). I’m not sure what will happen next, but I'm sure it will be an adventure!

Below are several pictures and links detailing some of my adventures/experiences to date.