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Hello.
I only seem to do Web updates once a year or so. That's partly because so little in my life changes. The Web turned out quite different from what I had envisioned. Nowadays I get my daily news articles over the Internet, but I don't spend a whole lot of time on Usenet, IRC or Web chat. The Internet, Web and Usenet still have tremendous value, but my "online life" and social life are now quite autonomous from one another. Yeah, the 'nets continue to grow and evolve; however, they'll never be a substitute for social activity, nor will they likely be a conduit to develop social activity. That isn't in any way depressing - many of us just need to put things in perspective - and take the 'nets for what they are. These are machines we are dealing with, and machines can only do just so much.
For those who visited my page in the past, you know that I finished college in 1995, to secure skills that would allow me to continue earning. College was certainly a good experience, and it helped me to develop valuable problem-solving skills. My degree in no way qualified me for work however. I've "done battle" with temporary agencies for a couple of years now, some of whom treat their employees respectfully, and others who do not. Finally the police chief at one of my municipal placements saw the value of my work and reliablity, so he asked me to become a permanent employee for the town. I had been there since early Summer of 1998. Then I accepted a transfer to town hall, where I put in my time as assistant Tax Collector. The work was good, and I was good at what I did, but the alleged Town Administrator was not good. After enduring several months of vindictive, controlling behavior, I surprised everyone by giving my notice. My experience at West Boylston was a more pivotal point in my life than I would have liked it to be. Town government in that community made tons of career promises, but couldn't provide basic human dignity.
Today I'm working at Safety-Kleen where my abilities and rights are respected. Feel free to visit my old employer at http://www.westboylston.com, but I wouldn't suggest looking for a job there.
My administrative jobs brought to a close my "career" as an electro-mechanical technician, which is pretty much what I did from the time I graduated high school (1975) all the way to my motorcycle accident in July of 1988. I did a variety of work back then, encompassing on-call repair of mechanical equipment, all the way to Shift Engineer for high-rise towers in Boston. I also ran my own painting business for awhile, and spent several years specializing in repairs for a swimming pool company. All the work was relatively interesting, but after a week in semi-coma following the bike crash, it was clear I could no longer handle the physical demands of working in the trades.
All the changes were pretty significant, but not devastating the way I feared. College allowed me to discover my writing ability, and although I found mathematics devastating in elementary and high school, I now spend much of my day working on budgets and payroll. Life isn't perfect, but now I'm not limited to being *just* a grease monkey (sexy though I found that to be). I'll always have respect for working-class values, but now I have options.
I don't do Web updates often enough, so I'll tell you that I was born in October 1957, rather than giving you my age today. I'm a short guy (5'2") who likes a host of in-water activities including distance swimming, SCUBA, canoeing and the like. Actually I like wet skin the best; to that end, I often do whatever I can to capsize the boat so that my company and I can both be wet (weather conditions providing!). I haven't been in a relationship for years, partly because of the AIDS crisis, and partly because I've been trying to pull my life together. But I would eventually like to meet someone who can provoke me to stay active, yet who will also respect the "quiet" aspects of life that I find essential. I need to develop myself first, so I'll have something to offer my partner, but companionship would be nice.
Most would agree that I'm well-preserved for a man of my age. That's a subjective quality, but the majority will probably also find me to be non-conventional. One of my favorite pastimes is shaving my head, which I indulge in at least twice a week. Again, I don't claim to look the way one might traditionally expect. I also have a number of body piercings. Not everyone in the "real world" is enthused about stainless steel adornments embedded in the skin, so there are times I camouflage the visible modifications with monofiliment. I enjoy my jewelry a lot, in the right setting, but I also need to earn an income.
My old Web page featured a quiet "campaign" for pen-pals. That's not something I'm doing aggressively anymore. If you want to chat please write, but also please understand that I'm a lot busier than I would like to be; consequently, it might take me a few days to answer your letter.
Revised by Steve Johnson on 23 February, 2004