My 20 Year Reunion
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I received a note a few days ago from a classmate of mine, Sandra, from St. Patrick’s High School in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. We graduated in 1986 and there’s a reunion coming up. Whew… 20 years! That doesn’t roll off the tongue so easy. It sometimes feels like yesterday that I was this crazy teenager getting in tons of trouble.
In 20 years:
- I’ve been married, divorced, had 2 fantastic children (Billy,17 & Katie,12) and become a single father (the best job of my life).
- My son is becoming a phenominal musician (see his music at http://www.billkarr.com) and my daughter is mature beyond her years - with a love for arts & crafts and interior design. They both amaze me.
- I was honorably discharged from the United States Navy after 6 years and was a Desert Shield/Desert Storm veteran. With the USN, I traveled to Puerto Rico, Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, Israel, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Bosnia.
- I’ve lived in Phoenix, Orlando, Virginia Beach, Philadelphia, Denver and Indianapolis. If you asked my favorites, they will always be Vancouver and Denver. I love the outdoors and love the mountains.
- I’ve worked for The Home Depot, ACT, The Virginian-Pilot, ASTECH InterMedia, The Indianapolis Star, Brandirect (working for Service Master, the Indianapolis Colts, Bright House Networks, and the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce), ExactTarget, and have my own business, Coders4hire.
- I own about 20 domains and websites, the latest being http://www.resortpub.com and the oldest being http://www.payraisecalculator.com.
- I’ve gone to night school for Electronics Technology and Business Management. I speak terrible French but would like to become fluent.
- I’ve become more mature in my faith, though I still have a long way to go!
- I’ve become an avid reader… anything classic, technology related, theology related, or business related. I am usually reading about 4 books at a time.
- Career-wise, I’d like to think of myself as a digital and database marketing expert, with a solid understanding of integration, mashups, and marketing automation.
- I’ve become a ‘jolly’ fat guy with too much time in front of the computer, too much stress, too much gray hair and not enough exercise!
There it is! 20 years! There’s been some enormous ups and downs in that time but I’m not sure I would trade any of it for the experiences I’ve had, the friends that I’ve made, the family that I love, and the places that I’ve been. The great thing about reunions is that they make you look at who you are and where you’ve been.
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