About
I was born and raised in London, Ontario, Canada. I have had a rather interesting life with many highs and many lows. Most of my life has been documented through my poetry from my teenage years on in to my 20's and 30's.
I had a Baseball Team
It was called the St. Thomas Storm in the Intercounty Baseball League http://www.theibl.ca I started the team in 2000, and got through 4 seasons in St. Thomas before moving the team to Stratford Ontario. After 2 dreadful seasons, I sold it, and it then became the Stratford Nationals, and 2 years after that was moved to Missassauga to become the Twins. I was passionate about baseball, and love competitive sport, but until you try to operate one of them, you don't know what goes in to them!
We had two successful seasons in our 2nd and 3rd year making the playoffs in both, and had better than .500 regular season results; not bad considering we were in the smallest market in the league. I met a lot of interesting baseball people over the years, and we hosted many US players each season.
I became very ill during our final season in St. Thomas, and eventually had to give the team up as I couldn't give it the focus it required; I'll talk more about that later.
I had a restaurant
It was called "Rosstaurant" and was in Byron, a suburb of London. It was a rather unexpected opportunity that presented itself when a restaurant at that location went under. This was one of the most awful and one of the most enjoyable experiences in the business world I have had. Anyone who watches "Hell's Kitchen" might think Gordon is over the top, but when you deal with some of the oddballs, you'd lose your cool as well. I have never met folks who thought cooking was rocket science; a concept that was foreign to everyone but them. I had some wonderful staff though, and miss Bonnie, and Carl in particular. I should send them a note some time! I loved the customer service aspect, and what a great thing to serve people food and see them leave happy. It was a natural fit for me. The only problem is, that is a 7 day a week commitment! Putting in 12-14 hour days every day is a lot. I would literally come home, and sleep, and be up within 7 hours to do it all over again. We had live entertainment in the summer, and I did the bookings. I think I enjoyed it the most out of anyone ;) I had rock, country, classical, and jazz performers. It was awesome to have the place packed to capacity inside and outside on the patio.
Another restaurant is now in the location, having gone more upscale. They did a nice job on it!
I had a gift and decor store
Sometimes you are left thinking, I would like to try something new. You then think about people you know in a particular field, and yet another opportunity presented itself. That idea became Wicked Gifts and Decor. I had a supplier set up, a location to try out that had recently become vacant. It was a nothing to lose scenario, and thought it might be fun. Well here is the thing: it is VERY hard to start a business when the economy takes a dive to the extent of being comparable to the Great Depression. Tons of businesses in St. Thomas went under, including some of the major employers like Sterling. So many jobs were wiped out, so you know luxury items like gifts and decor really aren't going to be on people's must have list. My supplier couldn't wait, and I was barely above water with it, and wasn't getting anything for my time. I decided to call it a day on that venture.
I have done some stage acting
Well I did 2 shows in high school, Noises Off (I played the role of Selsdon Mowbry, and 100 Years of Broadway where I had 3 duets; I didn't know up until I auditioned that I could even hold a tune! I absolutely loved being on stage, so of course I didn't do it again for 16 years LOL What a mistake on my part! Do what you love to do people, and to your doubters, meh, it's your life, not theirs. I just recently played Templeton the Rat in a production of Charlotte's Web at the Elgin Theatre Guild in St. Thomas http://www.elgintheatreguild.ca I also wrote a poem from the perspective of Templeton called Ode to the Garbage Dump which also has a picture of me in costume. I also was cast in the lead for the show Lend Me a Tenor, but had to drop out due to health problems, which I'll talk about more below :)
I have Acid Reflux, Migraines, and Likely Celiac!
Sometimes life has complications, and health is something that you don't appreciate until you have things go wrong. When I turned 27 I had the first two issues come out in full force with acid reflux and acute migraine attacks. The migraines lasted for almost a year, and were up to 2 or 3 attacks per day. It was torture. The reflux issue also had me losing 42 lbs in a very short period of time. I have since struggled with keeping weight on. For most they think it's a great problem to have, but it really isn't if you don't have the weight to lose. I have had to radically change my diet, and if you saw the list of things I can't eat, it would make you wonder how I'm still here lol As of the time I'm writing this, I'm going through yet another round of tests etc., to get to the bottom of everything. I have hope, but after 7 years of suffering, and doctors that don't seem to know which way is up, I have become a touch bitter; okay really bitter. The new specialist I'm seeing has said my problems may all be a direct result of Celiac disease. We shall see what comes of it, and hope for the best. I'll post some poetry about food, and eating gluten/egg/spice free meals.
I formed an internet company back in the 90's
My partner and I put together a company back in the 90's called Real Internet Company http://www.real.ca It is in operation today, and is now primarily focused on business customers for programming, e-ticketing, and custom design work. This has taken me all over North America and to Europe.
I'll throw up some more stuff on here later, so do check back :)