Our Wedding - The Wedding Deck on top of Aspen Mountain
19th April
2008
written by bob

I’m new to this blogging thing and I have been contemplating starting a blog and just chronicling some of my daily events. I hope someone finds it interesting and can relate to the things I write about. So… maybe I should start off this new blog with some background about me…

Well, I currently live in Tempe, AZ however I was born in Canada. I grew up in a middle class, blue collar town. I believe I had a normal childhood for such an environment. I played sports from the time I can remember – soccer, baseball, and my all-time favorite sport of hockey. I love that game! As with most young Canadian boys, I had dreams of playing in the NHL. BUT there comes a time when we all have to face reality. Now I wasn’t a bad hockey player…I was good enough to play Junior hockey in Ontario. Later in my high school years, I realized that the choice was either hockey or an education. Well, once I turned 17, I realized that the NHL would always be a dream and that I should pursue an education. It was a wise choice.

Thus, I graduated in 1995 from the University of Waterloo in Waterloo, Ontario with a degree in Honors Science. Unsatisfied with the amount of schooling I had just completed, I decided to further my scholarly ways and go back to school in Vancouver, British Columbia for a computer degree. So, I picked up and moved across the country. I completed my second degree in Information Technology in 1999 and was hired by America West Airlines. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, I was more than happy to accept a position as a computer programmer especially since I have always wanted to live in a warm southern climate. BUT honestly…I didn’t think I would end up in the HOTTEST state in the US; I love it here! Where else can you play hockey, golf and ski all in the same day at any point in the year?

I have been in AZ for the past nine years. I still love it here! During my time working for America West Airlines I had the ability to travel to places I had never been and most of that travel was by using my “non-rev” employee benefits. By “non-rev” I mean…as an employee of an airline, we are allowed to occupy a seat on a plane as long as it hasn’t been purchased by a revenue passenger. I have been to places like all over the USA, Canada, and Mexico. A couple of the best trips I have been on were to… (1) Paris, France, (2) Maui, Hawaii, (3) Cancun, Mexico, and (4) Aspen, Colorado.

I have to say without a doubt…that the best thing to happen to me at the airline was when I met my beautiful future wife, Katherine. Although we had known each other for about 3 years at the airline, we didn’t begin dating until late 2005. Being from Minnesota (aka – southern Canada – hahaha) she grew up with Midwest values and loving sports…so naturally we were a perfect match! And…in late 2007 after we had both resigned from the airline and moved on in our careers to bigger and better jobs, I proposed to Katherine while skating at Rockefeller Center in New York City. (That’s a story for another blog.) Our wedding is set for August 31, 2008 and we are getting married in Aspen, Colorado. It’s an amazing place and getting married on Aspen Mountain is going to be incredible!

So what can you look forward to in blogs from me? Well…one of the reasons I wanted to start this is to blog about my upcoming fitness journey. But, who knows…I’m sure other things will come up and I will write about those topics as well. As a preface to my fitness blog, I’m planning to chronicle my attempt to win a bet about getting into shape. I wouldn’t say I’m really out of shape BUT I can stand to get into “better” shape and lose a few pounds. In my next entry, I will start my blog with my journey as an average person with a lofty plan to get into shape so stay tuned!

Bob.

Bob

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