Tell Us About Yourself!

[SalixIncendium]

Many of you already know my spiritual evolution, as I've posted it a few times on this forum, so I will stick with the secular side of me for this thread.

I was born in Chicago and raised middle class household in rural northern Illinois.

I was fired from my first job as a bus-boy because I refused to stay late and clean up after a large party. My second job was at a national fried chicken chain, where I discovered that I had a natural ability in this industry and was offered an hourly assistant manager position, which I accepted.

I entered the Air Force out of high school declining an offer from that chicken chain to become a salaried assistant manager, and spent my four years as a Munitions Systems Specialist. During my time in the Air Force, I got married, had a child, divorced my adulterous wife and left the military as a single parent. Most of my Air Force career was spent in the high desert of California.

Upon leaving the Air Force, I returned to Illinois, where I learned the plastering and drywall trade from my step-father, and worked for a few years in that field. I remarried during this for the wrong reasons to the wrong person and that marriage inevitably failed.

I decided to go back into the fast food industry and applied as a salaried assistant manager at a national burger chain. I spent two years as an assistant and co-manager until I was offered my own restaurant. I was a general manager for two years before a new vice president came on board and I ended up leaving because we did not see eye-to-eye on many things. During this time, I was married once again.

I ventured into the retail sector as a manager and hated it. It was slow, boring, and the days just dragged. During my tenure in the retail sector, I moved to western Pennsylvania so my then wife could be closer to her family, as mine had left Illinois to move to West Virginia. I left there and took my experience in the plastering and drywall industry and went into business for myself. During this time, I had a daughter with my third wife, and a year or two later, I found myself in successful completion of my third marriage. I spent 12 years as a contractor, moving from a subcontractor to a general contractor, and moved to West Virginia to develop some land my mother had purchased.

My elder daughter, who was attending an ivy league college, suddenly fell ill, and after nine months of testing, it was discovered she had cancer. I shifted my priority from my business to her care, letting my business erode until it became defunct. I lost my elder daughter to the disease in the fall of 2007 (the anniversary of her death being just over a week away from the date of this post). During her illness, I had moved back to western Pennsylvania

I then reached out to the burger company I worked for previously, who had locations in eastern Ohio, and took on a general manager position. After nearly 4 years, I was offered a district manager position. I moved to a senior district manager position 2 years later.

Ultimately, the owner of the company died, a major corporation bought the company, and my position was eliminated.

I accepted a district manager position at another franchisee of the same brand, but left in 4 months after realizing I was on a sinking ship. I spent a year as a general manager for a competing brand, was poorly trained and supported, so ultimately took a general manager position for another franchisee of the original brand I worked for (who hired the director of operations that originally promoted me to district manager of the other franchise group) and moved to Cleveland. After spending just over a year there, I was offered a district manager position, which I accepted and where I am currently.

Sorry for the boring TLDR, but the OP did ask.

 

[beenherebeforeagain]

I'll do it for you......
I was born in a hollow of a walnut tree to parents who were in the nut collecting business.
They also had a hobby of burrowing into people's attics, ruining their insulation, & filling
it up to the rafters with empty walnut shells. As a youngster, I studied walnut eating, &
attic ruination. As an adult I followed in my parent's footsteps. Now retired, I spend my
days collecting & eating walnuts, destroying attics, & watching Rocky & Bullwinkle.
And yes, I am cute as the dickens when I fill my cheeks up with walnuts.

Thank you for that excellent summary!

 

[Sunstone]

Had a great childhood outside school which i skipped when i could to dig in the mud with the archaeologists or swim in the river.

What kind of archeological research was being done?

Also, glad the dyslexia was diagnosed in time!

 

[Sunstone]

Poem Party

I posted one on that thread. I have more, but I'm kind of nervous to share because it could reveal who I am in RL and I don't want that.

Good poem, well crafted.

 

[Sunstone]

Many of you already know my spiritual evolution, as I've posted it a few times on this forum, so I will stick with the secular side of me for this thread.

I was born in Chicago and raised middle class household in rural northern Illinois.

I was fired from my first job as a bus-boy because I refused to stay late and clean up after a large party. My second job was at a national fried chicken chain, where I discovered that I had a natural ability in this industry and was offered an hourly assistant manager position, which I accepted.

I entered the Air Force out of high school declining an offer from that chicken chain to become a salaried assistant manager, and spent my four years as a Munitions Systems Specialist. During my time in the Air Force, I got married, had a child, divorced my adulterous wife and left the military as a single parent. Most of my Air Force career was spent in the high desert of California.

Upon leaving the Air Force, I returned to Illinois, where I learned the plastering and drywall trade from my step-father, and worked for a few years in that field. I remarried during this for the wrong reasons to the wrong person and that marriage inevitably failed.

I decided to go back into the fast food industry and applied as a salaried assistant manager at a national burger chain. I spent two years as an assistant and co-manager until I was offered my own restaurant. I was a general manager for two years before a new vice president came on board and I ended up leaving because we did not see eye-to-eye on many things. During this time, I was married once again.

I ventured into the retail sector as a manager and hated it. It was slow, boring, and the days just dragged. During my tenure in the retail sector, I moved to western Pennsylvania so my then wife could be closer to her family, as mine had left Illinois to move to West Virginia. I left there and took my experience in the plastering and drywall industry and went into business for myself. During this time, I had a daughter with my third wife, and a year or two later, I found myself in successful completion of my third marriage. I spent 12 years as a contractor, moving from a subcontractor to a general contractor, and moved to West Virginia to develop some land my mother had purchased.

My elder daughter, who was attending an ivy league college, suddenly fell ill, and after nine months of testing, it was discovered she had cancer. I shifted my priority from my business to her care, letting my business erode until it became defunct. I lost my elder daughter to the disease in the fall of 2007 (the anniversary of her death being just over a week away from the date of this post). During her illness, I had moved back to western Pennsylvania

I then reached out to the burger company I worked for previously, who had locations in eastern Ohio, and took on a general manager position. After nearly 4 years, I was offered a district manager position. I moved to a senior district manager position 2 years later.

Ultimately, the owner of the company died, a major corporation bought the company, and my position was eliminated.

I accepted a district manager position at another franchisee of the same brand, but left in 4 months after realizing I was on a sinking ship. I spent a year as a general manager for a competing brand, was poorly trained and supported, so ultimately took a general manager position for another franchisee of the original brand I worked for (who hired the director of operations that originally promoted me to district manager of the other franchise group) and moved to Cleveland. After spending just over a year there, I was offered a district manager position, which I accepted and where I am currently.

Sorry for the boring TLDR, but the OP did ask.

Fascinating story! Quite a lot of major decisions -- you sure haven't coasted through life.

 

[ChristineM]

What kind of archeological research was being done?

Also, glad the dyslexia was diagnosed in time!

The village i lived was a bronze age settlement then a roman port and fort. Some of the excavations were on my dads farm, my playground.
Ribchester - Wikipedia
You can see my childhood house from here... ;-)

Cheers, i wish it would have been diagnosed earlier, that would have made a big difference to my schooling. But perhaps i would not have developed the determination and drive if it had been.

 

[Sunstone]

When I was born, the power in the hospital went off as soon as I took my first breath. If you happen to have watched TV during the late 1960's and early 1970's the significance of the name of the doctor that delivered me will mean something to you as well. His name was Robert Young. When I was in my early 20's, attending college, I was making my regular, monthly, drive home for the weekend. As I entered a small town on the route home, the lights all over the town went out. As I approached the city limit sign, as I exited the town, I could see the lights of the town come back on in my rear view mirror. While working as an adult, I would often leave work in the evening, well after dark. On a number of occasions, while walking along the sidewalk to my car, two of the lights along the walkway would often go out as I approached. I attribute this to coincidence, but it makes for some amusing stories about one of my secret super powers. Imagine all the power outages correlated to births, miles driven and other reasonable explanations like shorts in wiring triggered by the vibration of a person walking and it is merely coincidence. Still, you may not want to get on my bad side in case I am wrong. Look out Spider-Man.

I am a first generation Ozarkian, raised in a small Missouri town. I have engaged in many of the activities associated with rural life and the outdoors and enjoyed them fully. The Ozarks is known for it clear, gravel-bottom streams and rivers and I spent a significant portion of my free time enjoying the benefits of those natural wonders.

I did well in school and excelled in science. Not surprisingly, in college I majored in biology and chemistry, and eventually pursued and achieved a graduate education in entomology. I still toy with the idea of returning to school for further study or even study in a different field, like law. It is not an uncommon occurrence for members of my family to pursue higher education as an older student as several, including my own mother, did just that.

I enjoy reading and have since I was a child. When I was 10 years old, I managed to read, "Stranger in a Strange Land", "Bill the Galactic Hero", the Bible and a western entitled "Ride Slocum Ride". The latter was a book I checked out of our local library and clearly, the nature of that book was not understood by the library staff and certainly not by my parents. It was an educational book for a 10 year old. Certainly inappropriate. But I remember it well. I read other books that year and many since, but those were the ones that stand out in my memory. If your child comes home with "Ride Slocum Ride" or any Western written under the name Jake Logan, it might be a good idea to familiarize yourself with those works.

Occasionally, I write poetry, articles on natural history for local consumption and I have written technical articles within my field. Writing is something that I am constantly considering doing more of, but never seem to overcome my own inertia and actually do it. I may be coming to a point where I finally exceed my personal limitations and do something about that.

My parents were Christian, but not fundamentalists and we often had family discussions about religion, history, politics, science and almost any subject under the sun. Borrowing a description I heard from others, we were book people. I attended a Baptist church until I was about 16, at which point I decided that I wanted to hang out with my buddies who were all Methodists. My parents left the decision to switch up to me as long as I was going to a church. I don't respond well to the more emotive and charismatic displays of faith and I fit in well at the Methodist church anyway. Not to say that I was immersed in that at the Baptist church. As I said, the move was based mostly on social reasons and not on doctrine or practice.

Being disposed to a certain mindset to begin with and trained in science, my view on things, while not without flaw, tends to be more analytical. I could go on about myself, but that is enough I think. Sometimes, even when the opportunity is actually about me, it is a good idea to know when to stop.

You write exceptionally well. I can see why you have an interest in it.

Why does Methodism resonate with you?

 

[Sunstone]

But perhaps i would not have developed the determination and drive if it had been.

It's pretty close to impossible to tell what would or could have been, isn't it?

 

[ChristineM]

It's pretty close to impossible to tell what would or could have been, isn't it?

I know myself and what i was like as a child,. I just think that had i had a "normal" education i wouldn't have been the same person? But who knows?

 

[Revoltingest]

The village i lived was a bronze age settlement then a roman port and fort. Some of the excavations were on my dads farm, my playground.
Ribchester - Wikipedia
You can see my childhood house from here... ;-)

Cheers, i wish it would have been diagnosed earlier, that would have made a big difference to my schooling. But perhaps i would not have developed the determination and drive if it had been.

I like the name....Ribchester.
If Revoltistan ever grows, I'll add it to Haggiston, Burgerville, & Baconopolis.

 

[ChristineM]

I like the name....Ribchester.
If Revoltistan ever grows, I'll add it to Haggiston, Burgerville, & Baconopolis.

Fun fact

Any village/town/city in the UK with a name ending in Chester was once a Roman garrison.

I guess Ribchester was tastier than Manchester.

 

[Revoltingest]

Fun fact

Any village/town/city in the UK with a name ending in Chester was once a Roman garrison.

I guess Ribchester was tastier than Manchester.

@columbus might disagree.

 

[Dawnofhope]

In recent months, I have grown more and more convinced that if some of my good friends that I know offline were to post here and I only had text and debates to go by, I'd probably not like them nearly as much as I do. Ditto for them if they only saw that one aspect of me.

This thread is for you to tell other RFers about yourself. It could be an introduction, a personal story, or even just a bunch of random facts about yourself. Basically, this thread is meant as a reminder that RF is a community, not just a virtual war zone of debates and heated disagreement.

Go ahead! And don't hesitate if you're a new member. Everyone is welcome to post about themselves here.

I have lived in New Zealand most of my life. I was raised Christian but like many teenagers religion wasn't a priority. I did well enough at school to gain admission to one of my countries two medical schools which was over 500 miles from my hometown. I had the worst year of my life, dropped out, and decided I needed to find the meaning of life. I explored Hinduism, Buddhism, atheism and reconnected with my Christian roots. After 5 years I became a Baha'i. From there I decided to return to my medical studies. I've been a doctor for 20 years and a GP for over 10 years. Before that I worked as a psychiatry intern. I've been married for nearly 20 years and have two teenage sons.

I'm currently on my cities interfaith council so am really enjoying learning about different faiths. Most threads I start on RF are part of that journey of learning. I believe its better to be a compassionate and fair human being than having the 'right' religion.

 

[Dan From Smithville]

You write exceptionally well. I can see why you have an interest in it.

Why does Methodism resonate with you?

Thank you.

For me, much of the appeal derives from my dislike of overly emotive displays during services. That may not seem like much and I have nothing against those that feel the need even if I do not. However, I find it discomforting to be a part of that sort of shared experience. The United Methodist churches (UMC) I have visited or attended regularly were open, relaxed, friendly and without a lot of the pressure that I have experienced with worshiping. Religion is a very personal thing for me, and I'm rather laid back about how I experience it. I'm not into a lot of "Amens", and some of the other activities that occur in some churches. You get some of the "Amens", but it is not overwhelming and does not come off so contrived. The UMC is a mainline protestant church and is very accepting of different political and theological beliefs. Something I find refreshing, especially in light of the direction many fundamentalist Christians are taking these days. Since I do not subscribe to a literal interpretation of the Bible, I appreciate that the UMC approach of balancing both the "inspired when written" view and the "inspired when read" view of the Bible. My personal opinion on this has been accepted where I have made it known. The other important reason that the UMC resonates well with me is the position the church holds on science and the acceptance of science as not conflicting with scripture. This is also very important to me and I could not become a part of a church that, in my opinion, blinds itself to reality.

I have attended a few very charismatic protestant churches in my time and, while finding it fascinating from an intellectual position, I did not enjoy it from the position of a student of life on my particular journey. In other words, it was interesting and I am glad I experienced it, but it is not my cup of tea.

I am sure that the UMC is not unique and there are other denominations or individual churches within denominations that I would be happy with for much the same reasons--having originally chosen to attend for purely peer social reasons--I feel I have been fortunate that the choice turned out well for more important reasons as well.