And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
I was born and raised in Miami,Florida. I lived there until I went to college in 1976. For the next several years I moved around a lot to several different colleges finally ending up at Chattanooga State Technical College where I received a degree in Health Care Administration. I worked at several hospitals in the Chattanooga area before moving to the Research Triangle in 1989. I worked at Duke University Medical Center and the University of North Carolina Medical Center until 1997. At that point I quit my job and went back to school full time studying Information Systems Technology. In the summer of 1998, I started working for a company called Tech Resource Group, in Raleigh North Carolina. In the winter of 2000 I was transferred to Philadelphia, PA to be head of the on site help desk. Just after Thanksgiving I suffered the fate of a lot of other Tech Industry workers...I was "Down-Sized." So, in March of 2001 I moved back to Durham to hoping to pick up my life where I had left off.
This was the middle of the Tech down turn and finding a job in the tech industry was almost impossible. I was able to pick up a few low paying temporary jobs but nothing that would pay the bills. I finally had to relent and go back into healthcare. I worked at a Staffing company for 8 months when I was offered a position with a local bank doing IT support. It while I was working there that I heard of a company called Misys Health Care. This was a company which blended health care with software development. I interviewed and was offered a position in September 2003.
It was the spring of 1997 that I really started coming to grips with my sexuality. I guess I had always known that I was gay, but coming from a strict Christian up bringing I was expected to get married, have 2 children and live out the "American Dream." However, as so often in life, things have a way of getting all screwed up. From the time I graduated high school until November, 1997, I led a comfortable, well respected, straight life style. But deep down inside I was miserable and I made everyone around me just as miserable. Then on November, 30th, 1997, I came out to my family during one of our "Family discussion" times and it was like someone took the weight of the world off my back. Of course not all things turned out good. My immediate family distanced themselves from me and my already strained relationship with my dad went south. It was soon after this that I met a couple of guys from the internet and we developed a strong friendship. Because of that friendship I was able to start feeling more comfortable with being gay.
Since that time I have dated off and on and had a couple short relationships. Several of which ended with my heart being broken into small pieces. However, I soon found that a large majority of the gay men in my area were, let's just say, shallow jerks. I had finally given up on meeting anyone of any character and intelligence. However, one day in September, 2005 I received an email from a guy in Tennessee. We started chatting on line and eventually started phone conversations. After meeting him in person I knew instantly I was in love.
Brandan and I started seeing each other in Early October and we dated for over 20 months. I can honestly say it was the best time of my life. He and I really enjoyed each others company and we had a fantastic run as partners.
However, life has its many ups and downs and where love is concerned, the ups can be way up and the downs are way down. June, 2007, Brandan and I decided to end our relationship. He and I are still good friends and still do a lot with each other. However, I have closed the door to that part of my life and moved on. There is an old saying however that when God closes a door he opens a window. Right now, I'm just searching for that window.
As of now, I am still working at Misys in the hardware support area. I bought a house and I finally have a place of my own. Oliver died in October of 2007 and that left me even more heart broken. In general, 2007 was a crapy year.
I have moved on with my life and I can only hope that I can find happiness again soon. However, all in all, ...