I'm retired, and it is the best 'job' I've ever had!

I was Chief Reliability Engineer at an aerospace company in my first career and a pastry chef in my second... quite a change--going from building guidance systems for NASA spacecraft and teaching young engineers, to baking croissants and teaching culinary students!
 

I spend much of my time as a guest chef-instructor at local culinary schools and cooking and/or doing cooking demos at charity events. I'm also secretary and public relations officer of the local chapter of the American Culinary Federation (ACF). Also, over the past couple of years I've traveled to five-star resorts in the Caribbean to train and evaluate resort chefs for ACF certifications.
 

In 2007 I was invited by the U.S. Navy to help prepare a banquet to celebrate their 232nd birthday ball at a submarine base on Andros Island in the Bahamas (Google AUTEC to learn about the base). They apparently liked the food (and cake), because they invited me back for the 2008 event. Go to www.gulftolakeschefs.com to see photos.
 

For fun (as if what I do isn't fun enough), I enjoy going on cruises with my wife, Helena. We try to cruise twice a year (we did three one year), but since our finances are limited, some years we only cruise once. We're planning a trans-Atlantic crossing and a Mediterranean cruise for 2009.
 

The only down-side in my life has been health issues. I'm a seven-time cancer survivor. I've had two heart attacks (followed by open-heart surgery both times). I've had two strokes that left me with somewhat impared vision. I'm also diabetic, have high blood pressure, heart disease and advanced arthritis.
 

Sounds like I'm in pretty bad shape, doesn't it? Even so, most people say I look good for my age, but they don't realize I'm a 'train wreck' inside! I try not to dwell on medical issues though. It's much more important to live life as best I can rather than complain about what I cannot or should not do anymore.