About Us
O.k., so you want to know more about us. Well, before we start, let me just say that it's me, J.P., that's maintaining and writing most of the dialogue on this web page. So "Earl and I" is "Earl and J.P.". Got that straight? :)
I was born July 13, 1968 in Syracuse, New York. I grew up in the tiny hamlet of Richland, New York, about four miles east of the small tourism-oriented village of Pulaski, near the shores of Lake Ontario. If you're looking at a map of New York State, Pulaski is about 1/2 way between Syracuse and Watertown along Interstate 81. I graduated from Pulaski Academy and Central School in 1986.
Earl was born February 20, 1960 in Bristol, Pennsylvania, which is in lower Bucks County not far north of Philadelphia. If you're looking at a map, it's just above Philly in that little nook of the state that extends into New Jersey, right on the Delaware River. He graduated from Bristol High School in 1978.
We currently live in a big, relatively new "transitional" between Utica and Rome. We tell people not familiar with the area that we live near Syracuse.
Earl and I met initially met in November, 1995. Apparently, I frightened the man, because after an initial "How ya doin'?" in a local bar I was disc-jockeying in, he fled and wasn't seen again until February 13, 1996. Through mutual friends, we got together again. We went on an overnight long "date" in Albany on April 13, 1996, going with some friends bar-hopping and what-not. On Sunday, we ditched our friends and took a drive up into Vermont, and just talked and talked and talked. We connected very well.
During the summer of 1996, we spent every minute we could together, and on September 13, 1996, I moved in to Earl's apartment (with him of course). On October 13 (notice the "13" theme going on here), I took Earl on a hike up Bald Mountain near Old Forge in the Adirondacks. At the top of the mountain, in front of the 20 or so tourists up there, I got down on one knee, and asked him to spend the rest of our lives together. (In layman's terms, I proposed). On December 26, 1996 (in case you're keeping track, "26" = 13 x 2), Earl and I had a commitment ceremony, witnessed by Earl's step-brother Rick and his girlfriend Helen, at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia. We consider this our wedding day.
I work for a local telephone company as a Network Technician in the Network Operations Center. In short, I'm part of the team that gets dial tone for our customers and makes sure it stays there. I started this position in August 2004 and absolutely love it. After working in the radio industry for 12 years, I'm glad to have moved on and welcome the new challenge and opportunity. In my spare time, I maintain a couple of geeky hobbies. I collect school clocks (or "slave" clocks) made by The Standard Electric Time Company. I also photograph and documents roads of Upstate N.Y., I'm a self-proclaimed road geek.
Earl is the Operations Manager for the local division of a Fortune 500 packaging company. After several career changes, he thinks he has finally found the company that he wants to stay with. He is especially proud of the management team that he has pulled together over the last nine years. When we first met, he felt that he would never find people he could count on. Today, he is like a proud parent when he talks about his work.
In his spare time, Earl enjoys cooking, board games, internet surfing, and an occasional round of golf. He is also a great debater and enjoys sharing his opinion on politics, sports and world events. From September to January, the NFL is Earl's escape from reality.
Together, we do a bunch of traveling, as we both have the common interest of seeing as much of the world we can as fast as we can. Of course, we haven't made it off the continent yet, since there's so much to experience right here in North America!
Back in March 1999, I quit my job at the radio station and we invested a bunch of money into a fast food restaurant called "The City Pound". The City of Utica was opening a new mini-mall downtown called City Center, and they were offering the first year rent free to interested retailers. Earl and I both wanted a business of our own, and we thought this was an excellent opportunity.
The City Pound opened July 14, 1999, along with 13 other retailers in City Center, to great fanfare. Our business went great guns for the first six months of operation. But then the crowds slowly began to die down. Business trickled to just about nothing. And then we were hit with ENORMOUS utility bills from the city. Almost $2000 per month for 424 square feet! One by one, retailers began moving out. Eventually, we gave in as well and we were the seventh or eighth business to move out as well. I went back into radio. Businesses continued to move out of City Center and it closed it's doors permanently in early 2001. Then in summer 2004, Earl and I were on a "Jeep tour" in the midwest. On I-80 driving across Iowa with the top down on the Jeep, I proclaimed to Earl, "I'm going to get out of radio." By August 2004, I was working for a local telephone company. It was a wonderful change of pace and scenery.
Here's a picture of our son, Tom.
For some reason, he doesn't look very happy. He's usually most charming.