You asked for it!

Do you know what's wild? We moved here because we found a great house after looking around and different towns nearby, and then I found out that my mother's side of the family were some of the first settlers in this area. And, I found out that I'm a direct descendant of the brother of the third person to settle this town. I've done some research and found out that one of my ancestors (in the same line as above) is one of the founder's of Hartford, Connecticut, and that I can trace my ancestry through him back to the 1500's. All this is cool... but, really doesn't say much about me, does it? Except that perhaps I have some good genetics. maybe....

See this _____ here? I paid $1000 for it, and after doing a little work on it (perhaps taking me a day or 2), I could sell it for $2500-$3000. I have several other items like that. I buy undervalued items that are in need of some work, fix them up, and then sell them for a profit. I'm actually quite good at it. Sometimes I buy them on ebay when people sell them without knowing what they are... sometimes people sell them on ebay with crappy pictures, and because I'm good at what I do, I can spot the potential. I also have people coming into my shop with items to sell. I always treat them fairly.

I want to stay completely anonymous... but, I can tell you that I've won 2 contests because of my mechanical abilities. One of the contests was when I was going through my apprenticeship as a sheetmetal worker. We are taught to make ductwork from scratch, laying it out by hand, and then building it. There is also bookwork, drafting, and welding. I beat all of the other apprentices in my school (about 40 people, if I recall correctly), and went on to the regional. I did okay there, coming in 7th, out of 16. They have this competition every year, and I only won once... but, I did do very well in the class. I don't brag about this much, but I did let the other students in the class know I was happy to be going.... and got a big head about it. Some of the other students in the class didn't take kindly to this, and let me know in obvious, and not so obvious ways. The students that won in other years were much more laid-back about it.

I also went to another school and became the first person in the US to be able to submit their work to an international competition. I still think it's just a stupid fluke that I didn't win that competition.. But, because of the way the contest is run, I didn't lose, either. I was actually quite obnoxious in a competitive way with the other students at that school.... and paid for it in various ways.

I still love to type my name into google and see the announcement for that international competition. That is really...quite... satisfying.