AMA #19: Frosty's Dad | The Key Play

Good morning. I am Chris. 53, happily married to my best friend, never divorced (although I have only had 1 wife, I have gone through 3 wedding rings - and reserve the right to not answer any question that may lead to a divorce if my wonderful wife sees it!). Unfortunately, we met fairly late and we were only able to have 1 child. She starts high school next September. Would have loved to have another. Also an early riser as I am starting to write this at 6:40 AM - and this is after checking and addressing some work issues first.

Born just across the river from NYC in northern NJ. You could clearly see the Manhattan skyline from the top of the hill. Don't know if it is because of growing up in the NYC metro area or in spite of it, but I can't stand big cities with all the crowds and noise. One of the reasons why I picked VT was because Blacksburg had such a small town feel back when I was there.

Was in northern NJ until moving out to the St. Louis area. Had 5 brothers and I was, far-and-away, the youngest. Unfortunately, dad died quite young and my mom thought I should have an adult male figure in my life, so went out to live with 1 of my much older brothers. He was a mechanical engineer with McDonnell Douglas at the time and I had just finished 5th grade.

Growing up, I was the most boring kid in the world who was not into much of anything beyond watching TV and dreaming of playing for the NY Mets or Minnesota Vikings (purple is my favorite color, and yes, that is why they were my favorite team). Of course I was also a scrawny pipsqueak with no athletic ability and the social skills of a tree slug. Think the most short and goofy kid in Cobra Kai before they took up karate. Add in being reasonably smart and you end up with the ultimate loser dweeb up until about 11th grade. Helped a lot that I kept growing after most kids stopped and I took a job that physically built me up the summer after 11th grade. No one will ever confuse me with a big burly dude, but not being super short and bulking up at 15-16 really changed my life for the better.

Was eager to go back east and considered being a veterinarian, so VT made sense. Started out in Animal Science, but quickly switched to Biochemistry and dropped the vet goal. Graduated in 1991 and worked for a year as a lab tech. Ostensibly, that was to get more practical experience before graduate school, but the real reason is that I liked it so much that I did not want to leave. Got a Ph.D. in Molecular Biophysics and Biochemistry from Yale, hated it there, and then learned how horrific the job market was for Ph.D. scientists. Took 18 months to find a real job but, thankfully, I escaped (err, I mean transitioned out of) academic bench science and into market research business consulting for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. 1 of the 3 best decisions I ever consciously made in my adult life. Others are calling off the wedding/not marrying the first person I was engaged to and looking in the rear view mirror, which allowed me to take evasive action and avoid getting rear-ended at a high rate of speed on a highway in Ohio when I was (unknowingly) driving without insurance.

Now living in southern NJ and just switched over from the Pharmaceutical Division at work to the Medical Technologies Division. Hoping to retire or semi-retire in ~4 years when our daughter finishes high school. Live below our means and I had no trouble making ends meet while earning $14,500 as a grad student. Don't waste your life chasing the accumulation of "things" that won't make you happy even if you get them.

Oh, and as mentioned on here before, I did die a few years ago. Thankfully, they brought me back. Guess when people say what they have done, I can say, 'oh yeah, I've been dead.'

Interests: used to run a lot, marathon finisher, but knee problems ended that. Also played volleyball well enough to be in the advanced league in grad school and not embarrass myself, although I would be one of the worst people on the court. Try and stay fit even though I have no athletic talent outside of running and volleyball. Like to hike and walk (my wife and I met hiking). Also like to canoe/kayak, cycle and, of course, did some dog sledding. Polar regions, history and exploration fascinate me. Enjoy cooking, especially Indian food or grilling. Wife is 50% Indian and I learned Indian cooking from an Indian girlfriend in grad school.

And honestly, I don't follow sports outside of a few things VT football and the Iditarod. Learned that the less I pay attention to sports and the less emotionally invested I get in them, the better off I am. Across the NHL, NFL, MLB and NBA, I could not name 10 current players.

That is it for now. Anything I can answer that won't incriminate me?