Christopher DeGracia:
CLASS OF 1985
Hedgesville High SchoolClass of 1985
Hedgesville, WV
Hedgesville Middle SchoolClass of 1981
Hedgesville, WV
Smithsburg Middle SchoolClass of 1981
Smithsburg, MD
Old Forge Elementary SchoolClass of 1978
Hagerstown, MD
Chittick Elementary SchoolClass of 1978
East brunswick, NJ
Christopher's Story
Life
I am not certain what I did right that got me here, but it has been a wonderful challenge doing it.
I have lived in a variety of areas of the country (Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Austin, and even a month in Hattiesburg, MS), but I think I have finally found the right place here in Seattle. I have made friends from all over the US, Canada, and even a few from various European countries.
I am now married to the most wonderful woman. It took all that moving to track her down. We met in Austin and moved back to her hometown of Seattle in 2001.
In 2005, we finally bought a house. While Seattle is not the most expensive place in the US, it ranks pretty high. We asked our real estate agent to find us a "crack house in a good neighborhood". Essentially that is what we ended up finding. We are working hard at getting the house turned around. The first week we owned the house we refinished the floors (hired a contractor for that) and painted every wall and ceiling. We then spent the next two months completely gutting and rebuilding the bathroom in our spare time. We finally moved in 3 months after purchase and have continued the demolition and construction of the interior (see the photo of our basement) and the stripping and planting of a new landscape.
Since moving into the house we have adopted two cats from people who were moving and could not take their cat along. I think we have now officially closed the door on cat adoptions. Two cats are more than enough (at least these two are). We love them dearly, but they are a handful. Soon, we believe that Boris (the fluffy orange one) will be heading back to his former owner. Narc, will likely be moving into a home that can give her more of the attention she needs which we can not provide with our schedules.
November 15th, 2007 brought us our first child. This also meant having to rebuild his room (as with everything in this house, it meant completely gutting the space and rebuilding it). He has been an absolute joy and has made every bit of the work worth it.
In addition to caring for our first child, improving the house, keeping the cats alive, and work that provides income, I also try to find time to volunteer. I have done some work for Habitat for Humanity and am trying to find more time to focus toward that. I am currently working with a group called TADA! (Theaters, Allies, and Deaf Audiences) whose mission is to encourage, enhance, and expand the participation of the Deaf community in live performance entertainment. Also, my wife and I try to throw a party for our friends and neighbors in January (a post holiday party) at which we ask people to make food or money contributions to Northwest Harvest in lieu of the 6-pack of beer or other party contribution they would bring.
In our ample free time (yeah, right) we try to keep in touch with friends an...Expand for more
d relatives who we have scattered around the country and around the world. We also try to find time to spend with our local friends and relatives when we can. They have been incredibly understanding of our very busy schedule (many of them work in the entertainment industry with us and know how outrageous the "normal" schedule is).
Beyond that we have just been enjoying the blessings that we have both received and been able to pass along.
College
My main memory of college was working all the time. While attending classes full-time during my senior year, I was also the Production Manager for our yearbook, Editor-in-Chief of Viewfinder (a photo journal magazine insert in our yearbook), managed the student escort service (this involved driving students home safely in case you were wondering), was a shop monitor in the Design Department wood shop, was a modeler at Tech Industrial Models, and was the Facilities Chairman of the Spring Carnival. Also, many of my classes were studio classes which usually meant about three times the work of regular classes. Anyone who knows me now probably would not be surprised by the work load I was handling.
Between my sophomore and junior year, I tried to take on the challenge of getting married. That was a huge mistake. Before I graduated I was separated. Add that stress to all the work and it becomes understandable why college was a big blur.
I do remember spending a lot of nights in my studio instead of at home simply because I got off work as late as 4:00am and had to be in class at 9:00am. Living 45 minutes away (in good traffic) made the trip often not worth making.
I still love the buggy races of Spring Carnival. I look forward to taking my wife and future children to see them.
Workplace
Many people have told me that the list of jobs I have not had is shorter than the list I have had. Partially this is because I have spent much of my life with two jobs. Not to mention that I have continued to do consulting work even when I was holding down other jobs.
From being in charge of running multiple buildings as an Operations Manager to being in charge of filling a machine as a Dishwasher. From being outside safeguarding the public as a Lifeguard to being in a closet of an office reporting only to VPs as a Project Coordinator. From being in the middle of the glitz and excitement of the high-paced entertainment world as a Theatre Production Manager and a Stagehand to being peacefully alone in a darkroom as a Camera and Film Technician.
The fantastic thing about all these jobs is I have been able to pick up a little from each that I carry on to my next. This mix gives me a rather unique perspective on most projects I encounter. While the work has taken a lot out of me physically and emotionally, the payback has been invaluable and I would not trade it for the world.
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