Michael Damen:  

Life Hello everyone. I moved to California in 1980 after some great years as a lifeguard at Island Beach. I spent most of the 80's working as a bartender in Santa Barbara and traveling around the world. My favorite trip was to Asia, particularly my trip to Bali and the Indonesian island of Java where my father was born. Eventually, after a very self indulgent decade, I became an attorney and married Trish, a classmate from law school, in 1992. I proposed the year before during a hike along Emerald Bay in Lake Tahoe. She thought I was working in Santa Barbara at the time and was very surprised when I showed up on the trail in a suit with flowers and a ring. During our honeymoon in Europe, we visited the same spot where my parents were married (Haarlem, Holland), drank wine in a gondola in Venice, rolled around the grass next to the Eiffel Tower and biked along the Rhine River in Germany. My Mom died in 1978, but my Dad is still going strong at 79 and lives in Florida. We have lived by the beach in Carpinteria, about 10 miles south of Santa Barbara, since 1998. We've had some tough times during the last 16 years, but I love Trish and my family very much. We have 2 great kids. Jack Damen was born on Leap Day in 1996. Ineka Damen (named after my Mom, a former teacher at St. Joseph High School), was born in 2001, 6 days before 9/11. Jack seems to have inherited my problem with authority but he's a good kid. Ineka is a real charmer and won't be allowed to date until she turns 25. I love being a lawyer and raising my sporty kids. I also love watching movies. Annie Hall is still my favorite, althou...Expand for more