Edmond Pietila:  

After graduating, I attended U of M, majoring in Physics. Next, the Navy, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii for 2 years, with many trips to the orient. After getting out of the Navy (nice place to work if you're single, but otherwise...). Back to Michigan for 4 years at General Electric then on to Wisconsin for 14 years (living in the home of Spencer Tracey - when he was a kid). Enjoyed vacations in Japan (several times), England, and weekend trips to various locations - Rio de Janiero-Brazil, Bankok-Thailand, Penang-Malaysia, as well as locations within the US. I moved back to Michigan for a few years then received a great job offer in Puebla, Mexico. Great place! Besides work, it was nice living near an active volcano (Popocatepetl) and spending weekends climbing some of the inactive volcanoes, usually to around 15,000 ft. Sitting on the top is a good place to relax, enjoy the view, and think about life (While at the top, I actually saw a butterfly flutter by - no idea what it was doing up there without any plants and thin air). Acapulco was only a 4 hour drive, so spent weekends there also, with a bunch of the guys. Also took trips to Cancun and areas around there a few times (including swimming with sharks and dolphins) as well as Ixtapa. From prior jobs, had many frequent flier miles so a friend and I went to Nepal to go trekking in the Himalayas for 3 weeks. Didn't climb Everest, but did take a plane and flew around it for a while. Life was good... Moved to northern Mexico (Matamoros, in the state of Tamaulipas) and was there for several years. Met a nice lady and we got married after dating for about 3 years. The drug wars in Mexico started hitting close to home - gun battles only blocks away - so we decided it was time to move back to Michigan. That was in December of 2007. Now I am the Quality Manager of an Inspection company, working out of the home when desired, and in the office when needed. Life is still good... When it isn't fun anymore I probably will retire, but as for now, I like the work, like the weekends at home (my home is surrounded on 3 sides by Hidden Lake Botanical Gardens). I enjoy nature, and mostly anything outdoors, hiking, canoeing, swimming, camping, etc. I never was really concerned about money, but more about enjoying life. I have done that very well in my opinion (enjoyed life). Through all the experiences I have always managed to find something positive in it. At times it took a lot of looking, but eventually I would find it. Financially I am doing OK. I have enough to live and do what I want to do, whether trips or hobbies, so I am satisfied with that. I have never been into the "one-upmanship...Expand for more