interview

what's the best piece of advice you've been given? the worst?

"Don't get greedy and don't do it for money." As for the worst, I could say the opposite of that, but "any publicity is good publicity" is probably the one more applicable. Just as bad publicity could really make life and business go sideways, doing anything for the good publicity could just make it look like you're trying too hard for reconition when you should be doing it for others - be it your customers, your employees, your friends and family.

what did your middle school locker look like? how was it decorated?

An absolute mess which is probably to say not much of a mess at all, just disorganized. I didn't decorate it with much of anything but a few pictures.

who's your nemesis?

The CEO of Boeing, though I guess that just applies to corporate nemesis unless you want to start talking about anyone's golf game.

what song describes your life right now?

This is an insanely difficult question for me considering I can't really recall the last time I just sat down and listened to some music to apply one.

where is your favorite place?

At home, in bed, or somewhere high up in the sky. There's nothing more comfortable than being in bed even if it comes with a puppy pile sometimes and its extremely freeing to just be among the clouds. Either are pretty accessible to me.

do you remember your dreams?

Once in a while, I will, but they're pretty fleeting as soon as I wake up unless there is some extraordinary reason for them. Those tend to last a whole lot longer than your average sort.

what's on your bucket list?

This is going to take a good amount of thought because there's a lot that I have been blessed to be able to do in my life - some of which was planned and wholly expected while some has definitely not been and would sound made up if I said it aloud - but maybe take a sojourn somewhere for a decent amount of time and just live life elsewhere for a spell.

what would you see if you looked into the mirror of erised?

It lies somewhere about my parents or my parents with the new family I have now. Just one big family portrait.

what's the best thing you've bought all year?

I would've said wedding rings, but that was December... so I'd say the best thing that has been bought, even if not necessarily by me, was the animal-shaped ottomans that now take up space in the pets' room because they're ridiculously cute and entirely fitting for our tiny zoo.

what's something most people find harmless but scares the shit out of you?

If anyone thinks going underwater is harmless, shame on you or you're an Atlantean which, in that case, you're still a dick, Namor.

what are your pet peeves?

People who smack their mouths when they eat or slide their teeth across the utensil - not because its uncouth, which it is, but it just sounds terrible like nails on the chalkboard; and its just downright bad for your teeth.

how do you take your coffee?

Plain, black, unless it is something particular requiring something more like some sort of matcha espresso.

when was the last time you had a nightmare? what was it about?

I don't think I have had one for a while - perhaps the last time some big blue Celestial asshole decided to come around and make life difficult because that is always just a nightmare, awake or not.

who was your favorite teacher?

It's a toss up between my kindergarden teacher from far too many years ago that I only remember making some childish arts and crafts in the class, but it was a good time, or my high school mechanics teacher considering there was a decent future found in that before the decision to go corporate.

what's the last movie to make you cry?

I don't even remember, but I bet you it was something Disney/Pixar.

i think i already know this but i'm asking anyway. if money were no object, what would you do with your life?

I'd probably still be working considering that is what I was doing and have been doing even when it became a non-issue. There's always something having accessible capital can be of benefit to and means of keeping busy that don't necessarily involve sitting on your rear end or throwing it all away.

if you absolutely had to be famous for something, what would it be?

I've been a couple kinds of famous in my lifetime and I'm pretty okay with being business famous. It has its highs and lows, as does anything else, but I don't have to run around about paparazzi anymore for the most part.

are you planning to make any changes to your life in the near future?

Not any particularly large though I might consider some more home improvement projects provided I actually finish the rest that are on the to-do list.

is there a practically useless item that is way out of your budget that you'd love to have anyway?

B-b-budget?

what songs would be on the soundtrack of your life?

"Do the Evolution" for sure and everything that was played at my wedding because it wouldn't be a life's soundtrack without, but as with any of these music questions, I'm at a complete loss for picking them up out of thin air. Maybe a theme song of a particular nature which just makes me laugh, but it would be a complete "sit down and plan this out" moment to figure out just what this soundtrack might have been.

would you rather live on the moon or on a spaceship orbiting the earth?

On the moon, I think. It would more resemble being planetside even without the same gravity or terrestrial aspects, though I suppose being on a ship means that you could actually go somewhere once in a while - not that it is a problem anyway.

what's the funniest way you've ever been injured?

I was using tension straps before during baseball conditioning and it ended up snapping and smacked me in the side of the face. Thankfully, serious injury was avoided, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt and that people didn't laugh.

is there something that you've wanted to do for a long time but haven't gotten around to yet? if so, what's the hold up?

I think I've been knocking out these things bit by bit, so I don't think there really is anything unless I just haven't had enough coffee this morning and am forgetting something.

what would constitute a perfect day for you?

Some good rest, relaxation, and good food. Throw in some time with Nora and the dogs, and it doesn't get any better.

would you rather uncontrollably burst out into singing very beautiful but profane songs for 2 hours straight per day, or go completely mute forever?

Going to have to go with the songs. I don't think I'd survive being mute permanently. I'd just have to find a space to sit in for those two hours a day where no one could actually hear me unless I wanted them to.

if you could invite anyone in the world to dinner, who would it be?

Amelia Earhart because a) this doesn't say they have to necessarily be alive and b) I would really like to know what happened as, I imagine, so does the rest of the aviation world and history buffs.

when was the last time you sang to yourself? what did you sing?

The number of times I find myself singing parts of Pearl Jam's "Do the Evolution" is probably ridiculous if I took the time to count.

tell me your life story in 100 words or less.

"Orphaned New York-born fighter pilot-turned-CEO finds a new set of wings on the West Coast."

what's your most treasured memory?

I tend to keep them close to my chest, but whatever ime I had to hang out with my dad before he passed which wasn't always the most entertaining at the time - what kid wants to be dragged to some aeronautics expo or spend time waiting for him to get off of a call - but retrospect makes them some of the fondest considering he was a man in his element, and I'm old enough to recognize that now.

are there any fictional worlds you'd love to visit or live in?

I feel any answer I have would be completely disregarding the reality of San Francisco as we know it. San Francisco is already so damn weird.

what's the bravest thing you've ever done?

Flying headlong into danger on a regular basis does seem to be the bravest, sometimes stupidest, thing I've ever done and continue to do.

what do you do to make yourself feel better after a bad day?

Eat a big burrito from La Taqueria, cuddle up with the family, and fall asleep. If time permits, sometimes I'll just take a flight or find some way to get out of my head for a bit.

if you could ask goose any three questions and have him answer, what would you say?

"What do you want to do today?", "how do you feel about your pet family?", and probably a few too many instances of "were you the one who got into the garbage can?"

cake or pie or ice cream?

Is this a trick question???

oh, one more thing! weird sex egg.

thank you to:

A.