My life has been very fortunate overall, but I have had my share of trials and setbacks. Though religious proficiency isn’t among my strong points, I consider myself to be well-grounded—that’s what I think helped me deal reasonably well with the unfortunate experiences of being divorced twice (and handling the associated child-custody issues). It is also what I think helped me deal realistically with a totally unexpected major brain surgery in 2001, though I had been physically active for decades and was otherwise in excellent health.

My professional life has also been eventful in the sense that I went through a total shift in career from a certified public accountant and a certified management accountant to an electrical engineer. I was still in the last semester of a master’s degree in Taxation in 1988 when I started the first term of a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering. Subsequently, as part of my engineering job requirements, I successfully completed (as a civilian) a very challenging Naval Nuclear Power School curriculum for officers.