A Bit About Me

Who am I?

When I went off to college, I thought that the smart kids studied engineering. And that turned out to be true. What I didn't know was the clever kids studied finance.

Armed with an engineering degree, I began my professional adventures working for start-up and emerging companies in the Silicon Valley. Shortly after I started my first job, I realized that the world would be a safer place if I didn't practice engineering. I transitioned into a sales role and have spent the better part of my career as a serial entrepreneur working at start-up companies. I specialize in selling new technology products to emerging markets - mainly software and electronics. While there may be easier ways to make a living, I wouldn't trade what I do. Often, I joke that if I won the lottery, I would be late in claiming my prize because I wouldn't cancel my sales call the morning following the drawing.

My career has brought me around the world. The travel started the day I returned from my honeymoon in 1989, and hasn't let up since. When people describe how many miles they travelled, there are usually two descriptions: the total frequent flyer miles including bonuses and the AOS miles. It's the AOS miles that count. I've accumulated more than 1,500,000 AOS miles. For those of you that haven't figured it out, AOS=Ass On Seat.

At first, I thought that being tired all the time was the result of many flights, long days, and jet lag - not the case. It's the sleep disordered breathing that made me feel so tired.

In case your wondering about the URL name "pedal-MMA", it doesn't refer to being a peddler, but rather a pedal-er. I enjoy riding my bike. One of the benefits of not sleeping well is that I get to ride my bike early in the morning and return by 6:30 a.m. before everyone in the house wakes up.

Many people sleep late on their weekends. I ride my bike. During a good week, I'll train over 150 miles. 50+ on Sunday, 50-75 during the week, and 25 on Saturday. It's been quite a while since I've had a "good" week of training. As part of my planned MMA recovery, I'm hoping to ride the November Solvang century. Setting the goal for the 100 miles should be excellent motivation.

Reservations

Will this work?

In a nutshell, that's my major concern. Most people get some benefit with either CPAP or the oral appliance. I didn't. We have not yet found any way to releive the symptoms. Just knowing that one of the other therapies had worked would give me a bit more confidence in this procedure working.