Turning 47 Tomorrow

Birthdays always seem to make you think about your past. Where you've been, how far you've come. What you've accomplished, what's you've failed to achieve.

This year is 2010 and I thought I'd look back at myself over the past four decades, starting in 1970.

In 1970



I was a skinny young immigrant kid, fresh off the plane from Jamaica W.I., living with my parents in Rochester, NY. My dream was to become a big time automobile designer for GM or Ford. My dad had been a carpenter back in Jamaica, so I was always into building things.

By 1980



I was living in Columbia, MD, preparing to depart for college at Stanford University to study Industrial Engineering. By them my dream was to work in the entertainment business. Since coming to the US in 1970, I'd become obsessed with American pop culture, especially television. I majored in Engineering to make my mother happy and because I truly do enjoy science.

In 1990



my TV dreams began to be realized when in April of that year I began working for the Disney Channel TV network in New York City.

By 2000



I'd been in the TV business for over 10 years and was working for Food Network. It's better to be lucky than good, and coming to Food Network was certainly a lucky break as its success has led to my great current job with Cooking Channel.

As we move through 2010



my only regret is that I wasn't so vain about my weight and could allow myself to really chow down on all the great food I'm surrounded with at Food Network and Cooking Channel :)

One lesson I've learned over the years is that the more consistently you show up, the better your chances of having good things happen to you. Sometimes, just hanging in there can take you to surprising heights.