Thank-you, Anne, for all the work you have been doing to bring our classmates back together through the blog. It has been fun to read about all of the various activities 30 years of life can hold. It is a bit of a shock to hear of classmates becoming grandparents, but not really that strange when I remember that my Mom was a year younger than I am now when my oldest nephew was born...I am now a great uncle 8 times over myself as my nephews wives and my niece have all been very busy!
After 6 years at UBC and 2 years working for my Mom in her restaurant, I joined Woodward's Stores Ltd. full time in 1986. I had taken an Arts degree in Germanic Studies with lots of Poli-Sci, tried my first year of Law School and completed the first year of a Masters when I realized that I was not having a good time at university anymore and really needed a job! Since I had worked part time at Woodward's all along since the September after Grad, I joined them on a full time basis, eventually landing in Victoria where I was Manager of Men's Wear when the company folded. I was on a good career path with Woodward's and have occasionally wondered where I would have ended up had they continued...
After a brief stint at Edward Chapman's Ltd. on Pender in downtown Vancouver, I joined British Importers Ltd. in Victoria where, once the owners figured out that I had a gift for organizing the un-organizable, I worked as Sales Manager. I enjoyed the job very much for most of the decade I spent with them, but eventually it became clear that I was not going to be doing anything else with the company. I had also been taking business courses at U-Vic for years so in 2004 I felt ready for something new and amiably moved on.
I have been very lucky in my choice of employers over the years as I have always worked for especially understanding and supportive people. This has been a good thing as I have lost many of the people closest to me over the last 20 years, including my partner in 1988 and my parents in 1996 and 2001. Loss is an inevitable part of life and colours our character in a deep and meaningful way as we work through it...something, I notice from the other submissions, most of us, as we would expect, are learning.
I have also been very fortunate in my friendships over the years; my long suffering house-mate, Patrick, my best friend, Tina and my oldest sister, Ilse, whom some of you met when she rescued us back in the Scouting days...have all been there for the fun, the tears and many happy adventures. (Tina and I discovered cruising some years back...it really is a great way to escape)
After leaving B.I. in 2004 I spent the summer travelling in the interior (testing the quality of wines...hiking in the Rockies...yes, I do like hiking, though of the milder variety, usually) and then went off to Europe for the first time. I spent 6 weeks in Holland and Germany and was thoroughly bitten by the European travel bug. Upon my return I started looking for a business to buy as I realized that I was too young to retire and the money would run out before I did...
In the spring of 2005 I took over a small giftware store with a strong Scandinavian slant, in a development called Mattick's Farm in Cordova Bay outside of Victoria on the Saanich Peninsula. (The Ladybug Boutique at Mattick's Farm.
www.ladybugvictoria.com) I chose the business because the books looked good to my accountant. By that point my sister and I had looked at enough businesses (from B&B's, to small Inns, to Gas Stations in Tofino, we looked at a lot!) to develop quite an eye for creative book-keeping and we finally bought the one that actually made good sense. This has been a complete change of industry for me, which has meant a very steep learning curve and while I have enjoyed much of it, it would be a lie to say it has been anything other than tough going.
As my old Boss said when I was in his office whinging one day last year, regardless of the scale of the business, the scope of responsibility is the same...when you're the boss everything lands on your desk. Now that I am 2.5 years in, I am getting better at running things; I have a good mix of long standing employees and a few great new people, the merchandise mix is good and the store looks great. Our old customers are happy and we are adding new ones daily. I am motivating the Tenant's Association about marketing and brand building and we are, I think starting to see results. We are working on the web-sites, both for the development as a whole and for the store and they all promise to be more interesting moving forward. I have to admit that I live and breath my business and have become quite obsessed. I have realized, too, that I have to give myself a little space or I will ruin my health...
As those of you who haven't seen me will remember I was a big kid from day one and except for a brief period in university were I dieted so rigourously I came within a hair of developing an eating disorder, I am a big adult. I always try to fight the good fight, and over the years have gone to the "Y" regularly and try to keep the bulk in check; since buying the store, though, things have gotten a little out of hand. Growing up in the restaurant business made me a very good cook and there is nothing like comfort food when you're stressed out! Trips to Europe every summer haven't helped either, though this year I confined myself to Tofino and Edmonton. (Visited the MacKeown's and saw Kate Onyschuk (Nixon) for the first time in years).
What else is there? I collect art and have accumulated more paintings, prints, carvings and sculptures than anyone could have space for, so it spreads through friend's houses, invades my Sister's space (over her objections as she is just as collection crazed as I am) and piles up in my warehouse. I am a corporate sponsor of the Sooke Fine Arts Society and recommend the show to everyone... I also am car crazy, love watching the Barrett-Jackson auctions and dream of the day when I can stop with the sensible Hondas (the new Accord looks nice, though)!
So, thirty years after Grad, eh? Wow...how very middle-aged...not that there is anything wrong with that!
On the whole, things are just fine, thanks.
Thanks, again, Anne for getting in touch.
Hope to see you all at a 35th, or a 40th? Or maybe a 50th?
Meanwhile, have a great time on the 13th. I will be in Tofino for a last break before the start of the Christmas Season. I'll make sure to raise a glass to the occasion.
regards,
Michael
Michael Pasch
The Ladybug Boutique at Mattick's Farm
Scandinavian Weaving Ltd.
117-5325 Cordova Bay Road
Victoria, BC Canada
V8Y 2L3
michaelpasch@mac.com
