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Tom Cortese’s Story
6 milestones • 25 entries • 57 family & friends
1979
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
NOW
Growing up, who did you most admire?
25 months ago
1986 • Montauk, NY, USA My brother Greg. He always took care of his younger brothers, he was a beach lifeguard and the captain of the HS wrestling team. He was so cool.
Tagged in this entry: Gregory Cortese
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What's the worst injury you've had?
23 months ago
1995
I broke my tibia near the ankle when I was about 16. I was hurriedly running up the stairs with my brand new external hard drive in hand ready to get it set up for the first time! Mid stair-run, I realized I'd forgotten something, pivoted to turn down the stairs, then stepped on my left ankle with my right foot and ...."crack".
I lay defeated at the bottom of the stairs for about 30 minutes waiting for the pain to subside. Then I dragged myself into a chair for another 30 minutes and continued waiting. As my leg swelled, I decided it was probably about time to tell my parents. I don't think I went to the hospital until the morning since we all agreed "it was nothing" and would be fine if I just "slept it off". Apparently we were wrong.
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The Christmas list I wrote when I was a teenager
28 months ago
1996 Embarrassingly, I actually made this Christmas list. I need to give myself credit for asking for world peace in addition to a beeper, a Celine Dion CD, and a nice new earring. Being a teenager was awesome :)
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Describe a memorable family vacation.
29 months ago
December 1997 • Jamaica Family trip to Jamaica between Christmas and New Years. I don't think we had ever taken a family trip before that.
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When have you felt homesick?
21 months ago
1998
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2101 I St NW, The George Washington University, Washington D.C., DC 20037, USA
Immediately upon heading off to college.
I thought I was lucky that my roommate-to-be had apparently pulled out to join the Coast Guard instead of heading to college. I got a letter from the University saying I had the dorm room all to myself. But, as it turned out, it was pretty lonely not having any roommates when you first arrive to college. There was no one to jump into the new experience with. No one to argue about where to put the TV or who was the one being too messy. I think this contributed to me feeling homesick.
Luckily after a few weeks I did end up making some great friends in the dorm building and eventually even scored a few roommates. After that, homesickness melted away quickly. :)
Tagged in this entry: Jenn Jue , Mollie Byron
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What's something foolish you've done?
21 months ago
1998
•
Napeague Meadow Rd, Amagansett, NY 11930, USA
Drag racing at night on a narrow street. I was about 18.
We were about 6 people in 4 cars. Not nice cars. Not fast cars. Just our used old cars. One car (Julian's) was severely handicapped, "speeding" along on just 3 of its 4 cylinders. (It's debatable if there was any real racing going on that night!) We lined up 2 cars at a time at one end of the street and had a third car at the opposite end marking the finish line with headlights.
The consistent winner, Russell in his mom's red Chrysler LeBaron convertible, was crushing the competition in style. Then the cops showed up. Apparently they were tipped off by frightened residents. Somehow the officers decided we weren't worth their time. We weren't drinking, we were barely "racing", and I think we seemed fairly harmless. We certainly were't the hard-core drunk driving, speed racing, up-to-no-good kids they were expecting to find. And, shockingly were just told to drive home and stop being stupid.
Tagged in this entry: Julian Cummings , Russell Wojtusiak , Chris Pedersen , Damien Cortese , Alex Cohan
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What was it like to leave home for college?
23 months ago
1998
Exciting!
But when I finally got settled, I was certainly a little bit homesick. I was enjoying exploring my new city, but was sad to have left behind such a tight group of friends. And, to make matters worse, I was placed in a 4 person dorm room all by myself. At first I thought that was going to be the coolest thing. But, it wasn't easy not having any roommates for the first 3 months of college!
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Where did you go to college and why did you choose that school?
23 months ago
1998
•
George Washington University, Washington D.C., DC, USA
I went to The George Washington University in Washington DC.
As a high school student, I was really into politics and public policy. On my college application forms I noted that I wanted to graduate college to become a lobbyist on the Hill. And I focused my college search on the top three DC schools. Georgetown, GW, and American. Georgetown totally rejected me and GW, being right in the heart of the city just blocks from the White House, seemed like a place I'd enjoy spending four years.
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Share the weirdest photo you've taken.
25 months ago
2000 • East Hampton, NY, USA I was driving down the highway with my friend Laurin and we saw this giant Jesus poster. It just seemed like something we needed to take a photo in front of.
Tagged in this entry: Laurin Fedora
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What was your most epic road trip?
31 months ago
2001 • Smokey Mountains Dr, Gallatin, TN 37066, USA Junior or senior year of college, myself and 3 other friends took a trip from DC to the Smoky Mountains on the TN/NC border. The drive took us 12 hours and I insisted (because it was my own car ... and I'm male) that I drive the entire way with the min number of stops. By the time we got to the National Park entrance where we were going to set up camp, we realized it was snowing in the mountains. So as we drove further up the winding road the snow was coming down heavier and heavier and the car was having significant trouble maintaining traction. Slowly but surely we got the ~12 year old 1988 Mazda 626 to climb that mountain where we found ourselves to be the only people actually pitching a tent in the blizzard. We stayed for 4 days and it continued to dump on us the entire time switching periodically from snow to sleet to rain. We loved every minute of it.
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College graduation
23 months ago
May 2002 • George Washington University, Washington D.C., DC, USA I graduated in May of 2002 with plans to move from Washington DC to NYC and complete graduate school applications. Then I got offered a full time job with a non-profit called Ashoka in DC where I had been a part-time employee through my senior year in college. It was an opportunity I decided I couldn't turn down, so I stayed put. I ended up living in Washington for 10 years including my college years. Who knew?!
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Describe your first job and how you landed it.
32 months ago
May 2002
•
Washington, DC, USA
My first career job was with a global non-profit organization called "Ashoka: Innovators for the Public" based in the Washington DC area. I ran a team that responsible for providing a host of services to the many country offices and departments within the organization. I was with the organization for 3 years and met some of the most interesting people from around the world while I was there.
Interestingly, I had been interning for that same team at Ashoka through my senior year of college and was planning to head back to the NY City area for the Summer, get an odd job, and finish applying to graduate programs in the Fine Arts. To my surprise, when I told them I was leaving, Ashoka offered me a full time job heading up the team. After some consideration, it occurred to me that a full time job was probably much more valuable than a masters degree in the Fine Arts. (Really -- what the heck was I going to do with that degree!?) So I secured myself an apartment and found myself on a career track that kept me in Washington for almost 6 more years.
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Do you have any photos of you doing something you love?
28 months ago
December 30, 2009 • Hana, HI, USA I love being in the ocean under the warm sun. Nothing beats it. Nothing is more freeing than being just a speck in the vast, open sea.
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What's the fastest you've ever been caught speeding?
28 months ago
August 2010 • Death Valley National Park, Death Valley, CA 92328, USA Driving out of Death Valley, eager to get to the air conditioned oasis of Las Vegas, I was rocketing down the open road (turns out no one visits a place called "Death Valley" in late August) at 125mph. Then I passed a cop. Apparently it was a 65mph zone. Whoops.
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Share a picture of you in the great outdoors.
30 months ago
September 2010 • Yosemite National Park, CA 95389, USA This was take by Rachel while I was drying off in the sun after jumping naked into a freezing cold lake at about 9,000 feet just after a night of snow flurries.
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How did you break the news of your engagement to your parents and parents-to-be?
25 months ago
May 5, 2011
I really wanted to do it in person. I had plans to show up unannounced at their office or home... other potential plans to schedule a top secret dinner or lunch. But in the end, it happened over the phone.
I tried calling their mobile and home phone lines in the early evening but got no answer. It turns out they were at an event celebrating Cinco de Mayo and unable to get to the phone. So I sent a text message to Rachel's father "Do not let Rachel know I called but call me directly when you have a chance ;)". ...they knew exactly what that meant. They called me while they were both in the car driving home and had me on speaker. When I picked up they said "Okay. You've got us both on speaker." No "Hello".. no formalities... just 'alright.. we know what you are about to ask.. so go ahead and ask already!'.
Tagged in this entry: Barry Eckenthal , Carol Eckenthal
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How did you get engaged?
25 months ago
May 8, 2011
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28 Baker St, Maplewood, NJ 07040, USA
I imagined proposing to Rachel on the dunes in Montauk overlooking the ocean as the sun was preparing to set. A small card table draped in a crisp white table cloth, a simple bottle of prosecco, and two plain glasses would all be ready at the preordained location. We would arrive by foot, I would kneel and let my intentions be known, and we would share a celebratory drink as our families and friends emerged from their cover in the surrounding area. ...But this is not how it went down!
Instead, I proposed to Rachel in a Country Club in New Jersey -- in a dinning room filled with families there to celebrate Mother's Day. We had a table set for 15 at the Maplewood Country Club. Rachel's grandparents, Joy and Jerry, had arranged the dinner and graciously invited my mother, father, and grandmother to join. It was a treat to bring the grandmothers together. And once I learned that our parents and grandparents were going to be together around one table, I was suddenly convinced that my perfect opportunity had created itself and it was up to me to seize the moment. I would just need to pull a plan together quickly then summon the courage to speak from the heart in front of a larger than anticipated audience.
The timeline was condensed. I already had the ring. I had just purchased it after plenty of research, 6 days before the proposal would take place. Mother's day was supposed to be the day I asked Rachel's parents for their official permission, then I was going to be able to work on picking the right time and setting for the engagement. But in one phone call, which luckily took place on Cinco de Mayo after Rachel's parents had been out celebrating with Margaritas, I managed to secure their blessings and sketch together the basic plan.
It all went down without a hitch. Her father provided the lead-in by announcing that he'd like me to give a toast to mother's day while our families enjoyed dessert and coffee. I gave my toast and then converted it into a proposal. Rachel was completely caught by surprise and so were most of the people at the table, save for our parents. It was a perfect moment that seemed infinitely longer than it actually was. And it was a moment that will be with us forever.
Tagged in this entry: Rachel Eckenthal
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