Q: How long have you been working at MGCI?

A: This is my 18th year.

Q: What courses do you teach at Garneau?

A: Right now? Over the years I’ve taught a lot of math, as well as general science. But for the last while I’ve primarily been teaching the AP physics course, the Astronomy course, the Grade 11 TOPS physics and the Grade 10 science – that’s been primarily my undertaking.

Q: How did you jump from the meat business to physics, and why physics?

A: I always had an interest in astronomy and things like that, over the years as a boy, even quite involved, when I was 6 or 7 years old. And so this always maintained itself throughout my time, and when I was in my own business I didn’t have time for that. But in the late 80s, the regulations changed and it was going to make it quite expensive to operate given what you make on the deal. And the other thing is, the physical business, the meat business, in many ways is a young man’s job. When you start getting a little older, it’s a little bit harder to get up in the morning after and knowing that’s what you have ahead of you in order to put food on the table. At one hand I kinda thought it was too late, I was 31, and my mom was like, well, see if you can get in. So I was fortunate enough to get in and fortunate enough to do well enough to end up here.

Q: What part of terrorizing AP physics students do you find indulging?

A: [Laughter] I believe that, all the kidding aside, I think that the pressures that are on AP physics students really well decide where they are going to go. And from my standpoint, their responses to the different stresses, or where the amusement comes, because young people on almost every level are the best entertainment when they wish to be.

Q: What advice would you give to the average Garneau student?

A: Get emotionally involved with your studies and work as hard at whatever interesting subjects you have, that play into you, as hard as you can, and build the best possible life for yourselves.

Q: You have a really fantastic assortment of ties. Where do you get them?

A: Well that’s really quite interesting, I probably started with about 15, and on a couple of occasions we encountered a store where the prices were reasonable and they had some excellent themed ties and we bought those, but I’ve gotten quite a number from students over the years too. There’s about 80 of them now, and I’m running out of space, so to be clear I don’t need any more ties. I make sure I wear them in sequence, so they don’t get worn out, so most ties only appear twice a year.

Q: How many identical white shirts do you own?

A: Seven.

Q: Seven? Is that one for each day of the week or..

A: And then two for redundancy.

Q: What secretive business are you up to all the time in SRC?

A: We’d like you to think we’re administering the TOPS program… I’m going to leave it at that.

Q: Have you ever watched Breaking Bad?

A: No.

Q: It’s about a high school science teacher, much alike yourself in both stature and appearance, who decides to pursue a criminal career producing methamphetamine in order to make ends meet.

A: Well, I have no interest in that. I think the main thing here is that I don’t want to do anything ever to allow my students to feel disappointed in me. I try to go about my day in a way such that I ask a lot of them and I ask a lot of myself and I hope I don’t ever make a mistake that would cause them to be disappointed in me.