Mike DeSimone & Shay Tressa DeSimone: About Us

About Us

Just who are Mike and Shay...?

If you're visiting this web site, then you probably know at least one of us! But how well do you really know us? This page contains some background info and fun facts that you may or may not know. Read on to find out more...

Michael Humbert DeSimone (also known as Mike or Doc)	Sharon Tressa DeSimone (better known as Shay!)
Birthdate: July 6, 1970 (Zodiac: Cancer)	Birthdate: October 21, 1969 (Zodiac: Libra)
Background: Born in Boston, Massachusetts Raised in Boston and Randolph, Massachusetts Now living in Riverview, Florida Also lived briefly in Las Cruces, New Mexico as well as North Easton, Cambridge, Quincy, and Revere, Massachusetts	Background: Born in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Raised in Plains, Pennsylvania Now living in Riverview, Florida Also lived briefly in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania; Glasgow, Scotland; Bristol and London, England; Austin, Texas; New York City; and East Boston, Framingham, Cambridge, Quincy, and Revere, Massachusetts
Family: Mom & Dad: Fran & Bert DeSimone	Family: Mom & Dad: Dolores & Ernie Tressa Siblings: Dave and Brian
Education: MA, Mathematics - Boston College BA, Mathematics - Stonehill College	Education: MA, Advertising - The University of Texas BA, Journalism & Media Studies - Lock Haven University
Current Employment: Technical Training Support Specialist, Trainer, and Course Developer at Kronos Incorporated in Chelmsford, MA; now based out of the company's office in Maitland, FL.	Current Employment: Copywriter for Bisk Education in Tampa, FL, where she spends her days writing about online degree and certificate programs from major universities.
Loves: Doctor Who, mathematics, film, acting, computers, computer games, Civil War, golf, music, motorcycle riding (2001 Triumph Legend), Shay	Loves: Travel, reading, art, music, movies, trivia games, keeping in touch/spending time with friends, Mike
Hates: Censorship, racism, stupidity	Hates: Violence, cruelty, hypocrisy, bigotry. Bad drivers and bad weather. Telemarketers and SPAM!
Favorite Bands/Music: Eurythmics, Bauhaus, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Front 242, Frontline Assembly, Skinny Puppy, Test Dept, Love & Rockets, Sisters of Mercy, Einstürzende Neubauten, Depeche Mode, Public Image Limited, New Order, The Cult, Nine Inch Nails, Misfits	Favorite Bands/Music: She Wants Revenge, Panic! at the Disco, Nouvelle Vague, Richard Cheese, Shiny Toy Guns, The Pixies, The Wonder Stuff, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The Cure, Elliott Smith, Depeche Mode, New Order, Siouxsie/The Creatures, The Cult, Nitzer Ebb, Shriekback, Nine Inch Nails, Madness
Favorite Authors/Books: Isabel Fonseca - Bury Me Standing Richard P. Feynman - Surely You're Joking, Mr. Feynman! Richard J. Trudeau - The Non-Euclidian Revolution Simon Singh - Fermat's Enigma	Favorite Authors/Books: Clive Barker - Imajica, The Great & Secret Show, Everville, Weaveworld, Sacrament, Galilee Anne Rice - The Vampire Chronicles, Lives of the Mayfair Witches, Servant of the Bones Neil Gaiman - Neverwhere, Smoke and Mirrors, Stardust, Good Omens, American Gods, Anansi Boys Terry Pratchett - Discworld series, Good Omens Nick Bantock - Griffin & Sabine series Anything by Lisa Jewell, Marian Keyes, Jane Green, Jennifer Weiner, Sophie Kinsella, or Helen Fielding
Favorite Movies: True Romance, Pulp Fiction, The Crow, Willie Wonka & The Chocolate Factory, The Wizard of Oz, Goodfellas, 2001, What I Did When I Was Away	Favorite Movies: The Red Violin, Next Stop Wonderland, Amélie, Chicken Run, Bridget Jones's Diary, The Full Monty, Trainspotting, The Princess Bride, Crazy People, Cosi, The Crying Game, The Adventures of Priscilla - Queen of the Desert
Favorite TV Shows: Doctor Who, Family Guy, Teletubbies, Millennium, The X-Files, The Simpsons	Favorite TV Shows: Heroes, The Amazing Race, Survivor, ER, Family Guy, Queer Eye for the Straight Guy
Favorite Foods: Italian, Thai, fresh fruit, After Eight dinner mints	Favorite Foods: Vegetarian, Thai, Indian, Italian, Spanish tapas, fondue, chocolate, cherries, blood oranges, watermelon
Favorite Drinks: Grand Marnier, Port, Sambuca, Harpoon Winter Warmer, Sangria	Favorite Drinks: Hard cider (Strongbow and Wyder's Pear are the best!), snakebite black (cider + lager + blackcurrant), Belgian fruit lambics (especially Liefmans and Lindemans framboise & kriek), Sangria
Favorite Things About Shay: She's very intelligent and very sexy. She teaches me the meaning of life. She's got the ability to turn lemons into lemonade.	Favorite Things About Mike: He's got a great sense of humor, a sharp mind, and a kind heart. He's easy-going, fun to be around, and very good-looking, to boot!

The Story of Mike & Shay

Once upon a time, Shay decided to meet up with some friends at a club called Man Ray in Cambridge. Mike lived down the street from Man Ray, and was a regular there on Friday nights. That fateful evening, the DJ happened to play a song called "Doctorin' the Tardis" by the Timelords...one of the only songs that would lure Mike onto the dance floor. At the time, Shay was dancing with her friend Dirk (a.k.a. "Spaceboy" or "Jamie Roxx"), who also happened to know Mike. Some strange instinct prompted Dirk to introduce his two friends (in a rather unusual way)...he shoved Shay into Mike and said, "This is my friend 'Doc'. Talk to him!"

Shay and Mike said hello to one another and introduced themselves, and later chatted for a bit when they left the dance floor. As Man Ray was about to close for the night, Mike and Shay discovered that they both planned to attend Club Hexx in Boston the following night...so they parted with plans to meet up the next evening.

Saturday night arrived, and Mike and Shay met up at Club Hexx. They talked even longer this time, and discovered they had a lot of common interests beyond goth music and nightclubs. They exchanged phone numbers at the club but decided to prolong the evening by heading to a late-night diner, and later sat up talking for hours. The rest, as they say, is history!

Mike and Shay have been together ever since that day: July 19, 1997. After about a year of dating, they got their first apartment together in Cambridge, then later moved to Quincy and then Revere to be closer to their jobs. After Mike was granted a job transfer, they now reside in Riverview, Florida, with their pet boa constrictor, Sebastian, and adopted kitty, Béla Lugosi.

After several years of "domestic partnership", Mike proposed to Shay on February 5, 2001. It was quite a memorable proposal, as it happened on the same day as Shay's three-hour ordeal trying to get home from work...there was a major snowstorm, and none of the MBTA buses ever showed up. When Shay finally made it home to Revere - thoroughly drenched and chilled to the bone - she changed into old flannel pajamas and prepared to curl up and sleep. But Mike called her over to the window to look at the snowfall from the warmth and comfort of the apartment. Then, he got down on one knee and proposed. (It was actually rather comical...Shay standing there in old pajamas with a red face, runny nose, wet hair plastered to her head, and an expression of absolute astonishment.) We started planning for the wedding shortly thereafter.

The happy couple got married in Shay's hometown of Plains, Pennsylvania, on August 17, 2002, with a reception in Westford, Massachusetts, on August 24 for our New England based family and friends. We celebrated our fifth (!) anniversary this year, and look forward to many more to follow. Just the beginning of what will hopefully be a "happy ever after"...!