For my first post, I thought I would tell you a little bit about me. Here's little bit about me, told as a journey through my history with computers...
My first experience with a computer was a TRS 80. I had no idea at the time how much of an influence that tiny computer, in a tiny town in upstate New York would influence my life. I can still remember loading the cassette tape to save my work. While the TRS 80 might have been the first computer I used, it was just the beginning of my journey.
When I was a sophomore in high school, my family moved to Poughkeepsie, NY, and again fortune smiled on me as I landed in a school that had about 20 IBM PC's. I spent a lot of time with those IBM PC's. Not only did I have them at school, but a family friend, and IBM manager, would frequently exchange computer time for yard work. I learned a lot from those old 5.25" floppy disks!
When I started college, I picked the obvious computer science major. However, I quickly realized in my first semester that the thought of sitting and debugging Turbo Paschal was like sticking hot pokers in my eyes. Not something that I am proud of, but I quit college. I could not bear sitting through discrete math and spending another Saturday debugging code only to find a stray semi-colon.
After some time away from academics and technology, the pull of computers and coding drew me back. As much as I fought it, I just could not get away from the passion and curiosity that a computer held for me. I ended up helping that family friend with some minor projects and eventually landed a job at IBM. My first introduction to OS/2 Warp, VM, JCL and many other new experiences.
My passion for education and learning took me to pursue a degree in Philosophy. Again, turning away from technology to a true passion of mine and what I thought of as my career path. But even then, I spent more time on the MacIntosh Plus and in the computer lab than in the library.
After receiving a B.A. Philosophy, I thought the future held a graduate degree, but again computers pulled me back in. I landed in Tampa, FL and ended up having to make ends meet as post-graduate students do. I went to work for IBM again, this time supporting a chain drug store's point of sale (POS) and pharmacy systems. I learned a bit of SCO Unix there and was still fighting my true career path.
I landed in Atlanta, GA in 1995 and spent the next 12 years working, learning and maturing professionally at Hewlett-Packard. Somewhere in the first 2 years of those 12, I finally let myself enjoy coding and all of the great things that can come from this incredible piece of technology I now have on my lap. I wore many hats at HP, from Help Desk Specialist to Software Architect at the end. Those 12 years at HP were spent with some incredible people, doing some really great things, and I learned a great deal!
In 2006, it was time to make another change. I met Tommy and Danny Ryan in the spring of 2006, and by June 2006 was thrilled to be joining the team at ThreeWill. I have now spent more than 10 years at ThreeWill, helping to solve client business challenges and continuing to learn more and more every year.
In the fall of 2014, I had the opportunity to make another minor change. I began getting involved in the Atlanta technology and developer community. With all of the help, mentoring and assistance I have had through the years, it just felt like it was time to start giving back in some way. I now enjoy spending time on organizing and conducting conferences, user groups and other events in the Atlanta area.
That's a bit about me that spans nearly 35 years. It has been an incredible journey and I continue to enjoy learning new things every year - there is NEVER a lack of things to learn in this industry.
If you see me at one of these events in Atlanta, or anywhere else for that matter, say hello. I may look intimidating, but I am very friendly!