At this point in my life I have developed a diverse set of tallents, skills and passions. With the majority of my life still ahead of me and a seeming disconnect between these areas, it seems nesecary that I should find some place to bring everything together. With that in mind, I have developed this site as a framework for my future endevors and a portal through which I hope to introduce myself to the world.
I was born into a working class family with an entrepenural spirit. This highly influenced my desire to learn to do things on my own, mostly because we couldn't afford to hire someone else. I think this is likely the reason that I took up the study of computers in the first place. Information technology was a burgeoning industry in the mid and late nineties. As such, there was a lot of money to be made and a lot of potential for future employment. I began my college career studying Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Technology at Western Carolina University. Originally, I had inteneded to learn everything I could about computers and electronics in order to assemble the computerized homes of the future. While I never completed either of these original degrees, I did learn some of the basics of computer programming, networking, engineering, and electronics repair. I have continued my studies and after several years and many more majors, including Networking, Programming, Computer Information Systems, and the Cullinary Arts, I finally completed my Associate of Arts degree at Asheville Buncombe Technical Community College in the summer of 2008. I continued on to study Philosophy and Political Science at the University of North Carolina at Asheville where I graduated with my B.A. in May of 2010. I am now continuing my education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where I am studying Transatlantic Political Science in the hopes of earning an M.A. in May of 2012.
As I mentioned before, I come from a working class familiy, and as such I spent more of the past 10 years working rather than studying. Since my family owned and opperated a small chain of restaurants called Carolina Sub & Deli (and later Candler Sub & Deli) from 1995 - 2002, I was naturally drawn to the restaurant industry. I could command a larger sallary in restaurants because of my extensive experience designing menues, writing schedules, counting inventory, and creating financial reports. This allowed me to walk into several managment positions over the years and by the time I was 25 I had ten years of restaurant managment experience. Additionally, in 1995 I purchased the parts and built my first computer. Since then I have been the computers systems of my family and friends as well as developing the bookkeeping systems for my families businesses and a few others. This provided me with twelve years of experience in computer repair and information technology. Over the years I have held positions on the sales floors of Walmart & Bestbuy, in the kitchens of various fast food and casual dining restaurants, and also worked the customer service counter of a Gateway Country store just before they closed (that's where I was on 9/11). During the last few years I have been able to transform my computer tallents and training into income which has allowed me to focus on my education. I've also been able to derive some income through writing and photography which are two areas that I intend to persue further.
Over the years, my education and careers have lead me to develop a passion for philosophy, politics, information technology, photography, research, and academic study. I have found that by working for myself I am better able to afford to continue my education and I plan to continue both for a long time to come. Even after completing my advanced degrees there will be on going training and research to look forward to. At the same time, each advancement in my education and research will open doors for future writing and consulting contracts. If you think you could use my unique perspective in a project, please contact me and we can discuss it further.