insixthgradeiwouldhavemyowncomputer,thoughnointernetyet.ithadwindows98se,apentiumIIprocessorand64mbofram.itwasanoffbrandpccalledapionex.mysearchforthespecificmodelihadonebaywerealwaysunsuccessful,andthescarcityofdriversforitturnedmeawayfromanypossiblenostalgiapurchaseofoneshoulditpopup.stillthough,thiswasmycomputer!ididn't have to share it with anyone! i spent most of my time learning how to draw in paint with a mouse. sometimes i would make things for my mom and print them out. soon though, that curiosity grew in me, there was more to this thing than paint. so i would just look around on the computer. i'dbrowseallthefolders.ifoundthewindowsdirectoryinterestinginparticular,itseemedratherimportant,soiwascareful.butiwouldlookthroughitandwonderwhatalltheseoddlynamedfileswerefor.sometimesi'dclickonrandomprogramsthatwereinthewindowsfolder,justtoseeiftheydidanything.
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asigrewolderibecameawareitwaspossibletobuildyourowncomputer,soduringhighschooliwouldlearnhowtodojustthat.itwasn't anything special, but it played the now online multiplayer FPS games i was playing far better than the old HP i had at the time. around this time i started visiting the bookstore too, always drawn to the tech section. i kept seeing books about this thing called linux. i didn'tknowwhatthiswasyet,buteachofthebookscamewithlinuxonacd.iwouldlearnfromthebooksbyskimmingthatlinuxwasanoperatingsystemlikewindows.butitjustcameinthesebooks!ithoughtthiswasquiteinteresting.aftersometimeandhavingbrowsedenoughmagazinesandbooksonlinuxtoreallyfireupmycuriosity.ipurchaseda20GBMaxtorIDEharddriveandacopyofSuSELinuxfromCompUSA.ithensomehowmanagedtogetthisdriveinstalledandsetupadualbootsystem.idon'trecallwhereorhowilearnedtodothis,butidoknowididnotregretwipingmywindowsinstallthattime.impressiveiknow;)
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asiwasnearingtheendofhighschool,thatallimportantquestionstartedgettingasked.what's next? what do i want to do for the rest of my life? when i graduated in 2009, it was pretty apparent the american dream was dead. i saw what happened to my mom and people she worked with during the financial recession. but when you're18youstillhaveanabsurdfeelingofinvincibility,thatitmightsomehowbedifferentforyou.mytimeinthefieldoftechwasn't all that remarkable, and really what i learned was that i should'veneverdidsomethingilovedforajob.myfulltimecareerwascutshortattheadviceofmydoctor,thoughimaybeabletoworkparttimeinthefuture.thereareparttimetechprojectsthatpopupfromtimetotimeinmycity.usuallynothingfancy.somethinglikeacompanythathasn't learned imaging and needs to panic install a new copy of windows. but i think doing that part time i could live with. i feel a lot different about myself and work than i used to. sometimes i'mjusthappyimadeitthroughmyfulltimecarerralive.'causeyeah,itgotthatbadatpoints.