When I was but a wee lad, I loved to build things. And destroy them. I loved to take things apart to figure out how they worked, and on occasion, I found myself unable to reassemble them. My aptitude for and love of technology was unbound, and it ran amok. When I grew up, I wanted to be an inventor. I wanted to make awesome stuff that could do cool things, especially spaceships.

My upbringing was not monetarily rich, but full of rich experiences, opportunities, and a strong focus on family-orientation. Despite my lack of extravagances, my mother believed I deserved the best education I could get, and as such (with the help of grants, scholarships, hard work, and luck) I wound up going to some very nice schools.

From 1992 to 2002, I went to the Avery Coonley School in Downers Grove, IL. Avery Coonley is a small private school for preschool through grade 8. Each grade had 32 children, divided into two classes (A and B) of 16 each. I learned and grew, and became well-rounded in concepts of science, mathematics, language arts, world history, music, art, theatre, and French language (taught across all ten years I spent there). I was not the best student in my school, let alone my grade. Ok, I wasn't even the best student in my class. I may have been among the worst, grade-wise. While I had problems with getting my homework done, and with paying attention in class, it was not because I was stupid or unmotivated. I just had more interesting things on my mind. Spaceships, inventions, science fiction. The works.

Besides the all-school Medieval Faire, Shakespeare Festival, Spring Fair, and other activities, I took part in many extracurriculars. I was in Chess Club, Art Club, Drama Club, Computer Club, and Tech Club (theatre lights and sound). I was on the soccer team and the chess team. I won First Place in the Regional Science Fair in both 7th and 8th grade; my project studied the effects of airplane wing shape and surface area on lift generated.

From 2002 to 2006, I went to Conserve School in Land O' Lakes, WI (no, not where the butter comes from). Conserve School was a small private college preparatory high school dedicated to raising future environmental stweards, which was situated on 1,200 acres of wooded land close to the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Every class had an environmental inclination, and in between classes or after class, we got to partake of the great outdoors. Many of our classes regularly took place outdoors, and the ones that did not occasionally stepped outside just for the sake of being outside. The total student body peaked at 138 students before I graduated. I knew each and every one by name.

I took many of the normal high school classes, but I also took advantage of many of the unique opportunities afforded me by my enrollment in this unique school. I learned Mandarin Chinese for all four years, including a 17-day trip across China in the spring term of my Junior year. I learned how to culture and identify microorganisms in Microbiology. I trekked through the mathemagical lands of Algebra I and II, Precalculus, and finally on to Calculus AB in my senior year. I took physics, biology, and environmental chemistry. I participated in several archaeological digs, both on-campus and elsewhere in my Archaeology class.

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I made many close friends, joined and formed many clubs, and I hosted and DJ/MC-d unofficial school dances once every couple of months. I was a founding member (and webmaster) of the Anime Club. I was the teacher's assistant in a three-week Photoshop class. I was a Student Ambassador, welcoming and touring new and prospective students and their families around campus. I was a member of the Student Technology Assistants, and helped the school IT staff manage the high volume of support needed by the faculty and the student body. My roommate and I teamed up with another friend and won the C++ portion of a programming competition in Appleton, WI. We would also stay up late testing out software, hacking things, working on different operating systems, updating computer hardware, and playing with web server technologies. I spent plenty of time in the Technology Complex learning 3D modeling, playing with the 3D printer, and crafting things out of electronic components, wood, and whatever else we had available.

I participated in soccer through my Freshman, Sophomore, and Junior years, and Baseball in my Senior year. I was finally convinced to join Quiz Bowl (Scholastic Bowl) in my senior year, and was a loyal member of the C team. I was required, in place of a traditional gym class, to log three thirty-minute cardio sessions, as well as two weight room workout sessions per week. I would also regularly climb the realistic rock wall in the Recreation Center; fellow climbing enthusiasts and I would compete to see who could use the fewest handholds and footholds, or who could climb one of the courses with just their hands. I biked the trails several times per week when it was warm outside, and when I wasn't biking them, I was wandering them with friends. Each year, a couple of friends and I would take part in the team triathlon -- I would do the biking portion. I attended the yearly all-school ski trips, and I joined Ski Club so I could go on even more ski trips.

After applying to (and not being accepted to) several top engineering schools to pursue my lifelong dream of being an aerospace engineer or literal rocket scientist, I decided I would take the opportunity to save some money on the first couple years of my higher education. I went to College of Dupage in Glen Ellyn, IL. I enrolled in the Associates in Arts degree program, because the degree requirements looked reasonable, and the required courses looked interesting. Aside from the degree requirements, I took complete advantage of my ability to take elective classes, and indulged in some of my interests. I took Japanese in my first smeester, but decided that I would rather focus on the science behind how language works, and took several Linguistics classes across my subsequent semesters of enrollment. I took Anthropology and Sociology classes, a Science Fiction class, and an Astronomy class. I tested out of the mathematics requirements, as well as the basic reading and grammar requirements. I joined the Japanese Culture Club to supplement my interest in Japanese culture.

In my final semester, I applied for a job as a Student Assistant to the Anthropology Department. I worked a maximum of four hours per day as a paid employee. My responsibilities involved redesigning the department website; cataloguing the department's collection of bone cast replicas; maintaining the departmental display case in the hallway; and assisting the teachers with grading papers, tests, and preparing work for their students. Near the end of my enrollment, I began to look deeper into the different degree programs offered at College of DuPage, and finally decided to enroll in the Digital Systems program, which would cover my interest in electronics and electrical engineering, while providing a deeper education in the mathematics and science behind how modern digital electronics work. Before I had the chance to enroll, I was offered a full-time position working as a support technician at PosTrack Technologies in Joliet, IL.

Since I first took the position offered to me at the end of August 2008, I have advanced my knowledge and understanding of various computer and networking technologies. I have provided techical support for our Windows-based point of sale product, as well as our Linux-, Asterisk-, and MySQL-based VoIP product. While employed at PosTrack, I have learned the ins and outs of Windows XP and 7 and CentOS Linux. In my spare time, I have taught myself modern web technology, earned my CompTIA A+ certification, and continued educating myself in and experimenting with Microsoft technologies, various Linux varieties, and Apple technologies. I have designed and developed multiple electronic projects, learned AVR microcontroller programming, learned Xbox 360 and Wii video game console hacking, and generally expanded my knowledge in all areas of interest. I maintain a home network of two Windows PCs (one XP, one Vista), two Apple computers (one OS 9 iMac, one OS 10.6 MacBook Pro), one "hackintosh" Dell Mini 10v (running Apple OS 10.6), and one IBM Blade server (borrowed with permission from my employer) running CentOS 5.4, operating as a practice LAMP and Asterisk platform. I have configured all of my networked machines for remote access, and for a time utilized the Windows Vista computer as a media server. I am regularly expanding and modifying my home network, and I am always experimenting with new technologies, both virtual (in the form of programming languages), and physical (in the form of microcontrollers and computer hardware).

My plans for the future are closely related to my childhood dreams and interests. I plan to own several of my own companies within the next twenty to thirty years, one of which will be responsible for the design and manufacture of spaceships utilising advanced technology that my team of scientists and I invent and discover. I will have a vacation residence orbiting the Earth, in the form of a cargo ship which I will retro-fit to serve as a home. I plan to retire early in my 80s (I say early because the average Human lifespan will be 100 or more years by then -- and because I believe I will be fairly young at that age), and spend the remainder of my life exploring space.

While this may seem like a tongue-in-cheek, fantastical view of the future, I am optimistic that I will achieve these goals, and I am completely serious about my stated intentions.

I have many varied and far-reaching interests. In the world of electronic technology, I find myself fascinated by microelectronics, computer hardware, computer programming, computer networking, web hosting, web development, communication protocols, and hacking, modifying, or tweaking any of the above. In the world of mechanical technology, I find myself fascinated by complex systems, gears and levers, simple machines, and the general magic of how physics can do so many beautiful things, acting through so many varied and unique physical components. I like to conceive, develop, and manufacture prototypes of mechanical products, and the same is true of electrical products. I love aerospace engineering, aerodynamics, and anything that involves airplanes or spaceships, methods of propulsion, and methods of defying or sneaking around gravity. I am normally a law-abiding citizen, but that is one law I just cannot stand (without). I am always deeply interested in studying various aspects of the Human condition, especially in relation to language/communication, and how societies and cultures function. Philosophy, Spirituality, Religion — all are topics on which I could discuss and ponder for hours. I am intrigued by quantum physics and the mathematical explanations of the workings of the universe, to the level of defining and explaining reality using math. It seems like magic; it's almost a religion or a philosophy because of how "abstract" it can seem. Astronomy, space travel, invention...I can't list everything.

I find a strong attraction to puzzles and games. I tackle several sudoku each day, both on my commute to work, and on my commute home from work. I love playing with my Rubik's Cube and Square One, and I am fascinated by numerous other puzzles which I hope to purchase and tackle someday soon. I occasionally play at composing electronic music, despite my lack of traditional musical education. I take time out once in a while to record DJ mixes, using either vinyl and turntables; CDs and my CD players; or my laptop, USB soundcard, MIDI console, and DJ software suite. I love listening to and discovering music. I listen to slices of every genre, from Country to Happy Hardcore, from Acapella to Hip-Hop, from Blues to Electro, from Classic Rock to Dubstep. I love to take things apart and put them back together, and to find out how they work. I love to build things. I can never have enough Legos, Erector kits, or K'nex.