I was raised in Kansas City, Kansas, and moved to Texas (DFW) when I was 17.
I did poorly all through school, I was always quite bored, did minimal work. However, I did learn to read quite well – but that had little to do with the Government Education System.
My initial foray into the job market was a construction worker, digging tunnels. This was manual labor, using an air spade and a shovel. Later, I worked above ground construction, everything from roofing, remodeling, preparing sites for concrete pads, etc. Subsequent to this, I worked in a inventory selection warehouse, then in a fabrication facility.
Just before the inventory selection job, I decided to get an education. I chose I.T.T. Technical Institute and got an Associates Degree in the field of Electronics. There were better decisions than I.T.T., but I did not realize this at the time. ITT has been shut down, incidentally.
About six months after I graduated, I went to work for Konica as a copier tech. I worked there for almost 5 years. During this time, I started independent training about computers and the Internet.
I left Konica and went to work for a small I.T firm. Things did not work there long term, and eventually, I started my own Computer / Networking / Internet consulting company. I ran this company for about 5 years until I just shut it down. Between the economy, my lack of business skills, having an affair which radically impacted my life – I just didn’t give a rat’s ass anymore. Just between you and me (and the whole freakin’ Internet), I’ve made a lot of dumb mistakes. I’ve also learned a lot about myself, people and life. I’ll share many of these things with you in my posts to come.
I’ve worked in the I.T. field in various roles, always learning – and also learned an awful lot about myself.
I moved to Washington State for a bit, traveling, working, and exploring the Pacific Northwest. Main areas of exploration were Oregon and Washington State.
Subsequent, I have been much of a nomad. I’ve been in a couple of relationships, I traveled from the West Coast to the East Coast, and on the East Coast from Florida to Maine.
I was asked by my brother-in-law to come to Texas to help on a project removing scratches from glass. This has turned into almost a year in Texas. After 5 years away from Texas summers, I remembered without a doubt why I left. I will be headed north BEFORE Texas summer arrives.
I started a podcast, called Blue Collar Voices. I’ve recorded with people across various Blue Collar industries, and I’ve interacted with many, many more.
I got to recently travel to Iowa and Minnesota where I met three different people that were on my podcast. Those three people were great to meet, and I was honored to spend time with them. From the earliest podcast to the most recent they were:
Nathan Tuomi – Episode 3
Robert Chickey – Episode 8
Marc LeConte – Episode 19
I’m learning more about video editing and photography. Of particular satisfaction for me is my acquisition of a drone – just a Mavic Mini (one), but it is pretty awesome.
My current living quarters are a minivan that I live in after making some modifications. After many months of living in it, I have a better idea of what I want to do to make it more comfortable and useful.
Stay tuned.
@FollowJohnC is dedicated to sharing them with you.