Spark notes:
I grew up in the Midwest. We didn't have much, but we did alright. Most importantly, I had plenty of love and support, and I never went hungry.
In high-school, I sat first chair trumpet, and received two state pins in soccer and diving.
I lived in Miami for a year where I studied, became a certified sailor, and spent most of my weekends in the keys.
I transferred to Illinois State University where I studied finance and dreamed of working with equity portfolios and creating financial models. While I was there, I met a beautiful girl from Austria who is now my wife and best friend.
While working at Ascensus, I taught myself to code and fell in love with optimizing processes.
I changed my trajectory to follow what I like to think of as the "logical path", and began the long haul of filling in educational gaps in computer science. This culminated in the pursuit of my masters from the University of Illinois.
My wife and I lived in the UAE for a year, where I became a coding hermit inside an air conditioned box, and adopted some cats which we named Billy, Beans and Burrito.
I currently live and work in Chicago where I do mix of devops and software work, read philosophy, and attempt to keep the existential dread at bay.
Professionally, I believe that a simple, fluid answer to the question "what do you do" is infinitely more valuable than defining yourself:
I do everything I can.
I have a broad skillset that I am constantly working to expand.
I do not subscribe to the "not my job" mentality.
What I do subscribe to is the ideology that there are always things that need to be done, and there are usually ways to do them.
If we wanted to be a little more specific...
I spent a little time with a pad of paper, and here's how I see a generalized potential performance metric:
If you actually took the time to digest the above:
I like to think I have a pretty decent creativity multiplier and learning speed, so based on the given task and my prior knowledge on the subject, I'm usually confident I can close any knowledge gaps to accomplish an objective in a performant amount of time (of course, given enough motivation)
Not exactly peer reviewed science, but generally not a bad metric.
People can peacefully and respectfully have differing beliefs.
Life is an inevitable product of the infinite chaos of the universe. There is no reason or meaning for it.
It simply is, was, and will always have been.
The idea of "God" is multifaceted and can be different for everyone. I neither believe nor do I disbelieve.
I also do not cast judgement on others for having a more absolute standing on the matter.
If you give your word, keep it.
Information is simultaneously the greatest tool and the greatest weapon known to man.
Strong opinions warrant strong evidence.
Individuals should be assumed good and compassionate until shown to be otherwise.
Power should never be coveted.
Humanity's accumulated actions are in fact altering the climate.
Rights are a fantasy, Privileges are a reality.