About me

I started programming at 12 because I was bored with the games I was playing. Spent two years learning C++ to build my own game - like Dwarf Fortress but with way fewer features. It worked pretty poorly, but I loved trying to make it work.

That turned into about a decade of building software professionally. Every project teaches me something new. I learned that coding is the easy part - the hard part is figuring out what to build and making sure it stays maintainable.

My five years at Albelli changed everything. The Solution Architect on my team showed me how fun programming could be and how much there was to learn. Working with him was humbling - I realized how little I knew. But that just made me want to learn more. He taught me that thinking you know everything is when you stop being a good developer.

After Albelli, I spent two years at Rangle consulting for different clients. Learned a lot about how different companies work. Now at Storyteq, I'm the architect making sure all our systems work together. Turns out I'm at my best when things are on fire - high pressure situations help me focus on what actually matters.

Moving from writing code to being an architect has been tough. Still is. Instead of fixing things myself, I have to trust others to do it. Sometimes it's frustrating when I know I could just do it myself. But it's also rewarding - I get to see the bigger picture and make a different kind of impact.

I love solving puzzles and finding clean solutions. Taking a messy system and breaking it down into manageable pieces - that's what keeps me interested.

I really enjoy working with legacy systems - turning them into something that scales and actually works. Old code has its own challenges - many developers today can't even read pre-ES5 JavaScript. These problems take time to understand before you can solve them. That's what makes them fun.

What I like about being an architect is solving bigger problems. When you're connecting multiple systems, you have to think beyond just one application. The hard part is that what's best for one part might not be best for the whole system. Making those trade-offs is where it gets interesting.

I have high standards for my work - sometimes too high. I'm always fighting between making it perfect and just getting it done. Add ADHD to the mix and you get someone who can either focus on one thing for 12 hours or jump between five things in five minutes. When it works, it's great - I can dive deep into problems while also spotting connections others miss.

When I'm not working, I'm hanging out with my fiancé and our pets - three dogs and two cats who run the house. They keep us busy.

I'm always reading some fantasy book - currently Sanderson's Mistborn series. I jump between George R.R. Martin, Terry Pratchett, and Robin Hobb a lot. But Arthur Conan Doyle might be my favorite - those original detective stories are just perfect.

Lately I've been learning low-level programming - Rust, Zig, and C. Building compilers and game engines from scratch. It's not useful for my day job, but that's what makes it fun. My projects folder is full of half-finished experiments where I learned what I wanted and moved on. Maybe I'll finish one someday.

I mainly play OSRS on PC (yes, still), and games like Expedition 33. I prefer solo or co-op games where you can explore and build at your own pace.

I've been working out on and off since I was 16. After being less active for a couple years, I'm getting back into shape. The gym helps clear my head - lifting heavy things often helps me solve problems I've been stuck on.