When I was a kid, my grandfather showed me something that blew my little mind: his new Atari Pong console. I'm pretty sure that was the day that my interest in computing began. Later, in high school, I didn't hesitate to sign up for a "Programming In Basic" class which was offered after The Tandy Corporation donated 30 new TRS-80s. (insert Blade Runner "like tears in the rain" meme here.)
I was distracted by storytelling for quite a while though. I was a theatre artist from age 12 on into my mid-30s. From my teens into my mid-20s I waited tables to support my theatre habit. Then, after the Mosaic browser introduced the world to the WWW, I switched to tech support to pay the bills.
I quickly realized that working with talented, passionate people on building Internet-related products and services to delight users could be as fun as working on a theatrical production to delight audiences. So I kept a foot in both worlds (theatre and tech) for 10 years, building out tech support infrastructure for startups by day, rehearsing and performing during nights and weekends.
Then I became a parent. A choice had to be made. So, to provide better opportunities for my kids, I shelved my theatre habit and stayed focused on tech and parenting.
After working with a few startups early in my career, I settled at a real estate technology startup for almost 18 years. They were acquired by a larger company during my 14th year. I survived the first round of layoffs, but not the second. I didn't realize it at the time, but I was very fortunate to have been laid off when I was, because...
Then I had the good fortune of being invited to join PostHog in March of 2024. I'm writing this after only three days on the job, but I really don't recall having been this excited by a new job in a very long time (or ever, if I omit a few choice acting roles from that list. 😊)
In my free time, I can usually be found practicing guitar (late blooming hobbyist, started learning in 2017), listening to music, reading, working on my website, spending time with one or both of my sons, and/or our 3 cats.
Epilogue:
There is a place for pineapple on pizza.*
* but only if the only other topping is pepperoni. 🤓