I have a long history with computers. They are a large part of my life, and have been for a long time. I’m planning to have them be a big part of my future also. I want to work helping to develop the next generation of computers. This life long love affair got started when I got my first computer way back when.
I got my first computer in first grade. The computer was an IBM compatible Emerson 15Mhz with a 40Meg hard drive. It was completely different from the Apple IIe that I had used at school. At first I was reluctant to learn to use it, but that didn’t last long. Eventually I realized that even though at first my parents had seemed to know computers well, they knew nothing. So I plugged on, slowly learning the archaic DOS commands. That was soon to change though.
Eventually I was blessed with a new computer. The new one was a real screamer, a custom built 33Mhz with a 245Meg hard drive. The computer also came with Windows 3.1, the first real version of Microsoft Windows. I was fascinated with Windows. It blew away all that I was used to with computers, and soon I became completely engorged in learning Windows. It didn’t take long before I knew every in and out of Windows. With Windows also came my first round of real computer games.
The first computer game that I every played on my computer was Space Quest IV. I had been into Star Trek, even as a little kid, and this game completely satisfied my need for more. I hate to admit it, but the only way that I ever beat this game was by getting the hint book to walk my way through it. The other early game that I got was Where in Time is Carmen Santiago. This was a little bit different from the Where In the World is Carmen Santiago which is the game most people know from the series, but I still enjoyed it. These games eventually spawned a long gaming career. These games were also the bane that required me to upgrade my computer.
I went through two more custom computers, a 66Mhz and a 120Mhz. I soon tired of relying on others to upgrade my computer, and turned to my own skills. I built my next computer, a 233Mhz from scratch. This allowed my to get up close with computers, and I’ll never order one again. By now I have built around 10 computers from scratch for different people, including 2 more for my self. I made a little money from building people’s computers, and I realized that computers had a lot of money to be made in them and that I was going to dedicate my life to them. This life turning moment was in 8th Grade, the year that I ran our Tech-Ed class at the middle school. Well technically Mr. Pollard ran the class, but he would have been totally lost without me.
It was a life turning event. My whole life since then has been shaped around computers. I now have a job at Best Buy as a Computer Product Specialist. I also do repairs for people’s computer, which pulls in a little more dough. Now I am also looking at going to a local college next year in order to continue my education in computers to a whole new level. Pretty much computers have been good to me and I have been good to them. Actually scratch that last part; there have been plenty of times where even I have hated these stupid machines for not doing what I told them to do.
