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    • Personal History

    The stories we tell about our lives, and the world, shapes our perception and experience. However, the more we hold onto and identify with our stories, the more unnecessary baggage we carry with us thru our lives...and beyond. Ultimately, all of the events of our lives are just experience, they are not who we are. 

    Despite the above, I have decided to share some of my own personal history here.

    A book is about to be released which relates both the discovery of a few previous lifetimes, and some of what happened as a result. Therefore, it seems sharing what came before that discovery, may provide some helpful context...

     

    Highlighters and Depositions - Houston, Texas (1991-1994)

    My career started as many do, as a result of nepotism. The first half of my tenure as a clerk at an international corporate law firm, involved ordering office supplies and keeping the supply rooms on each of the floors stocked with legal pads, a colorful assortment of pens and post-it notes, and endless reams of printer and copier paper. Later I also helped the IT department with computer maintenance, and the AV department with videotaping and editing deposition testimony. Although I ultimately left that experience for a remote mountain homestead run by old hippies, those years allowed me to develop both the discipline and interpersonal skills which, in retrospect, were an essential part of my working life.

     

    Self Reliance - Superstition Wilderness, Arizona (1994)

    It was at the Houston Public Library that I discovered the Directory of Intentional Communities. After a few months and a few postmarked letters, I sold my car and set out for Reevis Mountain School of Self Reliance. Those months as a member of the work exchange program were spent watering fruit and nut trees in the orchard, weeding an acre of organic vegetables, picking fresh grapes from the vine, and cleaning up chicken poop. I also learned how to make very tasty carob brownies.

    It was a great opportunity to learn what it was like to live before our modern society, with no phones, no distractions, and only minimal solar power in the community building. It took quite a while to adjust, but at the end it was hard leaving. On the long drive into the city, I debated what to do next. Either I could accept an invitation to participate in the work exchange program at Harbin Hot Springs, where I could learn Watsu and other healing arts, or I could return to Texas and work as an AV technician. By the time they dropped me off at the Greyhound Bus station in Apache Junction, I had made my decision.

     

    Apprenticeship - Fort Worth, Texas (1996-2001)

    After spending a year as a Hotel and Convention Center AV technician, I found an entry level position at a Home Theater company. For the first few months I worked as a manual laborer, then moved into the warehouse, where I managed inventory and helped with scheduling.

    Over the next 5 years I went on to setup and manage the internal computer network, became certified in Panasonic PBX systems, Lutron Lighting systems, Crestron automation systems, and was the resident ISF certified Sony CRT projector calibrator. In addition to being a programmer and project manager, I also did system design, proposals and sales. Essentially, I had my hands in everything it took to run a 30 person electronics installation company.

    This period of my life amounted to what in the past would have been considered an apprenticeship. However, the time came when there was an opportunity to partner with someone who ran a 2-man company and had access to funding, but didn’t have experience running larger high-end projects. It was a hard decision, but in the end I decided that the opportunity to be a partner in a new venture, while risky, was too good to pass up.

     

    Three Amigos - Arlington, Texas (2001-2003)

    We were Three Amigos, full of enthusiasm and ambition, and despite all of us being in our late 20’s, we were able to achieve quite a bit in a short period of time. Due to my previous relationship with the Panasonic, Lutron Lighting and Crestron sales reps, and a substantial deposit on a project from a previous client that needed all three product lines in their new home, we were able to become dealers for all three fairly quickly.

    At 18 months into our venture we were 7 talented and hard working people, all under 40, who had gained the trust of high-end builders and architects, and some notable clients in the DFW area. We had covered operating expenses and payroll without additional funding, had over $1M of scheduled business in various stages of completion, and had more projects coming soon. Things were great, but conflicts developed between the partners due to irreconcilable differences in operating philosophy, and it became clear that the best way forward, was for me to leave. So, I trusted my intuition, and took another leap into the unknown.

     

     

    Fort Worth Client

    Program, Design, Consult - Austin, Texas (2003-2009)

    There was no downtime, as a client in Fort Worth was building a new home and asked me to handle their AV and security systems, and the builder on that project also asked me to manage a large multi-floor data cabling project for Lockheed. As those projects were wrapping up and things were starting to slow down, a call from Crestron came asking if I could help a dealer in Austin.

    Ultimately I relocated to Austin full-time, kept meeting people who needed help, and kept saying yes. Over the next 6 years, I worked as a contract programmer and consultant to several Audio Video companies, and worked directly for other residential and commercial clients. During my time in Austin, I was fortunate to meet and work with some great people.

     

    • (Contract) Programmed and implented a Crestron automation system at the Austin home of a US Congressional Representative.
    • (Direct) Designed and managed the installation of Crestron automation and Lutron Lighting systems, Phone and Gate Entry systems, and Audio Video systems for a 24,000 sq.ft. house outside of Austin.
    • (Direct) Designed and programmed several Crestron systems for MSDF.
    • (Contract) Programmed and implemented a Crestron based interface to Security, Camera and Access Control systems at the Texas Governor's Mansion in Downtown Austin.
    • (Direct) Obtained Canadian work visa and assisted in completion of 3 Crestron projects in Vancouver Canada, including one aboard a 55' motor yacht.

     

    Managing large projects with a lot of moving parts is anything but easy, as they usually involve long lead times, endless meetings and inevitable scheduling delays. However, the payoff was always the finished product, seeing your design come to life. One Sunday afternoon in the spring of 2009, while sitting on my back porch listening to the sound of a creek in the distance, I found myself debating whether I should say yes to another project. It was a hard decision as it implied a multi-year commitment, and it quickly became clear that I felt burned out.

    As much as I enjoyed the work, I had been going nearly non-stop since 1996, and the excitement had started to wear off. I reflected on my time in the Arizona desert 15 years earlier, living in a yurt and watching the sunset while listening to the nearby creek, and realized it was time for a change.

     

    Thailand House

    US and International (2009-present)

    In 2009 I left Austin for a remote writers cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, with the intention of writing a book. That journey led to a path that could not have been anticipated, as detailed in the forthcoming book, We Meet Again.