Category Archives: personal

Thankful #20: Real Studio

Today I am thankful for Real Studio.

Every now and then, I come across a product or technology that not only makes my life better, but it changes the direction of my career.

Real Studio, for those who don’t know, is a cross-platform development environment. I started using it when it was still called REALbasic, back around 2002 or so. I had been trying to get into computer programming for years before that, but it never really “took” with me. One day my friend (and boss at the time) Dave came into my office and said, “Have you thought about REALbasic?”

Dave and I were trying to come up with ideas for our own business, and one of those ideas was custom software. We began with FileMaker Pro, but we quickly hit the limits of what we could do with it. So I tried REALbasic, and it was like the heavens opened. Suddenly I could write my own software, and it was easy.

At that point, my career started to change. I had been doing mostly tech support, along with a bit of database work and some web design, up to that point. After diving into REALbasic, I started spending more and more time building custom applications, at work and at home.

I became very involved in the REALbasic community, which is a friendly and supportive bunch. I attended Real World, the developer conference for REALbasic programmers, five times. I even presented at the conference for three years in a row. Somehow I ended up as original board member of the Association of REALbasic Professionals (although I had to step before their public launch because of family issues).

At work, I developed Kodiak, a student information system that I built from the ground up to do attendance, discipline, grades, transcripts, report cards, assessment tracking, progress monitoring, and state reporting. Kodiak was retired in 2009, but I learned an amazing amount building it. I even built a parent portal using a different programming language: PHP, which is what I use every day in my job now.

At home, I wrote some shareware programs that mostly revolved around blogging. I never made much money from them, but I learned a lot, and I earned enough to buy a new computer (granted, it was a piece of junk white box from Tiger Direct, but still).

Learning REALbasic, later renamed Real Studio, gave me the confidence I needed to learn other programming languages. It literally changed the course of my career and my life.

Maybe I should write a book about it….

I am thankful for Real Studio.

Thankful #19: My Career

Today I am thankful for my career.

Not just my current job, for which I am thankful, but the whole arc of my career.

I started working in technology in 1992, when I was attending college with the hopes of being an English teacher. Somehow I ended up doing some clerical work for a local software developer who also did some hardware reselling and support.

One day they were short staffed, and they needed someone to visit a customer site. So they said, “Hey Brad, do you think you could install this tape backup drive for a client?”

I responded with the five words that have gotten me in more trouble than any other words in my life: “How hard can that be?”

That started me down the road.

It took me a while to let go of teaching, though. But I eventually found a way to combine my educational background with my vocational experience when I took a job as a computer lab aide at Hans Herr Elementary School in Lampeter Strasburg. That job paid very poorly, but it was the best job I ever had. I would actually wake up on weekdays excited about going to work. I loved working with the kids, and I even got to spend a couple hours a day outside being the Recess Guy. That was so much fun.

But we all have to grow up and soon I took a full time “grown up” job in the tech department of the Eastern Lancaster County School District. That lasted five weeks, until Etown came calling and offered me more money and more responsbility.

Twelve more years passed at Etown before my current boss called me and asked me to apply for my current job at Manheim Township.

It’s been a fun ride, and I never would have predicted where I’d end up. And who knows? Maybe the ride isn’t over yet.

I am thankful for my career.

Thankful #18: Facebook

Today I am thankful for Facebook.

Sounds silly, I know, but there’s something you need to know about me: I hate, hate, hate talking on the phone. Not at work – I mean it’s part of my job – but for idle chit chat and just catching up, I’d much rather type than talk. Heck, even most of my communication with my wife is via iMessage and iChat.

So Facebook has allowed me to stay in touch better with so many people, because the phone is no longer the only way to stay in touch. Yeah, there was email, but I find that most people I know don’t check their email very often (this is exceedingly strange to me; I check my email dozens if not hundreds of times per day).

And it’s been great catching up with people I haven’t seen since high school or even earlier. It’s funny to think about the things that we all argued about and drew lines about back then, and not we’re all pushing 40 and just trying to make it through each day.

Throw in event management, photo sharing, and group pages, and you have a great platform to share from.

I am thankful for Facebook.

Thankful #17: Apple

Today I am thankful for Apple.

This is another one that I hope doesn’t sound too superficial or crass, but I really am thankful for Apple and their products.

Apple’s devices have transformed my life and career. I think it’s safe to say that I wouldn’t be working in my current field if it weren’t for Apple.

My first Mac, a Mac Classic purchased in 1991, convinced me that computers were in my future.

My first iPod, and I don’t remember the model, allowed me to experience new levels of freedom while listening to my music.

My first iPhone, a 3GS purchased in 2009, helped me lose weight and get into shape, among so many other things.

My iPad, the original model purchased in 2010, has changed the way I think about user interfaces and web design.

My current iPhone, a 4S I bought in the spring, has allowed me to capture so many moments in pictures and in video (as they say, the best camera is the one you have with you).

I am thankful for Apple.

Thankful #16: Running

Today I am thankful for running.

A few years ago, I never would have dreamed that I would now be a recreational runner. The thought was, frankly, absurd. I was always the guy who joked that “I only run when someone’s chasing me!”

Which, I now realize, isn’t all that funny.

While I initially started running, specifically with the Couch to 5K program, to lose weight, I quickly became addicted. The “runner’s high” is most definitely a real thing, and something I love to experience.

I can’t explain it, but there’s nothing like the way you feel after running miles and miles and miles, doing things you never thought your body could do.

Up until now, my longest run has been 14 miles, just slightly longer than the two half marathons I’ve run. I was hoping to run a full marathon in 2012, before I turn 40, but I just didn’t have the time to invest in training.

Maybe next year.

I am thankful for running.

Thankful #15: The Juan Catorce Band

Today I am thankful for The Juan Catorce Band.

This is a project I started with my wife and our friend Shawn Vago just under a year ago. Actually, that’s not true. It really started in the summer of 2011, with the three of us as well as our friend Matt Wheeler.

I was asked to lead worship at Clipper Stadium that August, so I put together a temporary worship band, consisting of Jen on bass, Shawn on drums, Matt on acoustic guitar, and me on electric guitar. The speaker that night was Don Piper, and the event was sponsored by a group of Baptist churches. At least one of the churches in attendance was primarily Spanish-speaking, so they provided an interpreter.

Now, I love the Spanish language. I took five years of it and could listen to it all day. As a result. I enjoyed the interpreter almost as much as the main speaker. The highlight for me was when Piper referred to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John and the interpreter said, “Juan Catorce.”

I leaned over to my wife and said, “If I ever start another band, it will be called The Juan Catorce Band.”

And I was right. A few months later Jen and Shawn and I started playing with a focus on worship music, although it eventually grew to encompass my original songs as well.

Shameless plug: we’re playing at the Community Room in Lancaster this Friday at 7PM if you want to hear us. 🙂

I am thankful for The Juan Catorce Band.

Thankful #14: Superficial Charm

Today I am thankful for Superficial Charm.

Superficial Charm is the name of a band I started in 2008.

We’ve gone through many iterations and variations and lineup changes, but one thing has remained the same: it’s a lot of fun.

We’re currently a three piece, consisting of my friend Tom on bass, my friend Jerry on drums, and me on guitar. Although I originally started Superficial Charm with the goal of having a place to perform some of my original songs, we’ve since evolved into a cover band. Typical covers include songs by bands such INXS, U2, Green Day, Weezer, and even The Bangles and Talking Heads.

Our rehearsals are, for me at least, much more than a chance to work on some music. It’s therapy for me, a chance to blow off some steam and just forget about life for a couple hours.

And we do need to schedule some shows, so if you happen to need the third greatest cover band in Lancaster County, hit me up.

I am thankful for Superficial Charm.