Thursday, September 6, 2012

A little more about me


I recently applied for a grant. Considering how long it has been since I posted anything I thought it would be nice share how I am moving forward.


I am an intrepid entrepreneur who is a geek at heart. I have always been fascinated with applied technology and how it can make things easier for everyone. A funny thing about me is I sometimes I find it easier to talk with computers. Computers can't lie; they don't brag or try to flatter the user. They do exactly what they are commanded when they are commanded. Although I find it frustrating at times to correctly use its syntax, computers do what they were correctly programmed to do. My fascination with these machines started when I was in High school back in 1992. I was a member of our school's computer club. Back in the day D.O.S., logo programming, BASICA, WordStar, Lotus 123 were state of the art. I got my first computer as my high school graduation gift. It was an IBM compatible 386 dx machine running at 33 MHz with 2 megabytes of EDO ram.  It didn't have a hard drive nor a dial-up modem, but the word processor running of the 1.2 MB 5.25" floppy drive helped me write my term papers. Nowadays with multi-core and touch screen smart phones everywhere, it's easy to conclude how accurate Moor's law remains true to this day.  Immaterial of how fast the technology evolved over the years, one thing has remained constant. That constant is my fascination and interest in technology.  I have two bachelor degrees under my belt and I've had the distinct pleasure of learning from and working for some telecom giants here in the US through their outsourced off-shore providers.  The irony however is that my academic degrees fail to reflect on my own personal interests.


By participating in the program I hope to acquire the necessary technical expertise and certifications   necessary to secure gainful and meaningful employment. It is my hope and desire to become an authority in my field of interest.

In five years’ time, I hope to become an organization's I.T. director. Should I fail to break through the glass ceiling however I would like my own business aspirations as outlined in my website (see: http://jakecastle.wix.com/solutions) become a reality. It goes without saying that I would like to gain financial independence and attain a certain degree of comfort and security.  I would like to have my own slice of the American dream: my own house, the means to start my own family and become a productive and responsible member of society.

One of the most inspirational moments in recent memory was when a kid around my neighborhood handed me some noodles. He said that it came from their clique to show their appreciation for putting up my humble gaming and internet shop.

I am a recent immigrant from Philippines from the city of Manila. It is a poverty stricken third world country where personal computers and broadband internet access are luxuries beyond the reach of a vast majority of the inner city kids. With minimal capitalization I managed to convert a portion of my residence into an internet cafe. Without formal academic training and without hiring external professionals I built and refurbished computers, installed the software, crimped the cables, installed the local area networked and opened shop.

 It was in that first week when I opened shop that the kid gave me that snack.  Those noodles were food for the soul. It was a token of their appreciation for my efforts. It was a symbol of what I had achieved and the amount of appreciation the public which I served had for my undertaking.   Whoever said you can't have your noodles and eat it too eh?

No comments:

Post a Comment