Hello World

When you begin to learn computer programming the first application they have you create is an application that simply prints the words "Hello World" on the screen. It is nothing special but for someone learning a new programming language it is a boost of confidence and reassurance to see those words.

Nearly three years ago I drove my dark green '94 Chevy Blazer from Ohio across the country to say "hello" to my new world in Arizona. I was leaving behind my parents, numerous friends, and the only place I had ever known as home. Lucky for me complete loneliness was not waiting for me in The Valley of the Sun. My girlfriend (now fiancée), Heather, had moved out to AZ two years prior for school and was riding shotgun with me to my new home.

(Heather and I - Engagement Photo)
I moved into a nice little apartment in Mesa, AZ. Apartment #313 would be my home for the following two years and right by my side (quite literally) was Heather in apartment #315. It was nearly a scene out of Friends, I could walk out my door, take about seven steps and be at her front door. If I needed to communicate with her I could simply pound on the wall that separated our one bedroom apartments.

Prior to moving I had begun the interviewing process with a software consulting company that I was hoping to get a job with. Just one month after moving to the valley I was offered a job with Software Architects, Inc. (also known as SARK). My career has gone well and my biggest problem is believing in myself and my abilities. As a consultant I have worked on projects for companies such as Best Western, Discount/America's Tire Co., Caremark, Giant Industries and I am currently leading the development of a pricing application for Allied Waste, the 2nd largest waste service company in the U.S.

Heather, my beautiful fiancé, recently became part owner of two Dairy Queen restaurants in Arizona. For the past five years she has been manager of a Dairy Queen in Tempe, AZ. Before moving out here she spent most of high school working at a DQ in our hometown of Van Wert, OH so needless to say she's very good at managing employees and running a very efficient store. Heather's boss is an amazing guy and a boss that I think anyone would be pleased to work for. He has recognized the huge positive impact that Heather has had on his store providing the store with great financial growth over the past few years. It was because of this that he recently made her a partner in his business and I couldn't be more proud of her.

I proposed to Heather while on a week long vacation in the Napa Valley wine region of California in April 2006. Heather and I love our wine! I blame it all on her but she totally got me hooked on wine when I came to visit her one time and we've been enjoying it ever since. Our trip to Napa was beautiful and I could not have imagined a better way to propose to Heather than at a nice winery in northern California. Currently we're planning for a fall wedding in October of this year.

In July of last year Heather and I decided to stop paying two rents and combined our money to get a nice apartment for the both of us in Chandler, AZ. Besides, we needed the extra space for the newest addition to our family. No, we didn't have a baby, we got a dog! Sera is our little five pound Yorkshire Terrier. She has been a blessing and a challenge for us and certainly helps prepare us for any children we may have in the future (although I realize children are a much much greater responsibility). Heather likes to refer to Sera as her "little bear" and yes, we spoil her quite often.

(Sera at three months old)
So now here I am. A few years into my career, about to be married and attempting to make Arizona my home as much as possible. Hello World.