I'm a software developer currently living in Nashville, TN. I enjoy learning about and experiencing different cultures, something I probably acquired through growing up in different places. The US certainly has a fairly consistent culture, but there's plenty of diversity in its regions. Born in the Midwest before moving to the Northeast and finally ending up in the South (not to forget summers with Grandma in sunny California!), I've had at least a small taste of the attitudes and approaches to life of people across the US.

One of the most prominent characteristics of any culture is of course its language, and that's where I find my passion for cultures focused. Starting with Spanish in High School, then Latin in college, and French after graduation, I've felt the need to keep the language center of my brain happy. As a result of it being the first language I learned just for myself and the francophilia I've developed over the years, French is the language in which I've gone the farthest. I've participated in converstational classes at the local Alliance Française to improve my oral communication skills but my dream would be to spend a few months in France or another French-speaking country to really immerse myself in the language.

Of course, this passion for language carries over into my professional passion: coding! I've been lucky that I haven't had significant overlap in the languages used at the jobs I've held so far. Love for C# blossomed at United Methodist Communications and the sheer diversity of projects at Rustici Software gave me the opportunity to respect the robustness of Java and and the powerful flexibility of Javascript. In recent months I've also had a growing affection for Objective-C as I use it for some side projects for OS X. I've also experienced a smattering of Python, PHP, Ruby, and even some Visual Basic. Each has its own "flavor" and manner of expression and I hope I continue to be able to become familiar with new and interesting languages.

When I'm not coding I like to read and play games mostly. The guys at Rustici Software introduced me to Disc Golf which is more fun and engaging than it has a right to be. I've always enjoyed working with my hands, woodworking being my favorite expression of that. Design, hand tools, power tools, and that awesome feeling of "I made that." I also love water and I hope to get back into swimming since it's without a doubt my favorite form of aerobic exercise. That and while we developers love our dark caves for coding (codecavern, get it? ha!), I miss the sun.