Just wanted to give a bit of an update of where I am in my life.

Last year, I decided to start volunteering at the CT Cat Connection, a no-kill shelter for cats. Every week I go in to feed cats and clean cages. It can be smelly work at times, and there are a lot of cats that have had rough lives, so are not the friendliest towards humans. But, then a kitten is brought in and you pick it up and it immediately hugs your shoulder and begs to be petted. That’s one of the best things about working at a cat shelter.

As I mentioned before, I am writing a book. I did manage to finish the first draft, which I typed up after I finished writing it. I am now very close to finishing the second draft and hope to have that done before year’s end. I’ve been looking at options, and while I will probably try to get an agent and a publisher, I have also toyed with the idea of independent publishing. It costs more upfront, but is one way to ensure the book gets out there, and that I get the best profit margin I can. I’m really hoping that I’ll have a marketable book at the end of this process. It’s been one of my dreams to be a published authors.

Last Fall, my company had to let me go for a couple of months. As a contract worker, I can only stay on for a certain length of time before I have to take a two-month break. So, I decided to practice some game making during my two-month enforced vacation. I have now been introduced to an awesome tool called Game Salad. It’s a great way to play around with game design, without having to be overly good at programming. As long as you have a sense for logic, you can do some pretty cool things within this little creator tool. Now I just need to either make some graphics or get my hands on some from any artist friends of mine, and I think I could make some fun phone/tablet games. Maybe I’ll make that one goal for the end of this year. Not necessarily to publish a game, but to have something finished that I could add to a resume for game companies.

Anyways, I think that’s all for now. Hopefully I’ll have some good news about my goals for next time!

Well, I recently passed the CAPM test. I am now a Certified Associate in Project Management. This is a big step for me. I’ve been studying the PMBOK for the past few months and that has finally paid off! I think my next steps will be to save up to get Scrum certified. In my current job, Agile project management is not used much, but I am aware that Agile is used throughout the video game industry. I know the theory behind Agile from my master’s degree, but would like to learn more and get certified as a Scrum Master.

I have been working on writing a novel. I’m looking forward to finishing the first draft, just to see how the story evolved from my first idea.It’s a pet project of mine which I haven’t had too much time for it due to work and studying for the CAPM. Well, here’s to hoping that I get back on it and can finish the first draft before the end of the year. I think that is a worthy goal.

Let’s see, I will be attending GDC at the end of this month. It was exciting to put in the order for business cards and get to include CAPM after my name! I’m looking forward to GDC. It will be my first time attending and I can’t wait to see what opportunities are out there. Also, it will be a chance to reconnect with some former classmates from Full Sail University. I haven’t seen them since I left Florida after graduation.

Well, here’s to hoping that 2013 brings new opportunities and accomplished goals!

Welcome to my site!

On this site you will find my most current resume, examples of my writing which includes fiction writing and design documents, and some basic information about myself. So, wander around and enjoy yourself.  If you want to contact me, my contact information is on my site, or you can leave a comment.