Born and raised in the Greater Toronto Area, in Durham Region, I have always been a curious person. As a child I asked my parents ambitious questions, trying to learn everything I possibly could: how far the moon would be if we walked there, or how mountains were made.
Originally a shy child, I did well in the early grades of school but my real motive was getting home for extracurriculars. Driven by time with friends, I was also introduced to video games young, when I got my first console. The PlayStation 1 put my Game Boy Color to sleep and opened up a whole assortment of games.
Belonging to the Ajax Minor Hockey Association and the Ajax Azzurri soccer club, I always looked for chances to volunteer. In the AMHA I spent my teenage years teaching Timbits (ages four and five) the basics of hockey, which taught me how to work with children. Once I turned 16, the Ajax Azzurri soccer club hired me to referee, usually under-12 boys' or girls' matches.
My working life started at McDonald's Ajax, where I climbed from team member to swing manager in four years. McDonald's taught me a lot about customer experience, managing a fast-paced environment, and leadership. Through high school I balanced hockey, more than 25 hours a week at McDonald's, and a social life all at once.
I grew up playing competitive hockey, bouncing between the AA and A tiers. By grade 11 I decided I did not have the time to commit; I wanted to earn money and focus on my education. Lucky for me, my last two years in AE were the two years we won the Ontario Minor Hockey Association Championship.
As my last year of minor hockey wrapped up, I had to plan the next step. Answering "what are you doing after high school?" in grade 11 or 12 is one of the hardest things there is. As an avid gamer who spent more than a year of his life in RuneScape, I figured it would have something to do with computers. I took a course called Computer Technology Engineering and excelled, and I knew I was onto something when a grade 12 online programming course started with 65 students and I was one of only three who did not drop it. My real passion for tech came from a grade 12 project: a Python simulation of Risk built on a Raspberry Pi with GPIO buttons and LEDs, themed around the lands of Arda thanks to my love of J.R.R. Tolkien.
I finished high school with the Computer Studies excellence award and an average strong enough to open doors at several universities. With scholarship offers and acceptances in hand, and being a very family-focused person, I chose to stay local. That began my chapter at the University of Ontario Institute of Technology, also known as Ontario Tech University.
I could tell many stories about my time at Ontario Tech from 2015 to 2022, but a lot of the fun is elsewhere on this site. Throughout my education I took advantage of every opportunity in front of me. By third year I was both a teaching assistant and a research assistant while carrying a full course load, so it is fair to say I can handle a busy schedule. Research pulled me toward a Bachelor's honours thesis and then a Master of Science. I also found a real passion for teaching, and although university instruction without a PhD is rare, my dream came true in the second year of my Master's when I became a sessional instructor. Below is a headshot of my first class, taught from my parents' basement during COVID-19.
Around this time I made a big step into adulthood and bought a brand new 2021 Honda Civic Sport, named Red Rebel after Escape from Tarkov. One of my odd obsessions began here: keeping the car as clean as humanly possible, all the time. I was, admittedly, a stereotypical "deck out a Civic" guy.
I live by a favourite line, "your greatest adventure is what lies ahead," and for me adventure means camping and getting out into nature. Here are a few shots from trips between 2020 and 2022.
In June of 2022 my life changed for good. I was offered a position at TerraSense Analytics in Kelowna, British Columbia, with relocation as a term of employment. Before leaving Ontario I fixed one nagging pain point: my Civic did not have enough horsepower. During an oil change at the Honda dealership I ended up with a very expensive oil change, trading Red Rebel in for a 2018 Acura TLX. The first song Apple CarPlay shuffled as I plugged in was Plain Jane by A$AP Ferg, so I introduce you to Jane. Thanks for 10,000 km, Red Rebel.
Now begins the British Columbia chapter. I bought furniture and housing essentials for a whole house, packed it all up, and left the only world I had ever known to move to a new province, away from family and lifelong friends. Here is the pod on its way across Canada.
Like any new British Columbian, I quickly fell for the mountains. Here are a few shots of Jane during my first year in Kelowna. Notice how the car evolves into more of a "British Columbia car" over time, and yes, before you comment, I really do not like chrome on cars.
As a Kelowna resident I of course picked up a Big White season pass. Here is my gear from my first year of skiing; had to represent the home mountain.
During my adventure in Kelowna I met my wife, Sarah. We packed up and moved to Invermere, British Columbia to save toward a house, then bought one in Calgary, Alberta, where we now have a household of four including our two dogs, Milo and Bella. In the photo below, Bella is only six months old on the left and Milo is six-plus years old on the right.
That is it for now. But always remember:
Your greatest adventure is what lies ahead. J.R.R. Tolkien