I’m a semi-retired I.T. geek and Web developer. I was born and raised in New York City (Brooklyn, to be exact — the best borough); but ever since I was a small child (as opposed to a large one), I have wanted to live in the country.
Alas, that wasn’t to happen for a while. The realities of life kept getting in the way, and there was always something keeping me tied to The City. Jobs, families, relationships, and ultimately a computer consulting business of my own that serviced four Downstate counties conspired to tie me to The City.
My goal, however, was still to live in the country some day; so in the late 1990s, I decided to learn how to build Web sites and web-based apps. My reasoning was that rather than driving all over four counties fixing computers, I could be sitting on my ass pounding out HTML. All I needed was an Internet connection.
By 2010, I was making almost as much money at Web design as I was fixing computers. I really could have sold the consulting business and moved to the country if I wanted to. But my “significant other” wanted no part of it. She was a city gal.
As time went on, however, we started to drift apart; and when one day she announced that she was moving out, I immediately sold the business and starting looking for a place Upstate. Time was of the essence. I wanted to make sure that I was gone before she changed her mind.
And that’s exactly what I did. Now I live on a hill overlooking a sleepy little village of about five hundred residents (not including the snowbirds, who are an annual, but minor annoyance). I sit at my desk and churn out code for a few hours a day rather than fighting traffic to tend to sick machines at all hours of the day and night. I work when I want, fish when I want, eat when I want, and sleep when I want.
It’s not a bad life.
And that, my friends, is where I’m at. I’m a semi-retired man of semi-leisure who has time to explore the absurdity, profundity, and humor of life. And being of a generous nature, I needed a place to share my observations; and that place, my friends, is here.