My Journey Through Life
I've always been someone who can't sit still when there's something new to learn. Every chapter of my life has come with a new craft, a new challenge, a new obsession, and I never put one down until I've truly made it mine.
Where It Started
My journey began with programming. In high school, I needed to calculate the quadratic formula, but my calculator couldn't do it on its own. What it did allow was programming in BASIC. So I built it myself. From that first equation, I never stopped building.
The Chemistry of Baking
Over the years, I discovered a passion for baking. What drew me in was the chemistry and precision the craft demands. Though a close second is the look on friends' and family's faces when they're enjoying something I made from scratch. There's a quiet magic in that.
The Builder Instinct
From there, I moved into DIY, small projects at first, then plumbing, electrical, siding, and eventually building a tiny home for my mother. That love of building has sustained me for many decades.
From Tree to Furniture
Three Madrona trees fell in my backyard, and I thought: why not use them? So I milled them with my chainsaw and turned them into something new.
My first piece of furniture: the coffee nook. I'm currently on phase two of three, with soft close doors still to come in the final phase.
The Builder Bug
There's a quote I've always loved: “Jack of all trades, master of none, but often times better than one.” I come back to it throughout my life, but something that has always stuck for me is that while I have become a jack of all trades, I believe in becoming a master of many.
It took me 40 plus years to truly understand what that meant. The builder bug isn't just one thing. It's millions of projects united by a single goal: make it perfect. That's always the aim, even if perfection doesn't always show up. But on the days it does? There's no better feeling.
Though to be fair, I had a pretty good hint along the way.
“You got the builder bug just like me.”
My father, with a chuckle
I'll keep becoming a jack of all trades, and a master of many.