My Life Up To Now

Who is this Guy?  Well it’s me, Brian.  I’m 25 years old and live in a small Southern Minnesota town called Faribault.

These are pictures from where I work.  My office is at the Faribault Middle School. (Left: The Media and Technology Department’s Growing Office.  Middle: Front Entrance of Middle School.  Right: The Technology Center, where most of the new technology is piloted [pardon the old picture].)

To start with, I got my first career-field job as a Network/Data Services Technician with Faribault Public Schools in June 1997. My responsibilities are to maintain the enterprise network (which was installed in 1997), troubleshoot and repair PCs and Macs, and provide consultation to staff about computer hardware and software.   I work 11 months out of the year. I really enjoy working here. It’s my dream — getting paid for something I enjoy doing. You can check out the website I designed for the district at 
http://www.faribault.k12.mn.us
You would not believe how much I have learned by working here!

Gunshot Alley, Faribo Town Square. Notice the graffiti on the wall near the edge of the photo.

The first job I ever had was at National Business Systems, which I worked for over 2 1/2 years as a Data Entry Operator part-time after school.  I left many friends here, but I tried to stop in from time to time of course.  NBS’s office closed here in December 2002, but it turns out that I get to see my old friends more than ever now — I meet up with them once a month for lunch.

The picture above is “Gunshot Alley”, to get into the back door of NBS.  The name “Gunshot Alley” comes from several experiences we’ve all had here.  One time, at quitting time (7:30 p.m.), I walked out into the alley and about halfway to the car, I could have sworn I saw a flare being shot into the air close-by.  When I got back to the car, the car right beside mine had the passenger-side door left open, with NOBODY else around.  I was also hearing other noises like leaves crunching under footsteps.  The next day, the building maintenance worker had reported an attempted break-in at a utility entrance not unlike the one I was parked near.  Hmmm… really makes you wonder!

My Education and Other Interests

I went to the Faribault Schools all the way from Kindergarten to 12th grade.  Starting my Senior year of High School, I took classes at South-Central Technical College. I graduated from there in 1997 with a 3.5 GPA. I took the “Electronic Business Machine Technician” course, which consists of Computers, Networking, and Electronics Technology. I designed and created the website for them when I was there.

I am a changed person. I want to live life to its fullest. I want to be more independent. I want to be better at more things.

I’ve learned many new things over the past several years.  I learned how to ride a motorcycle (alright, sort of), learned how to get my hands in grease fixing cars and trucks, and I got into snowmobiles and ATVs.  I’m also an FCC-licensed Amateur Radio Operator, and I’m a member of the local radio club. During the summer, I assist local law-enforcement as well as the local National Weather Service office by spotting severe thunderstorms and tornadoes for Skywarn. Many weather warnings you hear on TV come from spotters from Skywarn. My amateur radio callsign is N0QVC.  Listen for me on APRS on 144.39 or on the six-meter ham band. I also occasionally monitor the local two-meter repeater, 146.79.

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