My Turn

I've returned to the independent scene. It's a reunion with my love of life, technology, and people. With the excitement of a Frenchman cracking his crème brûlée in a sun-filled Parisian café, I anticipate the sweet tastes of my adventures to come.

For me, leaving a cushy, salaried job at CapTech [1] and pursuing my own interests is less about fame and fortune than it is this: a chance to experience life with all the risks and (hopefully) all the rewards that make life worth living. I'm not satisfied being a Honda Accord.

Honda Accords are a safe bet. Relatively stylish, comfortable, and reasonably priced. Accords are consistently one of the best selling cars in the United States. I'm sure if an Accord owner survey was conducted, the overall satisfaction would rank high in categories ranging from economy to maintainability to ergonomics. You just can't go wrong with an Accord!

But you can't REALLY go right either; there are no mysteries, no surprises. If you boiled the vehicle down to a single adjective you might find it described as "good" or "reliable." Instead, what I need is excitement, creativity, adventure, a chance to dream. I'm an old, dusty, paint peeling '98 Dodge Neon; all its glorious quirks included. But being a Neon lends to pursuits and dreams of greater things. Things which are impossible to see when blinded by mundane comfort. Being a Neon makes you constantly strive to transform into a slick, elegant, and shiny new Porsche 911.

Perhaps I'll never become a Porsche. Perhaps my wheels will fall off and my engine will burn up. But at least it won't take me six years to figure out I'm an Accord.


About me:

I'm Abe Gillespie, GIS - and anything else - programmer for hire (abe at digital - pulp dot com). I'm a technophile, love life, animals, people, and God. I'm involved with some Open Source projects such as Mono (more of an outside observer) and zigGIS. I'm a relatively new immigrant to the capitol of Virginia and love it. Check back here for posts on life, consulting, GIS programming, and whatever else might strike my fancy. Check out my company at www.digital-pulp.com. Thanks for reading!


[1] CapTech is a pretty amazing company winning consecutive awards for its success in and contributions to Richmond and the surrounding community. I would recommend the company to anyone looking for technology centric work in Virginia. They pay well and employ very talented people. I left simply because I was ready to be on my own again (read above).