Here is a little bit about myself and about the focus of my blog....
My name is James Crawford, I am a 32 year old college student and aspiring web designer. The road here has been a long and winding one. I started my adult job life as a framing carpenter in the Hudson Valley region of NY, about an hr and a half outside of Manhattan. I worked on and off for approximately 10yrs for a small framing company, with no more than 4 or 5 employees at a time. For the most part we would frame houses from the bottom up, occasionally doing some roofing and siding jobs, as well as decks & patios, and some interior work. My boss was extremely knowledgeable and taught me everything I know about being a framing carpenter. I extremely thankful for the opportunity he gave me.
About five years ago work slowed down to a point where I needed to move on. I ended traveling about 4 hrs away and moving to the North Shore area outside of Boston. I got a job working for a high end cabinet shop, building cabinets for both commercial and residential spaces. I also had the opportunity to build some high end kiosks and reception desks using assorted hard woods. I found this work extremely satisfying and it helped to round out my abilities as a carpenter. Where framing is more about speed and brute strength, cabinetry is more finesse with a totally different set of tolerances, and different kinds of co-workers for that matter.
Things were going well, and then the economic down-turn happened (insert the duhn duhn duhn sound), That's when everything began to change for me. Being the low man on the totem pole, I was laid off and found myself once again on the job market. In an attempt to make myself more marketable to a larger pool of employers, I made the decision to take a computer applications certificate at a local community college. Over the course of two semesters I took a variety of computer classes, mostly with a focus on Microsoft's 2007 office suite, but also a course on web design. I found that I really enjoyed what I was learning, especially the web design course. I ended up becoming very proficient with the Microsoft office suite, but more over, found I wanted to learn more about it all.
It was at this point I decided to go back to school full time. I chose Computer Science as my major, with a focus on web development and design. I began taking as many courses as I could during a semester. I found myself excited about something again for the first time in a long time. Up until this point I had never thought of myself as a student, or that school could get me so excited. I was not what you call a "good" student in high school. In fact, I didn't spend all that much time there. I do have to say, that I am glad that I went out and started working right after school because it allowed me some time to mature, so that once I arrived at college I actually wanted to learn. Something I know wouldn't have been the case, had I gone right out of high school.
I have about a semester and a half left before obtaining the first of what I hope will be several degrees. I have even started putting what I have learned to use in a few websites I have made, that are currently online. With each attempt I am getting more and more comfortable. Learning from my mistakes, and putting my education to good use.
While attending school, I found employment working for a local supplier of microwave absorbing materials for commercial and defense applications. This unfortunately was only for a short period of time. Once again, outside economic factors resulted in me once again needing to find employment.
So here I am....
At the moment this blog will hopefully serve a couple functions. first off I have always been interested in starting a blog, up until now I haven't had a clue as what to write about or display, I am still not a hundred percent sure about that still. So I am gonna throw everything and anything at it and see what sticks, Thanks Jim
