A South African Consultant in the US

Starting Out

I was raised in the world's greatest ever gold mining town - Johannesburg South Africa, amidst the duality that is the suffering and magic of Africa. Africa will always be in my soul. I first became a computer programmer in July of 1998, freshly trained, and hired by a company who believed that you should never stop learning and promptly sent us to further training. They had the most advanced quality control approach I have ever seen. I have sadly never found another company like them, but am grateful that they helped me build very solid foundations for my career.

In 2004 I became a contractor (consultant) for the first time and I have been one ever since, at least officially. I am a professional though, so I am always a team player for whoever hires me. I have never failed anyone I've worked for and I have a nice collection of excellent reference letters to show for it. Beyond that I am the kind of person who is honest and loyal, and can work well in a team or alone. I prefer working with others and freely sharing knowledge, as I believe that this approach enriches everyone on the team, and to a far greater degree than working alone -- and I despise the hoarding of technical knowledge for political power and forcing oneself to be irreplaceable, simply by denying others knowledge. If I am to be irreplaceable at all I want it to be because of the exceptional quality of work I provide, and because I am a positive member of the team, and not because of any kind of politics or negativity. I believe very strongly in having pride in one's work and always striving to be better.

Moving to the US

I came to the US on Labor Day 1995, as part of an adventure -- I had always wanted to travel. As a liberal South African, living in one of South Africa's few integrated neighborhoods, I actively opposed apartheid and was determined to be a part of our first democratic elections, before I followed my dream to travel. Thereafter I came to the US, expecting to stay one to three years, but life is rarely as simple as we envision. For a host of reasons not suited to this web page I ended staying in the US until now. One of those reasons remained adventure and I ended up working all over the US, always seeking jobs in places I had not yet visited, and then visiting the surrounds. I loved the journey, and I still do. I enjoyed challenging short-term projects, since they enabled my travel.

Moving to Portland, OR

Sooner or later most of us want to stop in one place and call it home. I recently found myself at this crossroads, thinking of settling back in South Africa. Life intervened and instead I found myself following my heart and moving to Portland. I had very much wanted to first give myself a chance to fit into a free-thinking, artistic, progressive, open US city with a healthy approach to life (and Portland is all that and more) before making that large a decision, and going back. The truth was that I now had far more American friends than South African friends, and I had come to realize that my people were not of any nationality or creed, but rather were people of a progressive, informed and tolerant mindset -- givers in a world of takers. Portland is full of my people. I want to stay.

As far as my career goes, it meant moving to an area where the demand for the software I had specialized in was low, so I knew I would have to partially reinvent myself to live here, by learning new software and methodology. I love Portland and want to find my place in it, and have happily accepted the challenge. I have proven myself a quick study in the past, and I am again. The truth is my existing skills still form the vast majority of what a software professional requires. I know I'm more than up for it, and I've enjoyed what I've learned so far. This web page will showcase more and more of my new skills as I gain them. It will also house my resume and some of my thoughts on software development and what it means to be a professional.