A Christian: unexpectedly.

Jesus interrupted everything when I was 22.

Something happened to me while I was backpacking in South Africa--I was reconciled to God by faith in Jesus Christ.  That's kinda weird.  I didn't really realize I was living and thinking in darkness and disobedience. But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved me, even when I was dead in my trespasses, made me alive together with Christ—by grace I had been saved. That is really cool; and has been the controlling influence in my life ever since.  When that happened I felt as if I had been born again--as if I had just taken my first breath in my whole life.

A husband and new father

I live with my wife Stephie in East Nashville. We moved to Nashville in 2005, and East Nashville in 2006.

We have two kids: Chanhassen (toddler) and John Martin (newborn).

A web-based software developer who loves it

I do web-development because I get so much happiness out of being productive; and web-development with Ruby on Rails is very enjoyable and productive.

Work history

During college and after college I worked at the Southwestern Company based here in Nashville.  For 6 summers I sold their educational books door-to-door in teh summertime.  That is an intense experience and it creates a lot of growth and maturity.  After college, I worked for them as an accountant / startup analyst / online homework website creator.

At Southwestern is where I found Ruby on Rails.  I left in 2008 to start my own Ruby on Rails freelance business and that's what I'm doing still today.

In the middle of that experience, I worked as a Rails developer at Swingpal.com.  I was there second employee (as in non-founder employee), and first Rails developer.  I built the site from its proto-type/demo stage to a launched site with a multiple-developer team.

Today I'm a freelance Ruby on Rails consultant here in Nashville.

My travels

By the grace of God, I have been able to travel to many countries.  My longest trip was when I was 20--I went to Thailand/Cambodia/Vietnam, India, Egypt, and Europe.  Another time I got to backpack southern Africa.  My wife and I travelled for 4 months to Southeast Asia, India/Nepal, and New Zealand.  Most recently, we went to Ecuador for 2 weeks to satisfy our travel bug. We've settled down into Nashville, but always have some thought of another great trip one day.