A series of fortunate events

#career #development #opensource #devjournal

The year was 1987. A kid that they could not figure out what to do with. Having a high IQ but a learning disability was a new adventure for his parents and teachers. The disconnect seemed to be in the expression. While verbally everything was top notch, hand him a pencil and poof, dumb as rocks. They figured perhaps I was dyslexic. They new I had ADD(ADHD). They weren't sure how to handle me. My father entered in to a computer course and brought home an IBM XT. He never finished his degree but he did spark something. Where I couldn't put a pencil to paper I could type. I learned to program poorly in basica. The home computer was still uncommon and quite expensive for what they actually did. The schools agreed and let me turn in printed work. I started completing assignments on the computer. They still had no idea what was up with my inability to properly express my self by writing with a pencil. Moving forward my passion for technology grew. It helped me push forward in life. A few years later I was in the public library. I was on their computers and found my way through their network. I was as worried about getting caught as they were about security. I was caught and removed from the library. It is quite possible I learned my lesson but I did not. In high school computers were more common but security was still a joke. I took a typing class for an easy A and bored I started exploring the schools network. Slowly people started watching me go. The teacher curious what people were doing started his way over. I could not exit fast enough. Suddenly I am in a room and then suspended. The next year all students had to sign a "technology agreement" saying they won't do that stuff. They did not improve their security.

My love of computers and technology never really registered as a career thing. It was just something that was part of life. Like using a car, or eating dinner.

I like learning things. I learned basic construction, welding, photography and whatever else caught my attention. I worked professionally as a photographer for a while. That may have been the perfect career if I wasn't young and in love. There were some issues after my daughter was born and I could no longer travel as a photographer.

I went to work for a small company that was a Toshiba reseller. Suddenly I was a phone guy. For someone with ADHD this is quite an amazing job. Doing structured wiring, cabling, wiring closets.... punch, punch, punch zapppppp, punch punch. Therapeutic I tell you. This was quite possibly the career of my dreams. What I didn't know about was that silly bubble. Yep housing crash. I went from rolling in it to unemployed.

I have all of these skills and no paper. I can't find work. It was time to go to college and get the paper. I chose something that I knew would be a cake walk. Networking infrastructure.

I was right, 3.7 GPA with minimal effort. Now to find a job. I did what every cool kid did in 2005... Craigslist. I found a posting. Simple to the point. Looking for someone who knows Linux. Ummm yeah I know Linux.

It was a company that manufactured hardware for telephony networks. They used something called Asterisk as a PBX. I don't know if I dazzled them or if they simply had limited options but they hired me.

They gave me a server and a month. I learned to use Asterisk mostly through dumb projects like making "Dial-a-Distro" It was a tower with 5 cd burners. You picked up the phone and an pressed 1 for trixbox and poof it would burn trixbox to all 5 disks. I started working with the community and trying to lower the bar for entry. Through scripting and documentation I would like to think our hardware was the easiest to setup and maintain.

Though I worked with a great team of engineers that company ultimately closed their doors. I had made many great relationships in the open source world. I was trying to find a job doing the same sort of thing. Another local Craigslist post, looking for someone who knows Asterisk. I know Asterisk. In fact I know much of the Asterisk community but had never heard of the company making the post.

Reference check time. One guy in the community I had mixed history with but knows everyone is this dude named Tony Lewis. I called him and asked if he knew the company. The answer was unexpected. I never applied to that company, I instead went to work for Schmooze Communications.

There I worked directly on the FreePBX project and built even greater relationships with the community. I also gained a second family. The team at Schmooze was amazing. The culture and environment were a dream. With all good things it can't last forever. January 1st my phone rings. It is Tony and we need to talk. I almost slammed down the phone and ran. I have had this exact phone call too many times.

We have been bought by Sangoma. I remain in silence waiting for the words. Instead of what I was expecting, I simply learned I had a new employer. This opened up more relationships in the open source community. I continued to work on FreePBX creating new features like calendar and rebuilding existing features. I was getting paid for this!!!

Once again all good things.... This time it wasn't them it was me. After years of growing FreePBX with Schmooze and Sangoma it was time for me to throw in the towel as a staff developer. Some things run their course and I was looking for something else.

Nothing kills growth like comfort. So what better way to introduce chaos. A prayer and a 30 day notice. I have not been unemployed in over a decade. In 30 days I would be super uncomfortable. With relationships built I was confident something would present itself. It was time to decide what I want to be when I grow up. A welder? A framer? A Medic? I have learned many skills over the years and on the side.

The last day came. 5PM and no plan. What in the hell did I do. Is it time to panic? I still have some cash lets worry about this Monday.

Well it turns out no matter how quiet you are in your exit, word travels. Saturday I got a message from one of my favorite Australians. Okay to be transparent the only Australian I know personally so by default he is my favorite. I hear you are now an unemployed loser (paraphrasing). He thought I may want in on his little adventure. After that conversation I am on the phone with the infamous Tony Lewis. He gives me the $5 overview of this thing called Clearly IP.

So you have an idea with no customers and no revenue. SOLD!
Truth be told anyone else would have gotten maybe a chuckle and a polite not this time. Of all the people I have encountered in the industry Tony is the one person I would follow no matter how insane. He has built and earned my respect. He could have said we are going to salt the ocean and I would be like neat, lets go.

I have made great connections and friendships in the open source world. I have again found a way to grow in my knowledge and career while maintaining those connections.

In a few months I have learned more than I have in the last few years. It has been an amazing journey so far.

A kid with a learning disability and keyboard has now written software used by millions of people. What will happen next...

P.S. Some links if you wanna see the stuff I work on and have worked on.

Me: https://g3p0.xyz
FreePBX: https://freepbx.org
Clearly IP. https://clearlyip.com