Before Heaven's Wait

And so my blog officially begins. Welcome to my journey!

Almost from the time I first learned about computers, database design and the Internet, my creative wheels started turning. My kids were still young, but I was getting old enough to think that, for their sake, I might want to preserve some of the little bits of wisdom I was accumulating as I worked my way through life's many processes. Seeing that such preservation was destined to be technology-based, I wondered if I could design some kind of application that would express these tidbits in a fun, entertaining way. My vision was that of creating something in a multimedia format that could be enjoyed by future generations of my family (for starters) as a kind of personal legacy, so they could learn some things about me they may not otherwise have known.

My overall plan was wishy-washy, to say the least, and much grander than my knowledge of the programs that would bring my ideas to life. Actually, I'm not sure if the programs back then would have been able to accommodate me anyway. I envisioned a collection of tales that not only imparted a little wisdom but that also entertained with illustrations, sounds and fun things to do. Little did I know how ambitious my ideas were!

I knew I had to start by delving into the rapidly growing world of technology. I had already become fairly proficient at database design with MS Access (after fumbling through a handful of lengthy seminars, where I was probably the only participant who wasn't a computer programmer). While other family members brought relaxing reading materials on vacations, I lugged my 1,200-page Access, Photoshop, Freehand, Illustrator, FrontPage and Dreamweaver manuals around with me. I kept telling myself that somewhere down the line, tools such as these would reveal their value beyond that of tracking brewing equipment or taking product photos for our family's coffee roasting company. My inner geek, engineer, artist and who-knows-what-else were beginning to make their presence known.

The greater picture lingered in my mind, and I moved along, one amateur step at a time.