Andrew Lórien A resume of sorts

__________ introduction _______ who i am _________ experience _______ why me?

I started this resume because i was offered a job. I wasn't sure whether i wanted it, but i was interested. I built this single-file resume in html, but by the time i finished it i think i had taken more time and said less than they probably wanted. So same old job. It's quite embarrassing now, but i'm trying to get over being embarrassed about things.
[[ two years later ]] i'm finally on the verge of giving up my day job.
[[ two years after that ]] done it. everything has changed. except i still don't wear shoes.
[[ two years after that ]] I still kind of like this little page, except that i haven't updated anything except these three lines since 2002 and it's my second google hit. If you're reading this seriously, imagine a younger me, and a younger you.

I went to school till i was 18, university till i was 23, and since then I have been a customs officer. For a short history of andrew, see 'who i am'.

Over the last five years i have increadingly turned my skills to breaking and fixing computers - the 'experience' page will explain more about that.

And since i'm still calling this a resume, you can find out what i'd be interested in doing for money on the 'why me' page.

I was born in the first week of 1970, so i don't know much about the sixties. Like all the best people, i was picked on and unhappy at school. The best year of my life didn't come until 1985, but the next year was better, surpassed only by 1987. In 1988 i went to uni, travelling a high plateau of even better years till about 1991. Failing Maths One in 1989 (for the second time) was one of the best things ever to have happened to me, because it meant i left with a degree in philosophy instead of computer science. Phew.

The next really good accident to happen to me (after a couple of terrible ones) was getting knocked back by a few dozen potential employers in the early 90's. I missed out on working for a whole swamp of terrible shops, factories, and institutions. Instead, for nearly ten years, I have worked undercover in the Customs service, where i disguise myself as an officer of the law in order to spread peace and light in the world.

I have sailed many dangerous waters before the breath of the spirit, sheltering within ideological communities online and off, large and small, generous and violent. In the words of Fred Smith, "i've been a buddhist since christ knows when."

I am not ambitious, although I have been misunderstood to have started my own religion. I enjoy conflict, although i work for peace. I believe art and music can save the world, if we only let them.

I am a cheap hacker. I work in Javascript and HTML, VB, and Lingo. My horizons stretch to Java and C++, but I have only written a few simple applications. I have a rudimentary knowledge of PERL, but i have never needed a script that hadn't already been written. I write most of my code using a text editor.

During 1999 I worked with three friends on a book/CDROM called The Prodigal Project. The CD includes hundreds of contributions of words, art, and music, and I worked on the initial development and pitch, the interface design, much of the media preparation, and all of the code which holds it together. The CD was a first for the publishing company, so we had to sell the idea as well as designing and creating the content. In the two years since publication I have provided all technical support, as well as designing and maintaining the website. I still like it. It looks good, and sounds good, and i still believe all the things we said.

I build and maintain websites - a high school, the folk band Jigzag and solo artist Fred Smith, Australian music legend Mic Conway and his National Junk Band, 2nd Road consultants, live electronic act The Baggsmen, the Great Big Animal Open Day, and the prodigal ecommerce site.

Once, i was the sort of guy that owned a Mac and a VW, but now i hammer cheaper, generic technology into my own shapes. I used to be a frenetic upgrader, until i realised that stable is better than new.

I can write a cron script, and compile a kernel, and I know what's in my system registry. I install my own hardware, and I build computers for people who can't afford a new one.

You can give me a job if you want. But it would have to be pretty interesting. Version one of this resume didn't even get me an interview, because i got more interested in writing a cool resume than getting a job. Which would be a mistake if you wanted a job...

From my earliest explorations of my Commodore 64, through my studies in Philosophy and my work in Customs, analysis and problem-solving have been central. I try to have two completely new thoughts every day. You can find me most mornings in a cafe, or my kitchen, rolling all the possibilities of life and love and the human condition through the mud of experience in case we find something worth wearing. But we all want to do that for a job.

For years i have been replacing hardware, reinstalling operating systems, and troubleshooting gremlins for my family, friends, and workmates. People always tell me i should do this for a job. They're wrong. It's recreational stress, but it's not enough fun to get paid for.

I value people, and i enjoy creating something with a team. I like a project, and i can stay up all night on my own solving a problem. I am an avid learner, and a careful teacher. I rarely meet a problem i can't solve, and I don't bite off more than i can chew.

I look forward to meeting you, and finding out whether we have a future together.

thanks,
andrew