What gets you out of bed in the morning?
I like to write. Each day, every day, I look forward to my time—my time to write. Before sunrise, I will have meticulously fed 2000+ words into my computer. It’s my second novel—it has to be good. The first is in pre-publication and won’t come out for at least another year. Afterwards, I turn my attention towards work. I focus on the challenges and develop strategies—ideas and plans for the day ahead.
How would you describe your day job to a child?
My job is all about helping people. I develop computer software for people who are between jobs. That way, they can continue to receive insurance benefits and can go to the doctor in case they get sick.
If you could choose anyone, who would you pick as your mentor?
My mentor, a man whom I chose as my mentor when I was seventeen, was born a century ago and lived on the other side of the world. His books, all of which I have consumed, were originally written in Mandarin Chinese. Traversing though each translated into English work, it was as though I was reading about myself. I would say, the writings of Watchman Nee are just as relevant to modern day Americans in 2020, as they were to his Chinese countrymen in Shanghai, back in the 1920’s.
What do you like most about your job?
What makes a job isn’t so much a job, but the people. I consider myself fortunate to work with a cohesive team of highly skilled technical people and a very talented management team. Together, we find practical solutions to complex problems. We build, the best product for our clients who’ve trusted us with their needs for COBRA software.
What is your motto or personal mantra?
It is, what it is. It’s not always what we imagined, or what we would’ve liked for it to be. Consequently, we have to deal with it; whatever, it is. And even though we can’t always change it; oftentimes, we can make it better.
Given a chance, if you could have lunch with anyone living or not, who would it be and what would you ask?
Given the chance, I would welcome the opportunity to sit down with the President of the United States—100 years from now into the future. I’d want to know what he thought about us today. Certainly, we would be credited with having ushered in the age of technology. But did we improve as a people? Will people in the year 2120 see 2020 – as a golden era?
What is your guilty pleasure?
Chocolate. Chocolate, covering strawberries or cherries – please! That’s my guilty pleasure. That’s why I must lose another ten pounds before summer.
What is your favorite movie?
They Live, by John Carpenter. It’s my favorite movie. It must be, because it lives in my memory. It’s about aliens who’ve come to earth and have disguised themselves as humans. They look and act like ordinary people. Only people who wear extraordinary glasses can see them. It’s a movie that keeps you thinking.