Today is "How I Got Started in ColdFusion" day per Steve Bryant's call . It's simply a day designated for us all to tell, well, how we got started in ColdFusion. So, here goes.

My story is probably a bit different that most of the other CF Developer's stories, at least the ones I've read anyway. When I got into ColdFusion I didn't have any type of computer experience or college degrees (at least not IT related, anyway). In fact, some might say it was the opposite. I had gone to college some, but after getting my Associates degree in Criminal Justice I decided not to pursue that any further and went back to work on the family farm in south Georgia.

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On Thursday, June 30th, a group of people from all walks of life came together and headed out for a small country in Eastern Europe called Moldova. While we traveled over there together as a large group, once landing in Moldova 13 of us would split off from the main group and head several hours away to be on our own for the week. For some of the people in our group this was a return trip, but for several of us it was the first time. Going over there, with the exception of one person, everyone in our group was completely unknown to me. But now we have returned home as a family, united by this experience in ways that can never really be explained, but will always remain in our hearts.

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With a title like that, I guess it goes without saying that things have been pretty interesting around here lately. To sum it all up, last Wednesday was my last day at Vanderbilt, I start my new job as a Sr. Developer at South Eastern Book Company tomorrow, and as for going out of the country I'll be leaving next week on my trip to Moldova. To say that the month of June has been busy would be an understatement.

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According to the U.S. Department of State, human trafficking is the world's third largest criminal enterprise, after drugs and weapons, and UNICEF reports that worldwide there are nearly two million children in the commercial sex trade. Many of these children are orphans who were taken simply because they had no one to care for them and keep them safe. There are so many orphans in this world, so many children in need of help, it's hard to know where to start if you want to do something. Well, I've decided to start in the country of Moldova.

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The new year is here (already??) and that means it is time to take a moment to reflect on 2010, and think about my plans for moving forward in the coming year. I'm excited to see what 2011 brings, and some of the plans I have for this year, but first let's take a look at 2010.

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So, I'm not much of a gadget guy. I know it's strange with me being in the tech field and all, but I just really don't care about having the latest and greatest smartphone/laptop/e-reader/gadget of the month. When I upgraded my last phone almost 2 years ago, I had been out of contract for so long that Verizon offered me any Blackberry I wanted for free, any of their other smartphones for free or under $50, and up to a $150 discount for any other phone that didn't fall in those categories. You want to know what I got? A Boulder, so when I drop it (over and over again) it won't hurt it. That's all I need. It makes phone calls, and if I get lost it has a compass. ;)

All that to say, you'll rarely hear me talk about gadgets. But, last week I got a new DSLR camera and I'm pretty excited about it.

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I guess I'll have to get a box of these in October. :)

As 2009 comes to a close, it's time for me to set some goals for 2010. Goals, not resolutions. I gave up on making new year's resolutions some time ago. My resolutions never worked. They were always things that I would like to do, or knew I should do, but I wasn't really dedicated to or serious about. As such, if I didn't keep the resolution it wasn't a big deal. Like most people, my new year's resolutions were usually broken, dead, and gone within the first week (if not the first day) of the new year.

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Today is my last day of employment at Dealerskins, and Monday I will start a new job. I jokingly told everyone at Dealerskins that I as going be working at the Skynet Division of Cyberdyne Systems. While ushering in the total destruction of mankind may have its appeal to some, the truth is I'm going to work at Vanderbilt University. I'm very excited about this move and I'm definitely looking forward to it. But this decision did not come lightly as the group here at Dealerskins is top notch, and I have made quite a few friends here. However, the opportunity from Vanderbilt was one that was too good to pass up.

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