About Me

45 years old, I have had many different experiences throughout my life and have come to like diversity. My own personality is filled with it. Let me provide some glimpses of my life.

My Family

I am the father of three grown children, two of whom are married and one of which has recently made me a grandfather. My oldest is a veteran of Iraq, works at the Oklahoma State Penitentary here in McAlester, OK and is married. My daughter is also married to a very fine young man is currently going to college. My youngest is living with his mother for now. Living in the same town gives us the ability to see each other quite often.

I also have a brother and two sisters who also live in Oklahoma (I am the oldest). My parents are also living in Tulsa as well. Not exactly the closest of families, we do get together especially around the holidays.

I am also a confirmed 3/4 blood Choctaw Indian although I have never been really introduced to the cultural aspect of the tribe. In an odd sort of way it is also a theme that carries through my whole life.

A Brief History

I was born in Oklahoma City, OK but moved quite often throughout the younger life, We were either in Oklahoma or California, mainly in the Los Angeles area when we were there. Just following after the jobs at the time. We finally settled down for awhile for my high school years in Talihina, OK.

I was married early (too early?) so never completed college. After 16 years of marriage we separated and they moved to McAlester from Dallas, TX. I would move here a year later.

I have been in McAlester now since 1999 and am about to complete my 10th year of service as a computer operations technical support person for a small trucking company here.

Work-Related Stuff

I have about 20 years of experience working on the IBM System i(or iSeries or my favorite name the AS/400) (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_System_i) and that is my primary responsibility where I am at right now. As a small business I am also responsible for our local network, email and web server, remote user and location support…basically anything that is even remotely associated with a computer. Currently we are looking into moving most of our PCs to Linux which is another OS I get to learn. As a personal project, I am also learning Python and PERL. Always looking to learning something new. And I’ve even done a little web work (minerpride.com) although I haven’t gotten into that as much as I would like.

Interests

I love photography! I have a Canon 20D (which I hope to upgrade some day soon) and most of that effort has been with the Hartshorne High School football team, mainly for my boss who’s son is playing on the team. But my interest vary widely from reading to the arts or just hanging out with friends or my kids. An OU and high school football fan, my most favorite time of year is March Madness (I even have a basketball tree I put up during that time). I also enjoy helping people and am thinking about changes that would focus more on that.

You’ll also find me on the internet soaking up the diversity of the people and helping out whenever I can. I spend a lot of time on twiiter.com, but you can also find many of my photos at http://flickr.com/photos/bruway63/. And more is coming later.

Favorite Experiences

There are a few that stand out in my mind. I have fond memories of being out on the ocean on a school trip to watch migrating whales of the coast of California. My first musical experience was listening to the Los Angeles Philharmonic in 6th grade. The summer and first months of school when living with my grandmother was time spent in the woods of southeastern Oklahoma. And while each of my children’s birth was special in it’s own right, my daughter’s birth was the most unique as well didn’t reach the hospital in time so I had to deliver her in the front seat of a Volkswagon Beetle.

And Finally

I am just an average guy making my way through life and am in the process of finding new dreams to chase after. In the meantime I am going to enjoy all the great things that life has to offer.