My path into development started at home, not at work. Building and maintaining a self-hosted server taught me how systems behave under pressure, and solving my own infrastructure problems turned out to be good practice for solving other people's.

That foundation shaped how I approach professional work. I care about the parts most people skip: backup strategies that are actually tested, security that was thought through instead of bolted on, databases that were designed rather than accumulated. I've spent real time understanding how these things work at a low level, not because it's exciting (OK it's kind of exciting), but because skipping that work is where quality falls apart. The difference between a system that holds up and one that doesn't usually lives in the boring details someone decided weren't worth their time.

Most of my work comes down to connecting systems that were never designed to talk to each other and making sure what gets built is maintainable, protected, and honest about its own limitations. Impressive in a demo is easy. Still working correctly in two years is the goal.

Outside of tech, I stay active in my community, make time for family and friends, and have a long list of books, movies, and TV shows I'm perpetually working through.