I Am Not Sam — Field Notes

[01] About myself

I am Sam Wilson, a dev living in Austin, Texas. The calligraphy on the office whiteboards is my fault. Pumped on dodgeball.
I once spent a summer rebuilding a 1972 CB350 in a garage with no windows.
I taught myself Morse code to pass time on a long commute.
I keep a running list of every coffee shop I've visited in the last decade.
I used to have a dog named Puff and he had issues with chronic licking.

Even in the editor, I have the user in mind. JavaScript is the means, but good experience is always my goal. Currently enjoying React, Vue, WebAssembly, Mithril, and Android development.
I work at H-E-B Digital where I help craft online experiences which connect our customers to their goals. It is a wonderful place to work because people genuinely just want to do right by the customers.
My real name is Jeremy. My grandmother just called me Sam so much I thought it was my name. She did this, in part, to irk my father who chose and liked the name Jeremy.
I started app development at a concierge kiosk startup in 2001. My Flash interface was in local news footage. I was over the moon. My mom cared but no one else really did.

Near the end a sales guy came up to me and said, in the context of a huge contract for becoming a data provider, "Hey I told Lycos we know XML. Do we?"
In 2004 I transitioned from Flash to JavaScript, HTML, and CSS. At the time ExpressionEngine was a big deal, so I worked a lot in that. About then years later I was hired to their small remote team, EllisLab. There is something to be said for the pocket cultures within the tech and design space. I learned a lot and met some great folks.

In my early twenties, most nights I'd lose track of time while working. Afterwards I'd go to Wendy's because it was next to the office, and get a burger and fries. Maybe I did this too much because one day I was doing pull-ups casually and passed out. This was the moment that got me into fitness and nutrition.
I have an amazing girlfriend named Laura she's the funniest person I know with the best eyebrows on the planet.

For me, the harder the creative work is to start, the less likely it is I'll do it. It's why I love calligraphy. It's easy to do something cool quickly. Oil painting, while amazing and fun, has a higher threshold of effort therefore I don't paint much.
Cooking, especially baking, is something I really enjoy and a creative outlet. My best cookies involve sage and apricot.
One of my happy spaces is Figure 8 coffee shop, and not just because I'm addicted to three espressos per diem. Which I totally am.

Growing up in a small town in Kentucky, most folks were extroverted. And although I lived in a slightly larger Lexington for several years, I moved to Pittsburgh. Here I experienced some culture shock, which I kinda needed. Though it wasn't for me long-term, I came out of Pittsburgh with crucial friendships and experiences that I can't imagine missing out on.
The way my children revere me reminds me that they share in all of my successes as well as any of my failures. The risk inherent in anything I consider is shared by them. It's a good thing.
I've had a few times in my life where I've struggled with mental health. Therapy and exercise helped the most. I keep a tiny notebook in my back pocket when times are tough.

I'm training for my first powerlifting meet. So far bench is my favorite lift.
I try to draw something at least once a week, even if it's tiny.
I'm always up for a weekend road trip, especially if there's a weird roadside attraction.
I'm a fan of tech that disappears and lets you just do the thing.