Of Things Technical and Scientific

I love puzzles. I just need to start with that statement. It is the basis of my engineering and technical journey. I love trying to figure out problems and solutions. I thought geometry proofs were fun. They are just puzzles. I loved my music harmony courses. They were also nothing but puzzles for me. Not only that, but I find that I am good at puzzles. Ironically, I am not so good at math, but I am good at puzzles.

So, where am I going with this? Do a search and it will come up that I am both an engineer and a musician. It’s true. I am both. For this website, I deliberately chose to focus on my musical life and my musical world. Although, one cannot ever be completely divorced from the other.

For this first blog post, however, I want to talk about my engineering past. I feel that it is something that I cannot in good faith completely ignore. And I think it is definitely worth the attention I am now going to pay.

So, yes, I am an engineer. I have worked for many years doing all kinds of cool things. I worked in various types of nuclear facilities here in Canada. I got to work on the Arctic tundra doing construction work. And lastly, I spent time in the Canadian oil sands where I was involved in some more cool things. And I must say that I have been very fortunate to have been part of so many cool ventures. Not only have the adventures been cool, challenging, and on some occasions, super fun, but I got to be part of teams that were solving some pretty neat puzzles. That - the puzzles - that is what attracted me to a day job in engineering.

Music is my heart and soul. I will be the first to admit that music most likely should have been the primary focus of my life for many reasons. And up to this point in my life, it paid the price as engineering competed for my attention. On many occasions,I have always been questions about how I ended up in engineering as I am a person with such an artistic streak and musical talent. It really is a simple one word answer - puzzles. And then, as expected, it translates to the more practical world of employment opportunities.

I loved puzzles that were a part of the engineering coursework. I must admit that I was somewhat disappointed that I was not as inundated with puzzles in the working world as I was as an undergraduate student. However, my knack for understanding how things worked helped to make up for the lack of puzzles. I loved being a part of a team. I loved building something new. I loved learning how to organise people to make things happen. And this, in spite of the obvious and ever present sexism that accompanies a profession that is male dominated.

I am now reaching a point in my life and in my engineering career, where I am wanting to let my musical gifts to shine. Not just shine, but to do my duty as a trained and competent artist. It is my belief that all artists and musicians have a duty to share and pass on their craft with others. It is not something that should ever be withheld.

As a society and as humans, we strive for the feeling of connection and community. It is so necessary for our emotional and mental well being. Music and the arts are critical for drawing people together in a shared experience. It is time for me to increase my contributions for that end.

So, while, yes, I did study and work as an engineer, it is now time for me to step up to the plate and do some of this really important work that I had let whither. I still like puzzles. I still like things technical and scientific. It’s just that it is time for me to give more room in my life for music. That is why I am choosing this direction with my website.

Stay tuned for news of some of my new ventures that I have been and will be announcing on social media.