Never change! OXOXOX!!!!
I was trying to find the phone number of an old friend from high school yesterday when I got the bright idea to check for some sort of online alumni directory. I thought it was a long shot considering the po-dunk school that I went to, which was run entirely by Franciscan friars.
However, I held out hope vaguely recalling a little man in brown robes who joined the friars a few years after I left. When I met him he was overly eager about anything technical which was cute since he barely knew more than an average home user. He had an innocence about him, too, using junk like FrontPage, calling himself a web developer, and even trying to start up a computer lab at the school. He reminded me a lot of myself when I was a kid.When I was 10 years old, I approached my parents and offered to create for them any software that would be useful. I had the vague feeling that I could revolutionize any business with my skills and I was jumping at any chance to be taken seriously in the adult world. I disdained anyone who said I was playing on my computer-- this was not play. Play was for morons. I was creating, inventing, honing my skills, and now I was ready to prove it. My parents of course, never thought of computers as anything useful in the real world, and grasped for any idea that would send me scurrying. "Something to do bills on," my mom distractedly offered. Aha! I was off like a shot, quickly drawing up the initial design. I, of course, had to return a few times to gather requirements, after all bills were not yet within my realm of experience. In the end, I made something like a checkbook register and forced my mom to sit down and use it. She humored me just that once, but I felt triumphant nonetheless. It was their own fault if they couldn't see the usefulness. I was a cute little nerd.
Anyway, this techno-friar was just like that, desperately trying to be taken seriously within a school that had no notion of cooperating. I found the website. It appears that he too has triumphed over adversity. There's a complete alumni collaboration site with blogs, news feeds, photo albums, professional Flash movies, and, yes, an alumni directory. Under his dominion are now multiple computer labs, a technology club, and even a robotics competition.
I salute you Brother.
