The high school Media Room was my saving grace. I was weird, and I knew it. Before being weird and smart was cool, being weird and smart actually kinda sucked.
I hung out in the media room, where I cut my teeth on Quark XPress and Carmen Sandiego in 1993 at the age of 14. I even helped build the school radio station. I thought I was pretty hot shit. I wanted to be a journalist or a TV Producer, and my attitude reflected that. I’ve mellowed. A little.
I learned Hypercard and a bunch of other design tools, including Photoshop, using a Quicktake camera and also played Bolo tournaments with the other nerds. I recorded cover songs and fell in love.
I sang Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love in front of 1000 teenagers. None of the adults in the room had the foresight to think this might be a bad idea. Again, I thought I was cool. I was not.
Thanks Mark. RIP, I owe everything to you.