I just discovered a whole set from one of my all time favorite bands on YouTube. It's the Chicago punk band, Cap'n Jazz. They're so good and energetic. So, of course, I have to pass the set along. Here it is, in four parts.

An overview of my recent life beg one question: When did Marcello become a geek?

The answer is neither quick nor easy. Rather, it is harsh in its enduring truthiness. Let's do this up timeline style. No humor here. I just want to see it all written down. Maybe it will help all of us answer some questions about me.

'01
Flashback, it's 2001. I'm in my last year of college. All I wanted to do is start a band, drink, and go to shows. I did not own a computer and my name wasn't on any lease. I ate free food in Wolfington in between Project Appalachia meetings and after classes. I was finishing a second major in Fine Arts and preparing for a year of community service. My life was active, if nothing else.

'02-a
I am a computer teacher at the Gesu. I still don't own a computer and, at this point, everything I've ever done on a computer has been erased as I only had access to four computers: the newspaper office, the laptop leant to me during my Digital Photography class, my girlfriend's house, the University's computer lab. I am no longer able to use any of those computers. So, I user my work computer as my main computer. I discover IM and talk to my friends during class. Sometimes, I forget to shut off IM and messages pop up on the projector for the whole class to see.

'02-b
As a consolation prize for an ended dysfunctional relationship, I receive my first computer as a gift from my family. I use the computer to record a CD for my housemates and then to prep the Tyler CD for recording. When I move to Colorado, the computer is shipped out west with me. The computer is now my main point of contact with my friends back home. It's also the first time I really use the internet as a resource. My family buys me a webcam so that I can video conference with them.

'03
I have my computer setup perfectly at work. I'm a Layout Editor for a daily newspaper and it's my first real desk job. I have iTunes, ripped CDs, IM, a handful of email addresses, and a long list of bookmarks. I now spend hours every day instant messaging with my friends from Philly.

'04
My work responsibilities increase. I am now in charge of finding content for the world news section and I am writing tons of features stories. I am constantly doing research. I start building my own computers and I get paid to build and fix computers for other people. Carrie works overnights. So, when I don't have projects to do for other people, I am learning how to design Web sites for my own betterment.

'05
I move back to Philly and take a temporary job as an office manager. I get my first two big scale freelance projects. I quit my job. Both freelance projects become much bigger undertakings than I initially imagined. They take forever to complete. My clients probably want to kill me but I learn a ton in the process. In the middle of these projects, I interview for a ton of jobs, get married, go on a honeymoon, and accept a job for which I had yet to interview. I am now a Flash/Actionscript programmer.

'06
A good year for freelance. Little time goes by when I am not doing work after work. I learn a ton of new programming languages and get great database experience. On my days off from freelance, I am creating Web sites for myself just so that I can learn new things. When offers come in to go out to bars, I turn them down. Why? I don't know. I'm not trying to be antisocial. I just feel like I don't have any money and that I need to be constantly productive. As the year progresses, I am offered a promotion -- and a pay cut. I am now a Database Administrator and Web Developer. The main social elements of my life are my band and quizzo. I get a little chubby.

'07
I go to Oracle training. I segue fully into my new position. My family chips in and buys me a Mac mini. I now have a work laptop and a home computer. I never go out anymore and I'm convinced my friends think I hate them. This is the best year of freelance to date. It encompasses every week of every month of the year, much to Carrie's chagrin. I go from chubby to pudgy. Quite literally, I have dreams about database schemas. No joke. I decompress from doing computer work by playing video games. I was never a big video game person but I now have an Xbox 360 and I enjoy playing the sports games. By the end of the year, I have a Wii and an AppleTV too. My band breaks up.

'08
I sit here in a blue T-shirt that says "Classically Trained." There is a picture of a Nintendo controller in the middle One week into the year and I am about to start my second freelance project of '08. I get a Blackberry and never miss an email. Carrie gets her own laptop. I get Rock Band for Xbox and Tiger Woods '08 for the Wii. My social life now consists of friends coming over to play in one of our fake video game bands, The Vajayhawks and Bonerschitz. Oh, and I'm going to be a dad any day now.

Zach started blogging again. So, I started editing my profile. Before I knew it, I was adapting my blog to fit on my personal site.

I don't know if I'll blog any more than this but we'll see. I'll be a dad any day now and I'll probably have some time on my hand and the desire to get stuff off my chest. So, we'll see from here.