It all started with the DVD player. It had always been there, as far as I could tell, but all I ever knew it could do was show my favourite cartoon shows. Mom always set it up for us, but she had to leave us home by ourselves for a bit, and that's how it all started—Jay's enthusiasm for technology.
My brother and I loved cartoons so much, and our DVDs were all we had of them. And my mom taught me how to use it. It was a very fascinating moment for me. Little did she know there was a little yet strong spark that lit the path that led me to where I am now, as well as where I am headed.
She had this really small, red laptop and a modem for internet connection. In order to provide us with something to pass time with, she looked up games that we could play on the internet. She'd set the games up for us normally, but she eventually had to show us how to do it ourselves. That access to the internet was the key.
Not only could I search "Power Rangers" to play, but I often found other things that piqued my interest. The entire concept of the internet and information at my fingertips was mind-blowing. I treasured that little, red laptop so much. It was an Acer laptop, I think.
My mom was pretty involved with computers and accessories. She even ran a small cafe or something and provided printing services. And my dad sold cameras back then. All of these gadgets were around me, and that little spark turned into flames, especially when my parents left us by ourselves at home.
I was a very curious and inquisitive boy growing up. I always wanted to discover and learn why certain gadgets worked the way they did. And when they became faulty, I wanted to be able to fix them. Although my success rate wasn't great, I was relentless with my adventures to discover.
Thankfully for me, I got a smart phone at a really early age. It was a flip phone by Zoom Mobile. Small and sturdy, but I loved it most for how it snapped when we closed it. What made it a gem for me was the mobile games it had. Okay. My brother and I actually shared that phone.
The first thing I always did when there was a new gadget around was to explore the deep secrets of the phone. I hardly ever read manuals, and I think it was because I preferred to discover than to be told. I continued that way, so much so that I became the little tech genius that people would consult for their tech misadventures.
Of course, I never really always knew the answer to every problem, but I loved the problems so much as they were avenues to learn again. They were challenges that I wholeheartedly took so I could unleash my inner genius.
Fast forward to many years now, I have hardly changed much. I mean, I am not that adventurous for certain things any more as I have gotten older, but my life is way simpler in the tech world as I had a really early and engaging start.
There are some problems I'd see in mobile phones now—Androids, though—and I would instantly know the (potential) solutions to them. I had spent so much time exploring the insides of Android phones that some things became second nature to me.
It's been different things for me all these years, but I like to think that it started with the DVD and that little red laptop with its Starcomms modem. I ignited my passion and got me hooked on tech for life.
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