Law Students

five questions

By "Nicolle"

Instructions:
Leave me a comment saying "Resistance is Futile."

? I'll respond by asking you five questions so I can satisfy my curiosity
? Update your journal with the answers to the questions
? Include this explanation in the post and offer to ask other people questions

***

Mark asked me these five questions:

1. How did you get into hacking? -- i was really into computers as a kid. i started using a computer in 1985, when my family got a Mac 512. in middle school, i learned BASIC, and started doing some basic programming. i didn't do anything all that intricate, but i got a handle on a few of the fundamentals. that's kind of the initial background for how i got into computers...although it was a long time after that when i got into the hacker community, since i got distracted from my interest in computers by the time i hit high school. i didn't really get back into them hardcore until my last year of law school. i stumbled across a phone phreaking and pranking board (Phone Losers of America) while poking around wikipedia one night, and i met some people off of there who were into linux. i gave linux a shot early last year...and playing around with that got me back into coding, which got me into learning all sorts of things about computers and networking and security. that was my real entry into the world of hacking. i'd still call myself relatively new at it, but i'm getting better and better.
2. Can you make a living doing it? -- that's my goal. i'm not making a living on it yet, but i'm trying to find a tech job that will take a chance on some relative newbie with no computer degrees and only one entry-level professional certification to date. i plan on eventually working in computer security, although i want to work as a sysadmin or a network admin first--because how could i expect people to take my advice for tweaking and locking down their systems if i haven't been involved in maintaining said systems previously?
3. It seems like you aren't fond of the whole lawyering thing. So, why do it? -- you're right--i am not fond of it at all. i hate it...to the point that i physically recoil at the idea of ever working as an attorney again. so--i'm not going to. i was laid off from my job as an attorney at the end of march of this year, and i haven't been seeking jobs in the legal field. i've still got my law license, and am planning on keeping it current for the time being, so i can continue to provide my hackerspace (Pumping Station: One) with legal advice. i can't say i enjoy legally advising in any capacity, but right now i'm the only lawyer who is a member of the space, and it's worth it to be able to keep the space in existence.
4. Why is your hair blue? -- i could be snarky and say "it's not blue, it's pink." :) (it is true--my hair is currently pink, although i plan on dyeing it back to blue very, very soon.) i dye my hair blue because blue is my favourite colour to have my hair--i really like how it looks on me. also, i really don't feel comfortable with my hair brown or blonde or black or any kind of colour that naturally grows out of the human head. i feel dull...like a sanitized version of myself. i just feel more confident when my hair is a fun colour. i'm hoping that whatever job i get next will allow me to keep my hair...if, for the time being, i have to take a job that doesn't, i'm not going to make the same mistake i did at my last job. when i worked for the law firm, i dyed my hair back to something "natural". this time around, if it becomes necessary, i'm getting a wig to wear to work, and will stick to my blue, purple, pink, or whatever interesting colour i choose at any given time for my real hair to be dyed.
5. What do you want to be when you grow up? -- i touched on that in my answer to #2...i want to do something in the field of computer security. i'm not sure yet whether i want to work in-house somewhere or be a consultant, although i'm leaning toward the consulting side. we'll see how this shakes out once i've gotten some kind of stable footing in the field, but that's my plan for now.
   

Full post as published by the last refuge of the persecuted crack smoker on November 17, 2009 (boomark / email).