You can call me AJ or Archigos (pronounced “Arch” “E” “go”, the S is silent). Although I’ve lived in multiple states and have moved around a good amount, I’ve spent most of my life in Upstate New York, where I currently reside.
Professional
In the early months of 1997, I started working on the paperwork to open my own business and in the summer of ’97 with the help of a partner, we opened a small computer hardware/software-based company. At the time, due to our age, we could not obtain a business loan or find grants that we qualified for to open a retail store and this lack of extra funds pretty much left us providing services to family and friends. This actually worked out to our benefit as having a small customer base allowed us to work closely with these clients to ensure satisfaction. Over the years we have expanded the services our company offers and continue to expand our customer base. Shortly after opening the company and realizing the financial requirements were higher than we anticipated, we talked it over and I temporarily gave administrative control over to my partner and decided to join the military. By joining the Navy it allowed me to serve my country and save up money to be used when I get out; helping build the company to a whole new level.
Sadly soon after finishing boot camp and doing a little bit of work afterward, I was involved in an accident that injured my legs severely. This accident caused enough damage to my knees that the military released me from service. Even though I wasn’t able to serve a full term of duty, I accomplished more than I thought possible. If I were told before joining, the experiences I would have, the work I would do, but also that I wouldn’t be able to finish because of an injury sustained on active duty, I wouldn’t think twice and still sign my soul over to “Uncle Sam”. I met some wonderful people there and was given the opportunity to travel and do work I really loved, so I wouldn’t change a thing. The way things turned out after the military, some good, some bad, made me realize that if I was offered a chance to go back in time to stop the accident from happening, I wouldn’t, because everything happens for a reason and I believe that accident set me on a path that made me the man I am today. Over the next few years, I expanded the company to the best of my abilities (joining Microsoft as an OEM System Builder and Registered Partner). Due to health issues with the co-founder’s family, we parted ways so he could concentrate on caring for them. In 2005, he rejoined us as Vice President and jumped right into the work as if he never left. (More information about JJ, the Vice President, see the dedication on the Server Status page)
Personal
Fast forward to January 2007
I was diagnosed with Cancer {Jan.29.07} and underwent 6 months of chemotherapy treatments. The Chemo had the usual effects of being ill all the time, all my hair fell out, my immune system went to hell, but most importantly shrank and killed the tumor. They removed it from my neck in Aug. ’07 and it had a diameter larger than a U.S. Half Dollar Coin. (They wouldn’t let me keep it though)
At the beginning of 2008 my health started to ‘go downhill’ even more and the doctors figured out that the Chemo weakened the bones in my back and messed up some of my vertebrae and spinal cord. (My T5, T6, L2, L3, L4, L5 are shot and the spinal cord is pinched.) I apparently had congenital spinal issues that were undiagnosed at the time, which explains the more adverse than normal results from the Chemo. More and more, days would go by where I either couldn’t get out of bed at all or be in so much pain I could only get two or three feet at a time before it got unbearable. Since I had extremely limited mobility I decided I needed something to keep my mind occupied and decided to go back to school to get my degree. After deciding the degree I wanted and realizing that a typical “Brick and Mortar” school wouldn’t work for me, I looked at a few online schools (for the obvious mobility/medical reasons).
In October 2008 I started attending IADT working towards an Associate Degree in Computer Science and received it in early 2011 after taking a summer off for medical concerns. Sadly, the college I attended was bought out a few years later and closed down by a rival college. They also were the subject of multiple investigations leaving many students questioning the legitimacy of their degree while being stuck with the piles of debt either way.