Grant Alexander

Today is Grant's 21st birthday!!

Grant was our 3rd grandchild and 2nd grandson.

He's an important part of this large family.

And an even more important part of this smaller family.

Today I managed to catch up with him to conduct this phone interview which isn't easy on someone's 21st birthday.  (But obviously he's always known how important birthdays are.)

Hi Grant!  Happy Birthday!   Thank you!

Do you have any special plans on this important birthday?  Well, I came home last night and I'm spending the day with Mom 

and Tessa

and then Evan will be joining us for dinner at La Casa.  

So you're spending the night there and heading back to Boulder tomorrow night?  Right!  

 

Well, you just made me a happy grandma!!!  You mean no dangerous, wild partying tonight?  No.  I figure it's better for everybody's stress levels if I stay in!

You've recently started a job to help with school expenses right?   Yes.  How do you like it?  Well it's just at King Soopers over the summer.  It's not really my thing so I've put in my two weeks and I'll be leaving on August 6th.  After that I'll be starting my next school year.

What didn't you like   It's kind of a negative environment.  When school starts I'm hoping to get a job where I can apply my skills and education so far.

How is school going?  Very well.  The last two semesters were very smooth and my grades were better; and this semester I'm looking forward to getting into networking and doing more of what I like to do.

I know you've recently changed your career focus.  Yes I've switched from a military career to a career in computer science.  I'm hoping to get into software development eventually.

Are you enjoying the change in curriculum?  Oh yes.  I guess you could say I'm feeling very in my element.  I really like programming.

What are your long range plans now?   Well computer science to create a solid financial base and then get into software development and operating systems.  Are you thinking of starting a business?  I haven't considered it but it's a possibility.  I was thinking of being on a bigger team working on large projects like for Microsoft or Google or companies like that.

What's your favorite holiday?  Probably Christmas because Christmas isn't one day. I get to see my extended family, it's a break for school, and I get to relax

Did you enjoy our holiday in Gulf Shores?  Yes, I really liked it!

I liked having the beach right there even though the water was kind of cold and playing ultimate Frisbee. 

Also the house was nice and there was plenty to do outside.  It was really fun. Will you be there this year?  Yes, definitely!

Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?  You know....that is a really hard question to answer. I guess a few general points would be doing a lot of creative of work independent of my programming work.  I don't intend to be married I don't think.  If I have a place it probably won't be a house - or a real nice place because I want to save my money for a really great place when I'm ready to settle down.

So how do you feel about having grown up in a military family?  I think that it's overwhelmingly positive.  It might have been difficult not having real long-term childhood friends but it turns out that a lot of those young friendships don't last forever anyway and by meeting lots of different people I've learned to adapt better to changing social situations.  I think if I'd stayed in a small, tight knit group, it wouldn't have hampered me but I wouldn't have the advantage that I have now - being able to react and respond to a lot of different situations.

What can you tell us about yourself that we haven't covered in this interview?  I am really into music right now.  And it's more than just a hobby.  I'm actually searching for new things and new sounds and I'm working with one of my friends in his production studio.  I intend to play more club sports at school this year because I've only played on a couple of teams in college so far and I feel like you can really find out what people are like through sports.

Also, I like cats.  I actually have like 6 cat shirts and Tessa just got me one the other day.  Why do you like cats?  I think it's because they can get on your level.  They can match your emotional state.  If you're sad they can see that and act the same way and if you're happy and energetic they can see that and reflect it back to you.   (It must be true.  Note that in this picture the cat is tired and fast asleep - just like Grant.  And the dog is staring at the camera.  lol)

And with that, the interview was concluded.  But as usual, I have lots more to say about Grant.  He's one of the nicest, sweetest, most agreeable people you could ever hope to meet.

He's helpful

and smart and fun-loving and a great sport.

plus he has ALL the moves.

And he has a great sense of humor.  Watch this sequence where Evan is refusing to recognize Grant's hilarity.  You'll see that along with that great sense of humor, he's very tenacious.  He never gives up and finally Evan caves.  So cute!

This family is so much fun which probably helps explain why Grant, in addition to a multitude of other amazing attributes, is such a family oriented guy!  And it just one of the many things that we love about him.  We're very proud of him and we're wishing him his best birthday ever and a year to surpass all others.  Happy Birthday, Grant!