About Me
FAQ
(Last updated: Dec. 23, 2023)
Why do they call you Trick?
Trick is not a common nickname, I get asked about it fairly frequently. The origin is simple enough, I was in a college class with two other Patricks. I hate the name Pat and, Topher Grace was becoming more well known. Given that 'Topher' is the latter part of 'Christopher' I decided to go with 'Trick,' as my name. In Orlando, after college, I brought it back into use along with the launching of ManaNation (my Magic: The Gathering podcast & website), and it's stuck ever since.
Timeline
1983: Born in Atlanta GA. At 11lbs 5oz; I was the 2nd largest baby the hospital had delivered.
1986: Younger sister born, bringing sibling count to five. Family moves from Atlanta to Kansas City, KS for dad's job.
1989: We moved to Orlando, FL.
1995: Began exploring the Internet and playing with making HTML web pages. I had no clue what exactly I was beginning to explore and what part it would play in my life.
t web design class in my middle school; helping manage the school's website and continue to explore new realms in web design such as... using the blink tag and creating animated gifs. Also, this is the year when I first spent over 100 hours in one month logged on to the Internet via our dial up service; my parents were not amused.
1998: Entered high school at Edgewater High School as part of their "Engineering, Science and Technology" magnet program. I had begun to come out of my shell and began getting into sports: played both Football as well as was a member of the Rowing team.
1999: Played Football again, rowed again, did so-so in school. Had my first online "blog" or a regularly updated website, all done manually using html in Notepad. Saw The Matrix seven times in theaters.
2000: Stopped playing football and rowing, began working more and doing more web development.
2001: 9/11 happened. I continued to use the Internet and seeing its importance in the events and news of 9/11 I became even more enamored with it.
2002: Graduated high school and was accepted to Georgia Tech as a Computer Science major. Mom had been experiencing a medical issue that eventually became myelofibrosis and it began to require trips to Houston for treatment.
2003: GT was tough and my grades were only so-so. I really begin coming out of my shell and discovering myself. Also make the realization I don't love programming computers, I love coding for the web specifically. It was this year that I also discovered the SCA.
2004: Mom's health has held steady with regular treatment but we've all been prepared for the eventual decline which will require more. I push on with school, building friendships and trying to survive college.
2005: First year where I volunteered with Dragon*Con. I also get a job my first intern job doing web development as my job and I love it.
2006: GT and I part ways after the fall semester. Mom's health declines and life comes to a point where I am faced with a big decision. I decide to leave Atlanta and return to Orlando. In May I return to Orlando to be with family and be near to mom before she has to leave for a bone-marrow transplant in Houston. Begin working for SAK Comedy Lab as their house manager. In October, Katie (my eventual wife) and I begin dating.
2007: My mom died after her body is hit with Graft vs. Host disease after her transplant. I launch ManaNation.com, a gaming site all about Magic: The Gathering. I leave SAK and get hired to be a junior developer with Databanq Media. Katie and I move in together and adopt Mattie, a cocker-spaniel.
2008: Life goes on! I was let go from Databanq and three weeks later landed at MindComet as "Senior Software Developer." Performing at SAK Comedy Lab, at least monthly, as part of the Tuesday night 'Lab Rats' show.
2009: After being let go by MindComent, I join CoolStuffInc.com as their 'New Media Director' while also selling ManaNation to them at the same time. I proposed to Katie and got engaged.
2010: Get married!
2011: Merge ManaNation.com into GatheringMagic.com. Younger sister gets married and reminds me that we're all grown up. Several months later I get hired by Wizards of the Coast as 'Content Specialist' and move from Orlando, FL to Seattle, WA with Katie and our two dogs.
2012: Lost over 65 lbs. Had to put our dog Tyson to sleep. Hiked over 40 miles in the wilds around Seattle.
2013: Traveled to Barcelona, Montreal, San Diego, and for my third anniversary: Ireland. Promoted to Magic's Global Content Manager for Wizards of the Coast.
2014: A year of loss as I lost both my father and maternal grandmother while my wife lost her grandmother and her aunt. However we also welcomed a niece and nephew to the world, so it is the cycle of life. Also purchased our home!
2015: Added a new dog to our family: Elwood. Lost a very close friend and coworker named Mike. Traveled to Las Vegas, Barcelona and other awesome places for work.
2016: Work continued. Life continued. Traveled to Madrid and got to see Real Madrid play at home.
2017: Attended two wonderful weddings, participating in one. Started and ended the year by traveling to Victoria, BC, with trips to Vegas, Providence, Minneapolis, Dublin and a few others in between.
2019: A busy year, with a lot of changes at work, mostly for the better. I move into the role of "Content Strategist" for video at Wizards, covering not just Magic but also D&D. We also adopted the wonderful shy pup named Ozzie to keep Elwood company.
2020: Covid shut the world down. Celebrated my ten year anniversary with Katie. Launched this iteration of my blog.
2021: Hit ten years working at Wizards.
2023: Still here.
Page Change Log
- Dec. 24, 2019 - Previous update to this page
- Dec. 23, 2023 - Migrate page over from previous blog, and updated its contents.