What do Glamping tips, Italian Quattro Stagioni pizza, and extravagant holiday door decoration displays have to do with System Administrator Mac DR? Read on to decode the mysteries of Mac.
You’re a longer-tenured member of the MELE team. How has the company changed from when you first started to now?
MELE’s growth in recent years has been so great to be a part of! It’s a great privilege to be working with so many talented people during this time. Watching the company grow from a small to a large business gives me a good sense of feeling that I belong here. At HQ, we expanded in many areas, as needed, to keep up with the challenges of growing. Yet, as we grew, we kept that traditional family-business feel. That’s awesome!
What are the most rewarding and most challenging aspects of your role as MELE’s System Administrator?
I love challenges. I love what I do in the Information Technology field, so this is almost an unfair question. Challenges are what I like about this job, any other job, and even hobbies. It’s strange though; I am almost always giving my all-in doing things, not to surpass other people, but to surpass myself. Maybe some people think that they can’t outrun themselves, I know I can. The most rewarding thing in this line of work are the words, “Thank you.” It’s so rewarding to hear that.
You can pick 4 components for your last meal. What are they and why?
This is a tough question, because I love food, but it’s never been about the food itself. I enjoy food because of the people I’m with. Every one of us is connected to our own favorite food. I’ve been many places around the world and love all sorts of foods because I’ve enjoyed them with people or was told about them by people. Food is a great way to connect with others.
With that said, my 4 components for a last meal would be: my mom’s Thai Lemongrass Curry Chicken Soup, my Dad’s Pork Adobo, my wife’s Chicharrón burrito, and an authentic Italian Quattro Stagioni pizza eaten in Italy.
You’re famous at HQ for your office decorations and enthusiasm for MELE special events. What’s your favorite event and why?
We do a lot of things here at MELE for social events. This is a hard decision to make because I enjoy them all. If I had to pick just one, it would be the obvious one, and that’s the winter door decoration, with the fall season being a close second. I mainly stick with a Christmas theme for my door decorations, and I try to be different each year, from the story of the Nutcracker to a Red Truck climbing a snowy mountain.
You’re an RV enthusiast. What are the 3 essentials that you look for when selecting a great RV campsite?
The outdoors and nature are so relaxing. Having a good reliable truck, a good comfortable camping trailer, and a good camp site (especially, the site) is so important to get to that relaxed state. We’ve done lots of camping since we got our travel trailer, and the 3 essentials that we find most important are:
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The amenities (full hookups—grey, black water, and 50-amp—these are super musts, but not a deal breaker. We just like to be pampered but we won’t say no if we really want to. We will normally scout out the site prior to making a commitment to camp there—just to make our experience better and to know what to expect).
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The location. We have camped in many places from Norfolk to Pennsylvania. Each place offers a different reason to be there, but Cherry Hill stands out the most because it’s just that nice (well kept, and friendly service).
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Third are the site specifics. Lot size is a big deal since our trailer is 36 ft long. The terrain is also important; because our trailer is 36 ft long, we want to make sure that we can get into the space okay, and the terrain is somewhat level to make it easier to set up camp.
Oh, and it’s not camping that we do; it’s glamping (thanks).
