I sit down here drinking coffee, watching myself carve my own legacy with my bare hands.
I taught myself to write and read Gcodes,
understand how to program a CNC,
and taught myself AutoCAD in 2007.
No teacher.. No mentor.
because nobody teaches you anything
as an OFW.
Just courage, curiosity,
and the stubborn belief that I could.
And now here I am again—
a father, a builder, a provider—
learning something completely new,
something most people are too scared to even try…
…and I am doing it line by line,
first on my phone,
inside a file manager,
then on my laptop,
figuring things out by myself,
with one eye closed,
fingers crossed,
holding on to faith and sheer determination.
And I am not just learning—
I am building myself my first software.
My own tool.
For my own company.
For my children.
For my wife
who gambled her future
for a man who was broken
from inside out.
For the future of the industry,
for the Glory of God
I’m not letting go of the dream
Not even for a second.
The old, unexceptional wood block
will continue to walk this journey
through every bracket,
every function,
every error,
every syntax
every breakthrough.
Done with blood sugar, sweat, wires, codes, and tears
Through unsleepy nights, numb diabetic fingers,
aching elbows and ankles.
I admit that I am not half as much
of the woodworker I use to be.
I am too old, too tired, ...too diabetic
The sun does not always shine
but there is always a promise of tomorrow.
I am not just learning code,
I am reinventing myself.
I am writing my life story again…
like I did in 2007.
Originally published on Benjie's Bench - Measuring Life's lessons in Millimeters