Hey everyone,

I know this introduction is very late and I won’t get credit for it, but I think out of respect to everyone who is taking this course with me, I should still post an introduction of myself. I’m still on the learning curve of OpenLab, so please bear with my mistakes until I get a bit more familiar with this system.

My name is Jerry Carrion. I’ve been a student at City Tech for around five years now and I can positively say this class will be very different than any other course I have taken at this school. I’m twenty-two years old and I’ve been residing in New York City throughout my entire life. I have an A.A.S. in Computer Information Systems and currently working towards my bachelor’s degree in Computer Systems Technology.

I’m a pretty straight forward person which most people find hard to deal with. But, I’m also very outgoing and social with the individuals who do actually know me and realize it’s just who I am. I take many interests in a variety of hobbies, subjects and goals in my life.

For starters, I’m a System Administrator for a company called Midtown Comics, Inc. It’s a really tough job to handle at a young age, but it’s also part of what I want to be in my life. I’ve been a customer at Midtown Comics, Inc. since I was in junior high (around thirteen years old at the time), and until this day I continue to shop with them. I read a lot of comic books (not so much as I use to due to school, work, etc…), from great sci-fi titles such as Manhattan Project, Star Wars (Dark Horse and Marvel), Saga, Rocketeer, Chew, Y: The Last Man, Scott Pilgrim, and even The Walking Dead and The Avengers (does contain a sci-fi theme depending on the writer of the series, and transitions characters to an alternate universe). What helped me get my foot in the door for my career in the first place, was being an intern for Marvel Comics. I worked with them for two semesters as a Desktop Analyst and it was definitely the greatest experience I’ve ever got in the tech field. If I continue to talk about this, this story will go on for hours so I’ll just continue about myself, haha!

I also take a huge interest in gaming. I think video games has been a part of everyone’s life at some point even if an individual neglects throughout time. There’s a broad selection of games I have played, starting with the recent titles such as Portal, Mass Effect, BioShock, and Dead Space, to much more older titles like Half Life 1 & 2, Halo, Metal Gear Solid, Metroid, Star Fox, Doom, Quake, World of Warcraft, Fallout, Phantasy Star and so on.

Movies have always been something I enjoy. I tend to watch almost all types of genres because it really depends on the story, setting and character development of the film. But movies that have taken me into a deeper understanding of the concept of sci-fi such as Terminator, Robocop, Judge Dredd, Tron, Star Wars, Star Trek, Alien, Jurassic Park, and The Matrix are all and will always be on my favorites list. I really can’t help myself to NOT watch these types of movies because they are way too interesting!

I believe science fiction is one of the greatest genres there is to introduce to anyone in this world. It has so many stories from different planets or universes, and characters that could be humans interacting with robots, or aliens. It doesn’t necessarily have to be about those specific themes nor does sci-fi have a “standard”,  but when it does have something that is contrasting from our universe that would most likely never be possible, it helps you theorize and imagine what if this world had certain parts from your favorite sci-fi titles. It’s an abstract universe that can pretty much take you for a ride when you are in the right mindset. You can go anywhere to the wonderful settings of Harry Potter and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, or more of a darker world such as The Giver, Dune, or Immortal Lycanthropes. My favorite theme in science fiction has to go to a cyberpunk or steam-punk universe. It’s so awesome to see all the gadgets and a futuristic (but not entirely) setting.

Writing use to be something I was never interested in when I was younger. I had more success with mathematics and science more than anything else. When I started taking Advanced Placement writing courses in high school, I started to take a joyous path from there on out. I actually love writing entries that allows me to express and speak for myself. It can be a paper on the US Government or about Aristotle, but if I can give out my opinion of what the subject is and if it’s easy to relate to, consider it done! I’ve never taken blogging serious (but I use to have one on Tumblr a long time ago, but it was more of a photo blog), nor do I currently use any social networks such as Facebook (since 2009) or Twitter.

As you can guys can see, I have a huge interest in sci-fi and I hope that we will all get a long and socialize about these topics, because I think all of us have an interest in sci-fi and now it’s time to share it and see what else can be created or speculated from the genre. Sci-fi takes imagination to actually visualize these scenarios and it definitely has set the standard of my own imagination.