Jace:  Jās, as if short for Jason.

I grew up on a ranch in Oklahoma.  And now I live in Chicago.  Cattle, horses, and oil wells have given-way to subways, parking meters, and sky scrapers. 

I'm the youngest of four brothers, so I got more than my fair share of bruises, stitches, and hand-me-down clothes as a kid.  Me and my buddies heralded the dawning of Generation X.  In first grade, we fought it out over who was going to marry Princess Leia.  By fourth grade, I had discovered that Leia was my sister, and Daisy Duke was my true love.  Recently, I've come to learn that neither hold a candle to Liz . 

I've been messing around with computers since I was ten years old.  My first was a Radio Shack Color Computer II.  It had a TV for a monitor, and a tape recorder for file storage.  It's operating system was a language called BASIC, which is how I got into programming.  From there, I started building and repairing computers.  That paid my way through college.

Through four years of constant sleep deprivation, I managed to cram the requirements for two Bachelors degrees -- Business Administration and Computer Science -- in between a full-time job and a term as student body president.  Student Government taught me more than both degrees, combined.  The entire experience was torturous, but it revealed a potential within me that I had never dreamt existed.

I first came to Illinois to work for State Farm Insurance in 1996.  In 2000, my work with internet companies brought me to Chicago.  During the crazy days, it was iExplore .  From early 2001 till recently, it had been Cars.com .  I left to take a sabbatical, but opted instead to start a new job at Orbitz .

For the first 25 years of my life, work was an all-consuming compulsion.  These days, I've started to see the benefits of balance.  I still love to work and I put-in a lot of long hours, but I'm finding additional ways to define myself.

I became a Christian when I was 21.  My relationship with God has transformed my entire approach to life.  I am seldom perfect, but I am always loved.

That dopey red ball cap you see in the picture is my only prized worldly possession.  Me and that cap have been on every continent but Antartica, so I have a lot of memories tied up in it.  I love it.  Liz hates it.  But she loves me, so I get to keep the cap.

I'm a hard-driving type-A personality; especially at work.  By Myers-Briggs standards, I'm an ENTJ -- the "Field Marshall," or "Super-leader" as it were.  If I'm able to develop the wisdom to match the moniker, I'll be set.

Underneath my hard-driving business demeanor, I'm a relatively mellow and introspective guy.  At times, I'm even a bit of loner.  It's a good thing -- it gives me time to recharge and reflect; to get my bearings before jumping back into the fray.

My primary hobbies are travel and photography.  You'll see a little of both on the site.