1979. Born in Moscow, Idaho to goodly parents named Brent and Cathy Snow as the fourth child of six and second son in the family. Moved to Oklahoma one month later.

1985. Started my formal education at Westwood Elementary School in Stillwater, Oklahoma while my father taught psychology at Oklahoma State University (Go Pokes!). Said formal schooling would last me 17 consecutive years (gulp) across three state programs.

1986. Exposed to my first home computer and modern video game console after my mother bought a colored IBM PCjr and some neighborhood friends scored a Nintendo Entertainment System. The love affair with technology, personal computers, and video games had begun.

1987. Baptized on July 4 as a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, a Christian belief-system that I doubted briefly in my adolescence but ultimately grew to appreciate, respect, and hold fast to.

1989. Finished ninth place in the 400 meter dash at the Oklahoma Hershey’s Track Meet after qualifying at the city and regional levels. I was beaten by much faster Native American runners and placed second to last at the event. But I’m still proud of the statewide accomplishment and the athleticism with which I have been blessed (thanks, Dad), one that would facilitate a competitive flare in the years to come for basketball, football, soccer, and baseball, the latter of which I still play to this day.

1990. Began honing my skills as an imitation designer, that is someone who can recognize and replicate good design by imitating legitimate designers. I started by drawing shoes (even submitting my designs to Nike) and latter moved to graphic design, web development, and online publishing.

1991. Discovered Rock ‘n Roll for myself after raiding my sister’s CD collection for Nirvana’s Nevermind, Led Zepplin’s Houses of the Holy, and a cassette tape of Metalica’s Black Album that my brother Brooks had acquired. Though I was raised on Beach Boys, my fascination with all genres of music including classical, hip-hop, and electronic had begun.

1992. Moved to Georgia after my father took an administrative job at West Georgia University. Was initially intimidated by Southern Accents and Black Vernacular English before quickly growing fond of the diversity and culture.

1994. Was invited to job shadow the Atlanta Hawks front office after writing them a letter. It was a remarkable experience for a 14 year-old boy and his two friends, but one I alienated in the end by sabotaging pre-written reply letters that we were tasked to envelop and mail with lewd childish drawings. Of course we were discovered as the culprits, and it resulted in one of the most humbling and embarrassing mistakes I have ever made in my life. But it was a memorable lesson in humility, shame, apology, forgiveness, and kindness learned at a young age, and one that would encourage me to quickly come clean with my mistakes in the years to follow.

1995. Learned to play guitar while staying home sick one day after months of dabbling. By the time my brother and his friends returned from school, I could play Green Day’s entire Dookie album, which was little more than bar chords, which I had just learned. Also started composing music and formed my first band called Formaldehyde, a trio which lasted nearly two years and tricked me into once thinking I wanted to become a rock star.

1996. Started my first job making $5.15/hour (min. wage) as a fast food cook at Chick-fil-A. My loyalty lasted two full years before taking the $1000 scholarship bonus and running far, far away.

1998. Graduated from Central High School with honors. Began taking computing classes at West Central Technical School.

1999. Flew to southern Brazil where I would live for the next two years as a volunteer, proselytizing missionary for the LDS Church. I have yet to return and miss my hospitable friends dearly—what a lovable country!

2001. Started freshman courses at the University of West Georgia. Major: undeclared.

2002. Moved to Provo, Utah in an effort to spread my wings and upgrade schools. Became fond of the insanely proximate mountains, dry summers, and am amazed that few parts of Utah provide inhabitable land. Still not particularly fond of the frigid winters and copious amounts of snow. Bought my first cell phone.

2003. Married Lindsey Anne Smith, an attractive and selfless brunette from Seattle, Washington, after putting the moves on her a year prior. Also founded a small web design firm called Griffio amid rising demand, a company that would become my first post-education employer a year later. Started working from home.

2004. Graduated from Brigham Young University with a bachelor’s degree in business (Go Cougars!). Rediscovered what it feels like to have free nights and weekends without having to worry about looming deadlines.

2005. The birth of my first child, an adventurous and trusting little girl named Sadie Anne. Movie attendance postponed until further notice. Also discovered blogging and wrote near-daily entries on life, technology, and video games. Became professional blogger (part-time).

2006. Moved 10 miles up the road to a condo in Orem, Utah, arguably the most family-friendly and residential city in America—easily the coolest city in the state. Became a full-time writer, video game critic, blogger, and recovering web consultant working for both online and print publishers located in San Francisco, New York, and Los Angeles.

2007. The birth of my second child, an animated and watchful little girl named Madison. Surprisingly, two kids is a lot more manageable than I thought, if you put the first child to work, of course.

2008. Expanded my writing career to NBC and WSJ. Discovered golf. Would play all day if I could. Also rediscovered camping and the great outdoors.

2009. Went surfing for the first time. Survived the Great Recession. Took the family to Yellowstone. Canceled my cellular data plan and rediscovered nights, weekends, and an uninterrupted personal life in the process. Yay!

2010. Rented a home. Welcomed our third child into the world (another girl!). We named her Jane. Bought a new car. Finished my first marathon. Visited New England for the first time. Saw the Yankees beat the Red Sox at Fenway in extra innings. Hiked Capitol Reef and Bryce Canyon.

2011. JIMMER, JIMMER, JIMMER… (to be continued…)