Carrie Patrick

Me, as of February 2013.

I am a New Zealander currently based in Denver, Colorado. I work as an editor, formerly for AAA Colorado’s bimonthly travel magazine, and currently for Associated Skin Care Professionals. This website has nothing to do with any of my past or present employers. If it ends up leading to future employment, or playing a pivotal role in the Great Invasion of 2034 by space squids from a parallel universe, we will just have to wait and see how that goes.

I’ve done pretty much everything, as far as jobs go. Much of it has been some form of writing, editing, or other magazine work, but I’ve also done database development, project management at a Post Office processing facility, crewed on ferries and square rigged sailing ships, and a short stint in air/sea search and rescue. I will try literally anything. I mean, what’s the worst that can happen? Most things that can happen to a person have already happened to me, but as Steve McQueen shouted at those guys in that movie, I’M STILL HERE.

My interests include silversmithing, electronics, weightlifting and fitness. I play a large number of musical instruments, none of them particularly well, but the guitar is my main instrument. I like metal and currently lean towards Viking, black, and melodic death metal, as well as thrash/speed metal and the classic ’80s bands. I taught classical guitar for several years in my 20s, but can no longer play a wide-necked classical guitar due to a wrist injury that affects my reach. I still play some classical pieces on my electric guitars (currently two different Dean models: a Michael Schenker Flames V and a cheapo MLX, both of which I love more than life itself).

I’m never happier than when I’m finding out something I didn’t know before, or learning a new skill. I need to know how things work. If they don’t work right, I need to figure out how to fix them. Once you understand this, you know everything there is to know about me. If you have any sense at all, you might prefer to avoid me as a result.

In my first real job, on my first assignment as a writer, a colossal case of mistaken identity led directly to me having to make a speech to the Prime Minister and Cabinet members of a third-world country, on a topic that I knew nothing whatsoever about. There didn’t seem to be any way to get out of it, so I stayed up all night working on it, gave a speech that they’re probably still trying to figure out, stitched a big grin on my face and shook hands with everyone and got the hell out of there before anyone started asking detailed questions. That was when I was 20 and less confident; if it happened today I’d have stayed for the questions and tried to snag some free canapés and a repeat invitation. Anyway, I figured it couldn’t get any worse than that, so I stayed in the industry and it’s all been good since then. I make things, do stuff, go places, and write about it. And since people seem to be willing to pay me money for it, life can hardly get any better.