Programming has been a hobby of mine since I first started when I was about 7. My first programs were written using Microsoft QBasic on my old DOS PC. Around the same time, I took a summer course where I used Logo. I've been doing hobby programming at home in my free time ever since. I took two years of classes in high school, as well.
In 2004, I went off to college. On my first day, I bought a textbook on PHP and MySQL from the campus bookstore that was unrelated to any of my actual classes. Rather than going to class or doing any schoolwork, I read the book obsessively and dropped out. Ever since then, I've loved working with data driven applications.
Recently, I've been learning a LOT more about different database theories and techniques. With this learning I've found a new love for database design and I work with complex relational databases almost daily along with my hobby application development.
Professionally, I just started working for a technology company that focuses on social networking and eCommerce. At this company, my primary tasks have been working on website frontends using PHP and MySQL, although I hope to be moved to the backend someday.