When I was around 11 years old, my father founded his wood company, where he bought a chainsaw and a truck to transport the wood. At that time, there wasn't much financial availability, and we faced many challenges. From an early age, I began to help him in any way I could.
I started working with an axe, then I became a measurer until I eventually became a chainsaw operator. As the company grew, my father bought a tractor with a crane. The mechanics, which were essential for the company's operation, were done at home, where I was always present and ready to get my hands dirty. Around the age of 16, I repaired the hydraulic distributor and the piston pump of the tractor. We did everything at home, changing seals, retainers, bearings, whatever was necessary. Sometimes it was challenging because our knowledge was limited, and we learned as we went along, and yes, sometimes instead of fixing things, we ended up breaking them. That was the formula we had in place to meet our needs. Of course, all of this gave me practical knowledge in mechanics, not theoretical knowledge.
After this entry into life, I always had jobs related to machines and trucks, where, in addition to operating them, I solved any mechanical problems I could handle. I drove tractors, backhoes, excavators, telescopic handlers, cylinders, bobcats, forwarders, trucks, operated various cranes, and did everything possible to get to where I am now.
In international transportation, I also acquired a lot of knowledge, visited countries I wouldn't have otherwise, traveled through Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Switzerland. I encountered different cultures from the Portuguese one. Contact with other languages, which I didn't know at all, required me to ask for directions because at that time there was no GPS. Under these conditions, you are forced to develop a basic form of communication; you seem like a caveman communicating through drawings on paper and gestures. I must commend the people I crossed paths with. When ordering food, you knew it would be a surprise because you had no idea what was written. There were great adventures, great discoveries. I often thought that I wasn't worse off than the Portuguese explorers because at least I had a map, and the countries had signs with directions; I just had to decipher the information.
I transported wood, bricks, concrete blocks, tiles, machinery, cranes, sand, soil, asphalt, and in tankers, I transported sodium sulfate, cement, ash, feldspar, sand, gypsum, coal, lime, and other products that I can't remember at the moment.
With machines, I felled trees, dug terrain, performed excavations, and laid foundations, among many other tasks. I always learned something new with each job.
When I started operating more advanced machines, I learned to calibrate controls and adjust variables to make the machines meet my expectations.
All these experiences contributed to my knowledge and understanding of things, and I realized that there is an element that is always present in everything you do: physics. In our world, it's impossible to escape physics, whether you're driving, sleeping, eating, running, or having a drink with friends.
My life underwent a radical change in 2014 after suffering an accident that left me without vision in my left eye. After recovering, I continued to work as an operator, but the challenges were significant.
In 2016, the opportunity arose to take a CAD/CAM Technician course, which I completed in 2018. All my previous experiences allowed me to develop skills in this field because much of the practical knowledge I had was transferable to the theoretical part. This has given me an enhanced perspective, which I unconsciously draw from all my experiences, and especially from the mistakes I made in my past.