All About Me
I was born and raised in Fond du Lac, WI. While I've lived a couple other places (Oshkosh, during my college years; Oakfield, just after I met Chris - which was before the tornado came through; and now Malone, which actually is just outside Fond du Lac), Fond du Lac is the place I've always considered my hometown.
I attended Elizabeth Waters Elementary School (grades K-6), Theisen Junior High School (grades 7-9) and L. P. Goodrich High School (grades 10-12). Goodrich as I knew it ceased to exist a few years back, when they built the new high school, Fond du Lac High School. They did a grade reorganization at that time too, moving 9th grade into high school and 6th grade into what they now refer to as "middle school". My favorite subjects in school were Math and English... I liked math so much that during my later years of grade school, I began 'competing' with two other students to see how far ahead in our math workbooks we could get. After getting a couple of levels ahead of the rest of our class, our teacher plopped the three of us in front of the school's computers and suggested we spend our time learning a new skill.
And that's where my interest in computers was born. Not that I knew right then that I wanted to grow up to be a computer geek, because I most certainly didn't. It took me a looooong while to get there. While computers were part of my life from then on, it wasn't until a few years into college at the University of Wisconsin at Oshkosh that it really hit me. I was taking an accounting class and was terribly frustrated with my pencil and ledger when I grumbled that nobody in their right mind still pushed a pencil when doing accounting, they were all using computers! The next semester I realigned my major, and before long I graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a Management Information Systems (information technology) major and a Computer Science minor. I've worked in the Information Technology field ever since.
Outside of work, my favorite activity is spending time with my family and my friends. I also have a few hobbies that occupy my "free time" (not that I have nearly enough of that)...
- Music
Music has always been a big part of my life! My love of music goes all the way back to the womb as my mom used to play music for me when she was pregnant, as well as when I was little. I began playing piano and violin while in grade school (violin through school and piano via private lessons). I attribute my wide range of musical tastes to this early exposure to music. From pop to rock to blues and bluegrass to classical, to a little bit of country, there isn't a lot I won't listen to, although I do admit that I have a special affinity for 80's music. This love of 80's music probably stems in part from the fact that I got my first stereo (a hand-me-down from my big brother) in the early 80's (1981) and that one of my first jobs was at the local Musicland in the late 80's and early 90's. A few of my favorite artists of all time include 38 Special, Chicago, David Cook, Def Leppard, Eagles, Journey, Madonna, Night Ranger, Styx and Triumph (in alpha order - not preference order). If you'd like to browse my entire range of tastes, you can check out what I'm currently listening to (and more) at last.fm.
- Photography
More about this hobby of mine, as well as a link to some of my photos can be found here.
- Beading
A number of years ago, my mom and I had an exceptionally successful jewelry party and got lots of stuff discounted and free! After doing that circuit for awhile, she discovered another type of jewelry party where you made your own jewelry from kits purchased through the company. She started buying kits and learned how to assemble the kits herself. Eventually she purchased her own beads and started making creations from scratch. She gave me one of the first sets she ever made - a necklace, bracelet and matching earrings - and I was hooked. I went out and started buying beads and began making my own jewelry as well. We started mainly with stringing, but have learned some more advanced techniques since. I enjoy this creative outlet so very much.
- Running
In September 2009, I had reached a new high with my weight and decided I needed to start doing something about it. I abhored "diets" (although I do know diet and exercise go hand in hand) so I decided to focus more on exercise. I decided to start running mainly because you never see 'fat' people running. I thought maybe if I started running, I would cease being 'fat'. I started slow, very slow. I loosely followed the Couch-to-5K program. If there was a week I felt there was too big of a jump between steps, I'd bridge it by creating a half step (or sometimes two). It took me much, MUCH longer than the 9 weeks of the program! By early June 2010, I was running 2 miles, not quite comfortably, but I was doing it. I entered my first race, the local Walleye Run in Fond du Lac. About a month later, I reached my goal of running a 5K, 3.1 miles. Three weeks later, I broke my foot (not running, but tripping and falling down stairs) and my running came to a screeching halt. I was off my foot entirely for four weeks, heel bearing only for another 3 and was not allowed to do any impact sport (walking or running) for a total of 16 weeks. At that time I tried running, but it was too soon. It was another month before I was able to run a mile without stopping. That took me to the end of that year, so I set myself a goal for the following year: to run 250 cumulative miles. I spent a lot of time on the road in 2011... accumulating not 250, not 275, not 300, but 325 miles that year. My longest run was 8 miles, my fastest mile was a 10 minute mile. I still enjoy running and am planning on entering a couple of races this year.
- Genealogy
I've always been fascinated with genealogy and how, if you trace back far enough, everyone seems to be related. I've been tracing my family tree (on and off when time allows) for a few years now. (Unfortunately, it has been awhile since I last really worked on it.) Eventually I hope to have my tree posted online. When I do, you bet I'll be linking to it here.