I was born in Pennsylvania, and was brought up on a dairy farm, run by my Grandfather. My Dad was a plumber-steamfitter. My Mother, was, for the most part, a stay-at-home-mom. How grateful I am for that!
I have two sisters, the youngest of whom is 14 years older than I.
I attended elementary school, junior high school, and high school in my home town. I graduated sixth in my class of 96, and as a member of the Future Teachers of America, and as a member of the National Honor Society. I appreciate those wonderful men and women who were my teachers then, because they helped set an example for me (as did my parents and grandparents), and helped me to see the broader world.
I first attended college at Mansfield State College, where I majored in Mathmatics. After a year there, I transferred to Brigham Young University, where I changed my major from Mathmatics to Computer Science. I should have seen, right then and there, that Computers were NOT my bag. I would have been happier studying what I'm studying now. However, I don't regret having been a programmer.
It was there, in Provo, Utah, that I met my angel wife (on a blind date, I might add), courted her and married her. She had three children from her previous marriage, and they stole my heart from the moment I met them.
I have worked as a programmer/analyst for 23 years, until in December of 2002, we discovered that I had an aneurism in my ascending aorta, which was about to burst. In January of 2003, I had open heart surgery, and the damaged aorta and neighboring heart valve were replaced with a Dacron aorta and a stainless steel heart valve.
While recuperating, I did some soul searching, some career testing, and quit my job in August, sold the house, and my wife and I moved to Lincoln, Nebraska so that I could attend UNL for Interior Design. That's where I am, now, and I am having a wonderful, exciting time!
Now, you can follow what I'm doing, as I'm taking my classes, and working my way toward an undergraduate degree in Interior Design.
I'm LDS (which, for those of you not in the know, is the acceptable way of saying "Mormon"), and served a mission in the Japan, Sendai mission. It's not always easy to be LDS, but it's always worth it. Anyway, for the most part, it's fun, and I credit the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for breaking me out of the shell that I was in during my childhood and teen years.
I love dogs, except I don't like cleaning up after them (everything has its down side, though). My Mother taught me to love music, and my favorite artist is Enya. I also like classical, classical rock (well, 70's and 80's rock), musicals, and new age. I love flowers, trees, bushes, and plants. I love doing crafts, and creating art. I guess I'm a pretty good artist -- no Leonardo, but good enough that one of my professors called another one over and declared, "Look, this one can draw."
