As of August 14th I have added the most recent photo I have of myself (click "view my profile" on the Geocities banner).
A bit about myself:
I was born in Lima, Perú to Maximo and Emiliana Tejada. I am the oldest of four siblings. I spent the first 7 years of my life in Perú. I guess the most striking thing about the country that I left is that there is no middle class, there are the haves and the have-nots. Your position in life is determined by whom you are born to. It is nearly impossible for someone born into a family of modest means to get ahead. Daily life is mostly hand to mouth. I get sad whenever I think of those times but they burned the face of poverty in my mind.
In the flavour of many immigrants who came before him, my father wanted something more for himself and his family. After spending most of our family's money to beg or bribe Peruvian officials and obtain the proper immigration documents, we had only enough money so that my father and I could make the trip to Canada. We arrived in the middle of winter and I can tell you that although I have learned to appreciate the beauty of Canadian winters I have never learned to like them much. A year passed during which time my father took on any jobs he could find and worked pretty much 20 hours per day, he saved money to bring my mother and the rest of my brothers over here to Canada. My mami and papi taught me many things over the time we knew each other. To me they will always exemplify hard work, perseverance, loyalty, dedication, and faith. These are the values that set human beings apart from all other things. I will always be grateful for these gifts.
After many stops in such rural places as Dowling, Chelmsford, Sudbury, and Windsor I find myself in the lovely city of Kingston. I recently successfully completed a Ph.D. in the Department of Biochemistry at Queen's University and now I look forward to new adventures.
I have been married to Lorena Taricani for seven years now. She is the most amazing individual I have ever met. She was my anchor when my mami passed on. My mama was the center of my universe, she was the nexus of our family's love. Chiquita pero bravita. Mami te estraño mucho cada dia. She died and for a while I lost my sense of purpose. It was my wonderful Lorena who helped me find my way back. It was because of Lorena that I found the courage and desire to continue and complete my doctoral studies.
Lorena and I met in Windsor where I was completing my Master's degree in biochemistry. At that time she was finishing her undergraduate degree. For all of you Roman Catholics out there, this is a funny/ amazing story about how we came to meet the Pope in the Vatican.
Presently, Lorena is working for Dr. Paul Young in the Department of Biology at Queen's. She has 6 months worth of work to complete before she can begin assembly of her doctoral thesis. Her work centers on stress response in the fission yeast Schizosacharomyces pombe.
We share our lives with two wonderful yellow labrador retrievers we named Dante and Vazco. What can I say about them? - to call them animals is to demean them. They are so much more. Companions, friends, happy faces that greet us when we get home from our hectic days. Everyone should have the pleasure of experiencing the unconditional love that beings such as this shower upon their loved ones.
Here are some of
my personal interests in order of preference:
The way to a man's heart is through his stomach. La comida Peruana es superior! You have the choice of going to las Recetas de Perú o las Recetas Peruanas by Betty Gibson, o La Cocina Internacional con sazón de Perú. Check out my favourite recipes here.
My Labrador retriever webpage. The official home of Dante and Vazco!
A compilation of my Favourite News Sites
Biotechnology/Employment (working on it as of Aug 22, 2000)
A compilation of my favourite Bodybuilding sites
I am also a member of the 
network.
I have also registered my website with 
in order to increase traffic.
Email at [email protected]