Historic HTG

Eventually, we'll have some pictures of me throughout the years.

Right now, I'm 26.  That makes me born in 1979.

I'm the oldest of 3 kids, I have a little brother (25) and sister (23).

We grew up in a residential area of a small town, near family.

My ...erm.. obsession with animals started early.
My first memory at all, is of my dog Smokey
I was 4 and my parents couldn't afford to keep him.
So they told me he "went to Florida"
Uncle Doc went to Florida every winter,
and when he returned that year, I asked "where's my dog?"
Without knowing what happened, or missing a beat, he said
"he loved the beach, and met a girl, so he decided to stay"
I'll never forget that.

We went to a catholic grade school.
Our parents were pretty indulgent on pets,
nothing extreme but we had our fair share of critters.
Mom opposed certain critters.
Dad snuck some of those in.
Others, like my pixie frog, had to wait until I moved out.
Honestly, I think that I scarred Mom for life with that frog.

I went to public high school
Which also sucked, but was had I already had learned enough to pass.
Which was really good, because I set a record for most days missed
and graduated with academic honors and extra curricular activities
I was even accepted into a good college program.
During this time, I had Panzer, 4-H rabbits, art classes and started working.

(that's Panzer on the right)

Then on to Purdue, into the pre-vet program.
That first semester of college was a 'blast' (note sarcasm)
I nearly failed out due to health problems, uncontrolled migraines
my manic-depressive roommate who drank and smoked pot didn't help things either
Second semester I had a "Christian" hypocrite who NEVER cleaned
I also changed my major to animal science.
Second year, I switched to wildlife, got the migraines under control, a good roommate and did well

(this is a picture taken during a class, where we had to free a chipmunk from our bird net)

I also cut my credit hours back to as few as possible, so it took 6 years to graduate.
For the last 4 years of school, I lived with Karen and our critters
We had cats, gerbils, then hamsters, then a mouse, then rats and a few fish and Chuck the turtle.
After college, we stayed in the Lafayette area for a year.

I had been volunteering at the wildlife center, and intended to make a lifestyle of it.
My health just didn't allow for that though.

When Karen's new job required a long commute, we moved towards her work.
That put us, closer to our original hometown and family.
I'm working on my health, and still have my animals
so it's all working out.
 

ANTISPAMMER LINK