Semi-Brief Life Story and Self Description

First off, I entertain the idea of renewing old connections and friendships, on both coasts, so drop a line if you'd like - it's cool. For those of you not from my locale, growing up in Southwestern Pennsylvania was interesting much in the way that it wasn't. My family never lived in a mansion, nor did we live in the projects; we were middle class all the way. Many considered the town I grew up in to be a ghetto, but we were close enough to the city and the countryside to make things fun. I excelled academically most of the way from nursery school through high school, winning different awards and contests as I went. English, music and art classes were my forte`, which works out considering what a fan of those subjects I am. There were many different career choices, none of which have been decided on as of yet, but things are working out nicely all the same.

Early into high school there was a year or so spent on the Color Guard / Silkline squad, then I joined Band playing clarinet at the beginning of 10th grade. Thanks to some private lessons, my progression was rapid and a few awards here and there came my way. District Band was a fun time. Band in general was a very good thing for me to be in; my closest friendships were made though it. It also promoted my love of music and allowed me to show off talents I didn't know were there. Throughout high school I was involved in my church a great deal; helped out with the Youth Group and different projects the church did. Went to a few YouthFests, a Gathering down in New Orleans where we were involved for some weeks with Habitat for Humanity. Lots of fun was to be had and great friends were to be made as well.

In June of 1999 I graduated from Aliquippa Senior High and started the July term at Pittsburgh Technical Institute. In the beginning my major was Graphic Design, then switched to Multimedia / Web Design in the 3rd term. Whether this was a mistake or a blessing is still uncertain - most of my design skills are self-taught. The only thing PTI really gave me was a headache. Their placement system is nonexistent; proof and a good story about it are available upon request. However PTI was not all bad, the students I became friends with were quite artistically and / or musically inclined, and we all kind of helped each other out. As for that school in general, I would never suggest it to anyone unless you feel like paying over thirty grand to repeat high school.

My July 2001 graduation awarded me with an Associates Degree in Specialized Multimedia Technologies. Directly after graduation I began securing plans for a sudden move out West, and on August 19th 2001 found myself on a plane to San Diego, California. This would be thanks to Jason. We grew up in the about the same area and after several years of continuous good friendship managed to begin a relationship that's still going quite well. In May of 2006 we'll be hitting our five-year 'official' mark. Jason had moved out to California in early 2000 and we kept in touch, but didn't officially start dating until May of 2001. With both of us noting that a long-distance relationship would be near impossible, he asked me to move in with him, and of course I happily obliged. We live here in San Diego with Brak, who you will see featured on the site here and there. He is fabulous and allows us to think we own him. 10-15 minutes from everything fun including the zoo, downtown, Hillcrest/North Park (my favorite areas), and a host of other spots. It's a great place for someone our age, not to mention the gorgeous weather and the fact that we live right on the beach - oceanfront, oh yeah.

That brings us about up to date. Here I am, enjoying life and finally feeling at peace for the most part. My self-employment consists of running the infamous Young Enterprises a.k.a. PantherQueen Industries aka Company I Should License An Actual Name For aka The Sizzle Conglomerate. That involves any random freelance project that comes my way... photography, art, writing, advertising, design, layout, concept, etc. Prior to March 1st of 2005, I was a Sales Rep / Campaign Manager for DevStart, Inc. The short version of that is that I was selling advertising space to the web crowd. If I have to toss some names around, here are a few that might ring a bell: . 1&1, Verio, Rackspace, SEO Inc, Hartland Communications, StartLogic, PowWeb, Aplus.Net, TemplateMonster,...as well as anyone else who sells webhosting, dedicated servers, web design, any type of web promotional services.

I don't get out of the house much anymore. Between work, trying to get my random writing/art/design/house projects done, there is also World of Warcraft. On rare occasion I'll pop in Sims 2 and play that... because it's fun. Speaking of art and projects, here are a few links to things I've done, mostly photography.

Here are is a photo shoot of Jason that I took last year.

These are photos from my favorite spot in La Jolla, a few minutes up the beach from me.

Here are a few random shots from events around SD, and here are some random photos located elsewhere on my site.

Our last Vegas trip was fun, and documented as well. (broken link)

A friend of mine held a photo contest, which I decided to drop some entries for, detailing my day.

On occasion I paint, and try to sell the results.

Here is a site I've just picked up (for free!), so I'm not certain what will come of it just yet.

broken.nail is the beginnings of another experimental site, a digital scrapbook of sorts.

Since January of 2005, however, my obsessions have turned back to a past interest - belly dancing. My classes with the infamous and fabulous Jim Boz have been going well, and I'm proud to say I was accepted into his folkloric troupe, which is a step down from his professional dance company. We have several classes / rehearsals each week, and it's turning into more of a lifestyle now than just another class I've opted to take.

That's pretty much me in a nutshell. I'm an eccentric female with no set style or label, and can probably be described as laid-back and humorous… or the quiet one you have to watch out for. What can I say? Life has taught me to be cautious. I appreciate laughter and good times, as well as making and keeping quality friends. I'm a decent person to have around. Friendly, fun, artsy, slightly off-key, a spectacular driver, all that sort of thing makes up the package you see before you. I am straightforward in a not-so-direct way. I am sarcastic, enjoy British humour, and smirk a lot. My flaws tend to work their way into being strengths (like my perfectionism), so it all turns out all right in the end. One thing I've found amusing is that people I become good friends with have trouble describing me. Of course you'd have to talk to them about that to understand what I mean. Anyway, go on and feel free to check out the rest of the site; have fun with it. I put a lot of work into it and hopefully you'll enjoy what you see.

Random Statement on the General Public: I have no tolerance for stupid people.