I'm fairly certain that no one but my mother would be interested in the historical details of my life so I'm going to try to spare you of that and only aim to capture who I am at this precise, given moment. In case you are wondering when exactly that moment occurred, the date is now July 14, 2003 and the time is round about one o'clock p.m.

First and foremost, I identify myself as a student. I'm a student of both life and institution. I have been a college student for two (not consecutive) years now and that makes me roughly a sophomore. My first year (the spring and summer of 1999) was spent at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) studying Computer Science. My second year (the fall of 2002 and spring of 2003) was spent at George Mason University (GMU) working towards a Bachelor's degree in English with a concentration in Linguistics. One day I'll get around to explaining the dramatic leap in focus, but today isn't it. I'm enrolled for a third semester at GMU and I'm greatly looking forward to it.

I take a lot of pride in my scholastic achievements. My GPA is at 3.918 to date. I've also become recently involved with Alpha Lambda Delta (ALD). That is the National Academic Honor Society for freshmen that requires at least a 3.5 GPA in order to be invited to join. By voting procedures, I was made historian of that group. My term officially begins in the fall of 2003. At the beginning of summer, I accepted an invitation to join The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). This was after spending a full semester deliberating on whether or not to do so. I have not yet determined what level of involvement I desire to have with that group, as I haven't even had my initiation and I won't until sometime in September. I am also involved with the Linguistics Club, if that can truly be said. I say that because participation appears to consist of little more than signing up for their mailing list. Groups that I aspire to join are the GMU Poetry Club, the Storyteller's Club, the Undergraduate English Society (I'm not sure if I have to actually sign up since I am an English major and I get e-mails from what looks to be like this group from time to time – I'll have to inquire about that), and The Golden Key International Honor Society (only the top 15% of the junior and senior classes are asked to become members). My ultimate academic goal is to maintain my 3.9 GPA throughout the remainder of my educational career with GMU so that I will eventually graduate with the highest distinction.

Secondly, and perhaps almost equally, I identify myself as being a writer. I've even been published a few times (in fact four, to do completely away with the false modesty). My poem, "Play of Malaise" has been featured both in a compilation hardback book titled Mythology of the Heart (in fact, I was awarded with The Editor's Choice Award for it) and on a compilation CD titled The Sound of Poetry. This past semester a piece of digital artwork from my former incarnation as a web designer was selected to appear on the first page of the GMU Review. I named the piece "Bird in Flight." Theatre of the Mind, another hardback compilation book, will be out later on this summer and it will include another of my poems. I can't be sure of which one they selected. I sent along two when I received their request for material because I thought my first choice was a little long. I guess we'll just have to wait to find out.

So, I haven't had a book all to myself yet. At this stage I didn't expect that I would. Right now I am just experimenting with different styles of writing, trying to find my niche, and of course I'm practicing. I know that after I am finished with my formal education, and that may be a while as I am also working towards a Master's in Linguistics, I want to continue to write.

To fill out the rest of the time that I'm not working hard at being a good pupil, I have Andrew and our animals to keep me amused and occupied. I'd better clarify, maybe that sounds like we're running a farm over here. Andrew is my fiancé (the engagement party was at the River Bend Country Club on March 2, 2003). He and I have been completing as well as complementing each other for some four and a half years now. Together we have a green iguana (who is currently gravid and being quite the handful) whose name is Darwin. She's about five years old, but her age is impossible to know since we adopted her. There's also Ayn Rand the kitty cat. She's just Rand for short. Rand is a domestic short hair, almost entirely black in coloration, save for a small dot of white on her chest. I sometimes like to poke at it and ask her, where's the cream filling? She never seems quite as amused as I am with my joke.

I also enjoy reading in addition to writing. I read all sorts of things, not that I don't have my preferences. I love philosophy, but that necessitates a certain frame of mind that I'm not always in. I also like to watch movies from time to time. Picture within a picture puzzles are a source of frustration, and yet I still persist in attempting to complete them. Let's see… I enjoy watching Andrew play video games. I tell him what to do and he humors my indirect participation. Further, I find any excuse I can to go out and do some walking, usually to see the local sights.

Well, that's pretty much me at this precise, given moment. The date is still July 14, 2003 and the time is now 10:42 p.m.