Personal

 

Family:

The two most important things in my life, in no particular order are my wife, Andrea, and my daughter, Anna. Despite my getting their names mixed up from time to time, I love them both deeply and have no doubt that I am better for having them in my life.

 

Andrea: My wife-to-be and I met at a conference in Oklahoma City in late October of 1997 and immediately hit it off. At the time I was attending New Mexico State University in Las Cruces, NM and she was at the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls, IA. Our phone bills were understandably large until the next May, when she came to the University of Texas at El Paso, a 45-minute drive from where I lived, on student exchange for the summer and NMSU during the fall and spring semesters. We moved in together over that summer (breaking NM's cohabitation law) and we were married on May 17th 1999. Andrea chose to quit her job as an accountant for the city's Aviation department and devotes much of her time to our daughters. Most people would call her a stay-at-home mother; a much more appropriate title is 'home manager.' Without her, I have no doubt that my home life would come to a grinding halt very quickly on every front. While no marriage is perfect, I certainly love her and it is hard to imagine that my life would be better in any way without her in it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Anna: Our beautiful daughter, Anna Elizabeth Margaret, was born January 21st, 2003. Although she was full-term and a textbook pregnancy, Anna was born with severe gastroesophageal reflux disease, or GERD. Understandably, both her mother and I spent many stressful days, weeks, and months worried about her. However, she has pulled through it and is off of the medications for the disorder. She is happy little girl and the light of my life. Anna currently attends first grade at Ventana Ranch Elementary School. She enjoys school and loves swimming.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Aubrey Emilia Mae: We gotten a new addition to our family. It's a girl! Aubrey joined us at 4:19pm on September 23, 2008 after about ten minutes of pushing. She was 7lbs, 5.7ozs and a tall 21.5 inches. She has begun to get in her hair, blonde like her big sisterÕs, and is crawling now, getting into everything like any little baby should. While itÕs stressful, her mother and I relish the idea of having a child without the health issues her sister suffered through. Aubrey doesnÕt sleep as well in general, but she is a much happier little girl than Anna was at the same age.

 

 

 

 

 

Hobbies:

I have a number of hobbies, many of which I have had to put on the back burner to devote more time to school and family.

- Scale Modeling

            This hobby is a leftover from my childhood, when I was obsessed with naval warships. However, my current model-building passion is Star Trek, specifically the ships of the Trek Universe.

- Writing

            Since beginning college, IÕve enjoyed writing fiction short stories.

- Strategic Gaming

            I enjoy the challenge of strategic gaming. Games like Command and Conquer, War at Sea, and Star Fleet Battles were a staple for me growing up. The problem with table-top games such as these is getting someone else with time, then teaching them to play as well. Simpler and more common ones, such as Chess, are great to play as well as enjoyable for being easier to find players.

- Roleplaying

            While I do not have the time for it currently, I have in the past played Dungeons and Dragons extensively. I have also participated in a number of live-action role-playing games, including Amtgard and Vampire: the Masquerade.