I was born in Vietnam and fled to the U.S. in '75 on the same day the capital fell to the communists.  We were some of the lucky ones to make the long voyage on a U.S. military ship as opposed to floating around in a makeshift tub.  Strange how memories can play false tricks on you but they can also reveal hidden truths that the mind couldn't comprehend at the time.  A family trip with exciting fireworks that lit up the dark summer night, creating flashes of dancing silhouettes, turned out to be a desperate trip to flee the country on the very last U.S. military ship to leave the country with rounds of ammunition firing and bombs all around us.  Not quite the same thing is it?  Long story short, we ended up in Illinois.  Now I'm just another one of our typical Midwestern kind of gals.

I'm a computer engineer.  You can almost say that the computer has taken over a third of my life.  When you consider that the average person spends another third of the time sleeping, that doesn't leave much room for anything else.  Don't get me wrong.  I love working on the computer but I also have an insatiable appetite to explore new places, to learn new things, to savor everything life has to offer.  To do that I need to have a hundred lifetimes.  Of course the alternative is to be selective.  But I'm like a little kid in a candy store.  I just can't do it.  So far I've been lucky in terms of traveling.

My first passion is art.  Anything that you can make with your hands, from needlepoint to drawings and photography to woodworking.  I've actually told my husband that I wanted power tools for Valentine's Day.  He didn't think that it was romantic enough.  A couple days later, I was a bit miffed when I heard a commercial where a woman was giving an example of a moronic gift a man can get her for Valentine's Day: power tools. Talk about coincidence.  If I could be so lucky.  Oh I like romantic things like candles, flowers, etc. like any other women, but I am also happy that my husband shares my interest in home theater equipment, food and wine, and cars.  About cars:  I'm not just interested in the speed but the acceleration and handling as well, zaowhee! Okay, maybe I like to speed a little more than my husband.  Yes, I also love to cook and sew just to prove that there's still some female chromosomes in me somewhere.  Now I just need to find time to learn horseback riding, fencing, ride a bike , play the piano and drums, throwing pottery, computer graphics, just to name a few.  If I could, I would fill most of my waking hours with music.  I grew up with with a place in my heart for classical music and old standards, moved into big band, jazz, and blues, went through pop, alternative and a hard rock phase, love classic rock, selective with certain operas, tried out country and other things.

Ahhhh...so much, too little time, but not too late.  Guess I'd better make good on a promise and post my pictures...

Last Updated 6/24/2003