:: Name: Christine Eliese. My parents accidentally misspelled my middle name. We never knew until I lived in Germany and parents came to visit. My dad did some research on his family origins (we had hoped to visit regions where they had lived) and he discovered it should have been spelled the traditional way - Elise. But I think that the way they spelled it is very cool - I like it better. Someday if I have a daughter I think I will pass it on to her.
:: Birthday: September 27, 1969. I am very much a Libra. I try to be fair, I analyze everything too too much, I can have a debate with myself.
:: Where: Houston, Texas. I *refuse* to call it my hometown because it doesn't feel like that. For the most part, I don't like Houston. As I get out and check out the other parts of town I am starting to feel a bit more peace with it, but I would much rather live some place with four seasons. Not like Houston - summer and the other 9 weeks of the year! Also I have always had conflicts with "Southern" men. I am too opinionated. I have a spine. It seems to be an issue with some men around here.
:: Other Places I Have Lived: Illesheim, Germany (Nov. 1990-Feb. 1992); Killeen/Ft. Hood, Texas (Aug. 1990-Nov. 1990); Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg, North Carolina (Aug. 1989-Dec. 1989); College Station/Texas A&M University, Texas (Aug. 1987-May 1989); Kankakee, Illinois (Sept. 1976-Jan. 1985); Champaign, Illinois (1974-1976); Decatur, Illinois (1972-1974); Mankato, Minnesota (1971); St. Paul, Minnesota (1970); Fargo, North Dakota (Sep. 1969-May 1970)
:: What Brings Home the Money: Web Design Consultant. I have the privilege of spending my days talking to potential clients about why they should have a website and what they should do with that site. I love my job. Well, love it most of the time. Some days it can be pretty high stress, but most of the time I thrive on that. I like the people that I work with - you can read about some of them on the FMP page. You can also read about some of the people I used to work with at my former employeer, where I worked until May, 2001.
:: Physical: 5'5" tall; Shoulder length brown hair with natural grey highlights. Blue eyes with glasses or clear contacts. No tattoos, no body piercings, never will. I have been considering getting my ears multi-pierced again. I had 4 holes (1 cartilage) on the left ear and 1 on the right before, but let all but 1 on each side close up because I am allergic to so many metals.
:: I don't believe in a simple yes or no answer. To Make a Short Story Long...
:: I was married many years ago. We got divorced in 1993. I am still friends (gasp!) with my ex-husband. He is a great guy who can still drive me crazy at times and I tend to lecture him too much. He is serving in the U.S. Army still (on the 20 year plan) and is currently stationed at Ft. Bragg. (Where we first met in 1989.) He has married and divorced a second time, and is now dating someone and they are expecting a baby. Wedding coming up soon, last I heard.
:: Ended an almost 8 year dating relationship early this year, after a year of turmoil. I met the Insignificant Other (see the FMP Page) in March of 1993. We ended things many times through the years, but kept getting back together. I said at one point that it was like a drug addiction - I seemed to be hooked and it took going cold turkey to break the habit. We broke up in August, 2000 for almost the last time. He kept trying to convince me to give him a chance, that he really wanted to fulfill all those promises that I dreamed about but had given up on. I agreed to give him another chance in October, 2000 - and a week later he was already trying to walk away. Was that enough of a sign for me? Nooooooo... I like to torture myself. So we made up again, but by December 23, 2000 we were having the same old argument. I tried very hard to convince myself that I was just being paranoid, worrying about things. I realized on New Year's Eve, when we had a huge, bizarre fight (he kept trying to pick fights with me for some reason) that I just could not go on like that any more. The Friday after New Year's Eve I told him just that - I felt like nothing was right. He was of course mad, and as always everything was again my fault. Oh well... I could not continue on feeling like someone on the outside looking in; like I was not even myself. It was too hard - and who can live their entire life like that? He is probably still mad or hurt - I am not sure which as he has not even attempted to speak to me since that day. I am slowly venturing out in to the dating world, and it is an exciting but very scary adventure. I have days where I really miss the security of knowing that someone is there for me, but I have faith that I will have that again some day.
:: Mom of a sweet, intelligent 9 year old son. He is now in 4th grade in the "Honors" (advanced) program and has made honor roll ever since he could make honor roll, and has several grading periods where he has had straight A's and made the distinguished honor roll. He is also involved with Cub Scouts. He played soccer and swam on the swim team for 2 years now. I am not sure if he will play soccer again - he really enjoyed it, but he isn't that good at it. Maybe if we can find a team where they play more for fun.
:: Cat Owner: Mona is a pretty gray scaredy-cat. I adopted her in January, 1999 from a rescue group (HPPL, Homeless Pet Placement League). She likes women. She hates strangers and will quickly run to hide under the bed to avoid them. She doesn't care for kids too much, although she will tolerate Jason. Which is what lead to getting our other cat! Murphy has the markings and demeanor of a Ragdoll. He was also a rescue cat, adopted on New Year's Day, 2000. He is very laid back, and doesn't mind Jason toting him around. So Murphy is Jason's cat, and Mona is mine.
:: Gadgets: I love my gadgets. Some of my favorites: my Olympus digital camera, my TiVo, my Sony receiver with surround sound speakers (5 mini-speakers) and a sub-woofer. My DVD player with DTS. My Handspring Visor in basic black. My computer with the CD burner. My laptop (even though the keys have no letters on them and the "M" key is missing). I love electronics and am often convinced (brainwashed) that I need more.
:: Words I use too often: Fine. Whatever. Coolio, cool, hip. YOU ROCK! Sooooo...
:: Favorite made-up word: Functionability. No, "Duhhhhbya" didn't say that - Kymberlie did. She was working on a proposal one day and just could not figure out why Word would not allow her to use it in her document. It was pretty classic when she asked me if she was spelling it correctly. I actually like the word so much I am beginning to think we need to assimilate it into the English language.
:: I am neither a Democrat or a Republican. I vote for people and their stance on the issues. I did not vote for "Duhbya" because he made me angry when he ran for Governor of Texas and said that single moms shouldn't get assistance at all, and that you should be able to be on Medicaid for two years and then cut off. My son was born with a club foot and was covered by insurance plus medicaid assistance for 4 years. I was working full time from the time he was five months old on. (The first five months were spent at the Texas Medical Center working on his club foot) I feel that I, my family, my friends and even my community contributed to the Medicaid fund and no one could fault me, a full time working mom, for utilizing it - that is the whole purpose. But "Duhbya" sitting there on his high horse couldn't quite see it. I probably would have voted for Cheney if he had run, as I am sure a lot of other people would have to. Oh well, I am in Texas, it didn't matter who I voted for, "Duhbya" won this state and all of the electoral votes with it.
:: TV Show I am Least Likely to Admit I Watch: Making the Band. Yeah, it's lame. So what?!?
:: My favorite expression when using AOL's IM software is the one with the big "O" mouth. I love that look of shock.
:: I believe in vouchers for private schools.
:: I do not believe in standardized testing for schools - thanks to the TAAS test here in Texas all they worry about teaching is what the kids need to pass the test - they do not challenge them to excel and do their best because it doesn't matter when it comes to the TAAS test. Why would the country want to follow in the footsteps of one of the lower ranking states when it comes to education?
:: It is a challenge for me to list my favorite movies, CDs, or groups. As soon as I list one, I think of three more that I like. Some of my all-time favorite movies are "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Sixteen Candles", "Breakfast Club", "The Truth About Cats and Dogs", "Woo" ... and that is just in comedies. I like movies with a good plot, especially dramas. I liked "Sixth Sense" and "Frequency" too. See, that leads me to 20 more that I can think of that I like... As for Music - oh, too many to choose from!