Overview
I am currently a senior in high school, living in San José, California; I'm a liberal. My favorite color is purple. I have a score of interests: fountain pens, languages, computer programming, GNU/Linux, piano, organic gardening, and photography, just to name a few. Unfortunately, I have no hobbies; there used to be lots of activities I enjoyed, but as all things seem to do, I pushed them too far and they became boring. With an introverted personality and little artistic ability, most of my self-expression comes in my writing, most of which I reserve to myself.
My Life So Far
I was born in Atlanta, Georgia, and I moved to California at the age of seven; I have been living in California ever since. Growing up in the heart of Silicon Valley, I easily found influences that pushed me toward an interest in computers. I have been interested in computers ever since 2001, after I learned to use Microsoft Office PowerPoint to do simple computer animations in school.
In 2002, my interest in computers progressed even further as I became interested in cracking (malicious hacking) into others' computers. Reading some websites, I found that the essentials to cracking were acquiring an IP address and programming. As a result, I learned HTML to build websites, so I could secretly collect IP addresses; I learned Microsoft Visual Basic 6.0 to write nasty programs to infect others' computers; and I ultimately started looking for operating systems other than Mac OS and Windows after I read that Windows was insufficient for my purposes. Luckily, I gave up cracking in 2004, after several failed attempts.
I learned to solve the Rubik's Cube by the Petrus Method in 2005. After I reached a record of 56 seconds, I stopped speedcubing and returned to computers.
By 2005, I had been using GNU/Linux for one year straight and had no intention of switching; I still have no intention to switch — Slackware is great. In school, I took a computer science class, where I learned Java, revitalizing my interest in programming. With the requirement to work on the computer more, I felt the need to type faster, so I learned to type on the Dvorak Keyboard; my typing speed jumped from 40 WPM to 94 WPM. Like GNU/Linux, I have been using the Dvorak Keyboard ever since, and have no intention of switching. Eventually, with the influence of a friend, I learned CSS and PHP in 2006 and began to build websites for others.
Because of the same friend, I also began learning photography in 2006; I scoured the Internet for articles and tips on improving my photographs. I ached for a camera with manual controls then, as the DSC-P10 did not allow any. My wish was eventually granted with a Nikon D40x, which was later replaced by a Nikon D80.
My interest in photography came with several other interests in the arts. In 2007, listening to KDFC, I heard an eerie, yet beautiful, piece of music called Giorni Dispari, by Ludovico Einaudi. Having had piano lessons for a decade until 2005, I knew I could play the music with some practice. Thus began my new interest in piano — I was never interested in it before — and I learned Einaudi's Le Onde, I Giorni, and Giorni Dispari. I am currently learning Joe Hisaishi's Summer.
Also in 2007, I became interested in Latin literature, so I started learning Latin. My interest in Latin literature began to diverge into an interest in learning languages after I found Latin extremely difficult. I forced myself to stick with Latin, despite desires to learn other languages, but I haven't learned anything yet. I hope to gain a solid understanding of Latin grammar by the end of this year.
Earlier this year, I also decided that fountain pens were interesting and fun to use, so I bought one. My predictions held; I use fountain pens daily now. Because fountain pens are so compellingly fun to write with, I've also begun journaling. Most of the information on this site comes from my journals/notebooks.
Last Updated: May 30, 2008
