A Few Things About My Life

II have dim memories of being a talkative, happy child until I contracted Scarlet Fever at age 3 and -- probably as a result of a reaction to streptomycin -- lost about a third of my hearing. At age eighteen, I married the only boy who ever expressed any interest in me while I was in high school. It would not be fair to list his name or mention details about him because my life quickly degenerated into one of those sad tales of domestic violence that I prefer not to discuss. It's ancient history and I prefer to focus on the positive aspects of life rather than keep looking back and kicking myself for the things I should have done and would have done if I knew then what I know now.I took a job as a seamstress at Indiana Knitwear and later I worked in clerical positions in the state Welfare Departments in the Accounts & Audits Division. It was back to the factory when other clerical jobs didn't work out. I simply couldn't handle answer the telephones well and that's a problem that still haunts me.

After a few unhappy years, I discovered that I could fulfill my dream of a college education by attending college Saturdays. As my husband worked every Saturday and we had no children, I seized the opportunity.

A few years and two children, and one job change later, my husband left. I prefer not to say any more upon that subject.

I fell in love with computers at work. These marvelous calculators of zeros and ones seduced me with their magic and I decided this was the career I wanted. By entering an "Upward Mobility" program which offered on-the-job training, I became a Computer Specialist even before I completed my four-year degree. After a few years of managing the manufacturing VAXCluster, the government facilityreorganized and I became part of a team which managed several computers plant-wide. It was during this time that I began seriously pursuing my dream of a writing career with the encouragement of friends and on-line writing workshops.

I think no one was more surprised than me when I married Greg Dunn, an Electronics Engineer who was employed at the same facility.

Life is a series of ups and downs and 1995 brought the greatest height and depth. I was nominated for the 1995 John W. Campbell Award and the government decided to close the place where both Greg and I worked.

Life was a little scary for me back then and I started attending night classes towards the goal of obtaining a Computer Science degree. My bachelor degree was in General Studies and I feared this wouldn't be good enough for our new corporate employers. This was very time consuming such that I probably didn't complete more than a dozen stories during the time I was taking these courses so I abandoned this plan when I received an opportunity to return to the federal government and work for DCMA. I have never loved a job more than this one as I am constantly busy and frequently challenged.

In 2004, I decided to take a fencing class as I'd had a lifelong interest in it but no prior opportunity to learn anything about it. Sport fencing is nothing like what one seems in a movie and I found myself with another timesink that I dearly love.