here's a little rant about me. i always like to read these types of pages on other people's sites so it's only fair that i also include one on me!

i'm 25 and live in australia - still with my parents although i am doing my best to save up for my own house. i went to the same school for 13 years (all girls), then to uni for 5 years (mostly boys) and from the start of this year i have been working full-time as an analyst programmer in the railway industry. i have a double degree in computer science and arts majoring in multimedia. i went back for another year to get honours and was offered a job in tutoring multimedia at uni, but unfortunately my supervisor couldn't keep working for the whole year, and complete disorganisation meant that i was left with an indefinite extension but had to deal with rather hostile academics in order to finish my degree as well as continue working as a tutor. i stuck with it in 2004 and tried to do the noble thing and finish my degree, but i just got so sick of the politics involved and was frustrated with the erratic flow of money working part-time brings, so i went job hunting and fortunately have found a job that i enjoy. i'm much happier working as i can now live quite comfortably, and i can leave my work at work, and enjoy the time i have at home, which i found quite difficult to do while i was a student.

i have loved animals ever since i can remember and have been fortunate to have never paid for any of the pets i've had! when i was 5, my great uncle gave me a canary who i called OJ (he was orange), then when i was 8 i found a tiny kitten who had been badly abused and had a rope tied around his neck. he was such an affectionate cat despite this, although he remained petrified of strangers for the rest of his life. his name was spike, and he sadly passed away in 1999 from skin cancer and feline aids (and he also contributed to the death of OJ!). at the moment i have a cat (Harley), dog (Lilly) and canary (Cosmo). Harley was the next on the scene - we found him in the house next door - our neighbour's mother had found him and our neighbour let us keep him. that was in 1997 so i still had spike then. unfortunately Harley also has feline aids, but since we've known about this since he was a kitten, we have been able to look after him quite well. Next came Cosmo in 2001 who was actually a twin but his brother died only a few months after we were given the pair which devastated me as he was such a friendly bird who would have been easy to tame, but Cosmo is terrified of people although i can't blame him since he's so tiny! He loves to sing ALL the time so i have nicknamed him tweets or tweety which i think suits him well. Last but not least was the arrival of Lilly the black labrador in August 2004. she is my baby :) she was given to me as her previous owner hadn't attempted to train her, let alone spend any time with her so she was a complete psycho when i got her - she didn't know her name, and she had never been patted so she would try to bite us when we tried to pat her. this didn't take long to fix though - 3 days and she knew her name, "sit", "stay" and had stopped biting when we would pat her. she still had a long way to go though, and it has been tough taking on a dog that was so far behind behaviourally and socially, especially not having ever owned a dog before, but she's much better now and i have to say that it's been worth it. i love the cuddles that i get every night after work, and every morning when i wake up (she sleeps next to my bed), and i wouldn't have it any other way!

as for the stuff i like, well i have had an obsession with Aussie Rules football since i can remember. there was no national league when i was younger, so i would go and watch my local team Norwood with my uncle. when i was 11, my home town finally got a team in the fairly new national league (Adelaide Crows) and they've been my team ever since. i am certainly not the fittest person, but i do enjoy playing sports - my favourite being basketball although i've avoided that since hurting my knee. at the moment i tenpin bowl twice a week and am just about to start playing indoor netball again.

i love anything creative and crafty. the internet has certainly helped me to find lots of 'underground' things, most significantly decos and more recently ATCs. i am very much into penpalling and swapping which takes up a lot of my spare time, and i also love to knit and bead, sometimes combining the two. now that i am working i have been able to afford to buy lots of craft supplies (especially associated with scrapbooking and stamping!) and am organising my workspace so i can have some room to put all the projects floating around in my head onto paper.

i collect several things, mainly stamps (paper and rubber), coins, postcards (and freecards), care bears, my little ponies, DVDs, books, anything on Buffy and Angel, and stationery. All this collecting means that i have a severe lack of space. this is why i really need to invest in a house - i'd be able to fill it up already!

if you'd like to read about what i've been up to lately, chcek out my online diary.