This is the hard part of every web page. This is the part where you sit down, and create that one thing, which above all others, makes your site popular. That's right, I need some real content here. (Preferably dynamic content -- but not with this host. You'll have to be content with boring ol' static information that gets updated every two years or so.) So, perhaps a brief biography is in order, along with obligatory pictures of myself and my husband.      To your right you will find a relatively recent picture of the author. I am very, very happily married to my husband Adam. (Picture of him below.) We live in one of the 16 boroughs of Boston -- Roslindale to be exact. Don't be upset if you've never heard of it. Plenty of people who have lived in this fair city all their lives haven't either. Adam and I are both programmers of the web variety. (Disclaimer: just because I'm a web programmer doesn't mean that I have *ANY* design skill whatsoever, which should help to explain this site.) Because of the precarious nature of our chosen method of employ, it seems as though one of our jobs is shaky, or falling out from under us at any particular time.      To the left you will find a lovely picture of my beloved spouse, taken at his brother's wedding. The hat, by the way, is his mother's. And yes, she is the sort of person who actually can get away with wearing a red hat.      I grew up in a small town called Mineral, Washington. The longer I stay in the urbane suburbs of Boston, taking for granted that I can get everything from authentic Lebanese food to clotted cream with hardly any effort, the more implausible that upbringing seems, but I know that I had it. As I sit in my office, in a building with windows that cannot be opened and heated discussions over whether we should or should not include a field for our user's middle initial, sometimes I think back to the quitness of the forest nearby. I have difficulty finding language to express my love of that land which does not dip into the maudlin or sentimental. I used to watch trees dance, at the liminal point between forest and clear cut. I used to hear chain saws and train whistles in summer, and smell the thickness of wood smoke in October as the weather grew colder.      Okay, you've been good so I'll show you a visual of just what I mean. This picture was taken this summer on the East side of Mount Rainier, headed up to Summerland. For the record, my mother and I finally have hiked the entire Wonderland Trail. And for those who think they could never do it, my mom's very first backpacking trip happened over her 47th birthday.       Other relevant facts about me... I spent a summer in Mozambique writing a book on the Projects Department of the Presbyterian Church of Mozambique. I was born in Africa -- in the country which was formerly known as Zaire and now is known as the People's Democratic Republic of the Congo, despite the fact it is not Democratic, not a Republic, and for pretty much everyone BUT the people. I graduated in May of 2000 from Connecticut College in New London, Connecticut with a double major in English and Medieval Studies, and a decent number of middle-of-the-road honors.      I really, really enjoyed the academic aspects of my time at Connecticut College (Conn -- to those in the know.) In my sophomore year, I wrote a pretty decent paper on Wind Ensembles in Italy from 1450 to 1600, which was, by the way, the project that frustrated me enough to induce me to learn how to write web pages. A more serious scholarly work, and one that raised questions I would still very much like to answer, as my senior honor's thesis on The Power of Music in Medieval Literature. Just thinking about it makes me want to go re-read the Song of Roland! In addition to a rather inapplicable but enjoyable education, I also emerged with a group of some of the best friends I could have wished for.      Which brings me to another point. How lucky I have been in my life. My parents are kind, loving and brought me up in a way which, if I could, I would bottle and use on my own kids. I have a great sister and brother (and now brother-in-law, as well as various siblings-in-law on my husband's side). I have been so fortunate as to see parts of the world, and have a perspective that reminds me that my woes are trivial and my joys great. My husband loves me, and I love him. For this, and for so many other things that I am so fortunate as to not have to think about, I am most grateful to God. I do not believe I did anything to merit such good fortune. (Ever wonder if your life is so good because deep down you're a wimp and you wouldn't be able to handle any great difficulty if God chose to send it to you?) As an expression of my gratitude and my desire for a greater relationship with the God of Love, I am a Christian. As an active Christian, I am a member of a neat little church called Burlington Presbyterian Church. (I promise I will update their site soon!) When I came to this great metropolis, I felt like a stranger in a strange land, and they took Adam and I in and made us welcome. That is a great gift.      Alas, I am running out of time! To throw the rest of my facts to you willy nilly: I am a classical trumpeter who loves opera and delights in playing in small brass ensembles. Adam and I have 1 cat (Justice), 3 hamsters (Mr. Jingles, Mrs. Robinson and their son Knobby Foot), and one fish. I like plants. I have learned to cook in the last year. I still color with color crayons. I can speak Middle English.      Farewell until the next time I am inspired to write, whenever that may be! December 1, 2001, CE