First off, I was born on the East Coast, but grew up near the vast grapevines in Delano, CA. I spent my childhood hanging out a truck-stop that my parents managed, playing PacMan for hours a day. At 3 or 4 years old, I was a whiz at old-school arcade games. My sister and I ventured out to start our own business at said truck-stop, selling fruit punch and lemonade to the truckers. Where most folks would judge truckers, my parents called them friends. I have fond memories of that truck-stop. Grandma would make sandwiches while mom and dad would manage and run the place. Times were good back then. Folks could be trusted.
My parents opened up a pet shop in Delano where I would run the register at 4 and 5 years old. My sister and I would help around the pet shop, and of course play with all of the pets. When folks would come in and purchase something, I would ring them up. I got many funny looks doing this, and my mom received tons of questions about my ability to make change at such a young age. Much to my credit, I never made a mistake! When folks would question me, I'd be all, "What the heck, I know what I'm doing - suck it".
Eventually we moved to the Bay Area where I essentially grew up. I spent much of my childhood in San Jose playing with creepy crawly things outside. I was a tom boy.
High school came and went without too much to report. I could tell you about the times where my mom wanted to rip her hair out while raising me, as I was the 'wild child'. Really, my role unknowingly, was to distract my mom from the real rebel - my sister. Yeah, I got your number sis!
After high school I served with a teen mission organization called Teen Mania Ministries. Go ahead, look it up, I dare you. While your at it, also look up Recovering Alumni to see what horrid lasting damage it did to my psyche. I double dog dare ya.
After my year at TM, being brainwashed to serve 'the man'. And by 'the man', I don't mean the Federal Government. After my year at TM, I was like, "Dude, where did my youth go, and why do I think I'm better than everyone else?"
Of course, as all good interns from TM do, I went to Oral Roberts University. Can I get an AMEN up in here? That semester was short lived when I found out that I can get a great education in California for less than the price of my first born. So I was all, "Whatever, I'm moving out of Oklahoma and back to California where folks don't paint their faces with an airbrush machine, and I can go to Target in my pajamas."
ORU was an interesting place. Double standards everywhere if you ask me. The men were all, "We can go out any hour of the night because we have penises". And the girls were like, "I have to be in bed by 1am because I have a vagina?" They were wonderful at the double standard. Bastards. I WANT MY TUITION MONEY BACK.
Fast forward a number of years. I have finished college, graduate school, and I am now married to a great guy who I refer to as Syler. He's a wonderful man, tech genius, 'smarterthanyou'lleverbe', kind of guy. I love him to death, sometimes wishing that were true, but really, he is the best. When we met when I was 24 and he was 21, dated for 3 years, then got married. I robbed the cradle, and wouldn't have it any other way. I won't get into the story of our wedding date, but we wanted to get married on our 3 year anniversary. Damn Superbowl, that's all I'm sayin'.
Before we started dating, Syler was working to start his own company. A few years later it became a successful company, only to be drained of all finances by Judas, his grandfather. And this is where Life Took a Turn.......
