It all began when I was around 7 years old, when my dad was watching the Star Trek episode "The Devil in the Dark". I was fascinated when Spock did a mind meld with a living rock creature, and I started watching episodes on Saturday afternoons with my father. Soon afterward, Star Trek: The Next Generation appeared, and I watched every episode avidly. After a while, I branched off to other science fiction series: The X-Files, Earth 2, Seaquest DSV (until it got a bit crazy), and of course the various Star Trek spinoffs.

It was around this time that I started attending conventions. Luckily, Creation held conventions literally a mile away! At first, I was too young to go by myself, so my dad came with me. He remarked that he was always amazed at the kindness of the Star Trek fans. Even though it was crowded, and the food drastically over-priced, nobody tried to push through the crowds or act rudely. And that observation still holds true today. I was at DragonCon in 2007 when hotel renovations meant that the crowds were packed tighter than ever. Yet I heard little complaining, and everyone tried their best to keep traffic moving smoothly. And that's why going to conventions feels so "right" to me - I'm surrounded by people who share my passion for science fiction, and who are intelligent and welcoming.

And so we catch up to the present. I am now a software engineer working on low level (including assembly) code for a proprietary operating system. I regularly attend Farpoint, Shore Leave, and DragonCon. And I'm a card-carrying member of Starfleet International, a Star Trek fan club that spans the globe.

The photo of me above was taken at Star Trek: The Experience a few weeks before it closed.

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