Valeri Odom

When we last saw Valeri, she was heroically fighting evil in thigh-high leather boots she had borrowed from her sidekick Buffy. Er, wait... that was a dream. Besides, Buffy didn't wear thigh-high boots! My own leather boots are more piratey - not thigh-highs, and even those I don't wear daily. Not that it's against dress code... but I digress. My battles are races against time to meet upper management's arbitrary deadlines and deliver working software. Not quite fighting evil demons. But fighting evil nonetheless, as the main User Interface programmer for Kentrox - a small hardware company that makes data routers.

As Inigo Montoya said, "There is too much, let me sum up!" In the past 20 years I've:

• School hopped, landing at NMSU for a BS in Computer Science


• Moved to Portland, OR. That's OR-ih-gun, not Oh-ree-gone! 13 years and still no webbed feet!


• Been married... and not married - no kids unless you count the 6-ft sandworm I birthed last December. (That one wasn't a dream! Really!)


• Raised sugar gliders


• Traveled eastern Australia and cruised the Caribbean (or is that Cari-BEE-an?)


• Scuba dived the Great Barrier Reef, Caribbean waters, and the Puget Sound - Brr!!!


• Developed fencing elbow, oddly enough through fencing.

Having more hobbies than the time to actually do them, I cycle through 'em - from active pursuits like martial arts and hiking -- to musical things -- belly dancing, singing in a jazz group -- to art stuffÑdrawing, costuming and jewelry-making.

My current passion is Taiko, a Japanese style of drumming that is dynamic, energetic, and challenging - and also a total blast!! I've been studying with Portland Taiko for almost two years, and hope to audition to perform with them later this year. http://portlandTaiko.org (Here's hoping the pesky fencing elbow doesn't keep me from making Taiko a long-time passion!)

Originally planning to go into computer animation, I took several classes in it and decided I enjoyed having a life and didn't want to pursue animation after all. I found a niche for my creative side with a group of talented, zany people who are in the SCA. SCA - Society for Creative Anachronism - It's basically an excuse to go camping, wear costumes, and beat each other up with swords. This SCA household in particular has dancers, artists, musicians, chefs, and a theatre troupe, so jumping into belly dancing and fencing, I fit right in. You might ask, "Isn't the SCA just a social club for geeks?" and I won't argue with you there! :-P

My parents still live in l.a. and though they try talk me into moving back, it is not likely to happen. (You know, hell freezing over and all...) But I'll be back for the reunion so I'll see you all then... unless duty calls and I don Buffy's Boots of Ass-Kicking and run off to save the day!!

Valeri