Some folks call me "Urkie", a nickname I neither love nor hate. It stems from one of my riding lesson students who couldn't quite pronounce Erica - it came out as "Errrrr-cka" or "Errr-re-ka". That became shortened to Urkie and stuck like glue when my day campers began using it exclusively. Urkie even lasted a bit through college, but part of me is relieved to just be Erica again these days.

I graduated from Skidmore in 1998 with a BA in Psychology with concentrations in Sociology and Archaeology. So one would expect I headed off to grad school and am either working as a therapist, teaching, helping social causes, working for Ralph Nader's Presidential campaign, or digging little holes all over the world. Well, I do dig holes but only for my plants. I discovered while I was at Skidmore that I really didn't want to go to Grad School right away and my career interests were not with the social sciences. I dabbled in computers and networking at Skidmore running the college ResNet for 2 years in addition to my web design work. Now I'm a Systems Engineer with Competitive Computing, a fancy title for sure! My day is spent working with ecommerce sites, client networks, and all of the proactive maintainence that goes along with such an endeavor. I was offered jobs all over the country but decided to stay in Vermont - not exactly the technology capital of the world but the sunsets are beautiful and the water is clean. I've been through my share of "dot-bombs" and a couple of "dot-could have beens", in hindsight some career choices were better than others (ever heard of a email device called eNote? I didn't think so), but the experiences I gained with each step were priceless and made me who and what I am today - and for the most part I like that person.

I've taken some time to get certified (many folks would say I'm naturally certifiable). I've got my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MSCE) and Checkpoint Certified Security Engineer (CCSE). At one point I had a CCNA but I've let that certification expire. On my list of things to do is to get current with my cisco and work through the win2k3 certs. Yes, I'm a geek. Once asked what my favorite hobby was (for a corporate who's who page), I answered "alternative operating systems". Sheesh, I'm still trying to live that down in a couple social circles. I haven't ruled out graduate school, but I'm still looking for a program that really excites me. Although between you and me, that email about earning an MBA for $100 and no course work sounds kind of sweet. If you've got one of those degrees, please email me - I've got some primo real estate to sell. It's 100 acres, views of every mountain in the world - did I mention it's on the moon?

So I live in Vermont with my two golden retrievers Kasei and Murphy. Murphy was born on April 2nd, 2004 - which was Kasei's 7th birthday. The two sharing a birthday makes me think Murphy joining us was meant to be! There's something special about a golden. Kasei, who has never had kids of his own somehow knows what to do around them - OK sometimes he whacks them with his tail - but he doesn't mean to. Upon a kid sighting, Kasei does his classic butt wiggle, then he lays down to get down to their level. Murphy has been such a smart and trainable puppy! He just amazes me with his ability to learn - and his motivation for a tidbit of kibble! There's the golden retriever smiley face when they hear that you're taking them for a walk/swim/ride, there's the joyous bounce when they hear the phrase "do you wanna" even if that "do you wanna" is followed by "go to the vet". There's the hair all over the place - each hair one of the million reasons I gave away all of my black fleece. So, if you happened here thinking about getting a golden if you leave here with only two nuggets of information: goldens SHED a LOT, no matter how often you or I vacuum there's still hair around - but, it makes it easier to blame the dogs for my shedding too. Secondly, if you're going to get a golden be very choosey when it comes to where it comes from. Golden rescue groups do a fantastic job screening the dogs that enter their programs - they will KNOW your potential new buddy and very likely you won't have to go through housebreaking. If you decide you want a puppy contact several breeders, ask a lot of questions, answer a lot of questions, make sure both parents have health clearances (hip, heart, eye, thryoid, etc). You'll pay more from a reputable breeder, but you'll save money in the long run with a healthier dog. I'll step off my soap box now, go here for a lot more information. There's a message board to ask questions that aren't covered on the site.

In my spare time I love to cook and entertain - there's nothing like a summer BBQ and pool party! I've taken up gardening a bit in the last year. I don't do anything in a little way - evidenced by 1000 crocus that I planted last fall (900 were eaten by squirrels), the over 600 glads I planted last summer (dug them up in the fall and planted again!), then I discovered that I could get some really nice day lillies, Oriential Lillies and Irises of all colors and sizes on eBay for not so much money. I found the majority of people selling lillies were doing so in order to finance their own lilly addiction. One woman said she was 76 years old, her husband had forbidden her from buying any more "plants", so she sold her divided lillies a quantity of 50 for $5-10 (plus shipping) and squirreled away the cash for this years' hottest new hybrids. I couldn't help but chuckle at the concept and those were the healthiest lillies I've ever planted - far surperior to that of even the premium garden stores. I ordered thousands of bulbs - it's early in the spring but everything seems to have made it through the winter as best as I could have hoped for. Check the garden page for progress.

S0, that's me in what amounts to a nutshell, thimble, or dixie cup. Updates to follow as news and time permits.

Enjoy your visit,

Erica