Personal: Friends & Family

My wife since June 9, 2007. We met throught MySpace in May, 2006, and dated throughout summer. At the beginning of Fall, we became exclusive. We were already talking about marriage -- it was something that I had expressed a specific interest for on MySpace. We were engaged in Spring, 2007.

She is an ex-marine, and very strong willed. She is a good mother and has earned my respect for her dedication to family.

My Mom. She's native Finnish, but a naturalized American. I don't know what to say about her, except that she is my closest family. My personality and outlook on life were primarily influenced by my mom. I talk to my mother every few weeks, and visit my parents every two months or so.

My mom is very pragmatic, friendly, considerate and intelligent. She has a bit of "fire in the belly" and can be pushy, but she always seeks the best for everyone. She has strong organizational skills and a desire to get things done. I probably wouldn't have finished college, except for her infectious motivation.

My Dad. He was less interested in me while I was growing up, but he has had a phenomenal influence on my career, interests, and such. I talk to my father a few times a year, and see him at the same times I see my mother.

My father is a highly intelligent engineer. He has learned over the years to become objective, patient, and sensitive. While I remember him being extremely narrow-minded and easily riled when I was a child, I find him to be quite the opposite now. My appreciation for my dad keeps growing over the years, and our relationship has improved.

My Sister. She's a lot like me, although she mostly has my dad's personality. I love her, and she loves me, but in a "normal" family sense, I don't feel like she and I are as close as other siblings. I probably talk to her once a year on the phone. I see her (maybe once a year) at family holidays. We might exchange a handful of emails a year.

My sister is intelligent, strong willed, and professional. She is a little insecure, because people have not always appreciated her strength and talents, but she is nonetheless extremely competent and capable. She pursued her career, marriage, and education with a sense of purpose that I will probably never understand. She is not religious, but I would classify her as a "believer". She is patriotic, political, and involved in the events of the world.

My only cousins of note. Mika is the only family outside my parents and sister that I communicate with regularly. He lives in Dallas, now. Saana is his wife. Juho and Valteri are their kids. Mika has a lot in common with me.

Mika is an intelligent and successful engineer working for Nokia. He is objective, sensitive, strong, handsome and energetic. I think of Mika as a very good parent. In many ways, I wish I could be like Mika. Saana is also intelligent, beautiful, and a great mother. She speaks nearly perfect English, which is impressive. Juho is 4 years old. He's adorable, and surprisingly intelligent. In one year, he has become adept at English, as well as Finnish. He is also a budding artist. Valteri is 2 years old, and extremely cute. He is an affectionate and beautiful child. I always look forward to giving him hugs and kissing his forehead.

My closest friend, and current roommate. I've been friends with him for about 11 years (by far my longest friend). Wow. He is also my roommate of 5 years (nearly). He shares all the same interests as me, except where my interests are gimicky.

I consider Chris to be one of my most intelligent acquaintances. He has an excellent sense of objectivity, which I regard as the highest of virtues. He also has a great sense of humor. Unlike most people, he thinks before he talks, and this makes him incredibly skilled with words. I admire Chris on more levels than I can readily express. Did I mention that he has a Doctorate in Law?

I have conflicting feelings about him, but ultimately he is one of my closest friends. He lives in Japan, so he's not a "I hang out with this guy" kind of friend. We mostly email, and it isn't consistent. He's always super-eager to please me, but I have doubts about his sincerity sometimes.

Brandt is intelligent, adaptive, observant, considerate, and easy to get along with. I've occasionally seen him be incredibly pushy about something that he didn't care much about. I think Brandt likes to play games with people, sometimes, but he's never malicious. Brandt has an engineers intellect, and a salesman's personality. I can't image much that he couldn't accomplish... if he would focus on one thing for a while.

A close friend and roommate. Mike has been my roommate for almost 6 years, and a good friend for almost 7. I rarely talk to him these days, because he has a serious relationsihip with a girl, and that makes him largely absent. He spends time at home when he needs to "get away" from other people, so he isn't particularly social when he is around.

Mike has a Master's degree in Philosophy, a Bachelor's degree in computer science, and a wealth of experience with a variety of computer platforms. He can be objective, sensitive, intelligent, and fun. I once considered him a mentor -- and an ideal to shape myself after. Now, I consider him more of a peer and friend.

Scott was in UTD majoring in Computer Science with me. I've known him for roughly 6 years. He's been a really close, personal friend for most of that time, although we got out-of-touch for a few years. He and his lovely wife Linda went to Cancun with Akiko and me in summer, 2004, and we occassionally hang out. Linda is very artistic and a bit spiritual in a paranormal sense.

Ammad has had the greatest impact on my career of anyone. He's been a good friend, and I will always feel indebted to him. He's my ex-boss in two companies, my ex-mentor, and more. His career has taken a nose dive, and for many related reasons his relationships (i.e. friendships) have suffered. I've been friends with him for about 8 years, although we're not as close as we once were.