about me

updated August 1, 2005

Here's where I give you a little background information about myself. You know, the part where everyone says not to tell too much or strange people will come to your house and kill you in your sleep...

My name is Stacey and I grew up in a little place called Bentley Creek PA. The USPS doesn't even recognize it, the closest thing on a map would be Gillett. For those of you who don't know, Bentley Creek is just outside of Elmira NY. What?!? You don't know where Elmira is either? Well, it's all located along the PA/NY border in the middle of nowhere. Just trust me on this, you're not missing much. We've left for years at a time only to go back and nothing has changed. I lived there for 18 years with my parents, brother Matt (5 yrs younger) and sister Christine (7 yrs younger). And countless animals. Always seemed to be a critter of some sort around. I graduated in 1996 from Athens Area High School.

At the end of my junior year of high school, I met Mike on a blind date. He attended Notre Dame High School in Elmira and was a year ahead of me. When I started my senior year, he left for the University of Miami. He proposed the summer I graduated.

After high school, I left for college like most people do. I decided to go to Slippery Rock University because the only colleges my high school promoted were state schools. I think it was a conspiracy. Once I had visited Slippery Rock, I knew I had to go anywhere but there. So I ended up at Niagara University as a Computer and Information Sciences major. Contact me if you'd like my thoughts on Niagara.

Mike also ended up at Niagara and on August 8, 1998, we were married. We have most of our wedding album and information online, so check it out.

Mike graduated from Niagara in May of 1999 and converted his internship into a full-time position at M&T Bank in Buffalo. As soon as I graduated in May of 2000, we moved to Raleigh, NC where the jobs and schools are better. Mike started working at Summus, a wireless technology company, and soon after was able to pick up several contract projects on the side. In April of 2003, he took a new position with Duke University and really enjoys working in the University environment. I worked for Nortel Networks for about nine months as a contractor but was laid off in June of 2001. At first I was upset, then I remembered that I hated that job so I did my happy dance instead.

I currently work for the Town of Apex as their webmaster. Apex is a town southwest of Raleigh. We have about 30,000 citizens and 200 employees. In addition to overseeing all aspects of their website (which I redesigned in September of 2002 because it was LAME!), I also implemented an entire intranet site for employees. The project I was hired to do (e-government) has gotten slashed out of the budget twice since I started and has now been tabled indefinitely.

My interests in the job world tend more towards design than programming so I've been trying to snatch up projects to build a bit more of an artistic portfolio. In addition to designing the majority of pages within therogans.com, I created the design Mike used on his consulting site. As mentioned above, I also did the design for the Town of Apex site, as well as their intranet site (screenshot).

In the non-work world, Mike and I bought our first house in July of 2002. Renting was getting old for a lot of reasons so we decided it was time to put down some roots. The entire process from pre-approval of the mortgage to moving day took us just over a month. Not bad!

Somewhere along the line (more specifically, in Buffalo, May 2000), I acquired one spoiled little kitten named Tasha as a 'going away' present. She moved to Raleigh with us and keeps the home life interesting. Now that we've fenced our yard (summer of 2004), we keep promising to get her a doggy! However, before that happened, Mike fell in love with a shelter-cat he saw at the local PetSmart and in January of 2005 we added Ripley to the family.

Also for fun, I love to take photos. I've been known to shoot over 300 pictures in a single weekend if the mood strikes me. I took over 150 pictures of ornaments on our Christmas tree one time. I also love hockey (go 'Canes!) and in the summer we go to the beach as often as possible. And, for anyone that may be wondering, STILL no baby Rogans to report. Check back in a couple of years.

My latest interest has been working out at the gym. If you had told me even as recently as six months ago that I would enjoy going to the gym as much as I do, I would've laughed at you. We signed up for a membership at a great gym near the house in late March of 2005 and I've been working with a personal trainer on a weekly basis, trying to fit in workouts at least 4 days a week.

Be sure to check back. As life continues on, I'll probably have reason to update! In the meantime, just keep up with my blog for the daily stuff!