More than You Probably Want to Know ...
Apparantly this is the part of the site where I enthrall everyone with the exciting adventures in my life. Ok, no pressure ... here goes ...

I am the youngest of Howie and Pat Clark's eight (yes, 8) children (five girls, three boys). We were all born and raised in Elmira/Horseheads, NY.

We Don't Need No Education ...
I have twelve years of Catholic education under my belt (and have the scars to prove it). I graduated from Notre Dame High School in 1987 and moved onward and northward to SUNY Oswego (home of the world's second most beautiful sunset). While there, I played softball for a couple of years, and when I got tired of riding the bench, switched over to the college newspaper, The Oswegonian, where I moved up the ranks to serve as the co-editor of the Arts and Entertainment section. I graduated in 1991 with my bachelor of arts' degree in secondary education with a concentration in English.

About three days after graduation, I ended up at my hometown newspaper, the Star-Gazette, first as a receptionist and then as a news assistant, which is a fancier title for a junior reporter who got to write obituaries about three times a week. An obvious choice for someone who was educated to be a high school teacher, right?

While hanging out with fellow reporters at the then-favorite media hangout, Patrick's, I got to know my future husband, Ed Bond. Ed was a reporter in the Corning Bureau and wandered into Elmira every Thursday night to go out with those of us who worked in the main office.

Work ... Marriage ... Kids ...
Ed and I have been together since 1991. In 1992, Ed decided to move to Los Angeles, California and pursue his dream of writing for television, namely Star Trek (which, by the way, he accomplished).

I lasted about four months and joined him in January 1993. Once in LA, I worked a long-term temp position and went to bartender school. Upon graduation (I had to mix 12 drinks - correctly - within 7 minutes) I landed a job at the Sonora Cafe as a barback (just stock and fetch - don't mix!). By the time I left there in 1996, I had moved up the ladder to bar manager and a relief manager for the restaurant. While at the Sonora, I got to meet (or serve) a bunch of famous people: Melissa Etheridge, Colm Meaney, Christopher Lloyd, David Hyde Pierce, John Corbett (of Northern Exposure), Rebecca DeMornay and Seal (they were the nice ones. I won't mention the evil ones).

Since 1995, I have been employed by WITI (Women in Technology International) as the web producer.

Ed and I flew back east in 1996 to get married at Wagner Vineyards, overlooking Seneca Lake. Surrounded by family and friends from all over the U.S., it was a hell of a party.

Our son, John Howard Bond (Jack), was born at Santa Monica Hospital on July 18, 1999. Jack's arrival was a little unexpected - he was due on August 8. As you can see from the picture, Jack had a nice orange tint - he was pretty jaundiced but it soon went away. His pediatrician now refers to him as the "world's whitest baby."

Jack went into the office with me until he was 10 months old. I then began telecommuting full-time, as he was getting a little too mobile for the office environment. That worked for about three months. There was no way I could code correctly and watch him, so we decided to put him in daycare. Would I rather have him home with me? Sure, but he enjoys going to daycare and I can earn money so we have a roof over our heads. Seems to work for everyone right now.

Say Goodbye to Hollywood
After talking about it for at least three years, Ed and I finally packed up child, animals and belongings and returned to my native land in August 2001. Within seven weeks of returning to the Southern Tier, we moved into our new house, which is about a mile from where I grew up. Jack now has a huge yard to play in, and is reveling in all the attention he's getting from his grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins.

Despite what Thomas Wolfe says, you can go home again. Do I miss LA? Well, I miss our friends. I miss some of the restaurants. People keep saying that this must be quite an adjustment to make, coming from LA. Not really. I'm home.

Back to Me ...
Not much more to tell. I played basketball and softball in high school. I'm a Mac disciple. I raw-coded this site (except for a little bit of help from Dreamweaver with the javascript). I recently received my shodan in Okinawan Shorin-Ryu karate. I have also studied Seki-ryu jiu-jitsu.