Name: Faye Locke (no, it's not my real name)

Birthdate: September 26, 1978

Sign: Libra, which explains why I don't get along with about everybody .. ask me and I'll explain.... maybe

What I look like: Well, look over to the left... yes, that's me... run, hide! In faire costume (gypsy). In case you can't tell, I have long, light brown hair that can be frizzy, curly, or straight depending on the weather. Dark hazel eyes (they look brown, only hazel if you look really close. Click here and decide for yourself.). 5'7" If you want to see me, hop on over to the gallery.

Things that scare me:Ronald McDonald (what, you expected this to be completely serious?), clowns, grouchy old people who get gaa-gaa over fufu dogs, 3 year olds, heights, spiders, big roaches climbing in bed with me, things that go bump in the night for no reason, pre-meds (or dem-erps, take your pick), a forest going completely and utterly still and silent in the middle of the night. That the kids I teach will one day run this world.

Occupation: I'm a teacher, for 9th grade science (that's chemistry and physics), at a local high school.

Education: I am a graduate from the local state university, with two degrees - Bachelor of Science in Biology and Bachelor of Science in Microbiology, and a minor in Chemistry. I graduated May 12, 2001 (3.185 GPA, for those who care). I'm thinking about going back for a Masters in something.

Pets: Just about everything, at one time or another. Right now, some fish and cats! I have had, at one time or another, frogs (I was really young), mice, hamsters, rabbits, dogs, finches, guinea pigs, toads (I was young when I had these too... ). sure I am forgetting something. I love all animals! The more the better, as far as I am concerned. As long as I have the time to take care of them all!

Family: I am the third of four children. I don't identify real well with my brothers (the older is really smart, but borderline psychotic, and the younger thinks he's really smart and plays the women *cough* girls like he's God's gift to womankind. Uh. I'm not sure which is worse.), nor do they identify with me. My sister and I seem to be learning to get along. Other than that, I am pretty sure I have middle child syndrome. :) Parents divorced, both re-married. My step-dad is the most awesome guy in the world. I have step-sibs on both sides...

Personality: You mean you haven't guessed yet? When I am not being silly, I am usually pretty sarcastic. I have been told that if I would tune down the sarcasm - or cut it out altogether - I would have more friends. But I am not about to sacrifice my individuality or my "personality" for popularity and modern conventions. Those people who do call me their friend are very laid back, and are smart enough to realize the difference between sarcasm and a real insult. If you want to see how articulate, and yet senseless, I can be when I get really really mad (combined with really stressed and really tired), read this. I wrote it many years ago, so it doesn't actually reflect my current frame of thought. I'm much nicer and sillier now.... I think....

Religion: Southern Baptist is what I would call my parent organization when it comes to religion. I don't adhere to all their conventions. But I do agree with them on certain key issues... which I'm not going to get into. My schedule does not allow me to go to church on a regular basis, but this doesn't bother me too much because the last couple churches I did attend regularly were so oriented on who-knows-who that they left a really bad taste in my mouth. Unlike most Babtists, I am not into condemning everyone who doesn't believe the same way I do. And I'm not into this who Sunday-Only Christians. I am a Christian, and I am that way every day of the week.

Vampires: One of my main interests is vampires (which really conflicts, you would think, with the above paragraph), in both reading and writing. I don't want to be a vampire, and I am pretty sure, if vampires really existed, I would not even want to meet one. Probably because they'd see me as lunch - or dinner(?) ... but, I still find them very fascinating. I tried role-playing vampires for a little while, but it was pretty boring. Definitely not my thing. This is an essay I wrote on vamps years ago.

Writing: I love to write, both fiction and poetry, when the mood strikes me. I really hope that one day I might get published, but I don't plan on writing being my primary career. I'm not dedicated enough for that, even if I had the talent that would make me money. Most of my writing centers on vampires, though I have beem dabbling in fanfiction to practice and mature my style. Lately, my life has not allowed me to write much, and this is depressing for me.

Books: I read a whole lot! CS Friedman, David Eddings, Mercedes Lackey, Barbara Hambly, Robin McKinley, Mickey Zucker Reichert, Melenie Rawn, Meredith Ann Pierce, and Robert Jordan are some of my favorites. See my book suggestions page for a list of books I think are a good read.

Music that I play: The only instrument I play is the piano (I'm not real good, but I can play sufficient enough to be pleasing to the ear). I like to play Enya songs (and similar) as well as some classical pieces.

Music that I listen to: Linkin Park, Enya, Maire, Clannad, Depeche Mode, Carman, Peter Gabriel, Aeone, Crystal Method, some Enigma, and most classical music, most anything Celtic, acoustic guitar (Jesse Cook, Billy McLauglin), and a fairly wide variety of Techno and Ambient stuff. I think it's easier to explain what I don't like - rap, country, and that head-bashing screaming stuff.

TV: CSI (the original and Miami) and LOST. That's about it. Who has time to watch more than 3 TV shows a week???

Martial Arts: I'm not in a class right now, but my highest achieved rank was a purple belt in Tae-Kwon-Do. I really enjoy martial arts. Probably that aggressive streak in me. I'm tentatively planning to pick this back up this when I get that extra 12 hours a day I've been asking for. I want to at least get my Black Belt.. then I'll see where my path leads me from there.

Fencing: I started dabbling in fencing fall '99 at college, but swordwork - and medieval weapons in general - has been something I've been wanting to learn for a long time. Right now, I'm leaning toward stage combat, rather than competition. Stage combat is more fun, relaxed, and cheaper! *grin* Of course, since I'm being influenced heavily by many of my friends who participate in stage combat (and they are good!), I'm likely to stay with it. I somehow managed to win the double elim tournament in my beginning fencing class at school via the winning bracket (not consolation... which means I didn't lose a bout... (strange dbl elim rules..) I was (and still am) fairly pleased with myself about that. I was the teacher's first female student to ever beat the guys in over 20 years of teaching. (Should I be chanting "girl power" at this time?) I continued my learning for over a year with a friend, but I had to discontinue due to other priorities in my life.

Dance: The dance class I had been attending since October '98 had been the highpoint every week (well, nearly every week.) My monday night dance class is Irish/Scottish/English/Misc. country medieval type dances - what you might see put on by cast at a Ren Faire. In fact, most of the people who participated in this class were from two local faires, Scarborough and Hawkwood. The atmosphere of the class was really what made it so much fun, as we were all easy-going and, when you get down to it, just plain silly most of time. Unfortunately, that class ended in 2004. I have taken swing dance at school, East and West Coast styles. I also took a modern dance class up at school my last semester, something I have been interested in taking for years, but it never fit in my schedule. I certainly was not the most graceful one in the class, but I'd like to think I made up for that with my enthusiasm. ;) I'd like to other styles of dancing.. oh some day. It's a lot of fun.

Paintball!: hahaha, I love to play! It just costs too much to go often! I used to play at least once a month; now it's been years since I have gone and I almost feel there is an empty place in my life... :) I am sure that I will get back to playing again, eventually, when I get time - and money.

Ren Faires: Renaissance Faires were rapidly taking over larger portions of my time and money. Not that I minded.... but my career has gotten in the way of that now. I loved the ren faires, people were so much fun there! The people there were from normal to a variety of really strange, which meant I fit right in (toward the latter part of the spectrum.) I have several costumes now, that have been made (not bought). I am always thinking on my next costume - or costume piece. But I haven't actually made any in a few years.

Haunted Houses: Ok, I know this seems like a strange category, but it was actually been a major part of my life - around October at least - from 1992 to 1999. The first haunted house I worked at was a charity house for the March of Dimes in my freshman year of high school. I went there with some friends from the Junior National Honors Society to get my required hours of community service for the JNHS. I thought it sounded like fun - I was submerging myself in research on vampires at that time - but I had no idea it would be as fun as it was. I racked up more than 30 hours working at the house that year, more that double the required hours for JNHS. I worked that much cause I couldn't get enough of scaring people - and I wanted a shirt that said "I belong in an asylum" - yes I still have that shirt, tho it exists as a cut-off now. Anyway. The next year, that house moved, but I found another charity house, and worked charity houses for five years. In 1998, I worked as a "volunteer" at the house they had on the location of Hawkwood, a local ren faire. I was paid for gas money, since I was driving about 40 miles each way. In 1999, I worked at Screams , the largest haunted house in the area. It's not actually a haunted house, it's more like a haunted theme park. But it's really tiring and sometimes frustrating (especially toward the end of the night when the people are drunk)... Since working at SCREAMS in 1999, I have not had the time to work at Haunted House. Priorities, priorities.

Love Life: I don't care.

Obsession of the Moment: Still seems to be reading... and maybe writing. I seriously want to finish this Sephiroth fanfiction.

Pet Peeves: I imagine this section will get larger every time I update, and I'm sure there will be some repeats. Guess those will be super-pet peeves. Let's begin. Cheaters. Cliche people. Artificiality. Snobs. Idiots. Ignorance. Lack of responsibilty. Animal Rights Idiots. Anne Rice. Affirmative action (it's gone too far). Lawsuits. Fake Christians. People who give me superior attitude of "you believe what you want, you superstitious knave, but I, the atheist, know better than to believe in God." Male superiority. People who don't like animals. People who are vegetarians because meat is "bad." Vegans. My little brother. Math. Texas summers. Bullies. Road rage. Traffic. Cost of higher education. Time needed for higher education. High gas prices. Seafood. Spicy stuff. Cigarette/cigar smoke. Allergies. Being sick. Fakers. Wimps. Hypochondriacs. Chronic stupidity. Arrogance. Bad poetry. Shoddy writing. Mornings. Humidity. Hang-off endings. Jokes about cruel things done to animals, specifically cats. Vague test questions. Crowds. BUGS! Insomnia. Poor losers. Politics. Liberals. Even higher gas prices. OPEC. Democrats. Addicts. People who live in the US and can't speak English. Cost of car insurance. Fufu dogs. Screaming children. People who can't control those screaming children. The idea of legalizing drugs to lessen crime. Alcoholics. Dorks. Stuffy people. PRE-MEDS! People who insist on tape recording lectures and make such a fuss about it and disrupt the class. Forgetting to turn my cell phone on when I'm not in class. Forgetting to turn my cell phone off when I'm in class. Physics. Teachers who can't speak English. Morons. Paranoia freaks. Jealous women. Unfaithfulness. "Sunday" Christians. Jokes that make fun of Christianity. Overly lewd conversations. Yaoi or "slash" fiction. Boredom. My windshield being broken AGAIN. People who say "I'll try" cause they don't have the strength of character to say "no." Dem-erps! Brown nosers. Being weak. Bruising easily. Overly sensitive people. Immaturity. Being patronized. Knowing what I want and not being able to say it. Fools. Social "conventions". Gossip. Students calling me "Miss!! Miss!!" Cheating. Teachers more interested in partying and socializing than teaching. People who think being rich makes them better than everyone else. Random acts of violence. People who don't even try, because they rather not try than try and fail.

A poem that was written for me by a very sweet person.