Karen's Very Scary Homepage

Well, I've finally gotten off my ass and done it. I've made my very own homepage. Doesn't that just scare you? It scares ME. I kept thinking to myself, I really should make a homepage, but it has to have a point, ya know. So, I'm going to have several points. Hee hee.

The part where I introduce myself

Before we go any further on this scary little journey together, and hopefully before you quit and go somewhere else, I'll introduce myself. My name is Karen Carter and I'm a lowly college sophomore attending the University of Arizona in Tucson, AZ. I would also like to state, I now have enough credits after the end of last semester to actually be considered a senior. So there. I'm planning on majoring in Physics, Mathematics (formerly Astronomy, but an Astronomy undergrad degree is next to useless, so I'm doing something fun instead! Math!!!) and German with a minor in Computer Science. Yeah, yeah, everyone thinks it's all hard, but it isn't. I'm still gonna be able to graduate in 4 years, so there.

I live in this crappy little town in New Mexico (yes, we ARE a state, the 47th, in fact) which has about 100,000 people and is the second largest in New Mexico. (sad, yes?) It's called Las Cruces, and it can be really extraordinarily boring. We live about an hour's drive away from El Paso, Texas, which you may have heard of.

I have a family of four, and I live with my mom and dad, when I'm not at school. My sister graduated two years ago from Westminster College in Salt Lake City, Utah. It's not Mormon, it actually used to be Presbyterian. She had a double major in Psychology and English with a French Minor. Now she's working at some weird place in Salt Lake, and last summer she got MARRIED!!! She tied the knot with this guy named Joseph Gibbs, and I got to be her Maid of Honor. *sniffle* It's so wonderful, it's sad! Oh, and she made me wear the most hideous dress in the universe, so all I can say is, when I get married, there's gonna be a lot of neon polyester in the bridal party! (and can we say LEISURE SUITS??)

I also have a cat named Fluffy, and one gerbil named Aragorn, since the other gerbil, Galadriel, died (while I was visiting, no less. *sigh*) I am was also the proud owner of a number of Sea Monkeys, until I was forced to flush them during a move when it was too inconvenient to try and keep them upright. They really rule! Oh and I also have a Bonsai Potato Altar, which I worship at regularly.

And, here's some news: I'm now employed!!! I'm a computer assistant for the Large Binocular Telescope project. I basically do upkeep and maintenance on their existing webpages, and make the occasional new ones, along with scanning loads of pictures. I make an entire $6.50 an hour (plus a 5% raise I got this past fall!)! Ok so it's not a lot, but it's cash! And I'm also now involved with Wildcat Habitat for Humanity which is our campus chapter of HFH. I'm currently the Webmaster for the club. We're trying to raise enough to sponser a house, which is a big task. And um, yeah. That's about all. ;)

The part of my page where I talk about my obsessions.

Well, as some of my friends may or may not know, I am a chick of many obsessions. And I like TV. Heh heh. My favorite show is, of course, Xena: Warrior Princess .

If you don't already know, it's this really cool show set in ancient Greece about this heroine, Xena (hence the name), and her companion, Gabrielle, as they travel around Greece. The show doesn't have much respect for time-lines or correct mythology, but it rules anyway. I have done a lot of thinking on why exactly I like Xena, not because I felt like it, but because the English department at UA seems to have some peculiar obsession with subcultures *wink* (heh, I turned this in as an English project last semester, how naughty) and I've decided it's mostly because:

• I really despise living in the world like it is now. Which is sort of a problem, since I have no choice and all. I figure I was born in seriously the wrong age. Either I should have been born way back when (i.e. ancient Greece, and Xena) or way far in the future, (i.e. Star Trek, which I get to later). I get frustrated by the limits of technology, science, and the human intellect right now, and I figure if I couldn't have everything (Star Trek) I wish I had nothing (Xena) instead of being stuck in-between. I also think the hippie generation would be cool, seeing how as I see myself as "progressive" and all, but then technology would come around anyway, and I'd have the same problem as before.
  But anyway, Xena and all those other shows I like take me away from reality and let me see some other world where, theoretically, I think I'd fit in better.
• I'm one of those people who really likes fantasy. Probably this is just another way of stating the above facts, but it's true. I love fantasy in every way, shape, and form. From vampires to magic to warp speed to elves to klingons, I love it all. It's wonderfully not ordinary, and I love extraordinary things. The unusual and just plain weird delight me. Xena appeals to me that way, because no matter what the general public says, I consider it great fantasy.
• I wish I were a more out-going, kick-ass kinda girl. I wish people respected me for more than just my intelligence and my smashing good looks. ;) I seriously wish I had more skills in a physical kinda way, not just because it's cool, but also because it would be nice to be able to defend myself, ya know. In any case, I just wish I were more like Xena!! Go Xena!

My favorite character on Xena is Callisto.

She's this psycho-killer who was traumatized when Xena razed her village when she was just a child. She's full of great lines and kick-ass moves. I seriously wish I could be like her, doing what she thinks is right, no matter what anyone else defines "right" as. She is one powerful lady, and as I once quoted to someone who questioned a) my sanity for liking Xena and, in particular, Callisto, and b) my sexual orientation, "I want to BE her, not DO her." She also always seems to know what to say to piss people off the most and to get to them, and always has great come-backs, which I, unfortunately, lack. I never seem to know what to say right when someone makes fun of me or whatever, and later think of something great I should have said. *sigh*
Anyway, with respect to Callisto: Unfortunately, at the end of last season, the evil writers killed off Callisto! And a cry of pain echoed throughout New Cirra (which you can find out about on my Callisto and Hudson fan pages. Eventually, I'm going to make a little section all for Callisto, and the actress that plays her, Hudson Leick. I mean, with lots of pictures and stories and all, not in-depth analysis on why I like her. Muah-ha-ha. Gotta give in to my obsessions, ya know? But in the meantime, here are a few Callisto/Hudson related sites:
The Official Hudson Leick Fan Club Page
The Official Board
Callisto Fanfic

One of my other favorite shows is The X-Files. You know, that show about the FBI agents uncovering government conspiracies? Of course, my dad says he doesn't believe there could be any kind of huge cover-ups, because our government isn't competent enough to do something like that. (He works at White Sands Missile Range, a nice little government place, ya know). I like it mostly because of my afore-mentioned dislike of this ordinary world, and love of everything weird and unusual, plus I wish I were a cool F.B.I. agent, out finding secrets about the government, and knowing lots of stuff other people don't know. (I equate knowledge with power, and power is pretty darn cool)
So, anyway, here are a couple of great places to go for X-Files stuff.
The Official X-Files Site
X-Files Merchandise, among other things

Alright, you knew it had to be coming. The part where I admit to my love of the whole Star Trek phenomenon. I love all the series, I admit it. My fave of course used to be Voyager,

with the female captain, (Janeway), but then it started to suck. Mostly because they brought on Seven-of-Nine, with her large bust and skin-tight out-fits, purely to raise their dying ratings with her sex-appeal. Or at least, that's how I see it, even if the producers protest otherwise. (although I fail to see how they CAN protest that, with her running around in skin-tight silver and 4 inch heels *gag*) The actress is nice, but her outfits (geared to sex-crazed young boys) deeply offend me. Now TNG rules everything, since any hint of that sort of ratings grubbing was totally absent as they went out with a bang instead of *ahem* a whimper.
The original series is okay, but Kirk is a jerk. (tm) He's a ladies' man, a sexist pig, and he thinks with a part of his anatomy that is not his head. I got to see William Shatner once at a convention (yes, I went to a convention, and yes, we actually have them in this little corner of the country) and he was pretty cool, but sorta stuck up. So... here's a few interesting Star Trek links.
The Official Star Trek Site
The Site all about the New Movie, Insurrection (which I went to after the evil day of December 11th, when I had my insidious English final, wonderfully easy German final, and nasty Math final, and it wasn't all that great [in the tub scene with Deanna Troi and Riker one of my friends said that Riker looked like Santa Clause... I died laughing.])

Ok, so I don't just like TV shows. I also love to MUD. No, I don't mean playing in the mud or something, it's an acronym for Multi-User Dungeons, which is a fancy way of saying text-based, online games. If you've ever played Dungeons and Dragons, that's what it's like. Except with lots of other people at the same time, all going around killing, chatting, and what not. My favorite MUD is The Two Towers. It's a Tolkien based MUD, and if you don't know who Tolkien is, you're an uneducated dolt. The address is towers.angband.com 9999. I have a multitude of characters on there right now, but the main one is, I guess, Callisto, you know, from Xena. Woo! The other place I MUD is The Badlands, a new MUD that I'm helping to create. I'm an actual admin! (scary, isn't it?) The address is voyager.dreamhaven.org 3434, and it rules. My character there is Lilith, and we're not really open to players yet, but stop on by anyway and chat awhile!
Here are some MUD links:
The MUDconnector, a large database of MUDs
MUDlist. Big one.

Oh, and I also LOVE to read, especially fantasy, as you may have noticed. Some of my favorite authors are: Ursula K. LeGuin, J.R.R. Tolkien, Steven King, Tad Williams, Anne McCaffrey, and Isaac Asimov, to name just a few. And to go along with the fantasy books are the fantasy movies, such as Labyrinth, Willow, The Princess Bride, and The Never Ending Story, which was originally a German novel by Michael Ende, and I'm looking for a copy in German, so if you have one, mail me!!!

The part where I ramble some more

Well, I've talked about myself, my obsessions, and well... What should be next? Ah, I know! I'll have a link to my "Page O'Quotes". See, I have all these quotes which I try to remember and keep in my wallet. They're all kinds of things from all kinds of sources, so I might as well let others enjoy them, too. Check it out. I'm also going to throw in a few other cool links I've found during my adventures on the Web.

Because you can never have too many e-mail accounts, here's a place to go for a great list of free e-mail and other stuff. It has places for free homepages, too. :)
If you ever feel the urge to chat and don't have a Java enabled browser or any special software, Web Chat is a great place to go. They have quite a few different chat rooms and stuff.
But you should get ICQ because it rules lots. You can chat, message, and transfer files, all with one FREE program! Woo!
Just because it's cool, I'm putting in a link to TV Guide They have (of course) info on TV schedules and all kinds of other neat stuff.

(there used to be a picture here of my high school's mascot, the bulldawg, but Chris and Alex made me get rid of it)
And because I've just gotta have it here, why don't you go to the LCHS Homepage.
Yeah Bulldawgs!

In a show of undying devotion to my friends, go ahead and visit Matthew Tyrone Garley's homepage, Alex Ni's homepage (which has a really cool page of weird stuff), and Chris Valdez's homepage. They rule and stuff.

And you should also visit the other parts of my page:

My Page O'Quotes (very cool!) | My Shakespearean Quotes Page | My Callisto Discussion Page | My Pictures Page

NEW!! Why I Hate Microsoft

And as always, contributions of quotations (especially Shakespearean ones) are very appreciated!!

Well, I guess we have come to the end of this journey together. If you actually read this far, maybe you're as warped as me!! Muah-ha-ha! Hee hee. Bye bye. And, um, I now return control of your browser to you. Heh.