Julie Bixby's Home Page

Greetings! I hope you enjoy your visit.

Table of Contents:

1. From ACQ...
2. ...to ZOT!
3. All the world's a stage...
4. Save it, don't pave it!
5. Laybacks and Lutzes and Loops, oh my!
6. A Fascinating & Engaging Enterprise
7. It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a...tv show!
8. The Dream is Alive
9. Ski ya later!
10. Tooth or Consequences
11. Do you Hear what I Hear?
12. And that has made all the difference...
13. Photo Gallery

I am a paraprofessional in a public library. I work in Acquisitions, responsible for buying the books that the librarians have selected for the collection, receiving the books, paying the invoices, and managing collection development expenditures. If you'd like to know more about library careers other than becoming a librarian, or to network with other paraprofessional staff, visit the Library Support Staff website.

I am a graduate of the University of California, Irvine. UCI's two main claims to fame are Nobel Prize-winning chemist F. Sherwood Rowland, co-discoverer that CFCs are creating the hole in the ozone layer, and Nebula Award-winning author (Timescape) & physicist Gregory Benford. Among UCI's less-than-stellar accomplishments are: a fertility-clinic scandal; having the nation's second most unusual school mascot, the anteater; and serving as a location for the film Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (rumors that extras from that picture stayed on as faculty are unfounded :-). I met my husband, Mark, when we were both members of UCI's science fiction club.

South Coast Repertory--A Tony Award-winning (for best regional theatre) facility in the heart of Orange County, CA, SCR had not 1, but *2* finalists for the Pulitzer produced on its stages in the 1997-98 season. Famous faces I’ve seen on the SCR stages include Jean Stapleton, Julie Haggerty, John deLancie, and Bradley Whitford.

The Bolsa Chica Land Trust is working to preserve one of the last wetlands in California.

Love watching skating on TV?  Check out the latest Figure Skating TV Schedule for American viewers.  Don't know a Lutz from a loop?  Recognize the major jumps via my "Layperson's Guide to Lutzes & Loops".  Want to know what it’s like to try ice skating as an adult? Then read my ”Julie Learns to Skate” beginner’s diary. Figure skating fans will want to visit Sandra Loosemore's comprehensive Figure Skating Page and/or join the discussion in rec.sport.skating.ice.figure.

I have my father to thank/blame for getting me hooked on the 1970's syndicated reruns of "Star Trek." There are many Trek sites on the Internet., but of course there’s the official Star Trek Website. There are six Star Trek newsgroups available to discuss the show with other fans.

Another show that captured my fancy was "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman." Canceled by ABC after 4 rocky years, TNT is airing it in syndication. I've written one piece of fanfic (Whine's Wine, a continuation of events after the Superman-gets-sued episode), co-written one piece of fanfic (As You Wish, with Dory Weiss), and wrote one piece of "therapy" (A Visit to Dr. Friskin) brought on by Lois' attire in the third season premiere, "We have a lot to Talk About."

To quote the song by the group Heart, "There's something out there I can't resist." I've been collecting toy and model space shuttles and related trinkets since 1989--rather late, considering the program started a decade earlier. Still, I've come up with some interesting finds: a shuttle-shaped telephone, radio, kaleidoscope, telescope, and salt & pepper shakers. I've entered my collection in the Orange County Fair and won a second-place ribbon. You can check out NASA's Shuttle Mission Guide Web Site for a history of the shuttle program. Current launch & mission information can be gleaned from the NASA Human Spaceflight page and the Usenet newsgroup sci.space.shuttle.

When I got married, I took up skiing.  I've since grown confidant enough to ski several blue runs, my favorites of which are those on Nevada’s side of Heavenly Ski Resort. Skiers and shredders will want to visit Mark's Southland Ski Server, an interactive Web site where you can post your own ski report and read those of others for Southern California ski areas (including Mammoth/June). The server has received positive reviews in Snow Country, TransWorld Snowboarding, and Net Guide magazines. Usenet offers rec.skiing.alpine.

Now for the bad news--I suffer from periodontal disease. Periodontitis strikes when gingivitis has gone unchecked for too long, and, left untreated, can lead to tooth loss and dentures. I had two periodontal pockets in my upper molars, one 6-7 millimeters and the other a whopping 7-8 millimeters (3mm or less is normal). I required "flap" surgery to correct the problem and must regularly be monitored by a periodontist. For further information on this condition, I recommend reading Ignore your teeth and they'll go away. You can also visit the University of Copenhagen's School of Dentistry Periodontal Page and subscribe to a general discussion Usenet newsgroup sci.med.dentistry.

Afraid there's more bad news-- I also suffer from tinnitus, defined as a persistent ringing/hissing sound in the ear(s) with no physical origin for the sound. I'm not alone--David Letterman, Tony Randall, Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, and former first lady Rosalyn Carter are some celebrities who also suffer. There is no cure--only various coping mechanisms. Please visit the Tinnitus FAQ if you have this condition, and whether or not you do, WEAR EARPLUGS when you go to concerts, action movies, or when using loud power tools.

Well, that about wraps it up. I'll leave you with these parting thoughts by Cheryl Dragel entitled "Point of View":
Everyone calls me the dreamer,
And they say it like it's some kind of crime.
Just because everyone else is so hard-nosed and conditioned,
They think dreaming is a sin.
So what if I have my head in the clouds?
I can see the sun better that way!

PHOTO GALLERY:
Ski Ya Later/2TOBMUP/The Graduate

Thanks for visiting!