Amber D. (Gustafson) Evans - ProfilesArchive

About Me

Philosophy

I am a lot of things, like most people. Someone asked me once if I'm the kind of person who sees the glass as half-empty or half-full. I answered with, "It looks like it belongs to somebody, in which case it should be refilled--does it have one of those wine tags on it or something? Um, otherwise, it's coming with me to visit the dishwasher." Somehow I think that's an adequate representation of me. Generally, I'm interested in living my life to the fullest while being considerate of others.

Academics, Athletics, and Adventure

Most of my life is governed by three things: Academia, Athletics, and Adventure. When I'm not teaching or learning, I'm getting physical and traveling places. The fact that I am a triathlete--well, I participate in triathlons, half-marathons, century rides, etc.--keeps me sleeping well after hitting the books all day and gives me an excuse to get away from wherever I live. I keep a triathlon blog in addition to subscribing to the FitnessJournal.org community to record and track my progress. Right now, I do it for fun, but am also interested in pushing my potential as I go. In Fall 2006, I joined the Virginia Tech Triathlon Club at the Collegiate level and joined up with the New River Bicycle Association --WooWee! That said, one should never take themselves too seriously. ;)

Academics

I'm finishing up my Masters in Instructional Design and Technology from CSU, Chico and have started a Ph.D. in the same field at Virginia Tech. There's not a lot of time left in the day for much else except ...

Athletics

I had some events planned since 2006, but these past few seasons hadn't panned out very well. That's okay. I trained for a half-marathon, did a metric century (Wildflower), did a 16-mile rolling-course time trial, did a full century (Burkes Garden), rode in the 30th annual NYC Five Boro Bike Tour with 25,000 other cyclists, and more. Not too shabby considering all the life-changes and unexpected situtations I've encountered!

In 2008, I'm riding in several cycling events (Spring/Summer) as well as completing two triathlons (Fall). I'm even thinking about doing a half-marathon (Fall/Winter); I really don't know why since I dislike running. We'll just have to see.

Adventure

I love to travel and take the opportunity to do so whenever it arises! So far, I've hit the two US coasts and much of Western Europe. For the future, I'm hoping to complete a European cycling tour and to travel via Amtrak to visit Glacier National Park en route to California.

I'll be voting, will you?

-- Take the Quiz! --

I support ...

I believe in being open-minded, supporting the arts, and promoting education.

My Interests

I really love teaching and learning. After that (in no particular order) I like traveling, visiting art and historical museums, trying new things, reading, writing, thinking, organizing, socializing, painting, playing piano, playing with my doggie, snow skiing, hiking, backpacking, dancing, triathlon training (swim, bike, run), drinking and analyzing microbrew beers, gourmet cooking, entertaining, and eating! I completely enjoy sex and cuddling, down comforters on cold mornings, wearing fuzzy socks, taking hot showers in winter and cold showers in summer, watching movies (lots of them, I'm afraid), being with friends, eating pizza, and sharing smiles. Of course, I'm also interested in anything to do with my studies/work: e-learning, web usability, database design, case studies, problem-based learning (PBL), performance analysis, performance improvement, instructional technology, and instructional design.

I'd like to meet:

People who enjoy learning, athleticism, reading, dancing, and laughing. I'm always looking for cycling, running, and swimming buddies in or around the Chico, CA or Blacksburg, VA area. (I'll warn ya', I'm not fast at any of those sports. I'm actually very middle-of-the pack right now.) Mostly, I'm down with friends-of-friends since I trust my friends in their taste (I mean, they have me as a friend, how bad could all the others be, right? -- On second thought, don't answer that.)

Music:

Wow, I ... um ... pretty much like anything. That's why I listen to Pandora. It's a crazy Music Genome Project and I love it 'cause I'm exposed to all sorts of music in the way of my liking. I guess I'd say I'm not a huge fan of "Ho 'n' Bitches" rap, but if it's got a beat, then I probably won't even notice the lyrics. Generally, I'd say I have really eclectic taste (read: my friends say I listen to crap). I own a lot of Euro Rock/Pop, trance, Electronica, Bass and Drums, House, Breakbeats. I'm especially fond of Underworld, Fluke, Chemical Brothers, Orbital, and Leftfield. And then there's David Bowie and Bjork that defy classification, but are very noteworthy. But I also own Christinia Aguilera, Madonna, Missy Elliot, etc. I also really like NPR for all the classical music (Bach, Beethoven, Chopin, Mozart), but I don't care for talk radio. If I'm in the car or at my computer, then I'm generally listening to Alternative Rock, since that's easy and singable (yes, I sing along). My favorites in that genre would be A Perfect Circle, Tool, System of a Down, Breaking Benjamin, Staind, and Cake, among others I'm sure.

Movies:

OMG. I like so many and own so many--I keep purchasing more--I don't know where to begin. Let's just name a few: LOTR (all three), Serenity, Moulin Rouge, Chronicles of Riddick, Dark Fury, Akira, Final Fantasy, Ghost in the Shell, Millineum Actress, Italian Job, American History X, The Transporter, Big Fish, 28 Days Later, Swingers, Zoolander, Usual Suspects, Suicide Kings, 3000 Miles to Graceland, Memento, Meet the Parents, Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Love Actually, Gladiator, Dune (the movie and mini-series), The Matrix Trilogy (yes, all three), "Run Lola Run (German)", Underworld, Equilibrium, and so many more ...

Television:

Generally I feel that most of what is on TV is mindless crap. I never schedule to watch TV. Weeks will go by when I won't watch anything; there's too much else I can be doing! That said, there are a few shows that I find worthwhile on DVD: CSI, Battlestar Galactica, Firefly, and Good Eats. As for networks, I don't think you can ever go wrong with: History Channel, Discovery Channel, Animal Planet, The Learning Channel, and Food Network.

Books:

When I have the time, I like books by George R. R. Martin, Neil Gaiman, Brian Lumberg, Neal Stephenson, Storm Constantine, Stephen King, and Dean R. Koontz. I also have a weakness for graphic novels like Sandman and Sin City. When I'm short on time, I read the following magazines (yes, I subscribe to all of these): The Week, Sueddeutchland (a German Newspaper), Car and Driver, Popular Science, Discover, Cook's Illustrated, Triathlete, and Outside. Otherwise, I also enjoy many of the technical O'Reilly books.

Heroes:

My parents because they've been married for over 35 years and still seem to be doing well. My high school physics teacher, Mr. Kenneth Cripe, encouraged me to pursue technical knowledge in the male-dominated field of science and technology. My friends and mentors, Samantha Meemken and Jonathan Knolle , are also my heroes as they have demonstrated how to be smart, beautiful, tough, dedicated, and successful while still humble and fun.

My Blog

Go to: http://VTTriGal.blogspot.com to read my blog.

My blog is at: http://VTTriGal.blogspot.com/. Hope to hear from you there!...
Posted by Amber D. (Gustafson) Evans on Thu, 22 Jun 2006 02:33:00 PST