Alicia JoAnn profile picture

Alicia JoAnn

He comes down the chimney in a snakeskin suit, and is leaving everyone lots of loot

About Me


Steve and I live out in the country (huge improvement from our years in the city) and quite like it. :-) Of course, there's also our dog Tia. She prefers Clinton to Knoxville as well.
I'm lucky to have Steve. He's pretty laid back and it helps to balance me. Plus, he puts up with my crazy schedule--I stay pretty busy.
I currently work in Oak Ridge (the Secret City---oooooh) as a Program Specialist. I run programs that bring scientists and engineers to Oak Ridge and other National Labs across the country for internships and such things. Also...I get to travel for work (like my recent trips to Las Vegas and DC). That's a lot of fun for me, and I guess, it's good to enjoy some part of your work. The best part though, is that I don’t deal with the general public. In fact, I rarely deal with co-workers. Usually you’ll find my office door closed. ;-)
For those of you who really know me, you know that nothing is more important to me than the happiness and well-being of my family and friends. So, don’t mess with them. ;-) I will sacrifice anything to protect the ones I love.
We all grow up with the weight of history on us. Our ancestors dwell in the attics of our brains as they do in the spiraling chains of knowledge hidden in every cell of our bodies. ~Shirley Abbott~

adopt your own virtual pet! Please feed Kissaki, she LOVES strawberries like I do.
(click the "more" button to feed).
Kissaki is prickly...she is named after the point of a sword.

My Interests



Satori Ryu Iaido (Samurai Sword) is my main interest. I also love to travel whenever possible, alone or with others. I love the ocean, but I also love the mountains and the deserts. I love my family, and being sure everyone is taken care of in my family is important to me.


I'd like to meet:


Ziyi Zhang


Ken Watanabe

Music:

Danzig, Misfits (old), Samhain, Johnny Cash, Tribalistas, Carlinhos Brown, Forro, GWAR, Tribe Called Quest, Erika Badu, Bossa Nova, Bluegrass, Rock-a-Billy, Swing, old Metallica, etc., not in that order.
Danzig...:-D My "photographer" chopped off some heads
Get Your Own! | View Slideshow
Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Movies:

In no particular order, here are a few:


Television:

A few things I like to watch: Dexter, Desperate Housewives, Prison Break, House MD, American Dad.






Books:

A few…
Tao Te Ching by Lao Tse, translated by Stephen Mitchell
The Unfettered Mind: Writings of the Zen Master to the Sword Master by Takuan Soho
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai by Tsunetomo Yamamoto, translated by Minoru Tanaka
The Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, translated by William Scott Wilson
Matar a Pablo Escobar by Mark Bowden
The Tortilla Curtain by T.C. Boyle
Death's Acre: Inside the Legendary Forensic Lab the Body Farm Where the Dead Do Tell Tales by William Bass
The Scarpetta series by Patricia Cornwell
The Good Women of China: Hidden Voices by Xinran Xue
Life and Death in Shanghai by Nien Cheng
Sonnets from the Portuguese by Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown
I Feel Bad About My Neck: And Other Thoughts on Being a Woman by Nora Ephron
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
Claiming Breath by Diane Glancy

Heroes:



My Sensei, Lance England
If you don’t like something about yourself, change it.
~Sensei~
If you are distressed by anything external, the pain is not due to the thing itself, but to your estimate of it; and this you have the power to revoke at any moment.
~Marcus Aurelius~


My Blog

Billy's Emily Marie

Emily was at our house Sunday night, with her paternal grandparents.  It's just amazing to all of us how much she looks like her dad...Billy would be so proud.  She's also a tough ...
Posted by Alicia on Wed, 01 Nov 2006 12:34:00 PST

Back to Vegas. :-D

  I'm going back to Vegas this weekend, and this time I'm taking Steve with me.  We'll be there ~ a week.  I'm SO looking forward to it.  My last trip was awesome, we visited the H...
Posted by Alicia on Tue, 12 Sep 2006 05:58:00 PST

9/11 Tragedy - Where Were You?

THE 9/11 TRAGEDY - Where Were You? Collection of photographs of those killed (except for 92 victims) during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. I think we all know the story...   The...
Posted by Alicia on Wed, 13 Sep 2006 04:53:00 PST

Paris, Las Vegas

I'm going to Vegas again!    Eight days until my week in Paris, Las Vegas.  I'm totally psyched.  Of course, I'll be working there, if you can call it that.  But, I'll be do...
Posted by Alicia on Fri, 07 Jul 2006 06:47:00 PST

Gone From My Sight

Gone From My Sightby Henry Van Dyke I am standing upon the seashore. A ship, at my side,spreads her white sails to the moving breeze and startsfor the blue ocean. She is an object of beauty and stren...
Posted by Alicia on Mon, 19 Jun 2006 06:29:00 PST

Watching a Loved One Die

I have watched a lot of loved ones die.  I'm watching my grandmother die right now.  Before I go to sit with her this morning, I've taken some time to reflect on death.   Some...
Posted by Alicia on Sun, 11 Jun 2006 06:06:00 PST

Royce Gracie - Ultimate Fighting Championship 60

Okay, I'm totally pissed off about the Royce Gracie fight!  I like Matt Hughes, he's a great fighter and very strong---but Gracie is the superior fighter.    Royce got a raw deal....
Posted by Alicia on Tue, 30 May 2006 05:48:00 PST

Aikido, Being Truly Alive

Last night, we had guest Senseis in our dojo...Aikido style.  Present were   Andy Welshan, JJ Tracy, and a female black belt I failed to get her name (pictured above) and another male black...
Posted by Alicia on Thu, 11 May 2006 10:26:00 PST

Living in the Here and Now

  You may have noticed another belt icon on my page.  :-D  Last night I tested successfully for my blue belt.  These tests are no joke.  Im exhausted still this morning.&nb...
Posted by Alicia on Tue, 02 May 2006 04:48:00 PST

Counting Your Blessings

My Lesson The other night in sword class, I had a lot on my mind. My Mammow, her health and current insurance problems, my mom and her health, my niece leaving ORAU (where we both work), my recent arg...
Posted by Alicia on Sun, 23 Apr 2006 10:23:00 PST