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Donald M. Zouras II |
| Live happily ever after with Benia, the one person who shares my goals in life and who can appreciate my unique outlook... usually. |
| 05-03-1971 | Born in Chicago, IL |
| 1971 - 1975 | Just being a kid |
| 1976 | Copper Harbor Elementary (Copper Harbor, MI) |
| 1977 | Mohawk Elementary (Mohawk, MI) |
| 1978 -1979 | Thomas Elementary (Oxford, MI) |
| 1980 |
Carpenter Rd. Elementary (Flint, MI) Oscoda Elementary |
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Oscoda
Elementary (Oscoda, MI) These schools don't exist in the way that I knew them. Oscoda basically dried up and blew away after the USAF left town. You can check out the remnants of the school system here. I was a child of the 80's and it is a little sad to see a big part of my childhood disappearing. |
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Flint
Central Community High School (Flint, MI) |
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Michigan Technological University (Houghton, MI) I knew that I wanted to go to MTU since I was in 8th grade. It was the only school I applied to. Luckily I was accepted. I lived 5 years in the Wadworth Hall dorm. Specifically I was in Purgatory (aka Alka-Hall). I started out in the Electrical Engineering program, but changed my major after my 3rd year. Eventually I earned my Bachelor of Science in Computer Science
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After graduating from Michigan Tech, I moved back to Chicago. I worked for four years as a development analyst for the northern Illinois electric company. I learned a lot there, but the time came to search for more...money. |
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In
1998, I became a developer at Information Resources, Inc.
which is a provider of UPC scanner-based business solutions
to the consumer packaged goods industry, offering services
in the U.S., Europe and other international markets. The
Company supplies CPG manufacturers, retailers and brokers
with information and analysis critical to their sales,
marketing and supply chain operations. My official title was Technical Designer and I supervised a small team of developers. We were the Unix Data Loading support team. Eventually, we did such a good job of stabilizing the system, that management started laying off my team and outsourcing the work that was left. In the end, I was the only one left and they laid me off in December 2005. |
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U.S. Cellular Corporation is a national wireless company based in Chicago. It serves about 6 million customers in 26 states. In 2006 I started working at U.S. Cellular. I was first hired as a contractor and I worked under that arrangement for about 9 months. I liked them and they liked me, so in January 2007 I was hired as a full time associate. I work in the Information Management group, developing applications in support of data warehousing activities. |
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Mom & Dad I grew up with my mom and step father in Michigan. Then I moved to Chicago. They lived in Florida for a while, but have since moved back to the wilds of Michigan. My mom loves her little dog Barney. |
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The Father This is me and my father. Why does it say "The Father"? No, he is not a priest. It is a nickname I gave him for talking to my "half" siblings. He loves it when you guess his age. Hint: It is NOT under 50. |
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Dusty This is my sister, Dusty. She lives in Georgia and she has picked up some of that southern accent. We're not always this sad when we see each other. I have another picture of her that I just thought was cool, so I included it here. |
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Michael My brother, Michael, lives in Wisconsin. I guess he is still trying to find his place in this world. I can't imagine wanting to live up there. This is a picture of him celebrating his 21st birthday. |
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Fallon This is my sister, Fallon. I think she is about 17 in this picture. I haven't seen her in person in many years, but I hope that some day she'll give me a call and say "Let's have lunch", or something like that. A favorite picture of mine is when she is demonstrating her "hardest face". That is the face she would make when she was trying to squeeze really hard (my hand in this case). (Hey Fally, if you see this get in touch with me would ya?) |
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Dan This is my uncle, Dan. Attention single ladies... this guy is available! |
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Benia This is my wife, Benia. She is my sunshine. Having her in my life has helped me to be a better person. I didn't know that this much happiness was possible, until I was able to share my life with her. Check out her corner of this site, if you would like to learn more. |
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Apple Macintosh I have been using Macs since 1986, when I first acquired a Mac 128K. I have had several others over the years. In this picture you can see my G4/450MHz and PowerBook Titanium G4/500MHz. I wish Apple would give their damn machines unique model identifiers. Their current lack of a standard is frustrating. The desk is my own custom design, and was hand built by Dwain Runnells. The chair is a classic 70's office model with steel frame and real springs in the seat. |
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2007 Subaru Forester XT After 13 wonderful years with my 1994 Chevy Blazer, Heidi I decided that it was time to try a younger model. I am now in love with my Forester, which I have named Mulva. This is a reference to the Seinfeld episode called "The Junior Mint". I was really torn about what vehicle to choose. I wanted to be more environmentally friendly, but I wanted to have some fun too. In the end I decided that I would just have to save the environment in a different way. Mulva is an ass-kicking station wagon with plenty of cargo space and plenty of acceleration. Thanks to the turbocharged Boxer engine, I have no trouble holding my own on the expressways of Chicago. A Forester XT can do 0-60 in about 6 seconds. The all-wheel drive makes it easy to take on whatever the weather can come up with. I guess I am a little early for my midlife crisis car, but I don't care. |
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At first I didn't think I would be able to get used to the odd controller, but it didn't take me long. Macs are great, but sometimes a machine dedicated to gaming can be good too. Some of my favorite games are Need for Speed: High Stakes, Coolboarders 3, and of course, Worms! I don't do much with the PSX these days except play Worms Armageddon. I will always love Worms. If that game comes out for Xbox, then I may have to retire the PSX. |
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I never thought I would own a Windoze machine, but it turns out that this one is actually cool as hell. The truth is that even though there is a stripped down version of MS-Windows running on the inside, the user interface doesn't look like it at all. The effects in the games for this system are amazing. Something better will come out in a year or two, but here in 2002, this is the best video game console, period. My favorite games are Project Gotham Racing and Amped. Halo had excellent graphics and an intriguing storyline, but I have finished it and Benia won't play it with me. For a nice adrenaline rush, the game to play is Burnout. The concept of driving like a maniac through traffic is surprisingly attractive. The only thing that would be better is if there were weapons mounted on the car. |
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Working out As I get older I realize that I cannot depend on naturally staying in shape. I have decided to do something about my cubicle physique. I enjoy riding my bike and lifting weights. I also like to rollerblade. If you think that you can keep up, then let me know and we can go for a spin. |
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Karaoke What could be better than a few drinks and some music? Being a star! At first I wasn't sure if I could sing. Now I have been singing occasionally for several years and I am sure that I cannot! Seriously though, I guess I do OK. Not as good as Benia or my friend Tara, but no one runs screaming when I am singing, so that is a good sign. Some of my favorite places to go: Bracht's: Hanover Park, IL; Sat. (8-Ball sucks! Just kidding, we love him.) The New Sands: Somers, WI; Fri. and Sat. So if you would like to belt out a tune some night, join us for karaoke. |
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I grew up on a small farm. All that exposure to the birds and beasts has led me to engage in a little Animal Lovin'. |
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Here are some of the people, who know things about me that should probably remain secret. Take a look at them in the gallery. |