about the walrus
My name is Shellyn Wong. I am a Web and Graphic Designer born and raised in Los Angeles, CA. I graduated UC San Diego in 2006 majoring in Interdisciplinary Computing in the Arts and Media and minoring in the Teacher Education Program.
Nice to Meet You, Computer :)
I have always had a passion for computers from the first day I met one! As a young child, I was really fascinated with computers, not only for the fun games (though primitive to us today, extremely advanced for children of the 90's). My dad was an electronic engineer so he brought home old computers that he fixed up and let my siblings and I play with them. I was so intrigued by computers that I would find excitement in helping him load the next "floppy" disk into the drive to install something. Now I know "floppy" disks are old sounding, but imagine the REAL floppy disks that were actually floppy! Ah, yes, those were the days! I still have my "Where in the World is Carmen San Diego" game on an old floppy disk! Anyway, needless to say it was extremely excited when I was able to play with the Windows Operating System with its many colors and "advanced" programs (of the time) like Paint! Wow, once I found out how to change that desktop picture I would draw really kiddish pictures and use it as the desktop and go wild with that! Yes, I was glued to the screen and played Minesweeper and Snake.
Hi, Education!
Well, fast forward to college and choosing my career path, I was utterly confused when deciding on which major I should be. I wanted to do something related to computers, however I was not too familiar with what was out there. I only heard of "computer science," but unfortunately I never really did any programming before. Rejected under computer science, I chose electrical engineering at first (thinking that my dad did it so maybe it runs in the family?)... Well I was wrong so after one year of torture, I switched to Computer Arts. I ended up LOVING the projects!
How The Working World Works...
So that brings me to my post college life. I worked at a web design company called Internet Matrix after graduation, initially as an intern for three months, then a full time Technical Support Representative for three months, then I managed the department for a year. I moved up quickly and learned a lot of great people skills, business and management skills, but eventually I realized my passion for creating computer art was being set aside. Sadly, I had to leave my first work family and pursue the world wide web on my own.
After taking a dive into freelance work doing web and graphic design for about two years on my own, it was time channel those skills I learned at a new company that I could not only share but learn alongside with. I found my way into an internet security company called Anonymizer, where I am currently having a blast as a website creating machine, completing several each month.
Who's That Walrus?
A little more about who I am would include my dear little buddy, Red Rover (or just Rover for short). He's a 2007 Chili Red MINI Cooper S, with a white roof and white stripes! He's so adorable! I've had him since summer 2007 and he's still as exciting to drive as the first day I brought him home! Needless to say, I'm addicted to my car, haha!
In my spare time, you might also find me exploring the exciting world of musical instruments such as the drums or the guitar, but I just play around with them for fun, nothing serious. However, once Rock Band entered my life, I think the drums from the video game got more attention than my actual drumset, hehe! At one point, Rock Band was a daily ritual, but now I have toned down that addiction, just a tad. I also find it an interesting challenge to learn different languages. English is my first language, but I'm also familiar with many other languages. Growing up, my grandparents also lived with my family so I spoke to them in a dialect of Cantonese. I also spoke Cantonese to relatives. I took three years of French in high school and three courses of Korean in college. If I had more time, I'd love to continue learning more.
Last, but definitely not least, I would not be who I am or where I am now without my faith. Throughout all the different stages of change in my life, the one and only thing that has remained stable and true would be the love and support of God. He has pulled me through all the tough times and I have learned so much. Some situations may seem like an odd coincidence in life, but there is no way that so many odd coincidences can be combined to lead me through the events in my life, some of which I would never have imagined myself overcome.