About Me

I was born in Quezon City, Philippines, on July 20, 1969, and immigrated to Chicago, Illinois, at the age of three. My parents settled here the year before, and I arrived just as former Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law. We lived in the Lakeview neighborhood of Chicago until my parents bought a house in Roselle, Illinois, where we moved in 1977.

In the city, I went to Catholic school, but my parents enrolled me in the public school system when we moved to the suburbs; the nearby Catholic school didn’t bus students at the time. I graduated from high school as a music major at the Chicago Academy for the Arts, to which I rode the commuter train from the suburbs. The Academy didn’t bus students, either.

I took a year off before going to college to continue private lessons in percussion, which was my primary instrument (piano was secondary). In March 1988, I auditioned and won a scholarship to the University of Houston, where, after two semesters, I no longer wanted to study. I wanted to play, which I did for a number of local bands after moving back to Chicago. I lay music aside in 1994, when after some discussion with Veruca Salt to replace the drummer for the second leg of their tour with Hole, their management advised that a roster change early in their career could be damaging.

At the time I wouldn’t have agreed, but staying in Chicago and continuing my job as a secretary was the best situation for me. Earlier that year I had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and the instability of constant travel would have hindered my treatment. I still struggle with what I call my “bipolarness,” but I have an excellent support system.

In the past ten years I have shifted my focus from music to writing, and put myself through school. In 1999 I earned a BA in English from DePaul University, and the MFA in Creative Writing in 2002 from THE Ohio State University. I no longer want to be a rock star. Now I want to be a hockey star!