Allow me to (re)Introduce Myself

First of all, why am I doing this now when I've been around Steemit for a couple of months? Here's the scoop:

1 When I first joined, I posted under the tag introduceyourself instead of introducemyself
2 I didn't include a picture to verify myself
3 I wasn't really sure what I wanted to say or do Here

So... who am I?

A programmer

I have been programming for a long time. I started doing it for fun and then it became a job. I had three games packages published by a company called SoftSource back in 1994. We actually lived off the royalties from my games for a year. Here is a picture of two of the packages:

Technical Writer

I became a Technical Writer when I went to work for Microsoft in 1999. My official title there was "Programming Writer" and I spent four years documenting their database objects and writing the kind of sample programs that other developers cut and paste when they are trying to learn new techniques. I wrote examples in C++, Visual Basic, J++ (Microosft Java Compiler), VBScript, and JScript. When .Net came along, I wrote examples in C# and Visual Basic .Net. In the picture of the table of contents from PC Techniques Magazine, you can see I had the cover story. Visual Data Basics (circled in red) by Irene P. Governale, my maiden name.

Web developer

I created my first website in 1996. (And I did it by copying Microsot's main page and then replacing the content with my own. Not terribly creative, but it worked.) Believe it or not, I tried to get local business to buy advertising on the Internet. But since most of the business owners didn't even have dial-up at the time, they just couldn't get the idea.

I have two websites now. A general site that lists some of the things I've done, and a site that is specifically for my writing. I have had the domain irenesmith.com since 1998, and a couple of years ago I bought irenepsmith.com as well, since all of my fiction is published under Irene P. Smith. If you want to know more about my professional life, you can view my resume: resume.irenesmith.com

Business Owner

My husband and I co-owned a business, called ComputerSmith, where I taught classes for people who wanted to learn about computers. The school failed, partly because it was ahead of its time and partly because from October to November, I was closing the school every other day to visit my son in the hospital. (See Twenty Years in the Making) But you know what they say, "If you're not failing regularly, you're not living up to your potential...

Aspiring Author

In addition to writing about computers and programming, I have wanted to write fiction. I have wanted to be a story teller, a novelist, whatever you want to call it. Since I am my own harshest critic, it took me a long time before I wrote anything I thought was worth sharing with the world. My first short story was published in October of 2003. I made the princely sum of $3.56, but I was paid. In 2013, I published a collection of flash fiction, called Dreams in Transit It was recently re-released at Smashwords.com.

Amateur Photographer

My father was, among other things, a professional photographer. He was also a radio DJ, a newspaper and local TV reporter, and a Public Relations Officer before he and my mother opened their printing business. Maybe that's where I got my own jack of all trades approach. But I digress. I learned how to use a camera when I was a little girl, and really went crazy with it when I got my first digital camera back in 2000.

You can see some of my favorite photos here: Four of my Favorite Photos
Or here: Photography at irenesmith.com

And also...

I am a wife, a mother, a step-mother, and a grandmother. My husband and I met on a blind date. We were "fixed up" by his Aunt, but that's another story. I have two step-children, a son and a daughter. I couldn't love them more if they were my own biological children. My step-son has four children, ranging in age from 20 down to 6. His oldest daughter is 10 months older than her uncle. My step-daughter has one daughter. My husband and I have a son.

I guess that's about it. You're probably getting bored by now anyway.

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Who is Irene P. Smith? I am an author, programmer, and web designer. A former Contributing Editor to PC Techniques Magazine, I have written about computers and programming since 1989, and began publishing fiction in 2003. My home is in New York State, along the Delaware River, where I live with my husband and son.

You can also find me elsewhere on the web:

• My "other" blog: An Irene Thing
• My Author's Website: irenepsmith.com
• My Professional Website: irenesmith.com
• Facebook: IrenePSmithAuthor
• Twitter: @Story_Teller

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