SwankiVY's Life Story!

SwankiVY's Life Events Timeline!

1977

  • June 25: Parents were married.

1978

  • January 17: I was born, Summit, NJ.
  • May: Learned to roll over at the age of about four months.
  • September: Started saying my first words.

1979

  • January 17: First birthday!
  • April: Started walking around fifteen months of age.
  • May 9: My sister Patricia was born.
  • September(ish?): Started being able to read simple words.

1980

  • January (?): Around age two years, started reading books I'd never seen before.
  • September: Family moved to Kernersville, NC.

1982

  • February: Family moved to Winston-Salem, NC.
  • Sometime(?): Began attending a sort of nursery school with my sister.
  • Sometime(?): Was obsessed with The Smurfs and Woody Woodpecker.

1983

  • March 8: My sister Lindsay was born.
  • Summer (?): Lost my first teeth.
  • August: Started kindergarten at South Fork Elementary.

1984

  • Sometime(?): Became obsessed with The Ewoks cartoon.
  • Sometime(?): Started learning stage magic tricks and performing them.
  • December: Family moved to Wilmington, NC.

1985

  • January: Started first grade at Winter Park Elementary.
  • Sometime(?): Finally broke my habit of sucking my thumb.
  • Sometime(?): Started studying how to read Hebrew.
  • Sometime(?): Began attending a gifted program at another school on some days.
  • Sometime(?): Got my first best friend, Grace.
1986

  • February 17: I won a county-wide poster contest and received a savings bond. My picture was in the newspaper.
  • Sometime(?): Became obsessed with The Popples.
  • Sometime(?): Got my second best friend, Ellen.
  • April: Started piano lessons.
  • Sometime(?): Joined Brownie Girl Scouts.

1987

  • Sometime(?): Was a flower girl in my aunt's wedding.
  • Sometime(?): Started considering a girl named Meghan in my class one of my best friends.
  • September: Joined fourth grade chorus.
  • Sometime(?): Joined Girl Scouts.

1988

  • Sometime(?): Stopped going to Hebrew school.
  • July: Attended various day camps, including Arts Camp.
  • November: Went to Disney World with my family.
1989

  • July: Family moved to Sarasota, FL.
  • July 4: Got my ears pierced.
  • August 28: Started sixth grade at McIntosh Middle.
  • Sometime(?): Got very interested in collecting pen pals.

1990

  • Sometime (?): My grandparents moved to Sarasota, and I started getting closer to them.
  • June 13: Got a second hole pierced in my ears.
  • August: Joined strings program, playing violin.
  • Sometime(?): Took tennis lessons.

1991

  • Sometime(?): Got braces.
  • Sometime(?): Took jazz dance lessons.
1992

  • February(?): Wrote my first novel, Double Vision.
  • August: Started high school at Riverview High School (ninth grade).
  • August: Joined All-Girls Beginning Chorus.
  • September: Got my first boyfriend, Peter.
  • September/October: Passed All-State Choral auditions. Got into SATB Concert Chorus.

1993

  • January: Was switched into Mixed Chorus.
  • January: All-State 9th & 10th Grade Concert Chorus performance.
  • January(?): Began writing my "Skyler Stories" book.
  • February: Auditioned for Center Stage group and got in.
  • March 12: Went to district contest with my chorus and got superior ratings.
  • May 13: My first boyfriend dumped me.
  • June 10: Took the course I needed to get my learner's permit.
  • June 30 – July 1: Attended "Florida Choral Experience" summer camp.
  • July 7: Got my braces off.
  • Sometime(?): Began to identify as "nonsexual."
  • August: Family moved to Tampa, FL.
  • August 19: Started school at Chamberlain High School (tenth grade). Joined the chorus.
  • September(?) Began writing my "Bruce the Duck" series.
  • October: Met Phil, who later became my last boyfriend.
  • October 20: Had my first professional voice lesson.

1994

  • January: Performed in All-State Women's Chorus.
  • January 17: Turned 16.
  • January 22: Had a Sweet Sixteen birthday party with all my friends.
  • February 11: Performed a solo at district festival and received superior ratings.
  • March 20: Started officially dating Phil.
  • April 7 – 12: Went to Washington with the chorus.
  • May: Attended and passed auditions for an elite women's chorus for senior year.
  • August: Got obsessed with the Animaniacs television show.
  • August: Started getting really close with Meghan.
  • November: Started my friendship with Mia.

1995

  • January: Performed in All-State 11th & 12th Grade Concert Chorus.
  • February 5: Saw Ween in concert for the first time.
  • February: Performed a solo at district festival and received excellent ratings.
  • May 20: Went to my boyfriend's senior prom with him.
  • Sometime(?): Took the SAT and got a 1320.
  • September 15: Got my first job at Sweet Tomatoes restaurant.
  • September 17: My Uncle Kenny died from complications related to AIDS, age 46.
  • November 6: Got accepted to University of Florida.

1996

  • January: Performed in All-State Women's Chorus.
  • January 17: Turned 18.
  • January 27: Auditioned for the University of Florida music program.
  • January 29: Got on the Internet for the first time, through America Online.
  • March 13: Broke up with my last boyfriend, Phil.
  • Sometime(?): Passed the AP English exam with a 5.
  • June: Graduated from high school.
  • July 10: Drove a car for the last time while flunking the driver's test.
  • July 15: Moved to Gainesville, FL, for college. Moved into an apartment with John and Dena.
  • July: Got my own first computer. Became active on the Internet for the first time.
  • July 18: Went to my first poetry jam at the Civic Media Center.
  • July 31: Began writing the first The House That Ivy Built novel.
  • August 13: Finished writing the novel.
  • August 26: Started college, majoring in Music Education.
  • August: Auditioned for University Choir and got in.
  • September 25: Began writing the second The House That Ivy Built novel.
  • December 30: Met my friend Victor in person for the first time (first Internet friend meetup).

1997

  • March: Spring Break at Six Flags with my Internet friends Blink and Rowan.
  • June: Got a job at Baskin-Robbins.
  • July: Got fired from Baskin-Robbins.
  • July: Went up to Virginia on a road trip with my roommate, and visited my friends Blink and Rowan again.
  • October: Created my first Web page.
  • December(?): Dena graduated and moved out, and Mia moved in.
1998

  • January: Switched majors to Elementary Education.
  • January 17: Became a vegetarian.
  • February: Met my friend Jim (Bunky) for the first time in person.
  • February(?): Started the third The House That Ivy Built novel.
  • February 14: Started my job as a Kids' WB! volunteer chat host on AOL.
  • April 24: Got my first e-mail from Squirrel (Michael).
  • May 25: Had Internet friends James and Chris visit for Memorial Day weekend.
  • May(?): John graduated and moved out, and JW moved in.
  • July 4: Met my friend Fred.
  • July 16: Meghan had her first baby, Katelyn, and used my name for her middle name.
  • August: Became mini-obsessed with the anime Tenchi Muyo!
  • October(?): Started the fourth The House That Ivy Built novel.
  • November(?): Started studying Paganism.
  • November: Visited New York City.
  • November 29: My maternal grandfather, Herb, passed away at age 78.
1999

  • January 17: Turned 21 in Las Vegas, NV.
  • March: Visit with Bunky in Columbus, and got to meet Ronni.
  • May 5: Fred visited, and we went to visit Jessica in Melbourne.
  • May(?): JW and Mia moved out, and Ammy and Melissa moved in.
  • Sometime(?): Started attending anime club meetings.
  • June: Began to do my first "scripted" Pagan-oriented rituals.
  • June: Got a summer job as an office assistant for a professor at UF.
  • July 22: Kids' WB! closed, chat hosting job over.
  • August 2: Started Hecklers Online chat host job.
  • October 8: Went to Anime Weekend Atlanta.
  • December 20: Visited Fred in California and celebrated the Winter Solstice with him and Christmas with his family.
  • December: Did my first professional freelance editing job on Mike Yon's book Danger Close.
2000

  • January: Began my first pre-internship, assistant-teaching first grade.
  • February: Started getting annoying eye infections.
  • March 2: Began my second pre-internship, assistant-teaching third grade, but got switched to fourth.
  • March 22: Met my friend Jeaux.
  • April 13: Finished my pre-internship.
  • May 9: Took a week vacation to go to Jessica's wedding.
  • May(?): Had a family reunion.
  • June: Did another stint as a summer office assistant for a college professor. Also did Web work.
  • June 21: Got my first computer virus.
  • June 24: Graduated from the University of Florida with a B.A. in Elementary Education, GPA 3.56.
  • July 12: Interviewed for a retail position at Books-A-Million and got hired.
  • August 5: Moved from my college apartment to a studio apartment of my own.
  • October: Got promoted to Kids' Department Head at the bookstore.
  • November 5: Found out my online friend Steve passed away.

2001

  • February 9: Jessica visited.
  • February 28: Began writing articles for Everything2.com.
  • May 11 – 13: Anime convention JACON with Kari.
  • May 25: Finished writing the fourth The House That Ivy Built book.
  • June 7 – 16: Fred visited; fun in Gainesville and Tampa.
  • June 27 – July 1: Jessica and Seth visited.
  • August: My sister Patricia moved to Japan.
  • August 8 – 12: Jessica and Seth visited (again).
  • September 11: World Trade Center got bombed.
  • September 21 – 23: Anime Weekend Atlanta convention.
2002

  • January 3 – 6: Fred visited.
  • February: Hecklers Online chat closed. Quit hosting.
  • May: Began writing the prequel to The House That Ivy Built.
  • May 12: Started the fifth The House That Ivy Built novel.
  • Summer(?): Fred visited, and we went camping at All World Acres.
  • August: Passed a copyediting/proofreading test and got a position as a freelance editor.
  • August 15: Played my first game of Dance Dance Revolution and got hooked.
  • August 24: Went to an Everything2.com nodermeet (meeting online friends in a group).
  • November 5: Began writing my children's book Joint Custody.
2003

  • January 30: Went to Les Misιrables with Mike.
  • June 8: Began writing my novel Bad Fairy.
  • July 17 – July 27: Fred visited, and we went canoeing and karaokeing.
  • August: Completed writing my novel Bad Fairy.
  • August: Wrote an article on Eragon that got very popular online.
  • September 27: Met Jeremy from Mu for the first time.
  • November 6 – 12: Visited Japan.
2004

  • February: Met my online friend Dieter in person.
  • November 2: Met my friend Mikey.
  • November 2: Voted in a national election for the first time.
  • November 21: My sister and mom were in a car wreck, but were fine.
2005

  • May 13: My parents' divorce became official.
  • May 20: Started my webcomic, Negative One.
  • May 26: An article on asexuality that I was interviewed for was published.
  • November: My sister Lindsay went missing and was found.
2006

  • June 25: Last day of work at the bookstore.
  • June 28: Moved to Tampa, FL. Got my own one-bedroom apartment.
  • July 27: Started new job as administrative assistant at DKS Associates.
  • September 10: Began writing my novel Finding Mulligan.
  • December 2: My maternal grandmother, Maura, passed away at age 84.

2007

  • June: Started regularly reading Eyeshield 21 manga.
  • June 17: Recorded my first YouTube video.
  • July 28: Moved to a new two-bedroom apartment.
  • August 29: Meghan had her second baby, Benjamin.

2008

  • January 15: Had Victor visiting for the first time in over 10 years.
  • January 17: Turned 30!
  • February 2: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey.
  • March 1: Ren Faire in Tampa with Mikey.
  • March 11: Saw a They Might Be Giants concert.
  • March 31: Completed my novel Finding Mulligan.
  • April 4: Saw Avenue Q live.
  • April 20: Hosted a Passover celebration at my house for the first time.
  • July 17: Fred visited.
  • July 27: Participated as a bridesmaid in Ronni's wedding.
  • October 12: Participated as maid of honor in Meghan and Brendon's wedding.
  • October 24: Took a Greyhound trip to visit Mike in Gainesville.
  • October 31: Big Halloween party at my apartment.
  • November 6: Started writing my novella Stupid Questions.
  • November 12: Finished my novella Stupid Questions.
  • November 20: swankivy.com got its first front page layout.
  • November 27: Thanksgiving at Jeaux's.
  • December 13: Got the news that my sister Patricia was engaged.
  • December 31: New Year's Eve at my mom's.

2009

  • January 18: Got sick for the first time in five years.
  • January 24: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey.
  • May 2: Went to an OKCupid meetup and made some important new friends.
  • June 9: Found out my friend Mike from Sarasota passed away.
  • July 18: Got interviewed in The Daily Beast for an article about asexuality.
  • August 1: Participated as maid of honor in my sister Patricia's wedding to Yusuke.
  • August 9: Made my first real music video on YouTube.
  • October 22: Taped my interview for the documentary (A)sexual.
  • October 25: Attended the wedding of Steve and Jessica.
  • October 31: Huge party for Halloween at my place, with 20+ people.
  • December 5: Went to Universal Studios and saw Rent with Mikey.
2010

  • January 30: Ren Faire in Gainesville with Mikey.
  • February 6: EPCOT visit with Sarah.
  • May 20: Hit five years of doing my webcomic without ever missing or being late.
  • June 4 – 8: Michigan visit with Jessie; got to meet Cara.
  • August 5 – 12: Anna Maria Island beach trip with Meghan and friends.
  • August 28: Went to a housewarming at Mandy's house and got to meet her and several other online friends.
  • September 8: Was interviewed along with David Jay on Internet radio program The Authority Smashing! Hour, discussing asexuality.
  • September 11: Began attending monthly Drink and Draw meetings with a group of Tampa Bay area artists.
  • October 14 – 17: Traveled to Oakland and San Francisco for a work meeting and a visit with my sister.
  • October 24: Posted my first original song to YouTube.
  • October 31: Big Halloween party at my house, attended by about 20 people.
  • November 9: Posted my first multitrack video to YouTube; the birth of the "Swanky Six" singing characters.
  • December 1 – 5: Visited my sister in San Francisco with my mother.
  • December 24 – 31: Got a visit from Richard, an online friend who'd known me for a decade or so before meeting me.
2011

  • January 11 – 19: Got a visit from Victor.
  • January 24: Entered a writing contest sponsored by Amazon.
  • January 24: Got an article professionally published for the first time (an article about asexuality in Good Vibrations magazine).
  • January 26: My friend Brendon had to have heart surgery after having been in the hospital for kidney issues and other complications.
  • January 29: Went to Gainesville for the Renaissance Faire with Mikey.
  • February 24: Got into the second round of the Amazon writing contest.
  • March 5: Went to the Tampa Renaissance Faire with Mikey and his friends.
  • March 10: A video of mine was taken down through a false DMCA claim, so I revised it and posted the new version.
  • March 22: Got into the quarter-finals of the Amazon writing contest.
  • April 23: Went on vacation to a beach house on Anna Maria Island in honor of my grandpa's 90th birthday.
  • April 26: Got cut from the Amazon writing contest and did not make the semi-final round.
  • May 5: Found a YouTube duet partner and performed an Avenue Q song online.
  • June 18: Documentary (A)sexual, for which I was interviewed, premiered at Frameline film festival in San Francisco.
  • June 13: Finished the rewrite of my novel Bad Fairy's first draft.
  • June 21 – 23: Mike from Gainesville visited.
  • July 14 – 17: Disney trip with Meghan and family.
  • July 23: Went to Disney with Eric and Stephanie.
  • July 30: Met my friend Pedro in person after reconnecting with him after a weird coincidence.
  • August 13 – August 14: Sarah and David spoiled me rotten at their house for a weekend visit.
  • August 27: First asexual meetup, in Tampa.
  • August 28: Finished a large drawing of 29 fairies in a group character shot, for my book Bad Fairy.
  • September 3 – 4: Spent the weekend writing a giant essay on the horrors of Brisingr, the third Paolini book. Got positive reviews.
  • September 16: DDR party at Mandy's.
  • September 21: Undertook a project to draw illustrative drawings representative of each chapter in my Bad Fairy book, posting one a day for forty chapters.
  • September 29: I was mentioned on a television news program in Australia.
  • October 8: Birthday party at Eric's.
  • Late October/Early November: Visit with Victor.
  • October 22: My mom got a roommate and he moved in with her.
  • October 23 – 29: Asexuality Awareness Week; one of my published articles ran and I released a two-part video on The Unassailable Asexual.
  • October 30: Completed Bad Fairy chapter drawings.
  • October 30: Big Halloween party at my place.
  • November 7: Began querying agents for my latest version of Bad Fairy.
2012
  • First week of January: Patricia and Yusuke visited from California and stayed at my house.
  • January 24: Entered the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Competition 2012.
  • February 4: Attended my friend Jeaux's mom's funeral.
  • February 7: Completed new short story "On the Inside."
  • February 23: Became a second round competitor in Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition.
  • March 20: Became a quarter-finalist in Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition.
  • April 24: Got cut from the Amazon contest at the semi-final round.

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