The fam

Friends who have personal websites

Recipes

I was born in 1971 on Kincheloe Air Force Base in Michigan. My parents are fond of recalling that the entire hospital bill was $7.00 for my birth. Soon after, we moved to Superior, Wisconsin and eventually to Madison, in 1973 where I spent the next 16 years. During those 16 years, our house became considerably more crowded. JenO was born in '76, JeffO in '78 and JackO in '83. We also had a few long-term house guests, an exchange student and various pets over the years... mice, hamsters, frogs, puppies, a cranky bird named Jay and our cute but intellectually-challenged cocker spaniel named Mandy. I attended Thomas Jefferson Middle School and James Madison Memorial High School, both of which were visible from my bedroom window. Growing up I "enjoyed" (according to my mother) participating in piano lessons, girl scouts, gymnastics, soccer, t-ball, diving and probably a host of other things which I no doubt "enjoyed" so much I've blocked them from memory.

In 1989 I decided it was time to attend a school I couldn't see from my bedroom window so, twelve hours after having all four of my wisdom teeth pulled, I hopped on a plane to 117° ASU in search of new surroundings and sunny skies, dry socket and all. After realizing Arizona had far too many sororities and no water, I returned to Madison and finished up my education at UW–Madison, graduating in '94 with a BS in Graphic Design and a concentration in photography.

I spent the next 4 years working as a graphic designer for a couple local companies and then in '98, I got bit by the travel bug, hard. Eight foreign countries and thirteen US States later (including a brief supposedly-permanent move to San Diego), I woke up back in Madison once again working as a graphic designer. It was an interesting year.

With that out of my system, I established my career as a web designer, bought a condo, started making my own furniture, and learned how to do things like fix toilets and spackle. All well before reaching the ripe old age of 30.

Now I'm a university-employed condo-dweller living on the west side who enjoys having conversations about wood, wine, wakeboarding and the web. That's the gist of my life, but if you're looking for more details you might find them below.

Vital Statistics

Name:

Julie Michelle Olsen, but I respond to Julz, Ouff and Hulio.

Current local:

Madison, Wisconsin

Career:

Graphic & Web Design
Currently working for the University of Wisconsin–Madison as a Web Designer, and doing freelance web design on the side.

Platform:

Macintosh. I've been in the pc world in the past and still use it for testing, but that's it. Don't get me started...

Age:

32, but according to "Health" Magazine, my true age is 27... if I start eating seafood (highly unlikely), I can get down to 25.

Less Vital Statistics

Favorite: Food

Guacamole and salsa. Preferably eaten with chips, poolside, at the Royal Caribbean in Cancun.

Color

Purple, specifically Pantone 2613. And Red: #990000, which is good because it happens to be UW web-red.

Music:

Sting, Coldplay, Ozomatli, the Statler Brothers, Stevie Nicks, Chemical Brothers, jazz and 70's disco. Variety is good.

Gerber daisies in a variety of colors, tulips

Place:

Vernazza, Italy with Chamonix, France and London tied for 2nd. More locally, I'll say the Smokey Mountains. And more locally yet, the middle of Lake Mendota in either a ski boat or sail boat, depending on the wind.

August. The hotter, the more humid, the better.

St. Nicks... I always forget about it completely until my mom calls and tells me I've got a shoe at their house full of fruit and chocolate. I love that!

Toilet paper roll holder bar thingys with loaded springs that fall apart as soon as you attempt to remove them to replace the roll.

Carpet and furniture sales people who are utterly incompetent. If you want to hear me rant, ask me about my experience with American TV, or Sergenians.

Two spaces after a period. This is my personal crusade... Unless you're typing on an actual typewriter or using Courier (and you shouldn't be doing this), it's one space after a period.

People driving who have that bright yellow UW parking tag hanging down in front of their face even though they're nowhere near campus. Tailgating. In school zones.

The capitalization of "World Wide Web", "Internet" and "Web site". Ok, so it's arguable that's it's technically correct. But you wouldn't go channel surf your Television, would you?

Phobias:

Balloons, orange food, large cement overhangs (when I'm under them), painted yellow traffic lines, bats and dead animals in general. Do not use this information for evil purposes.