He is well paid that is well satisfied. -- Shakespeare, Merchant of Venice

At 10 years old she was running all over the woods pretending to be Emma Peel to Doug Ricky's John Steed, rescuing baby birds from various natural preditors and unnatural windows, swimming in lakes, and now too old to portray the lost and rescued child, she continued performing in the melodrama by dancing in the opening "Can-Can".

In her teens her family moved to the Southeastern Rain Forest island of Sitka, Alaska. There she became active in high school and community theatre, the Young Republicans (don't hold in against her), became an American Red Cross Certified Lifeguard and swimming instructor, studied for a summer in Nice, France and in her senior year at Sitka High School became one of the first women volunteers with the Sitka Fire Department. She then promptly broke her ankle on her first "call" and blew up the family car.

By her 20s she had become a world traveler, worked for several years in Washington, DC for Senator Steven's, studied theatre for a year at SOSC in Ashland, Oregon while working on the R-Ranch (where she is now a part owner), received her AA in Theatre from the Cornish Institute of Allied Arts in Seattle, Washington and worked professionally for the now defunct Alaska Repertory Theatre in Anchorage, Alaska. There she found professional theatre to be profoundly different than community theatre and decided to change careers. She worked as a Bull Cook out in logging camps, in the Hotel Restaurant Business on several different levels and changed careers yet again to work in the field of Early Childhood as the Cook/Nutritionist. This led her to become the Assistant Director of the Midtown Child Care Center. Her mentor Margaret Wolfe gave her great influence and she began working on her Early Childhood Degree with the University of Alaska. It was there she was first introduced to the brand new Super Computer and the fascination began. Her volunteer work with the American Red Cross continued and she become an Instructor for several BLS classes as well as a First Aid Station Team Leader. At 29 she returned to Sitka and the Sheldon Jackson College to pursue her teaching degree. There she met her soon to be husband David in a Computer Programming class. This was her first experience with an Open Entry-Self Teaching system and thus began her devotion to computers, Adult Education, Distance Learning, Virtual Teaching, and the aforementioned cute ex-Marine who sat in front of her.

In her thirties she received her BA degree in Education, and continued on in the Early Childhood Field as the Assistant Director of Betty Eliason, and then as Director of Head Start. She continued her volunteer work with the American Red Cross as an instructor and supported community theatre as the Director of the Youth Drama Program. David proposed on a crystal musical unicorn, appropriately while they were both acting in The Taming of The Shrew. In a Medieval ceremony he swore on the sword to give life long love and protection while she swore devotion and obedience. With her husband she began volunteering with the Alaska Raptor Rehabilitation Center, first as a feeder, then as an Owl and Eagle Handler. Eventually her volunteer work with The Center led her to take the job as the Education Program Director. The world wide demand for Raptor Education kept her pursuit of computers, BBS systems and Networked computers in the learning forefront.

12 years later Elaine and David can still be found on the island of Sitka. Their home is ruled by a 24 toed snow-cat named Anne Boleyn and an 11" tailed juvenile iguana Iggy. David volunteers on the Search and Rescue team and works for the Harrigon Centennial Hall. Elaine works for the University of Alaska-Sitka Campus as Computer Faculty teaching several Distance Delivery - Flex classes via the Virtual Classroom located on her web site: Shui Long's Cavern.This fall she directed the Alaska Day Melodrama The Saloonkeeper's Daughter. This spring she will be the Technical Director/Workshop Coordinator for Shakespeare's (oh we do love The Bard) Much Ado About Nothing produced by the Sitka Baranof Theatre Guild. She also owns and runs the Perfect Ten Salon. She continues to teach Basic Life Support classes for SEARHC Hospital/UAS CNA certification program and American Red Cross classes for the Community Schools program where her personal experiences with everything from food poisoning in an Ashkabad Yurta to performing CPR while traveling on a jet make for dramatic classes.

Where ever there is Shakespeare, Chocolate and Coffee, or the newest innovations in Cyberspace, Elaine can be found. Her eyes are hazel, her hair color changes with the seasons, her nails are always long, she continues work on a 20 year Master Tattoo, and the rest is subject to change without notice.

SLC