I grew up in North Carolina, in the Triangle area. People have a lot to say about the South and Southern states, but as far as I'm concerned, I'm quite happy have to been born and bred a Tarheel. I went to a small Quaker high school in Durham called Carolina Friends School - no, Quakers don't wear all black all the time (you're thinking of goths), or eat Oatmeal all day either. Don't even bother asking. My graduating class was around 22 students... it was a great experience.
I fell in love with the beautiful campus and so, I moved to California in '91 to go to UCSC. At Santa Cruz I went to Porter College, got involved with the Santa Cruz geek scene and then started working in Silicon Valley.