Kellogg's Korner

I am the second son of Jacquelyn Sanderson and the First Son of Glenn Kellogg. I was born on January 20, 1978 in Oregon. At the Age of two, my mother was remarried to Keith Hall, An engineer in the U.S. Navy. As such I spent much of my life moving from state to state.

My brother, Mitchell, and I we raised in a good Christian house hold. Growing up, we attended church every Wednesday and Sunday.

I began to attend school when we lived in San Diego, CA. I was held back in the second grade we lived in Chicago, IL. I finished my Grammar school and Jr. High years in Long Beach, CA. And this is where my Life really started. I had many ups and downs through the years, and many people have helped make me who I am today. In the 4th or 5th Grade, I attended Taper Ave. School. There I meet my First real friend, John. The few years that I knew John we were always together, getting each other in and out of trouble. He was one of the worst influences in my life. Or was I a bad influence on him? It’s hard to remember now which one of us cam up with some of our ideas.

I remember we began to shop-lift form one of the local stores. We stole some of the stupidest stuff. But we were only kids. We had stolen complete collections of baseball cards, paper for playing games with, and other useless stuff that our parents would have bought for us if we asked. I think we did it for the thrill back then. We could get away with is so we did. The only thing that got me in trouble about it was the fact that I am a lousy liar. Or was it I was too good a thief? I could not come up with a story to explain how I got 4 full box sets of Upper Deck Baseball cards.

Those were also the years I began to play table top Role Playing Games. My biological Father introduces my brother and me to Dudgeons and Dragons. When my mother found that we were playing this “Evil Game” that included magic Demons, she put an end to us playing it (or so she thought). She allowed us to play and RPG that did not include magic. We found ways around that. When I was in Jr. High, my brother and I were introduces to the Palladium Role Playing games by one of his friends. We played characters based on comic book super heroes. And we had fun doing that for years. RPGs were my first introduction to Paganism, and a gateway into my Wiccan years.

Through out Jr. High I studies Wicca in secrecy. I did a good job of hiding all the books and such that I found to work with, many of which I had stolen from stores. One Christmas my parents bought us water beds. There was a crawl space under the bed where I hid all my pagan goods and materials.

During my second year in Jr. High, I was placed in group counseling. They did this because I was stealing and skipping school. At that time I was barely squeaking by. Sure on the state tests I scored High, but school grades worked off of doing my home work, which I never did. This was a habit that fallowed me through High School.

In Group Counseling I meet the first girl I ever had a crush on, Victoria. I followed he around like a puppy dog. She was my only reason for going to class each day. After that I never missed a day of school. During this time I was still studding the craft. That Christmas was a hard one for me. I was isolating myself from my family, in a deep depression. I spent those nights crying myself to sleep. A Christmas card I had gotten from Vicky and my old puppet dog from when I was two, were my only comfort. The thought of that year still makes me sad. I think that is when I stopped really enjoying Christmas.

That next year was the last one we lived in California. From there we moved to Stafford, VA. Mitch had graduated from High school, and I was just starting. The first two years in Stafford I did not make many friends. I just wanted to be alone in my depression. I had become a Goth, lover of the night. I was craving everything dark and frightening. I would do anything to make my hart race. The next few years are a blur of depression and trying to escape form my live. My life was good; I had everything I ever needed, but I wanted to get way. I was such a fool. I tried to run away from home several times. I even began to cut myself. Once my parents even took me to a physiatrist, and found that it would not do anything for me. I did not want to open up; I did not want the help. I was dooming myself. I had stolen my parent’s truck to run away, to where I still don’t know. I was trying to go back to Vicki. I was arrested after totaling the truck. I was released into my parent’s custody and sentenced to community service. I had given up my driver’s license.

By my sensor year, I was an ordained pagan High priest, and leader of a local Coven. I was still as self destructive as ever. A few months before I graduated, I left home and stopped going to school. I was living on the streets. Now that I look back on this, I don’t know why I left. My mother did all she could to make sure I still graduated. After graduating, I moved in with a family, their oldest daughter was a friend of mine. Her name was Jennifer. We were both young and dumb. Her parents instantly hated me. New I can understand why, I was the worst mistake she ever made. We fell for each other in the short time we were together, but her parents did everything they could to get rid of me. They ended up getting me into the Army, which may have been the best thing they would have done.

I joined the army as an Information Systems Analyst. Before joining the army, everything I know about computers I learned on my own. I learned a lot more about computers in the military training. During my time in training, I stayed in touch with Jennifer. We had made what we thought would be a lasting relationship. In the middle of my training I was able to go back to Virginia to visit my parents and Jennifer. After that visit I was told by Jennifer that her parents would not allow us to see each other. I was enraged about this. I burned and destroyed everything I had that reminded me of Jenifer. I even tried to get in touch with Vicki again. I started to visit chat rooms and meet people on the Internet. I created a virtual life, with friend like BitterSweet and Peaches. But the chat room life is short lived for most. It lasted about five months for me.

After my training was finished I was station at Fort Rucker, AL. I worked as a network security technician. I learned so much about hacking and network security working with them, I think that is where I learned most of what made me the computer tech that I am today. While I was there I got myself into money problems, writing bad checks and such.

In 1998 the best thing to ever happen came into my life. Her name is Teresa. I had responded to a personal add on Yahoo.com. She pulled me out of the years of depression I was in, made me look away for the Paganism and Goth ways. She made me see a light I had not seen in a long time. While we were first together I had no car. Teresa and her mother came to pick me up at a Taco Bell the first time we meet. I was still in the Goth faze and warring all black. We went back to her place. She had this cat named Booboo, who instantly liked me. That was the day I learned I was allergic to cat fur. I instantly fell in love with her. That night when I got back to the Barracks I wrote her a letter Professing my love.

Teresa and her family helped me get my first car, an ’88 Chevy LUV. This thing was a rust bucket; the truth is it was not fit for the road. I bought it from another soldier on post. After getting the truck I spent every day I could driving out to see her. A few months later I was send out to Fort Gordon, GA to get some training on new equipment that we were fielding at Fort Rucker. While on that trip I wrote the bad check the broke my first Military enlistment. I was put out of the army in July 1999 for frailer to manage my money. One of my trips out to see Teresa I flipped over my LUV, and totaled it.

Even with no job, Teresa stood by me. We got married on July 10, 1999, shortly after that I got a job working at a go-kart factory in Brundidge, AL. Early in the year 2000 I got a job at Troy State University as the Distance Learning Center Web Coordinator. When I first started working there, everyone loved my work and the place was a wonderful work environment. Not even a year later almost all my coworkers had changed. Things were going well, I like my job, Teresa was pregnant. We were even looking to buy a house. Shortly after that, I was later fired for what I thought was part of my job. I was testing some software for file sharing over the internet. The University was contacted about the software being use one their network and they terminated my employment for “Violations of University Computer Usage Policy”. I still miss that job some times.

I worked at the Veneer mill that my father-in-Law worked at, shuffling veneer. That was the biggest step down I had ever taken. I had to find a better way to provide for her and my coming child. I rejoined the army, it took me 3 months to get all the paper work to counter act my discharge. We bought a car for me to get to where I needed to go for the army. Angel was born on September 8, 2001; I went back on active duty shortly after September 11, 2001. I was stationed at Fort Hood, TX, Teresa and Angel Stayed in Alabama so Teresa to finish collage. In 2002 Teresa graduated top of her class, from Troy State University, with a degree in Print Journalism and Advertising.

While I was at Fort Hood, Teresa and I had some hard times. She moved back and forth between Fort Hood and Alabama, spending most of her time in Alabama. While I was at Fort Hood I meet what is now one of my best friends, maybe my only friend besides Teresa, Dave. He was in my Unit, 2BN 227 AVN REG. I had an accident, and my car was put in the shop. Dave gave me a ride to and from work. We really hit it off.

Without Teresa at my side I slipped back into Paganism, and got back into many of my bad habits. I was not doing well managing our money and found myself with no funds and a negative bank account many times. Dave and I spend much time together. I won’t go into Dave’s problems, but everyone has their own problems.

In 2004 I started playing Final Fantasy XI Online; this is one vice I still have today. That same year I deployed to Iraq. Before I left Teresa and I did not part on good terms. While I was gone, both Teresa and I realized what we had, and how much we need one another. When I returned from my year in Iraq, we decided to never be apart again. I transferred to Ft, Gordon, GA, and became an instructor. I found myself ignoring Teresa and Angel to play FFXI. It was my escape, the way I learned to deal with stress in Iraq. I tried to quit, but when I was not playing I was miserable. So I kept going back to it.

Teresa and I had a second daughter, Dannan, on November 30, 2006. Teresa suffered from post-partum depression, we went to a consoler, and she voiced her opinion of my paying FFXI. Now I have found a delicate balance between my family, work, and playing games. This balance often tips to one side or the other, but I try and keep everything and everyone happy.

I am turning 30 this year; one third of my life has past. Looking back on these many years, I see what a fool I have been, and what a great life I have had. I have made many mistakes, I have hurt many people. With it all behind me, I don’t think I would have done anything different given the chance, for fear I would not have what I do today. I would give up everything I could have had in any other life to have what I do now. I have the most wonderful wife and two awesome daughters.

Life is good, better than gold. Look at what you have now, and think of what you could lose. Embrace it now, while it is in read.

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