Vital Statistics

Full Name:  Stephanie Jean Seto
Birthdate:  September 9, 1970
Ethnicity:  Chinese
Height:  155 cm or 5 ft. 1 in.
Weight:  57 kg or 125 lb.
Eyes:  Brown
Hair:  Black
Residence:  Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Occupation:  Optician
Marital Status:  Single

 

My Life So Far...

I was born in Vancouver, BC, Canada.  I was somewhat of a surprise to my parents because I was born relatively late in their lives - they were both in their forties, my brother was 17 at the time and my sister almost 20.  My mother had been told by her doctor that she couldn't have any more children, so I guess you could say I was something of a long shot.

Up until the fourth grade I attended a school that was close to where my aunt lived so that she could take care of me after school while my parents were hard at work, seven days a week,  at the Oriental gift store which they own and operate to this day.  In the fourth grade I transferred to a school closer to home, since I was deemed old enough to take care of myself after school.

In 1980 my sister, Suzanna, 29 at the time, was murdered while out of town on a business trip, by an intruder who broke into her motel room at night.  Thankfully, the man who committed the murder was caught 3 years later and sent to prison.  I can't fully describe in a single paragraph the pain and grief that the experience caused.  Not only was Suzanna gone forever, but the world suddenly seemed a much more cruel and dangerous place.  I was 9 at the time, and I regret that I never really got to know her as well as I would have liked.  My parents became very protective of me, the youngest child, to the point of paranoia.  It made growing up more difficult than it already was, although now that I'm older I think I can begin to understand the effect that losing a daughter must have had on them.

At the same time I was going through school I also managed to struggle through 12 years of piano lessons.  I complained about them constantly but I'm glad now that my parents put me through them.  I graduated from Eric Hamber Secondary in 1988 with good, though not great, grades, and went straight to the University of B.C., where I eventually graduated with a B.A. in Psychology in 1992.

School was something I couldn't wait to leave behind.  Academically I was successful enough, but I felt a lack of purpose, because I had no idea what I wanted to do afterwards.  Being naturally introverted and at times painfully shy, socializing and making friends was always difficult for me.  There was very little in general that I cared about.  Looking back at those years now, it almost seems as if I sleepwalked through my life until I was 22.

After graduating from U.B.C. I got a job working in the sheet music department at a local music store.  It was notable because it was my first full-time permanent position, and because for the first time in my life I was enjoying myself.  My work wasn't terribly important, and the pay wasn't great, but I enjoyed what I did, and actually looked forward to the next day.  What a concept!  Some of my co-workers became good friends, and a hole in my life that I hadn't realized existed was filled.  I don't think I really started living until I got that job.

During this time I also moved out of my parents' house into a condominium they helped me buy.  Well, actually it was more like me helping them (I'm pretty lucky and I know it).  I live by myself - no roommates, no boyfriend, no pets, just me.  And I must say I rather like it.  Not that I don't want a boyfriend, but at the same time it's nice to have the place to myself.

After 4 years working retail, however, I wanted to do something more with my life. In 1996 I decided to enroll in a 2-year Dispensing Optician program at a community college.  This time around, school was a much more positive experience, since I was there by my own choice and I knew that my studies would lead to a goal that I wanted.

At the end of the first year, I did my practicum at a North Vancouver optometry clinic.  At the end of the practicum I was hired, and I have been working at the clinic ever since, more or less happily.  Or at least as happily as a morose person like myself can be under the circumstances.