Hello! As I said before, my name is Katie Zajdel. I live in the beautiful town of Caledonia, Wisconsin, USA, and I'm 21. I graduated from Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne, Florida, with a bachelor's degree in Space Sciences.
I enjoy stargazing, drawing, using computers, watching TV, traveling, and horseback riding.

Here's me, my sister, and two of my cousins having fun at my grandma's house.
And another.

How much do you really want to know about me? <eg> You can check out my Weird Calculations page, the result of when I got bored and tried to calculate my wavelength while walking. It's full of stuff like that (or will be soon).  (under major construction and double-checking)

Interests/Hobbies

• I love animals. My family and I have three cats, a dog, and a horse.

This was my horse Digger. He was a Welsh pony with some Shetland in him and he was about 14 hands tall. I had him for about 9 years before he died somewhere around 35 to 40 years old. He was the gentlest, sweetest horse I have ever met, and also one of the most patient, having to deal with me as a young new rider. He still is sorely missed.

This is my mom's horse Impatient Dreamer, or Dreamer for short. He's an Appaloosa with just a touch of Thoroughbred (his lineage even goes back to Man o'War). He's 21 years old and is still going strong.    (photos by Mary Scheive)

These are our cats, He Who, Padawan, and Maggie. He Who (or Who Boy) belongs to my sister, and is shown on the left. He's grey and thirteen years old. Padawan, in the center, is my cat. I got him September 4, 1999 after moving into an apartment at school. He looks a lot like Boy except for his face. He's two years old now. His name comes from Star Wars--a padawan is a Jedi apprentice. Finally, on the right, is Maggie, a year-old kitten that wandered in on December 18, 1999 as a stray. This gorgeous kitten is the only cat who will play with the dog.
 
 

This is Kola, our German Shepherd puppy. She was born March 9, 1999. She took beginning obedience class and is now doing basic agility since she climbs everything in sight. She loves her skeekie, fleece toys, frisbees, Kong, and bubbles.

This is the part of the page I wish I didn't have. It's dedicated to the pets that have (more or less recently) passed beyond.
I miss you guys.
 
 

This is Mixer. She's the cat that I was able to call "mine" the longest.   I got her on my birthday in 1987 following the rather sudden death   of my first cat, Puff. I'd always wanted a calico, and I even had   her name picked out ahead of time. She helped me get through some   of the hardest and best days of my life, and was almost like a   younger sister. She died on August 23, 2000, almost thirteen years   old.

 

Cream Puff (not Puff, as mentioned in Mixer's bio), or Binky as I sometimes called her (to her chagrin, I'm sure) was white and grey. She was a stray that arrived right about the time I graduated 8th grade. She was a loner, and wouldn't stay inside the house too long, especially if it was nice outside. She died Thanksgiving weekend, 1998.

 

Our parakeet, Cosmic, was about 7 years old. He was mostly blue with a   yellow head, and loved to talk. Among his many phrases were, "What's up,  Cos?" "Hey dude," "Cos dude," "How are you?" "Hi Cos," and "Bless you."   He also loved to land on Mixer and just sit on her until she rolled over to get   him off. Cosmic died April 28, 2000.

• I collect and show model horses.

• I was a member of Civil Air Patrol, a noncombatant auxiliary of the U.S. Air Force.

• I listen to country music.

My favorite station is WMIL FM 106.1. Also, check out Country Music Television (CMT). My favorite song is Standing Outside the Fire by Garth Brooks (who is also my favorite artist). Other songs by Garth that I really like are The Dance, The River, Two Pina Coladas, When There's No One Around, The Change, and Learning to Live Again. Another favorite artist is Collin Raye. Favorite songs by him are Not That Different, I Can Still Feel You, The Gift, The Time Machine, and If I Were You.

Here's a link to a RealAudio file of a really fun song, Drink, Swear, Steal, and Lie by Michael Peterson.

Here's a link to a 30 second RealAudio clip of a song I love, Wish You Were Here by Mark Wills.

The Official Clay Walker page has QuickTime videos of some great songs, like My Heart Will Never Know, Dreaming With My Eyes Open, and Live Until I Die.

• As you may have already guessed, I love the space program and astronomy. 

Here's a picture of the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point fastpitch softball team's 1998 National Championship win. Way to go, Pointers!    Photo by Don Petersen, The Roanoke Times

This page last updated May 27, 2001.