About

About Me…

Hello, my name is Viet. If the name didn’t give it away, I’m of Vietnamese descent, but I was born in the United States on March 4th 1980. I currently hail atEl Monte, California. It’s about 20 minutes east of downtown Los Angeles. I lived here pretty much my entire life, and I haven’t been much anywhere else. Please don’t stalk me. My parents put me in private schools until I got to high school. El Monte High School isn’t really that big, but to me at the time was a huge transition. Then I went to college right after. I chose computer science for no particular reason, just something I thought I would understand and make a lot of money. After a few years of being frustrated and lacking motivation, I withdrew from college life. I tried other options but nothing really fleshed out. Eventually, I worked as a Quality Assurance Analyst for a video game company, Square-Enix. Although at the time it was known as Squaresoft. It was basically a get paid to play games job that I had on and off for two years (it was a temp position). After realizing I needed more out of life, I went back to school.

I went back to the same university I started with, Cal State Polytechnic University – Pomona, with the same major. I graduated with a B.S. in computer science in 2006.

I don’t have any particular talents or extensive knowledge about anything. I have interests in a great many things, and I always give an effort to try to learn things. My problem is I don’t have the drive to really delve into anything deeply. I have many hobbies in various fields. I’ve done web development, computer graphics/animation, electronic hardware modifications (like installing mod chips in game consoles :P ), building computers, setting up home theater systems, and I kinda play the piano. I suppose I’m pretty knowledgeable about computers, as I’m the one my friends always call for tech support, but I don’t know that much.

I guess my two greatest loves in life (not counting relationships) are video games and movies. If you know me, I’m a real game and movie freak. I have a collection of over 400 genuine DVDs, and almost every video game console. When I’m not working or out with my girlfriend, chances are I’m watching a movie or playing a game. I don’t really like TV much, but my favorite shows of old are Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Current favorites are Dexter, Battlestar Galactica, and Lost. I rarely read books, but I have enjoyed the Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter books. I tend to enjoy rock and instrumental music, and I tend to dislike pop and rap. I like some anime, but I wouldn’t say I’m a huge anime fan.

About ‘Vism’…
The name ‘Vism’ is the online persona I have used for the last 8 years or so. It originally came about from the video game, Street Fighter Alpha 3. On my first stint in college, I frequently went to the campus arcade to play it, and one of the fighting style options was called V-ism. So I adopted that as my screen name. Years pass, and I drop the dash. So it changed from “vee izz um” to “vizz um”. I haven’t really played a Street Fighter game since, but I stuck with it. It shares similarities with my real name, and is strange enough that many will probably not use it. But it sure pisses me off when I try to sign up for something online and “vism” is taken >:(.

Contact me at viet at vism dot net.