Let's see.. you want to know about me. I find that rather curious, since if you found this page there is an 80% chance that you know me already, and a 100% chance that you know OF me. Oh well...
Yes, my name is really Henry Seeto. I graduated from Upper Canada College (Orr's House!) in 1999, with an IB Diploma. Right now, I'm completing my fourth year of my B.A.Sc. at the University of Toronto in the Engineering Science program. I did my professional experience year from between my third and fourth academic years at Texas Instruments, at the SDS Toronto office. That means that I'll be graduating in the year 2004 now, since my official designation would be 0T3+PEY (PEY being Professional Experience Year).
Music is a big part of my life. As you saw from the index page, I love classical music. I've been playing the piano for most of my life, and I completed my RCM Grade 10 Piano in 1998. I tried a few other instruments too; I was a percussionist throughout high school (specializing in the keyboard instruments, of course) and I played some violin in middle school. I also sing quite a bit; I've been in every school choir since I was in Grade 3, and I sung in the UCC Singers throughout high school. Right now, I'm a Tenor I in the Hart House Singers. I was in the Chorus first year, which is a smaller (and better!) singing group, but I'm too lazy to audition to get in any more :-p
I worked at the Ontario Science Center as a Counsellor at OSCamp in the summer of '99, although I've been volunteering there since 1997. Kids are so fun to be around.. it sure makes me think that I was just like that less than ten years ago. Someone told me that was when OSCamp was founded, although I don't think that's true. I have vague memories of attending as a camper when I was younger.. I think? Hello to any OSCamp people reading this!
In the summer of 2000 I was working at Atomic Energy of Canada Limited, but I was working for the Deep River Science Academy, a not for profit program which is intended for high school students to receive cooperative and academic science credits doing real research with real scientists. It really is a great program for high school students thinking about a career in science or engineering.. if I had known about it when I was younger, I would have applied. And they give you Ontario academic credits too, so there's an added bonus if you're from Ontario.
Last year, 2001, I worked at a medical software firm called Benetech, doing mostly programming in Visual C++. I also worked part time for a startup company called Intelligene (this link is probably dead!) run by a classmate in my option, doing yet more programming. I am very grateful for the programming experience that these two jobs gave me... without them I don't think I would have gotten the interview with TI Toronto, where I am programming once again in VC++.
I think it was in the fall term of 2001, at the beginning of third year, that I really started to mature. I recalled how, as a frosh or even as a second year, I would look up to and respect the "upper years" and see them as role models. When I started third year, I realised that I am now older than half of all the people around me, and that surely some of them would be looking at me the same way I looked at my elders when I was younger. That really struck a chord inside me, and it was that moment that I started to make a concerted effort to try to set a good example for the people around me. I owed it to the frosh below me, and I owed it to myself, to not be as niave and carefree as I was before... at least when I am supposed to be :-p
Another reason for this change of feeling was an experience with a former friend of mine. My friends, and some of the engscis, probably know who I'm talking about... my engsci friends I'm sure definitely do. I guess I am grateful that I had to learn the lesson relatively early in my life, rather than later. I truly hope that this will be the last time this sort of thing ever happens to me... at least I'll be much more vigilant for it in the future.
What do I do in my spare time? Well, I update this homepage (once in a blue moon), and I watch a ton of Star Trek. I caught every episode of TNG, DS9, and VOY (The Next Generation , Deep Space Nine, and Voyager for you non-trekkies out there.. I know you exist :p) and I definitely watch Enterprise every week too. Science Fiction really does inspire the imagination, and I strongly believe that there is life - intelligent life - outside our solar system. The universe is too big for the converse to be true. Of course it's pretty unlikely that I'll be alive when humans do make contact with aliens, considering that humans.. er.. homo sapiens have been waiting for more than 40 000 years, and there's no way I'm living past 200. But then, with medical technology growing at an exponential rate... OK, that's enough rambling on this subject.
I also consider myself a fan of Friends, a sitcom about a group of friends (duh) who just have fun and behave like friends should... having fun together, being there for each other when needed, and in general knowing each other better than they know themselves. It's not just a normal sitcom where predictable characters make lame jokes and receive caged laughter... I feel that the series is a model for how people should and actually do behave. In fact, many of the situations are so realistic that the show almost serves as an extra set of life experiences to refer to... and the more experiences you have, the more ready you will be to face life. So there ya go... watch the show sometime, and you'll see what I mean ;-)
On to some personality quirks. I actually find that I'm usually pretty talkative when I'm with just one person... I can't stand a silence unless I don't know the person at all, or I know them so well that they can almost read my thoughts. However, I'm almost always intimidated by groups of people. I guess somewhere inside I feel like what I have to say isn't as important as what someone else could be saying, and I really hate to interrupt others. The result is that I sometimes feel like I'm standing on the sidelines, observing... which is always a great way to learn about other people anyways. I guess that means I'm introverted, although I would never admit that if asked. I think I've learned to control these feelings for the most part now, but inside I'm still a pretty shy person.
I think that's enough information I care to publish on an Internet site. If you want to find out more, you'll have to get to know me better :-) Since you've read this far, I would really appreciate it if you sign my guestbook, to let me know that you've been here. Sign my guestbook! :-p