About Reality Rookie

Thanks for taking the time to check out my blog. I currently live in Atlanta, GA, but spent my formative years in New Zealand. I jumped on a plane and arrived in the U.S. a day after completing my final undergraduate exam, having met my American husband-to-be online a few years earlier in “World’s Chat” (for people in the know!).

I have a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, and a Masters Degree in Business Administration. Professionally, I currently reside in Corporate America, most recently with the job title of Market Intelligence Manager.

My first experience with virtual reality was in the 90’s, in a mall in New Zealand. A travelling exhibit allowed rookies such as myself to wear an enormous headset and shoot at poorly rendered figures. Besides being an ace shot, I remember being exhilarated and shaken by the experience. The barrier around the platform I was on could barely contain me, and I almost fell off several times. Although it was far from realistic, the experience had engaged me mentally and physically.

Fast forward around 20 years, and I finally connected with VR again. The weapons of choice were a cheap headset from Sharper Image with a Samsung Galaxy phone inserted. I was instantly planted into the middle of a deeply personal musical experience, involving U2 and Bjork, which left me both moved, and in awe of the advances in VR. I immediately wanted to articulate and share the experience to friends,  and pretty much instantly decided to sic my market intelligence and psychology skills onto the worlds of virtual, augmented and mixed reality.