Tiff
interviewed herself earlier this week and invited other's to do the same. Here is my interview. I omitted a few questions I couldn't answer relatively quickly.
What characteristic do you strive for most?Balance. When I moved back to New York a couple of years ago a close friend told me I seemed more "zened out". I wasn't completely sure what
she meant by that but I know I am happiest when work, home, family, social, physical and spiritual worlds achieve that delicate equilibrium of contentment.
How do you treat a headache?A Diet Dr Pepper (or Coke Zero or Diet Coke, in that order) and 2 Excedrin
How do you think birth order affected you as a child?
Obviously it taught me to be the responsible leader I am today and not the despot of terror described by my younger siblings.
What’s your worst habit?
Eating when I'm not hungry. Shoot, I might be doing that right now, but Quakes rice snacks don't count, right?
What is your biggest regret?
There is the obvious one of the failed marriage in my very early 20s which is tinged with regret from the start. But I am not sure I would term that my biggest regret since it is so far in my past and mostly (mostly) forgotten. I think my biggest regret is more tangentially related to that episode - having my college years hijaked by a situation that buried my spirit and stole what should have been much happier years.
What are you most proud of?My career. I know I didn't do it completely on my own but I certainly did not have the advantages of advice and tutors and monetary support the majority of my co-workers appeared to have in their climb to a similar position. I had the more important emotional support from a family that believes I can be anything.
What are you good at?Making red velvet cake, chocolate chip cookies and brownies. I also believe I make a good friend.
What are you bad at?This is a significantly longer list that should probably be topped with singing. I wish I could.
What is spiritual to you?
Family, intimate relationships that no longer require explanations, music, nature. Specifically, my most spiritual moments occur when I am alone in nature - sitting on a rock watching the ocean (or a river, stream, etc); hiking the trail to Crystal Falls (I think that is what it is called) on Cedar Mountain; sitting at the top of the Summit lift at Solitude gathering courage to stand up on my board as I feel the contrast of a bright sun dancing on the snow and sharp air being drawn into my lungs; swinging in a hammock with the dewy air pressing on my skin with the constant buzz of unidentifiable creatures along with the occasional shriek of a howler monkey in the rain forests of Costa Rica . . . you get the idea.
What is depressing to you?
Disloyalty, betrayal, exclusion. Oh and my body that has decided to prove to me that "in your 30s" really is not the same as "in your 20s" no matter my state of mind.
If you could change only one thing about the world, what would it be?
I would make it safer to travel through, which obviously means eliminating war, rape, muggings, violence, etc.
You have a time machine and can go back to change one decision in your life. What is it?
I guess I would choose not to get married at 20. Of course, then I wonder what good and positive things I would have missed because I would have ended upon an entirely different path. Maybe I never would have ended up where I am now if I hadn't made the decision to get married, transfered schools and then divorced. Would I have gained the same toughness that helped me push to where I am now?
