6 AM. Exercise to NPR. A 2.5-mile walk/jog in the park. A bracing
shower. French press coffee. The New York Times. That’s the way I
like to start my day.
Professionally, I am a grant writer and project manager in medical education. I recently earned a masters in public health, and loved being back in the classroom, working on projects in NYC, writing papers, and co-teaching a class in public health on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. Now, post-MPH, I am still taking classes—in salsa, that is. I may not be making a career out of dance (!) but it’s stimulating to keep on learning new things.
Before my current career, I was in the glamorous field of trade publishing, and in the pre-Internet days, even worked for a year at Rolling Stone. That small fact makes my kids’ friends think I am uber-cool, but don’t be too impressed; it wasn’t for very long and was so long ago it doesn’t make it to the resume. It was great fun to read manuscripts and find the needle in the haystack that actually ended up between hard (or paperback) covers. But the world changed, the industry shrank, and I responded by reinventing myself.
My work life defines part of me, and gives you an idea of my work ethic and value of education. But all work and no play makes one very dull—and very limited indeed. My family and friends are central to my life and I’d know no happiness without them. My kids are in their twenties, finding their paths in life. I have good relationships with them, and I’m thrilled they get along with each other. They seem to have escaped the sibling rivalry that can really destroy peace in the home.
I have friends from just about every segment of my life from high school on. I connect the old with the new, and as I weave new people into my life, I enjoy introducing my friends to one another. There’s no better place to do that than at my table, and I will cook up a soup-to-nuts meal where I can bring us all together. I celebrate Shabbat and have tremendous
satisfaction from sitting at my oversized table, by the glow of candles, with friends and family drinking wine and having a sumptuous feast while discussing topics ranging from the days of the patriarchs to current headlines. Talk. Eat. Sing. And sometimes, Bananagrams. Ain’t nothing better for a Friday night.
A signature fact of my life is that I grew up on a farm. That was fine ‘til I was about 8 years old. Then it was just too dull. Maybe it was listening to Broadway show tunes on the radio. Maybe it was watching Judy Garland in a sequined gown on the Ed Sullivan Show. Maybe it was looking at the spreads in Life magazine and realizing there was a great big world out there. Whatever it was, I knew I needed to get out of Dodge and find the bright lights of the big city. As a result, I can’t seem to have too much entertainment. Movies, shows, dramas, museums, lectures, music in any venue, alone or with friends—bring it on!
As much as I soak up socializing and entertainment, I confess to a lifelong love of reading. The last few books I’ve read include The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (David Mitchell), Wild (Strayed), In the Shadow of the Banyan (Veddey), Unorthodox (Feldman), and Beautiful Ruins (Walter). I read mostly fiction, and seek out contemporary works that have generated positive reviews along with the occasional classic piece.
So much for the Self Summary. I’ll save other details for a real life give-and-take conversation.
Professionally, I am a grant writer and project manager in medical education. I recently earned a masters in public health, and loved being back in the classroom, working on projects in NYC, writing papers, and co-teaching a class in public health on an Indian reservation in North Dakota. Now, post-MPH, I am still taking classes—in salsa, that is. I may not be making a career out of dance (!) but it’s stimulating to keep on learning new things.
Before my current career, I was in the glamorous field of trade publishing, and in the pre-Internet days, even worked for a year at Rolling Stone. That small fact makes my kids’ friends think I am uber-cool, but don’t be too impressed; it wasn’t for very long and was so long ago it doesn’t make it to the resume. It was great fun to read manuscripts and find the needle in the haystack that actually ended up between hard (or paperback) covers. But the world changed, the industry shrank, and I responded by reinventing myself.
My work life defines part of me, and gives you an idea of my work ethic and value of education. But all work and no play makes one very dull—and very limited indeed. My family and friends are central to my life and I’d know no happiness without them. My kids are in their twenties, finding their paths in life. I have good relationships with them, and I’m thrilled they get along with each other. They seem to have escaped the sibling rivalry that can really destroy peace in the home.
I have friends from just about every segment of my life from high school on. I connect the old with the new, and as I weave new people into my life, I enjoy introducing my friends to one another. There’s no better place to do that than at my table, and I will cook up a soup-to-nuts meal where I can bring us all together. I celebrate Shabbat and have tremendous
satisfaction from sitting at my oversized table, by the glow of candles, with friends and family drinking wine and having a sumptuous feast while discussing topics ranging from the days of the patriarchs to current headlines. Talk. Eat. Sing. And sometimes, Bananagrams. Ain’t nothing better for a Friday night.
A signature fact of my life is that I grew up on a farm. That was fine ‘til I was about 8 years old. Then it was just too dull. Maybe it was listening to Broadway show tunes on the radio. Maybe it was watching Judy Garland in a sequined gown on the Ed Sullivan Show. Maybe it was looking at the spreads in Life magazine and realizing there was a great big world out there. Whatever it was, I knew I needed to get out of Dodge and find the bright lights of the big city. As a result, I can’t seem to have too much entertainment. Movies, shows, dramas, museums, lectures, music in any venue, alone or with friends—bring it on!
As much as I soak up socializing and entertainment, I confess to a lifelong love of reading. The last few books I’ve read include The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet (David Mitchell), Wild (Strayed), In the Shadow of the Banyan (Veddey), Unorthodox (Feldman), and Beautiful Ruins (Walter). I read mostly fiction, and seek out contemporary works that have generated positive reviews along with the occasional classic piece.
So much for the Self Summary. I’ll save other details for a real life give-and-take conversation.
