How do you want to retire?
While stepping away from grinding work sounds nice, I would love to have the time to get involved in helping people in other capacities that I currently don’t have time for due to work. it would also entail time in nature and finding involvement in community and connections.
What’s the one luxury you can’t live without?
Good quality food is something no good substitute exists for. You can’t put junk food in the tank and expect the same results.
What’s a job you would like to do for just one day?
I would love to do a new job everyday for at least 3 months. I could work with a cozy chef, garden in a paradise, design a landscape, help construct a home, perform with musicians, try various office jobs, be an athletic trainer, help people who just need someone to listen, teach a class to adults, work on a luxury cruise ship, be a tour guide, help arrange a wedding party, design jewelry, learn traditional crafting skills from around the world that maintain a preservation of the past, be a storyteller, take care of animals, and whatever other odd jobs that come up.
What makes you laugh?
Being in love for the first time at age 36, I think a stick on the ground could make me laugh!
How often do you say “no” to things that would interfere with your goals?
I have been saying “no” a lot more recently just to start setting boundaries for my own needs. If my goal is rest, I can keep it so. If I’m full of energy, I can help others until I feel the need to stop and say no. I don’t want to feel obligated to help, but to do it with joy when I can.
What is your favorite type of weather?
Weather that is changing is the most fascinating. I have always been excited when odd cloud arrangements created the most unusual lighting, like lighting from the north or even the sudden illumination from lightning. As kids, we’d love running around outside in the pre-storm breeze smelling petrichor. Strange shapes in the clouds or the tension building before a storm really hits are lovely anomalies. Morning sun off an ice coated landscape with trees creaking or and plants reaching to the ground in unnatural ways is like a rare treat to be appreciated. A nice summer day is well and all, but sometimes I want something unexpected and different.
Who was your most influential teacher? Why?
My high school English teacher Mr. Ball cut no corners and challenged me greatly in my writing, grammatical understanding, language use, and influential reading. He was essentially a college-grade instructor who had a take-no-crap attitude but also allowed us more freedom as we took on higher responsibility. He also taught us about the violent fun of the children’s game “crack the whip”, accidentally hit a student with a candy bar, and eloquently let the lawn mower know what he thought of him mowing during school hours.
What tattoo do you want and where would you put it?
I love going to Japanese hot springs too much to get a tattoo. My skin looks good already, and most hot springs in Japan do not allow people with tattoos in due to their cultural connection to the yakuza/ organized crime.
What is one word that describes you?
First word that came to mind.
You’re going on a cross-country trip. Airplane, train, bus, car, or bike?
I would love to bike across the country! Hopefully it is a scenic path, or I can put it on the car for an occasional rest.
I had a green bike in Japan named Charlie-kun which was my main mode of transportation when not on a train or bus. There’s a lot of freedom with bikes and more time to pull over for excursions & to breathe in the fresh air. Charlie-kun may also have enjoyed the freedom while rolling down slopes into rice patties. I joked that Charlie-kun was my boyfriend whom I wouldn’t let in the house and I made him sleep outside.
Mauron Kur 