What I like most about the Westside is... walking to LaBaguettte through the alley, entering through the backdoor, and bringing home a loaf of bread for dinner. Or sending my kids on that errand! I also just love that my kids can and do walk around to their friends’ houses and other local places. We have an amazing group of families in our neighborhood, and I’m so blessed to know them.
If I could change anything about the Westside, it would be... I’d like to see the drug-dealing houses gone. I’d also like to see a critical mass of folks to fight this new Kum & Go in the 2300 block of Colorado Avenue. Putting in a gas station/convenience store there is just a stupid idea.
A good movie I’ve seen recently is... “Sherlock.” It’s not really a movie, it’s a BBC series available on Netflix, but it’s so clever and amazing and British and everyone should watch it!
I'd like to discover... a way to instantly discover a child’s strengths and weaknesses without giving him/her a battery of tests.
If I could meet someone famous, I’d like to meet... Maria Montessori, and ask her what she thinks a Montessori education should look like in the 21st century.
The next time I travel, I’m going... in my dreams or in reality? In reality, I’m probably going to some hot springs in Colorado somewhere. In my dreams, I’m going to Istanbul.
My favorite childhood memory is... hanging out for the day on the Oregon Coast with my mom and my brother. We’d drive the hour and a half from Salem, get a package of bologna and a loaf of Wonderbread in Lincoln City, and my brother and I would spend the day on the beach, playing in the water and driftwood piles, eating sandy sandwiches.
My favorite summer pastime is... swimming at the Valley Swim Club with my friends and their families. It’s not the Pacific Ocean or a mountain lake, but it’s water!
Something good I’ve read is... “American Gods,” by Neil Gaiman. I also just read “The Beautiful and Damned,” by F. Scott Fitzgerald, which was exactly what the title says it was. Lovely and tragic. I’m planning on reading more Fitzgerald this summer.
My pet peeve is... people who don’t take the time to correct their grammar/ spelling/punctuation. I’ve been accused of being a “grammar nazi,” and I wear that badge proudly!
If I didn’t have to work for a year, I would... write more. Maybe try and publish a little chapbook of my poems. And try not to mess up my it’s and its!
Enjoy living on the Westside? You can tell the world why! Call our ‘Meet a Westsider’ editor at 471-6776.
