Lunchables- Laura T!

It would be so easy for me to just interview members of Big Brothers Big Sisters or the Big Alliance. There are some great people there, and I expect that I will introduce you all to many of them! This week I'm bringing you the crowning jewel of our wonderful organization!

Laura T!

Occupation: Awesome staff member at Big Brothers
How I met her: Like I said, she's an awesome staff member for BBBSU. She invited me to my first Big A event. I think we've talked at least once a week every week since then!
Lunchables location: Cheesecake Factory


Since Laura is also a Big Sister, and completely dedicated to the program, I thought it would be fun to bring along Little for the interview. My questions are in black, Little's in purple.



What is your favorite past-time?
She loves to go camping with her boyfriend, Matt. And there's nothing better than reading a book and sitting in the sun, just enjoying the quiet. When not camping, she likes to spend time in the garden (and now I know who to have come help me next spring).

Shoes or heels? 
Neither! Flats or flip flops. (Sidenote: I was with her yesterday in a mountain town, where the temperatures were far below 50 degrees. I was wearing thick socks and boots. She was in flip flops.)

What are you passionate about?
Prepare yourselves folks for absolutely the best answer ever given.
"Nothing really."
And then with a little prying she very passionately spoke for twenty minutes about the things she cares about. I learned so much about her during this time. It was fantastic!
Laura, like so many of us, thought she would go into politics. Her studies in college had her heading that direction. She wanted to be involved in something influential- or even be influential herself someday. But then during 2006 as the events at Guantanamo Bay unfolded she found herself becoming very disappointed and upset with politicians, and even in her friends who didn't care more. To put it mildly, she was very upset that more people didn't care about the lies that were told and the tortures that took place. Her exact quote, "People are mean, and that's not right."
She realized that you can't change the world, because you can't change ideas. So she herself made some changes. It wasn't a change of heart- she still believed strongly in wanting to be a part of something important and something influential. Instead she made a change of plans and got involved with non-profit work.
And that is how she found herself working for Big Brothers Big Sisters!

What's your favorite thing to do with your Little?

Cooking!
Really? Erin and I don't cook together anymore since we almost caught the apartment on fire one time.

What is your favorite memory?
No one memory stands out, but every camping trip is amazing. "I hope to someday make a favorite memory."

How long have you been with Matt?

2 years

What defines you?
Ambition- wanting to help people. The drive to do good things.
Being kind to people is important!

What's your favorite color?

White

Define your relationship style?
"I'm a career girlfriend." Every relationship is long term and serious. When she's in it, she's in it!

Why aren't you married yet?
Laura is not your traditional Utah, let's get married at 20 years old, type of girl. In fact, she's almost as far from that as you can get. In her view, marriage is an outdated tradition, and she's not a fan. Anyone can perform a marriage, and it only takes an hour online to get a divorce. 
"You can spend twenty years with anybody if you try hard enough. Try sixty years! Its a lot harder!" Life spans used to be a lot shorter, therefore, marriages used to be a lot shorter. Marriages served a very different purpose then.
She's very happy with Matt. She also notes that between the two of them, their parents have been divorced 8 times.

How many types of bread can you name?

Russian, rye, jewish, wheat, white, sourdough, potato, glucose free, corn, pumpkin, cinnamon, "everything at great harvest," the tasty savory loaf, sesame, bagels, banana, zucchini, french, and homemade.


What I want to tell you about Laura
First, she's fantastic. She's fun, patient, smart, understanding, passionate, and puts her money where her mouth is. She knows how to have fun and how to be professional. She's pulled together a very talented group of people from nothing to create a very effective and influential organization in under a year. She doesn't just talk about wanting to make a difference. She doesn't just donate a few dollars here and there. She chooses to work and devote her life to being involved in what she believes in. You wouldn't expect that after spending all day working for Big Brothers Big Sisters that she would also want to volunteer her time for them as well. But no! She's also a Big Sister. This is a girl that really does "walk the walk and talk the talk."




And now I need to ask all my darling readers for help! Do you have a single friend in the SLC area that you think I should meet and interview? If so, let me know! I need more people!

Lunchables- Intern Kate

Welcome to our third Lunchables installment. I have to admit, I am LOVING doing these. Meeting interesting people and eating good food. What's not to love?

Intern Kate

If you are a country music fan in the Salt Lake City area, you may already be familiar with this week's lunch date. "Intern Kate" can be found on the Keith Stubbs' Show on 101.5 the Eagle in the mornings.

Current location: Salt Lake City

Occupation: Personal Assistant and budding radio personality

Lunchables location: Ruth's Diner in Emigration Canyon

How we know each other: Kate and I met each other via Twitter of all crazy places. Until our lunch date we had never met in person, but had exchanged several Twitters and emails. Now we are regular texting buddies and plan to get together for some fun single girl adventures soon!

Question #1- Favorite past-time

"Radio! Getting to go to concerts, country dancing, or just hanging out at the station!"

Kate is new to radio. If you think being on-air radio talent makes you rich and famous, guess again. Radio stations are all operated on shoestring budgets. But that hasn't kept Kate, a darling 30-something, from taking a leap of faith into pursuing what she loves. Believe it or not she is an unpaid intern, and is working there because she loves it. (She also has a full-time job as a personal assistant to a local businesswoman.) You can do Kate a favor and help her be even better at her internship by following @1015theeagle on Twitter! (She runs the account.)

Question #2- Passions!

No surprise here. The sweet and sensitive Kate says that she is passionate about her friends and family, and helping them out. She says it keeps her up at night worrying about other people's struggles. (Sounds like she's a wonderful friend to have!)

Oh and radio!

Question #3- What is your favorite memory?

"Spending time with my step-sisters. We would put on dance concerts for our parents, tape it, and watch it over and over again!"

Question #4- What defines you?

Kate took a very long pause and thought this one over before answering.

"Very spontaneous, something crazy, and taking road trips."

The next question is "give me 5 words that define your dating life." But here's what you need to know about Kate first. Not unlike some people I know, she's in her 30s, sick of dating, and yet hasn't given up all hope yet. She's recently started dating a great guy, and has even more recently begun referring to him as her boyfriend. It is all still so new to her I can't blame her for not knowing which answers to give. Kate with a Boyfriend answers? Or the Other Kate who is in her 30s and finds dating impossible?

After some debate, she went with Other Kate.

"Before I decided to let him be my boyfriend..."

1. Spontaneous

2. Willing to give someone a chance

3. Expecations

4. Random

5. Not superficial/very in-depth

And the best answer ever? "I once went to Canada for a first date [with a guy she met online]. Try explaining to Border Patrol that you don't know the guy's last name."

Question 6- Why aren't you married yet?

She busts up laughing. And keeps laughing.

"Because I haven't said yes!"

Now for the fun question- name as many types of cheese as you can think of in 1 minute-

Bleu, string, gorgonzola, goat, cottage, mozzarella, smoked, sharp, cream, and pepper jack!

What I want to tell you about Kate-

Asking a girl I had never met before out to lunch was a little intimidating. Like I said before, we had only communicated a few times via Twitter. (We're both "Due Westies.") We also exchanged a few emails regarding social media tips. No big deal. A few weeks ago she left a comment on my blog, which lead me to her blog, which lead me to the real her. As soon as I read her blog, Kiss Me Kate,  I knew we would get along. I've struggled a lot in Utah to find a single female friend who had never been married before, and has the same ideals and ambitions as me. In DC (and other places I have lived) this was never a problem for me. In Utah its ridiculously difficult to find!

Within just a few minutes of sitting down to eat (ooh, almost forgot- at the time we were both on the HCG diet. instead of moral support, we both completely encouraged each other to cheat. it was fun.) we were opening right up and talking about how hard it is to maintain our ideals and standards sometimes. We were both thrilled to discover a kindred spirit who understands the difficulties and challenges of the over-30 LDS dating world.

She is genuine and down to earth, and equally funny and adventurous. I tested her when she said she likes crazy adventures and road trips. (I was only half joking, and mostly serious.) We had known each other less than 30 minutes when I asked her if she wanted to take the gay bus to Wendover to see a Joan Jett concert. I knew we'd be great friends when she actually considered it for a minute, and then realized she had plans with her boyfriend. And then suggested I meet her boyfriend so that we could convince him to do some crazy things with us!

She's the real deal. If her awesome boyfriend doesn't step up to the plate (no rush, it is still a new relationship and all), I will personally go on a mission to find her the perfect man, if for no other reason than to get her off the playing field so that I can have a chance!

Lunchables- Steph H

Welcome to the first installment of what I predict is going to be my favorite segment on this new and improved blog. I'm calling it Lunchables. This is where I get to take out interesting and fun singles and interview them for the blog. Why am I doing it? Because I can. And because I think the world is full of interesting and fascinating people, and I want more people to know about them.

Our first Lunchables candidate is Steph H. For some of you, she's going to look familiar. After all, we've been friends for several years now, and back when we lived in the same state, she was a regular fixture on this blog. But now that we live in different states, and I never get to see her anymore.

Steph H.

Current location: Montana
Occupation: 911 operator
Lunch date location: California Pizza Kitchen, Salt Lake City
How I Know Her: I honestly have no idea. One day she was just a name I had heard of, the next we were friends for life.

I asked Steph some pretty straightforward interview questions regarding being single and about herself. But since she and I knew each other pretty dang well, I thought I'd make it a little more interesting by also providing what I predicted her answers to be. Answers in red are mine, black are hers.

1. What is your favorite past-time?
Reading, probably.  I do the most of it. Or listening to music.  But I suppose that quantity doesn't always define enjoyment so maybe I can say 'photography' even though I do that far less.  Then there is kissing, I like that too.  Do you want, like, my top 10 but in no particular order?  Let's go with that.  1) Music, 2)Kissing, 3) Reading, 4) Photography, 5) Hiking, 6) Camping, 7)  Talking on the phone, 8) Eating at new restaurants, 9) Cooking for friends, 10) Hosting a perfect event.

She's going to say sex. I know it. If she doesn't, it will be something closely related to sex, maybe flirting, or just men in general.

2. What are you passionate about?
People.  Without question.  I love them!  As an organism, individually, in gender groups, in sub-cultures---they're just so interesting!! 

See #1.

3. Describe something that defines you. What truly makes you tick? 
Observation, I suppose.  It may seem ironic to those who know me as a social butterfly but even when I'm yammering on about nothing in particular, I'm watching.  From that observation I gain knowledge and, wow, is knowledge what gets me.  I chose my career (HR) initially based on the ability to know stuff about people no one else did.  I thrive on that.  It's not that I like to gossip, I don't.  I just like to hoard bits of information like the elves in that bank on Diagon Alley.

Ooh, this could be interesting. If I wanted to define Steph I'd say it is her fierce loyalty to her friends.

4. Describe your favorite memory.
Wow!  There are so many.   Favorite is so subjective--I have tons of categories and there's a top in each one.  I suppose that my current dearest memory is of my very first niece smiling and reaching for me for the first time.  That recognition and love is totally unbeatable!
I can honestly say I have no idea what her favorite memory will be.  

5. Give 5 words that define your dating life. 
Currently?  It's the word 'finally!'  Don't forget the exclamation point.  I've met a guy who, God willing, I think I'm on the road to a long, great relationship with.

Random, dramatic, trans-continental, wild, passionate.  

6. Why aren't you married yet? 
Well, for several reasons.  I think the chief reason is that I've never been totally in sync with another person I've dated.  By that I mean that one of us has always been pulling the relationship along in order to get it to progress.  When I was being pulled I resented the inability of my partner to listen to my messages saying I needed to slow down or wasn't as excited about the future.  When I was pulling I was totally incapable of hearing the 'I'm not ready's coming the other direction.  In fact, I was in a two year relationship where I was totally sure I would marry the guy.  When he kept saying, subtly, 'I'm not there yet' I just kept replying 'Ok.  I'm sure you'll get here.  Hurry up!'.  Terrible!  But true! I think that women need to be aware, especially in the thrall of a new relationship or the 'perfect guy', of reality. Is he progressing with you? Is he ready to move along?  Does he treat you like you'd really expect him to do so?  And if those things aren't there, it's time to reevaluate.  Hopefully I've learned that lesson and can be in step with my future partners.

I predict her answer to be something along the lines of, "Its not because I don't want to be, dammit!" Or possibly how it would be impossible for a man to pin her down.


What I want you to know about Steph-
This is probably my favorite part about getting to write these little segments. What do I want you to know about Steph? Probably that I've never met a more fiercely loyal and loving and independent person before in my life. When my life hit the crapper a few years ago, she was the only friend to stand by me. I haven't forgotten that.
I always hate the little "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade" cliche. I'm more of a believer that when life gives you lemons, you need to learn to eat lemons and like it. And I think Steph is a lot like me in that respect. She has pulled herself up by the bootstraps and gotten herself through a very rough spot over the past two years. She's got moxie. She's got charisma. And the hands down most random and funny thing she has ever said to me was, "I love my kitten, but I swear his butt hole stinks!"

Lessons I Have Learned From Steph-
Sleep is optional. In fact, I'm typing this at 3:30 am late Saturday/early Sunday. And the crazy girl has just texted me to say she will be emailing me after she drives to Utah (from Montana) at 7 am (in less than 4 hours).
An opinion should never be wasted.
A good friend is a friend for life.
Never miss a chance to be there when someone needs you.

And now for my favorite picture of Steph.

For the life of me I don't remember what she was doing, or why I took this picture!