In July 2006, I began working as the full-time office manager/bookkeeper at the Brain Tumor Society. They do amazing things for brain tumor research and patient support. Please come visit the site.
As of August 13, 2005, I became a mom to Richard Joshua Sommer, and have spent a very pleasant few months being a full-time mom and part-time office manager (at AWare Technologies). Pictures of Joshua can be found in his Kodak Gallery. I'm really enjoying being a mom!
Jacob and I were married on October 10, 2004. I built a little website about it. :)
In September 2001, I began a temporary assignment at Boston University Academy which became a full-time job on April 1, 2002. (Might have been earlier, but the wheels of university bureaucracy grind exceedingly slowly.) While I worked as the receptionist while a temp, I'm now the executive assistant to the headmaster and assistant head of school. It's unlike anything I've done before, yet draws on all my skills and knowledge. And I get to see and talk with extraordinary teenagers every day. I liked this job a lot, but decided not to return after maternity leave.
In September 2000, I embarked upon my new career as a technical trainer at the Lucent Technologies Software Products Group (since sold to another company), in Cambridge MA. It didn't work out, so I had to move on. Other places I have worked include Dragon Systems, Inc. (the inventors of Dragon NaturallySpeaking), in Newton MA (now part of ScanSoft), and Sedgwick Inc. in downtown Boston (now a part of the Marsh and McLennan Companies).
I graduated from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, in 1991. I majored in comparative literature, I spent several years working with computers, and now I'm privileged to work with gifted children -- and do some computer stuff as well. I feel like I've come full circle, found a place where all my skills are useful. My ability to write and explain, as well as my technical knowledge, combine well for technical support-- or office support. I used to say "maybe one of these days I'll write a novel or two as well," but I've learned my own limitations. The most I can hope for is that people enjoy the little things I write on the Net.
My two favorite activities are music and reading. There is very little music that I actively dislike, but there's certainly some things that I like best. I was introduced to jazz improvisation at the age of fourteen by my flute teacher, Richard Tabnik, who also introduced me to a lot of other jazz musicians. Many of the people that I enjoy jamming with can be heard on New Artists Records.
I am Jewish and was raised somewhere between Conservative and Reform. I find myself becoming more interested in "adding holiness" to my life as I grow older. I like the idea of saying morning and evening prayers, and of saying blessings over the food I eat as a general rule. It's not that I think that God will love me better if I become more observant; it's that observing these little rituals helps me become more conscious of God's presence in all of Creation. I've been keeping something of a "Judaism diary" of things I feel are "turning point" events in Judaism for me, or just thoughts that occur to me.
I'm currently trying to decide what synagogue I want to belong to, if any. I sometimes go with Jacob's sister Debby to the Orthodox minyan at Harvard Hillel, but it's not exactly what I want -- it's the best women's section I've ever been in, but I don't like to be in a women's section all the time. I had joined Temple Beth Shalom in Cambridge; it has an interesting blend of traditional and modern practices and the people are friendly, but it didn't quite click for me (unlike many of my friends). I am also a former member of Am Tikva, the Boston chavurah for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered Jews. My favorite synagogue right now is Beth Israel in Worcester MA, which is the synagogue my husband grew up in. We go spend Shabbat with my husband's parents once every couple of months.
My projects for now include:
Past projects include:
For other writings and favorite links, please return to my home page.
Last updated 17 August 2006