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Boredwalk Community: You’ll Never Lose by Being the First One to Apologize
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Willy L. of Cambridge MA, showing off a Support Your Local Library shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I am strategic advisor to the dean of a medical school, which means I deal with randomness. My dream job would be to make a living as a writer. (Interesting. On a scale of 1-10, how "random" is a global pandemic? Asking for 8 billion friends...)
2. What keeps you up at night?
Trying to think of the right questions.
3. What's a book that you think the Boredwalk community should read?
Wow, given the shirt I'm wearing, I'd better do a good job here... either Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin or The Second Sex by Simone de Beauvoir.
4. What's the most useful piece of advice you've received?
In a relationship, you’ll never lose by being the first one to apologize. (Perhaps, but where is the fun in settling for a grudging stalemate?)
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
To do a public reading from something that I have published.
6. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
To be able to speak any language. Imagine the amazing off-menu meals I could get at restaurants anywhere!
7. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Ugh! People who think they’re the only ones on the planet, e.g. people who dump their trash on the street or “share” their music on the subway. (An unforeseen silver lining of social distancing?)
8. You can curse your nemesis with a minor annoyance for eternity; what do you choose?
Ha! That they would become a nice person. They would HATE that!
9. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
The majority of people everywhere are doing their best most of the time. (This doesn't fill me with confidence regarding our species continued survival, Willy...)
10. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
On Instagram @willy.lensch
Boredwalk Community: Life is Hard and Full of Misery
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Kate F. of Herndon VA, showing off a My Head Says Homework My Heart Says Cat Videos shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm a school library assistant and substitute teacher. My dream job is to be a cat petter/book reader. (Ed. note: I also aspire to read books and pet cats professionally!)
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Hearing people chew! It fills me with fiery rage. (Second place: other people rearranging my books! I have them in a specific order. Put them back where you found them, or let me do it.)
3. What's a book that you think the Boredwalk community should read?
A book everyone should read is Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. It's super short, but thought-provoking. It's about what Einstein might have dreamed about while he worked at the Swiss patent office. That might sound esoteric and incomprehensible, but it's actually a fun read. (I'm sold!)
4. What's the most useful piece of advice you've received?
Probably my Mom's line from childhood. Any time my sisters or I would complain, she'd say, "life is hard and full of misery." I know that sounds rough, but the message is good — sometimes life sucks, but you have to deal with it. (A related, but happier piece of advice from my Mom: "this, too, shall pass." When life is hard, just keep moving. It will get better eventually.)
5. What experience do you most want to cross off your bucket list?
I want to see the northern lights!
6. Clear up a misconception (about your job, where you are from, some other topic you know a lot about).
Librarians don't just shush patrons and shelve books. Libraries are filled with amazing resources for everyone, and our calling is to make those resources accessible to everyone. A misconception about me personally is that I'm a crazy cat lady. Wait! That's not a misconception. Never mind.
7. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
You can find me on Facebook at @KatesUBAMBooks and on Twitter @katesbooknook. My book store is j6705.myubam.com.
8. BONUS!
Kate felt it very important to add the following personal details to this, and I am inclined to agree:
- Favorite dinosaur: Stegosaurus
- Favorite colors: Pink & purple
- She has more books than friends (I see no problem here, Kate.)
Boredwalk Community: Save the Lost Pets
Welcome to our weekly Boredwalk Community series, where we ask Boredwalk fans fun questions! This week we're talking to Michelle Q. of San Diego CA, showing off a Oxford Comma shirt.
1. What's your actual day job and what's your dream day job?
I'm a copywriter for a board game and puzzles company, where I get to work with licenses like Disney, Harry Potter, Marvel, and Cartoon Network. So I'm one of those lucky devils whose day job is her dream job. But my fantasy job has always been special FX makeup artist. Did you catch that Oxford comma though? (Ed. note: Always!)
2. What's your biggest pet peeve?
Talking over someone or interrupting a person in conversation is a bad look. I think it takes a great deal of mindfulness and respect to practice listening, despite today's predominantly non-verbal means of communication. Ironically, whenever I'm able to muster up a sentence and someone boisterous steps all over it, a little ghost comes out of me and I realize why I mostly keep to myself in groups of people. So it's a dance. A figurative one, not a Fortnite emote. (Respectful active listening is a lot like the Oxford comma — you may not always notice its presence, but you probably *will* notice its absence.)
3. If you could have any super power what would it be and why?
I wish I had the ability, for whenever I saw a "Lost" poster for someone's missing pet, to instantly return that animal to its owner just by touching the flyer. Just making that reunion happen would be reward enough for me. (What a generous, thoughtful answer!)
4. What is a surprising fact about you?
At one point I was able to say that Ray Manzarek, the keyboardist for The Doors, was my then-brother-in-law's ex-wife's dad's son-in-law! What did that make me? Absolutely nothing. But I am currently 2+ years sober, which might surprise some. (That's great; congratulations! On both the sobriety AND your SNL parody version of Ancestry.com.)
5. Where can the rest of the Boredwalk community find you?
If I'm doing it right IRL, they won't. But okay, I go outside and stuff on Instagram (@michellequillen) and have my only use for Facebook (@MichelleQuillenWriter).


