My life is a social experiment, and I am the mad scientist.

My life has been incredibly interesting. Part of that is luck, and the other part is that I’m not afraid to talk to strangers and place myself in unusual situations. Talking to strangers has been somewhat of a hobby for me, and my connections with other people create much of the magic in my life.

With all the time I’ve spent around other humans in all sorts of different scenarios and situations, I consider myself well-versed in human nature. (aka Junior Psychologist) I’ve spent enough time in bars, coffee shops, and public places around the world to know that people are the same wherever you go. Most people are good, and they all want to be loved, seen, and appreciated.

Highlights

I keep a list of all the most interesting things I’ve done. Among them are:

  • Seeing The Cure in Rome
  • Taking 13 of my closest friends for a fancy dinner
  • Acting in a TV commercial
  • Flying in a helicopter over Ireland
  • Snorkeling in Bonaire
  • Getting arrested in front of the White House with Daryl Hannah

People Are Good

Although I work in a technology field and believe that technology can be valuable and improve our lives, technology also has the ability to isolate and separate us. It creates funnels in our lives that limit our exposure to “new” or challenging information. It limits our exposure to people who are not like us and allows us to self-isolate away from those people.

The more I talk to people in real life, the more I love humanity with all its textures and colors. When I lose faith in humanity, I simply step away from my computer and walk out my door into the world. When I talk to and interact with people face to face, I remember that we are all very much alike and that most people are good. In an effort to connect with people in unique ways, I often conduct social experiments that involve free hugs, hiding motivational messages in library books, asking people for their secrets or getting them to interact with a fun website.

My background

Since 2004, I have been a professional web developer. I have enjoyed this career because it allows me to use both sides of my brain – the right for creativity and design and the left for organization and programming. I’ve worked with small business owners and non-profit organizations from all across the industry spectrum and have enjoyed the diversity and challenges this career has brought me. I create crazy, sexy magic with my clients in the form of websites that work for them. That business is ProFunction Web LLC.

In 2006, I was acknowledged as one of the 40 Under 40 professionals in Sarasota, Florida to watch.

Between 2007 and 2011, I founded, grew, and sold a women’s business networking company in Sarasota, Florida, called Women With Moxie. It was an amazing experience through which I connected with hundreds of incredibly smart, creative and talented female entrepreneurs. I’m a huge fan of empowering women, and I always encourage women to support one another and collaborate instead of competing. I helped my Women With Moxie members create crazy, sexy magic together by facilitating connections, encouraging collaboration, and supporting them in any way I could.

My Art

I create several different kinds of art, but mostly collage art and cross-stitch art. Both genres of art can dip into messaging about the world, and I often use them to comment on current or longstanding issues.

Much of my art is given away. I make collage art postcards for paying subscribers of Sunday Mornings in Bed that are sent out monthly. Many of my cross-stitch projects are gifts, although I have made a point to make several this year that are just for me as I’ve never kept any of my pieces.

My Activism

I am an environmental and political activist with a Master’s Degree in Environmental Law & Policy. In 2011, in the wake of Hurricane Irene’s destruction of Vermont’s landscape, I was arrested in front of the White House as part of Tar Sands Action in protest of the Keystone XL pipeline. I participated in subsequent related protests and actions and have been an active volunteer with Suncoast Sierra Club.

I’ve also participated in protests regarding women’s reproductive rights, police brutality, and workers rights.

Giving hugs to strangers has also been activism for me. People need unconditional platonic physical affection.

My Writing

I began my writing career in 2002 with a pioneering online travel journal (aka blog) of a European adventure that included buying champagne for John Gotti’s niece and her wedding party in Rome, kissing the Blarney Stone, and trying to get Swiss men to kiss me (despite their insistence that “the Swiss don’t kiss”). This trip originally came about because a high school friend had connected with a guy from Norway who’d been a student in my friend’s corporate training class in Sweden. Because of course. That’s the crazy, sexy magic that comes into my life.

Other writing and projects:

  • SurlyChick dating blog
  • SurlyChicks blog and accompanying radio show, Sarasota After Dark (2006)
  • Urban Mayhem Project blog and Facebook community
  • Rutland Herald column highlighting positive community happenings
  • Rutland Uprising campaign focused on spreading joy in the community
  • Twice monthly guest on WSYB radio show

My current writing is focused on my weekly Substack publication, Sunday Mornings in Bed, and on publishing my first book, How to Find Joy in a Capitalist Hellscape, due in October 2024.