day in the pants

a day in her pants: the posh deluxe interview with MSW

those of you who comment on this blog may have wondered from time to time about a mysterious person known only as msw. is she a spy? a hacker? the child of parents who really love abbreviations?

well, in today’s exclusive interview, HER IDENTITY IS REVEALED!

like, RIGHT NOW! in this picture!!!

hint: her name is on her t-shirt. except the queen part is a lie. unfortunately.

since msw’s name is so unique, she prefers using her initials so that when people google her, they won’t find anything potentially embarrassing. although in her case, the most embarrassing thing i can come up with is that she loans me vampire romantic fiction.

i met msw at wiess college, where we both lived while attending rice university. msw was actually two years ahead of me, but i got to know her a little bit through my orientation week advisor (we call them fellows), emily (also known as EK, which is an actual nickname versus an internet safety precaution).

our friendship didn’t *really* start to form until earlier this year, when msw got a job at UT, and we started Power Lunching (definitely one of my favorite parts about being a working girl). we quickly discovered that we had a lot of favorites in common, from buffy to cupcakes. in fact, if you like baked goods, i *highly* recommend that you make friends with msw. not only does she bake a lot, but she BRINGS TREATS TO MY OFFICE. WITHOUT ME ASKING. it’s actually one of her trademark qualities, as evidenced by the fact that she brought cupcakes to my birthday field day (pictured above).

of course, tasty business isn’t *actually* the main reason i like being friends with msw (but i’m not gonna lie, it’s a perk!). she’s just one of those “heart of gold” people… like, you can feel it the second you meet her. she really *embraces* life, aided by positive nature that is visible from miles away, even in foggy conditions. this girl is constantly finding new passions that she will then exhaustively research until moving on to the next one; moreover, she even loves helping her friends pursue their own interests (she made me a photocopy of an article about coffee makers after we had a discussion about them) and life goals (she reviewed my resume for me). seriously, the woman is a machine! but, like, the huggable kind.

ok, time to stop gushing and get down to business!

msw, let’s start at the beginning, a v. good place to start. tell me about yr family, where you grew up, etc.

My Georgia family is pretty small, with three generations of only children (me, my dad, my grandfather, all onlys). My parents divorced when I was 3, and my dad got custody, but I still saw my mom on weekends and holidays. I also spent a LOT of time with my dad’s parents, so I’m closer to my grandmother (”Grandmomma”, I’m a good Southern girl than anyone else in my family. I also have a pretty fantastic step-mom, two step-brothers, and some step-aunts/uncles/niece/nephew types. My mother’s side of the family is far more plentiful, but all in Thailand.

squee alert! tiny msw with her beautiful mother.

I grew up in a kinda small town about an hour outside of Atlanta, and I couldn’t wait to move to a big city! There wasn’t a whole lot of ethnic diversity there at the time, so I always felt like I stood out like a sore thumb. Gainesville isn’t without its charms, though. It was the “Poultry Capital of the World” when I was growing up (I think this was self-proclaimed, much like Austin’s claim of “Live Music Capital of the World”, only far more…um…niche), and there’s still a statue of a chicken near downtown. In the town square is a statue of a Confederate soldier, and he’s facing north (of course, it’s the Deep South . And some of the 1996 Olympic events were on the nearby lake.

So yeah, I’m a weird mix of Southerner, progressive Austinite, Southeast Asian…I love to defy expectations!

you, like me, are an only child. growing up, how did you feel about that? do you think you fit any of the only child stereotypes?

Being an only child and an only grandchild, I was pretty spoiled in some ways, but my dad (”Daddy”) and Grandmomma were also pretty strict with disciplining me and making sure I said “please”, “thank you”, “sir”, and “ma’am”. But as an only child I’m used to always being special and getting lots of attention (A rather large portion of Grandmomma’s apartment is dedicated to photos of me at all ages. ). I think I manage my only-childness pretty well. I’ve known some pretty over-the-top, selfish, spoiled only-child adults, but I don’t *think* I’m that way. (You might have to ask my husband about that!) Something that we have in common is naming our possessions, which I suspect is b/c of being only children!

I did hate being an only child growing up. At the time, I felt like my childhood was stressful (being teased for being different, moving between Momma and Daddy’s houses, etc), and remember wanting to have someone I could share my life with (That’s another way I’m not like a typical only child…I love to share!).

for only children, soaking up attention becomes an art form. especially when dads are involved.

i, too, have my own personal photo gallery at my parent’s house. but did yr grandmother make a xmas tree of ornaments with yr face on it? yeah…

you grew up in a town near atlanta– tell me about it! what do you do in georgia? if i went to visit, what would you recommend?

Hmmm….I’m trying to remember the places we went on field trips growing up, b/c I was never really a tourist in the area, and I couldn’t WAIT to move away! I’d recommend going in the fall, b/c fall is gorgeous in North Georgia. The leaves change color, the air is crisp, but it’s not TOO cold. Atlanta has some stuff that you’d probably enjoy, like the Coca-Cola museum and the Varsity, this crazy burger joint that’s been around for ages. Stone Mountain Park is fun (it’s like Enchanted Rock but more touristy), and I hear that the new aquarium is really cool. The botanical gardens are really nice, and the science museum is also pretty cool. Athens is also in the Atlanta area, and that’s a fun college town (home to REM and the B-52s!)

If you go to Gainesville, you have to check out the chicken statue and the town square (in addition to the Confederate soldier, there’s a scale model of the solar system in the square, and I think it still has Pluto!). Lake Lanier is also nice, but it’s kind of your typical lake. The dam that forms the lake, Buford Dam, is breathtaking as you drive over it (way more dramatic than Mansfield Dam).

whenever i (finally) go to georgia, i am TOTALLY going to check out the chicken statue and take a variety of humorous photographs with it. and then post them on this blog.

i just found out yesterday that you were a campfire girl. i’ve always been intrigued by the existence of this “other” version of girl scouts, esp. since my mother was a member and i thought her vest was a lot cooler than my green one. what sorts of things did you do as a campfire girl?

I was a Camp Fire girl b/c there weren’t any Girl Scouts in town. All the girls were Camp Fire, and that’s just how it was. (Maybe there are Girl Scouts now. I hear Gainesville has grown quite a bit. )The things that stand out in my mind are selling candy and wrapping paper instead of cookies, my dad helping another dad teach us all CPR at one of the meetings, and my dad also taking us on a sort of nature hike around the Camp Fire Cabin (this cabin in the middle of town that was surrounded by woods) to identify native trees and such. I also remember some sort of skit thing that we did to Lionel Richie’s “Hello”. And we all thought the Camp Fire Cabin was haunted. Ah, memories.

any memory with lionel richie is a good memory.

i really, really hope this picture was taken while you were trying to earn yr “cowboy patch.”

you know i loooove hearing about high school, mostly cos it’s fun to visualize us being friends back then. what sort of things did you do? were you a nerd like me?

I was a TOTAL nerd in high school, but unlike the me of today, I had no interest in socializing at all. I had a few friends, but I knew I wanted to go AWAY for college, and I didn’t feel like I had much in common with most of the other kids. I think my high school was weird b/c there was a LOT of overlap between the smart kids, the popular kids, the drama kids, etc. I didn’t really fit in with any of them, except that I was one of the “smart” ones (warning, brag alert: I graduated valedictorian). I spent most of my time watching TV, reading, playing violin, competing in debate tournaments (I have a really cool gavel that I won at one of them), and avoiding the crowds. I probably would’ve enjoyed high school much more if I’d been friends with you back then!

I was a totally angsty and moody teenager, but then, who’s not? I loved Guns ‘N Roses (Duff was my fave) and Skid Row (how excited was I when Sebastian Bach started showing up in Stars Hollow?), and also totally crushed on the popular guys in my class but never went on a date. I never, not once, ate lunch from the school cafeteria, and I ALWAYS got to school super-early to sit in the hall and read, and after I got my driver’s license, to get the best parking spot. My best friend was a cheerleader, but the cheerleaders weren’t necessarily the “in” crowd (the popular kids were too cool for such things), and a drama geek. And she was a bridesmaid in my wedding last year, the one person I’ve kept in touch with consistently (without the help of Facebook!) since high school.

laura and msw, 2 sweet 2 be 4 gotten.

And also, my high school mascot was the Big Red Elephant. Seriously. I went from being an Elephant to being an Owl. I’ve never had a normal mascot, like a Bulldog or a Tiger. And now, I’m a fan of Michigan football (Wolverines. Go Blue!) thanks to the hubster.

G&R = i knew we were friends for a reason. and the big red elephant? ok, that is the cutest mascot EVER!

what made you decide to go to rice?

I’d never heard of Rice before I got the brochure in the mail my senior year, and when my dad saw the brochure, he said “Rice? Oh, that’s a good school.” I applied on a whim and didn’t realize until after I was accepted that it was tough to get in! I actually decided to go without ever having visited the campus (or Houston for that matter). I got into four colleges and only visited one of them. Two of them were too close to home for my taste (have I mentioned that I couldn’t wait to leave Gainesville?), Georgia Tech and Furman. Oh, it was quite the argument with my dad when I decided not to go to Georgia Tech (lots of scholarship money for a female minority at an engineering school). But I knew I wanted to go somewhere else. The other choice was Yale, and I decided that I would be too cold in Connecticut, so Rice it was. One of the best decisions of my life!

tell me about yr favorite aspects of rice. any least favorites?

I loved Rice, from my college (TFW, baby!), to the friends I’ve made (both while I was there and since then!), to the Hutchinsons (the only moment I cried at my wedding was when I saw Emma! I thought she was sick in a hospital in Denver!), to the Acabowl, to Willy’s Statue, to the trees, to the Aca-Tramp, to the lingo, to Hello Hamlet, to Chem 101 with Hutch, to ubangee-ing Hutch in class on his birthday, to Old Wiess falling apart… I guess I didn’t particularly like the humidity (Girlfriend has some frizzy hair that Houston was not kind to!), and Houston was a bit overwhelming for me coming from a small town. Or the fact that my birthday was always either the week before or the week of O-Week, so my friends were mostly too occupied with freshmen to celebrate with me. That also reminds me of something I didn’t like, which was never being a freshman advisor/Wiess Fellow. It wasn’t for lack of trying! I applied every year, but never got picked. I would’ve made a great Fellow! <sigh> Ah well, it’s mostly great memories.

it’s a shame rice didn’t offer a ballet major, cos check out that form! not to mention the CUTENESS!!!

did you know what you wanted to do when you graduated? is that what you ended up doing?

I never had an answer to the “What do you want to be when you grow up?” question, and I certainly had no clue when I was at Rice. I wanted to have a job and live somewhere other than Houston or Atlanta, that was about it. And I got what I wished for! I got a job at National Instruments in Austin, moved here and fell in love (with the city, not the job. and Brian came later. I stuck with my job at NI longer than I’d ever intended b/c I didn’t know what else I wanted to do and I didn’t have the guts to quit without a plan in place. The great thing about working there was the people I got to meet and become friends with (including Brian!). And it gave me the experience necessary to be in the job I have now, which I LOVE.

ok, ok, now tell me the story of how you and brian (yr husband) met!!!

I don’t actually remember first meeting Brian, but I do remember the first time I realized he was The One. The Backstory: I used to chat with one of Brian’s roommates every Wednesday morning about the previous evening’s episode of Buffy (greatest show ever!), and later on I started getting invited to parties at their house. I couldn’t figure out why, b/c I wasn’t great friends with anyone in the house, just the Buffy connection with one of the roommates, and I never went. One day, a couple of years later, Brian was talking to the guy in the next cube, and I had this lightening bolt realization: all at once I knew why I was being invited to those parties, I knew that Brian was The One, and I knew that the timing was wrong. It was about a year later that we actually started flirting and hanging out, and we went on our first date on March 3, 2004.

brian and msw, just married! doesn’t she look gorgeous?!! (photo by beverly demafiles)

once, when i was visiting austin a while back, i got to see you play in a celtic band. what instrument did you play? how did you get into that?

I’m glad you said “celtic band” b/c I’ve been in about four different bands in Austin, and two of them were Irish/Celtic. I’ve played violin since I was 6 (I wanted to play when I was 3 but my dad couldn’t find a teacher for me until I was 6), and I’ve always been drawn to the energy and history and tradition of Irish music. I learned a few tunes on my own in high school and college, and then in Austin I found my way to the Irish trad tune session on Sunday evenings. I met some cool folks, learned some great tunes, and got into performing (partly b/c I love performing, partly b/c everyone in the Celtic scene in Austin at the time wanted to be in a band). I played fiddle and sang back-up in the two Celtic bands that I was in.

is this picture classic or what? just a southern girl, playin’ the fiddle on the family truck!

speaking of celtic bands, ever heard of killian’s angels? eh… long story.

just like erica greenhouse, you are a total hoss, running marathons, doing triathlons, running around yr neighborhood with heavy water jugs tied around yr neck (ok, i made the last one up). when did you decide to start torturing yrself like this? are you training for anything right now?

It’s been coming on so gradually…when I was a kid, I hated any kind of physical exertion (the lowest grade I got in high school was in P.E.). My dad has been a Serious Runner as long as I can remember, and as a kid, it was one of the small ways I rebelled…gotta be different and do my own thing! Senior year at Rice I started going to step classes with EK and Hilary and decided to start running around the Outer Loop (don’t remember why, maybe some article in a magazine), but that didn’t last past graduation.

When I moved to Austin, I gained some weight from sitting all day long, eating a lot of crap, and drinking like I was still in college. I eventually decided to do something about that (a decision I repeated a few times before it stuck), and did the Turkey Trot one year so I could eat extra pie. I met a girl at the start line of the Turkey Trot, and we decided to meet weekly to walk/run and work towards a 10K in March. That 10K was MISERABLE. Pouring rain, kinda cold, just all-around icky. But every single race picture of me I had a big stupid grin on my face, even when I didn’t know there was a camera there (as an aside, I’ve always loved the camera and have that little-kid ability to just KNOW when a camera’s on me and SMILE), so I figured there must be something to this. Shortly thereafter, I started training for the Danskin women’s triathlon, but I missed it b/c I got sick a few days before. I did a different triathlon a few weeks later and had a blast. After triathlon season comes running season, so I decided to try my hand at a half-marathon, and enjoyed that too. The next year was the marathon, and I had a great time with my training group and completing the marathon (in just under 7 hours). That was just this past February!

like i said, girlfriend is a total hoss. you do NOT want to mess with #144.

I’m actually not training for anything right now. I sprained my ankle and foot while training for the Danskin triathlon, and I’ve spent the rest of the summer recovering from that. I’ve been in physical therapy for a few weeks now, and I’ve started working with my physical therapist to see if I can start training for the 3M or Austin half-marathons coming up at the beginning of next year. I really hope so, b/c I love training for races, the structure and accountability it gives me for my workouts and the energy of race day. I’ve become that weirdo Serious Runner that my dad has been (It’s like that episode of Friends where Rachel says “I spent so many years trying not to be my mother, I just did not see this coming!”).

i just visited yr office at UT, and it’s like, tom hanks’ office in “big” or something. how did you manage to find a place that cool amidst all of the bureaucracy at UT? and what do you actually do?

I guess I’m just lucky! Or maybe I spent some quality time with a fortune-telling machine at the fairgrounds one day…

I was just ready for a change from technical writing at NI, and I started applying for jobs that sounded like something I could do. I applied for my job at UT at the recommendation of a friend of mine who was also looking for tech writing jobs, and fortunately for us, they had two open positions. I’m so grateful they picked me! It really is a fun place to work, and my boss has put in a lot of effort to make our office a creative and fun (and productive, of course) environment. Since what we do is part marketing, part technical writing, it’s good to have that creative touch.

What I actually do from day-to-day is write content for the UT ITS Web site. I also recently got training in meeting facilitation, so I’ve been doing that as well. And just this morning I got to speak to about 2000 freshmen about the services ITS offers. I just LOVE my job and what I get to do and learn and who I get to meet…it’s great! I had no idea that I could ever love a job doing technical writing, but I do!

you forgot to mention one of the perks of yr job: having lunch with me!

actually, it’s way more of a perk for ME that msw works at UT, cos then i get services like Cupcake Delivery, which is an even greater benefit than, like, health insurance.

yr birthday was yesterday! yay!! in honor of that fact, tell me about yr favorite birthday so far.

I’ve had some pretty great birthdays. I’m terrible at picking just one favorite anything, so I’ll list three:

- my 18th birthday was the Monday of O-Week, and my Fellows made it really special. They put up a banner for me in the Commons, they made sure I got ubangeed, and I got to do the Moment of Silence.

- two years ago, Brian proposed to me two days before my birthday, while we were on vacation in San Francisco [see Brian's flickr for photos of the proposal].

- last year, we were on our honeymoon in Maui, and I got to play on a black sand beach, eat delicious Hawaiian shave ice, and eat dinner on the beach while watching a beautiful sunset

what is yr secret power?

Making friends with really amazing and wonderful people! We’re talking the kind of people that you say “that’s good people” about. May I present Exhibit A: Posh Deluxe?

This is actually something that my dad has commented on my whole life, and Brian has it too, I think. We both are truly blessed with the ability to draw fantastic friends to ourselves. (I just wish you and I had reconnected before the wedding, b/c I think you would’ve had so much fun!)

hey, i have that secret power too! it’s the best!! well, besides being able to fly.

do you sleep in jimjams? what kind?

Loves me some comfy jimjams. In the winter, flannel and long-sleeved, in the summer, lightweight cotton and sleeveless. I wanted sushi pajamas for the longest time (the ones Buffy wore once in an episode), but I never wanted to spend the money on them, and now I think they’ve been discontinued! <sniff>

this picture was taken right after brian proposed to msw. HOW SWEET IS THIS?!!

what is yr #1 favorite food?

How can I pick just one favorite? It would be unfair to the other foods if I showed preference for any one or the other, and I don’t want to hurt the other foods’ feelings! (sssshhhh…it’s chocolate cupcakes! and maybe all Thai food. or my step-mom’s lasagna. mmmm.)

what is yr top restaurant recommendation in austin? what’s the best thing on the menu?

I recently learned about Titaya, a Thai restaurant on Lamar near 2222, and it is v. tasty business indeed. I had a duck curry that was great, and the panaeng is delish, and I also tried a dish that I hadn’t had before (I think it was pad kee mao) that I loved, and their sticky rice with mango dessert is one of the few non-chocolate desserts that I’ve ever wanted to have again. Immediately, pleasethankyou.

I also love Tam’s Deli (did I mention I have trouble picking favorite anything?), a wonderful little mom-and-pop Vietnamese restaurant on Lamar just north of 183. They have the most divine cream puffs (we ordered 200 of the little puffs of deliciousness for our wedding), and they have my favorite non-chocolate dessert, banh tet chuoi (sticky rice made with coconut milk, with a banana in the center and wrapped in banana leaves).

i’d like to point out that msw went out and bought the frozen version of that dessert and brought me one yesterday. because she is an amazing friend.

tell me about yr top area of expertise.

This one’s gotta be twirling my pen. It’s a habit I picked up in high school debate, and the techniques have grown and morphed a few times since then. I can twirl my pen about 3 or 4 different ways with both hands (at the same time or separately). I’m also really good at typing. And editing. (And being modest, clearly. )

As for marketable skills, I’ve been paid as a writer and editor for more than 9 years now, but it’s all very technical stuff (hardware and software product documentation, IT service documentation). I’m great at interviewing and editing resumes and cover letters, too, so if my friends ever need help with those kinds of things, I’m always up for it. I’ve also recently started pursuing more meeting facilitation, and I’m digging being in front of a room and corralling the great ideas and great energy of a group to produce an awesome end result.

i suspect this is the camera face ability msw referred to earlier. i love this picture.

what was yr favorite item of clothing as a child?

I honestly don’t remember. I was never a very girly-girl, and I think my family was just glad they got clothes on me. I do vaguely remember a green vest. I also remember HATING to wear dresses or skirts. I don’t much like it now, come to think of it. So probably it was shorts and a t-shirt or something like that.

what was yr favorite toy as a child? (the moody bonus question)

My Animal (Muppet) hand puppet is a favorite still. I always loved my violin, but I don’t know if that counts (though one does *play* the violin ;-)). I liked my Barbies, but I never had a favorite. Again, trouble with picking a favorite anything. I love everything!

what do you plan on doing when you’re 80?

Definitely want to live in Hawaii. Probably have some grandkids or something. Hanging out on the beach with Brian and some grandkids sounds great. Maybe running a marathon, too.

if you could assemble yr own ocean’s 11, who would you pick and why?

I’m surprised by how tough this question is for me! Can I please have 13?

Gotta start with the hubster, so Brian. He’s pretty handy to have around, anyway, and he’s v. smart. To cover the event planning aspect, EK. And to answer any and all trivia or detailed Wiess history questions that come our way, Joe Abraham. Dave Parker, b/c I always thought he’d make a good criminal mastermind if he just had the drive. My friend Lynn runs some pretty fantastic interference (she’s a Rice alum, too, but she was at Will Rice, your year, and we met at NI), which I put to good use during the wedding weekend. And she’s a tough negotiator. And Lynn’s fiance, Johann, is a Serious Driver, so he’d be perfect for the getaway car. Jonna Flores for her planning and get-it-done work ethic, and her husband Roland for his medical expertise. Christian Bale, b/c HELLO! Yum! And me (of course) and you, b/c it’s your game so you know the rules the best!

(Twelve and thirteen: Dave Tagge for his financial expertise, and Carter Brooking for his steadiness of temper and travel skillz)

msw and a few members of her oceans 13. sadly, christan bale is not pictured.

what is yr best karaoke song?

Again, gotta go with top 3. Or 4. I love singing 10,000 Maniac’s “Because the Night” and Garbage’s “I’m Only Happy When it Rains”. And I enjoy the Cardigans’ “Love Fool”. And then there was that magical karaoke moment when Henri and I sang Evanescence’s “Bring Me To Life”. We’ve gotta do that again, that was karaoke gold.

double true, msw. henri loves him some evanescence.

do people ever tell you that you look like someone famous? who?

I had a date tell me once that I looked like Salma Hayek or Tia Carrere. And there was once a guy at a bar who kept insisting I looked like this woman in “Pale Rider” (Clint Eastwood movie), so I had to look her up on IMDB. Her name is Sidney Penny, and I think she’s a better match for me than Salma Hayek or Tia Carrere.

tell me something scandalous!

So much to choose from! I’ll go with the Cultural Shame topic you discussed here a while back: I was an English major and I’ve never read Hamlet. <hangs head in shame> Also, I’ve never seen Pulp Fiction.

thanks for letting me reveal yr true identity to pants world, msw! it’s been a pleasure! i look forward to the next time i see you, especially because it will probably include tasty business.

LINKS

i meant to link to this earlier but forgot: clown cakes = quickest way to ruin yr child’s birthday for the rest of eternity.

even though i kind of forgot that jean-claude van damme exists, this upcoming mockumentary actually looks AWESOME.

speaking of celebrities i don’t really think about doing awesome things, check out pink’s new video. no really. it’s all sorts of meta.

© 2008 Poshdeluxe.