Penguin Annie
Profiled May 21 - 31, 2000

I live in Monroeville, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh and have lived in this house most of my life. After Dad passed away in 1993, my husband and I bought the house and moved here with our 3 kids. In addition to the never ending fix up projects on the house, the place is always changing by the "former-kids" coming and going. Jason tried living on his own a few months and came back home with greater appreciation for my food and laundry services; he is also studying business administration at community college. Beth is learning housekeeping with two roommates in the town of State College, PA while attending Penn State University and studying bio-behavioral science. This week her career goal is to be a medical consultant. Last week she was interested in pharmaceutical sales. Matthew graduated recently in electronic engineering and is working for a subsidiary of Sony. His intention is to stay at home until he can save up a down payment on a house - I think that means he isn't going anywhere for quite a while. Mom (she's only 80) still plays violin with a string ensemble, which allows me to attend concerts frequently on the occasions that I drive her. Jack, my husband, is a retired Marine and keeps busy working for a pharmaceutical company.

As for me I am a registered nurse working in acute psychiatry. That is about as bizarre a job as anyone could imagine. I have worked in many fields of nursing and have stuck with this the longest, so I suppose I must enjoy it. In addition to work I have many interests. Hockey is my favorite sport, and the Pittsburgh Penguins are currently in the playoffs. The team just survived the threat of bankruptcy last year, so their existence at this point is enough to make me cheerful - you guessed it, the playoffs are not going especially well for them.

I also enjoy cooking, gardening, piano, although I did not inherit Mom's ability or dedication in music, and....oh yes, trivia!! I never chatted until October of 97 when I happened to find Mindprobe games in MSN chat world and was hooked instantly. My puter has been out of commission for two weeks now and it's sheer torture, but I can occasionally borrow my son's (Matthew). This however usually involves a bribe like baking cookies, and the weather is getting warm here, so I hope the new hard drive arrives soon.