FAQ (Part 2)!

For all of my FAQ posts, check out my FAQ page.

4. Carolinebee says, “I would love to hear your educational/career history.”

I went into college undecided.  I didn’t really know what I wanted to do, or what I enjoyed.  I took some econ classes because that was what my dad majored in and I had worked for him my whole life (financial and pension stuff).  I also took math classes because they were fun and I was good at it.  I realized that I could double major and graduate early, and being the competitive/crazy/type-A person that I am, I went for it.  I liked my math and econ classes, but I loved so many other classes too (Italian, Linguistics, Oceanography, Business, etc…).

I graduated in December ’07 with degrees in Math and Econ. (I’m class of ’08.)  I had an internship before my senior year (2007) at JPMorgan as a summer associate; I worked on the mortgage backed securities trading desk.  Hours were 6am – 7pm.  I lived in Greenwich village in a teeny studio apartment that I shared with my friend from Cornell who also was working at JPMorgan.  I got the job offer but turned it down; it was a bad time to enter that field (my friends who accepted got laid off a little while ago).

When I graduated, I got a job at the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.  I worked there from February ’08 – May ’08.  I was a research associate.  I worked for a senior international economist.  Lots of statistics and programming. There were parts of the job I liked, but overall I felt like our department didn’t get much done. I didn’t like it enough to stick with the hour-long commute (1 hour each way), so I decided to find a job closer to Bobby’s job.

I fond a job as a software engineer at a local (Mountain View, CA) internet startup.  This job started out pretty fun. Unfortunately, my boss quit, and after that the company started to go downhill.  Many other senior people quit, we had people running things that didn’t know what they were doing, and the company ended up doing a major downsize back in January ’09. They laid off 70% of the company in one day.

Now…

5. Jen asks, “What job(s) are you working right now, and what are your career plans for the future?”

I blog and I do private tutoring; I also get a few students from a local tutoring company.  I tutored for the SAT as well as math and english.  I have also tutored online, which was kinda cool.

I was doing a little bit of webdesign consulting work, but that’s mostly ended now.

I’ve also taken two YogaFit trainings, which starts me on the path to being a RYT (registered yoga teacher – 200 hours of training).  I haven’t started teaching yet, but I do plan on pursuing this more in the near future. This isn’t my main focus, but it’s a lovely hobby 🙂

For the future – I would love to find a job that incorporates what I’ve learned from blogging with education or another hobby of mine (yoga, health, cooking, music).

6. Clare asks, “For a person who is terrified of raw fish, what would be the “safest” sashimi for that person to try first?”

I had to consult with Bobby on this one.  We decided that both tuna and salmon are probably the mildest fish to start with.  Another way to start would be to get smoked salmon, which isn’t truly raw.  Unagi (eel), my favorite sushi, is not raw either.  After you tackle tuna and salmon, move onto crazier things!

7. Sophia asks, “what is your favorite cuisine?”

This is so hard!  I would have to say that in general, I love ALL Asian food… but my favorite is definitely Vietnamese (without MSG), or Thai.  My favorite dish of all time is papaya salad (especially with shrimp) and both of these cuisines have amazing versions of it.  I love Vietnamese food because it’s always light and healthy and I leave the table feeling energized.  Thai food is a bit heavier, but it’s amazingly savory and they have the best stir-frys ever.  I can’t decide!  Other favorites – Korean (bi bim bap), Japanese (sukiyaki), and real Chinese food.  Not Chinese take out.  I lived with 3 Chinese roommates when I first moved to Cali and they fed me some amazing dishes.  The Bay Area has so many great Asian restaurants and I’ve even tried Malaysian food (they have papaya salad too).

You’re probably sick of listening to me go on, so I’ll save some more for later. Keep them coming 🙂  I love answering your questions.  Happy Monday!