Reader of the Week: Meet Jill Z

There was such an overwhelming response when I asked readers to introduce themselves on a weekend open thread that I decided to give you all a weekly column to do just that. I’ve always said this site wouldn’t be what it is without the engagement and participation of its readers and this column is the place to learn more about who you are what makes you tick. After the jump, let’s meet Jill Z.

 

 

1. What’s your name, age and whereabouts?

Jill Z, age 35, and currently live in Chicago. I was born in Indiana so consider myself a Hoosier, and grew up in New Jersey, so had exceedingly awesome hair and mall-shopping skills in the 80s.

2. What’s your relationship status?

I am happily married going on 10 years. We’ve been together for 15 years, and I like to tell my husband I’m the last person he’s ever going to sleep with, just to be mean.

3. How do you spend your weekdays?

I am currently unemployed, as of October, and love being a full-time kitty cat mom to Sharon, Stumpy, and Bane as I job-hunt. I’m an urban planner by trade, but if you can think of a more interesting way to make money, please let me know!

4. How do you spend your free time?

I love to read (particularly young adult fantasy), do hot yoga, read blogs, research genealogy, experience new art, go hiking & camping, cook vegan meals, hang out with my three month old niece and my sister, travel to new places, plan vacations, watch Netflix with my husband, do fun things with my girlfriends, crochet, watch football on the weekends, and find cool experiences on Groupon (skydiving and getting lasered are my favorites so far).

5. What are your top likes and dislikes?

Likes:

Getting my baby niece to smile, snuggling with my kitties and husband, seeing the kitties snuggle with my husband, getting to the airport and relaxing with a book just before a new adventure begins.

Dislikes:

Bad customer service, jobs that don’t respect personal boundaries, close-talkers, lousy internet connections, terrible drivers, not being able to meditate, and other people’s pet peeves. When people tell me what their pet peeves are, I start noticing them and then they bother me too!

6. What’s the best relationship advice you’ve ever been given?

If you love somebody, set him free. If he comes back to you, he is yours… if he does not, it was never meant to be. If only I had followed that advice back in the day!

7. What’s the best relationship lesson you’ve ever learned?

He wasn’t that into me. I wasted way too much time obsessing over boys when I could have just become a better, more interesting person and used that time more wisely.

8. Besides DearWendy.com, what are some of your favorite websites?

My Google reader app is one of my favorite things on my phone, it keeps me up to date on blogs, which I love. Besides Dear Wendy, who I have been reading now for eight years (!), I also like to keep up with my talented, crafty friends, like www.Pennypickles.net, www.photosbyannabelle.com, and www.maida-vale.com and I like to get new vegan recipes from www.choosingraw.com. Gena encourages me to get the most from my food choices, and I always feel better after eating her recipes. I’m inordinately obsessed with Pandora… it keeps me sane while job hunting, and I’m lazy about finding new music, so I’m constantly exposed to bands and songs with no effort on my part.

*If you’d like to be a Reader of the Week, shoot me an email at [email protected] with “Reader of the Week” in the subject line and I’ll send you some questions to answer.