I'm a life long New Yorker and wouldn't have it any other way. I've lived on the Lower East Side, on Staten Island, In Nassau County and now in Albany. Sometimes I miss "the city" so much I could scream, except when it's time to pay the rent. Then I'm just fine with the road show version of broadway shows, public transportation that doesn't run all night, the lack of really good cheap food from all over the world and the decidedly limited international community. I can't imagine not living in the north east. I like 4 seasons in my year, the general lack of extreme weather conditions, and the limited chances of the earth splitting open under my feet.

I'm a 41 year old mom of 3. Only one still at home. Time went by awfully fast!! I work on domestic violence and immigration issues within public assistance policy for "the state", see way too many movies, gorge myself on books, need to lose weight, and I adore cats. My daughter and I volunteer at a cat shelter every week as a means to get our fill of the critters without overwhelming our home with them. I watch too much TV, spend too much time on the net and find nothing exciting about beach vacations. I was 35 before I got a driver's license (they really aren't all that handy in New York City) I was 38 before I had a car :the kindness of a coworker- he gave me his old car - it was 14 years old but it gave me 3 good years before it finally had to go to the Saturn plant in the sky and now we're "car-free" until I figure out what I want to buy as my first new car.

I'm left of center, very left of center, I'm a Christian, Lutheran, but fairly unitarian in the belief that God reaches us all in different ways, and it's not for me to correct others in their faith. I believe the government has an obligation to help keep its people sheltered, fed, educated and healthy, and they have no business interfering in the private matters of consenting adults. I have no idea why it's so hard for people to simply conduct their own lives without stressing over the lives of others. I believe as a people we have an obligation to support our governments abilities to help people with their basic needs. I'm counting down the days until shrub is out of office, I mourn all we have lost in this administration.