About Me
I am a feminist, writer, activist, artist, and mother based in Madison, Wisconsin, an oasis of liberals surrounded by a desert of conservatism.
Born and raised in la isla bonita of Puerto Rico, I came to the continental USA in 1996 to attend the University of Chicago and promptly freeze to death. Having barely survived that without losing my last marble, I grabbed my existential B.A. in Philosophy and went east to Washington, DC. There, I worked for VSA, an international non-profit that promotes artists with disabilities. I also lived through the September 11, 2001 attacks and the dawn of Dubya. Coming face to face with the chaos, confusion, fear, and reality of global and extremist dischord, my eyes and my mind were forced open.
Suddenly, I could not avoid becoming politically and socially aware. Gone were my innocent days of blinders, bars, and blended drinks. I packed my bags and 5 cats, and drove a meowing moving truck 970 miles by myself back to the Midwest! The majority of my drive was sponsored by Missy Elliot's hit "Work It" - proof that righteous feminism doesn't need to be polite!
Back in Madison, I became involved in experimental theater, married the wrong person, and grew a beautifully empathetic child despite dad's sociopathic genes. In search of more acting training, I found out Madison schools were ridiculously selective, had years of waiting lists, and higher tuition than the total cost for me to relocate our family and pay for school in New York City. So I went ahead and just did that.
While in Brooklyn, NY, I attended the Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute, learned new acting techniques, and found out most people don't understand what Method Acting is. What it isn't is a bunch of extremist Hollywood actors torturing themselves for "authenticity" in roles. I performed with Nicu’s Spoon, a wonderfully progressive theater company right in the heart of Manhattan, and established my jewelry business, Jazzy Jems Jewelry (formerly known as Flaming Bling).
My son was diagnosed with autism in NY, as well. So my life took a turn towards special needs advocacy, and I was trained in DIR Floortime therapy. Early intervention IS key: my son was non-verbal at age 4, and now he's blossomed into a very vocally sarcastic pre-teen. A mother couldn't be prouder!
After 5 years in New York, we returned to Madison, where I endured the kind of divorce that abusers never want to end, and people like me can never afford. I got back on my own two feet, through emotional, legal, and social harassment. In order to avoid more of it, I stepped away from the theater I had been a part of for many years. I became involved in a more progressive, feminist theater known as KRASS (right up my alley).
I was also super single. And lo, the brand new world of online dating awaited, filled with oodles of unsolicited anatomical lessons and brief, uncreative coital invitations. My exploits inspired my I Heart Misanthropy site, where singles can still find useful Tips on Gittin Sum (101, 102, 103). Eventually, I found the man who would capture my heart! And he has been saving my ass ever since. Thanks, honey! We are now a blended family of 3 children, an infuriating cat, a plethora of plants, and grown ups that periodically step in to counteract entropy (or on occasion, make it worse).
During the week, I am engaged in endless fretting over the state of the world, the children, dinner, finances, and the mind-numbing joys of household chores. Periodically, I make visual art. On weekends, I volunteer at Her Turn News, a local feminist radio show that airs every Sunday on WORT-FM. I chew on rabble rousing news about women, trans, LGBT, and equal rights all over the world, and digest them into tasty byte size morsels for your listening pleasure. You can tune in and hear me anchor many weekends!
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Jazzy Jems: brilliant bling!
