It’s the holiday season, and we’re ready to have a little fun. In this post, you’ll get to know our TOTUS staff members a bit more, through twenty different and unique questions. Read on, and happy holidays everyone!
Amber Powell, Client Services
- If you could make one rule that everyone had to follow, what rule would you make? Radiate gratitude in every area of your life. What is here today, may be gone tomorrow.
- What are you addicted to? I am totally and completely addicted to hearing my daughter’s laugh.
- If you had to change your name, what would you change it to? Funny! I’ve actually put a lot of thought into this before … If I had to change my name, I’d change it to “Joy”.
- What small gesture from a stranger made a big impact on you? Sometime last winter I had gone into a bagel store for breakfast and had forgotten my wallet in my car. I ran to retrieve my wallet and returned to find that an older woman who was waiting on line had paid for my meal. I couldn’t even believe it. She turned to me with the sincerest smile and endearingly said, “What I’ve done for you, do for someone else.” She hugged me, and went on her way. I’ll never forget Maria and the kindness she showed me.
- What’s the best single day on the calendar? Definitely the day after Thanksgiving, haha! Lots of left-overs, PJs, zero cleaning, and a really good movie to watch with my family is my definition of the best day ever.
Debra Kahn, Center Manager
- What’s the farthest you’ve ever been from home? My husband and I traveled to Rome, Florence and the Amalfi Coast. It was a fabulous trip with lots of sightseeing, pizza and gelato.
- What is the most heartwarming thing you’ve ever seen? My kids meeting their new puppy for the first time.
- What could you give a 40-minute presentation on with absolutely no preparation? Running a book club. I am an avid reader, and attend a monthly book club. Stop by my office anytime to discuss your favorites!
- What is something you think everyone should do at least once in their lives? Hike to the top of a mountain, or any other vantage point. It doesn’t have to be Mount Everest, or anything even close to that! Just somewhere that lets you look down and take in the beauty of wherever you are, and gives you a sense of accomplishment.
- What website do you visit most often? Amazon.
Daniella Gonzalez, Administrative Assistant
- Where would you spend all your time if you could? Learning to cook from my Nonna. She was the BEST cook in the world (although I’m sure everyone says that)! Anytime we would try to get recipes from her, she would laugh and say, “I don’t know, I don’t write it down. A little bit of this, a little bit of that”. I’m a firm believer it was in her hands and her love. Still to this day, no one in my family can replicate her cooking.
- What is special about the place you grew up? Growing up in Thornhill, you were only a 15-minute drive to Paramount Canada’s Wonderland, which was the best amusement park as a kid – tons of roller coasters, games, water park etc. We’d spend all our days there in the summer when we were kids.
- What is the most impressive thing you know how to do? Fall asleep during every movie I watch. It doesn’t matter if I’m at home or at the movie theatre, without a doubt I will fall asleep. Could be for a couple minutes, could be the entire movie, your guess is as good as mine!
- What’s the last adventure you went on? I went on a vacation to Europe in October. I was able to pack a lot of activities into a short trip. I saw a Premier League soccer match (amazing experience!), visited Stonehenge, explored Positano (Italy) and went into the Colosseum at night.
- If you could have a never-ending candle that smelled like anything you wanted, what fragrance would you want it to be? Without a doubt, the fresh Christmas tree scent. Nothing makes me happier or smile more than the fresh smell of a tree in your home during the holiday season.
Lauren Candela, VP of Marketing
- If you had a personal flag, what would be on it? What an interesting question! It would probably be minimalist in colors/schemes as I’m typically drawn to that type of design. Maybe the initials of my family members? Or a bouquet of flowers? Something beautiful and elegant.
- If you were forced to relive one 10-minute block of your life again and again for all eternity, what 10 minutes of your life would you choose? It would have to be ten minutes from the reception of my wedding, when everyone was up and dancing and having fun. We had a fantastic party, with our closest friends and family in tow, and the night is one that I will never forget.
- What keeps you up at night? My four month old daughter! All kidding aside, I have a completely irrational fear of being broken into at night, so any little noise in the house wakes me from sleep.
- What hobby would you get into if time and money weren’t an issue? I would become a foodie and travel all over trying new restaurants and wineries!
- What job would you be terrible at? I would never want to be a celebrity. I think the public spotlight and constant attention would really wear on me.