Some of the best parts of these interviews include specific insights and peeks inside someone’s the true personality. Today, when I asked our next Member of the Month for some photos that I could include in the interview, I received this response: ‘I have had some difficulty finding pictures, but am going to send you several so you can let me know if they will or won’t work. I am realizing most of my pictures are of animals and flowers!‘
If that alone does not make you intrigued by Stephanie, I encourage you to give this next story a read! I am sure that if she can’t bring joy to your day, nobody can.
Bove) How long have you been a member at Sacramento Pipeworks, and what is your best memory since you started coming to the gym?
Goodner) I started at Sacramento Pipeworks in 2006 or 2007, I’d have to ask my trainer. I have so many great memories of laughing / crying / sweating / whining with Jenny Ferrera and the gang, but my favorite memory is the moment I learned you could bring dogs to PW. I knew right then I had found my spot!!
B) Which animal would you say best represents you, and what would you be named?
G) I’ve always felt like I should be able to fly, so I’d say a bird. Not a tiny bird in a tiny cage; I’m talking about a bird with a huge wingspan, like a wandering albatross. I like the idea of soaring and gliding over the ocean for long periods of time. My name would be Blossom (which is my family’s nickname for me). My friends could just call me Bloss the ‘Tross.
B) If you could live forever, what would you spend the majority of your time doing? What percentage of your future time would you spend on doing good-for-you things versus guilty pleasures?
G) That’s a great question. If I could live forever, I would spend the majority of time traveling the world to visit every single person I love. There are so many of them, and they are scattered across the globe. I’d spend time sitting with them, walking with them, talking with them, cooking with them…just being with them. I’d collect their stories to take with me so I could share them with others. I don’t think I’d mind living forever if that’s what I could do with my time. As far as the breakdown goes…to be honest, I’m REALLY GOOD at guilty pleasures. If I knew I was going to live forever I would strive for a little more balance. I’d say the breakdown I’d aim for would be 60% guilty pleasure, 40% good-for-me-stuff. I know myself, though, so realistically it would be 80/20.
B) Do you have either a real-life role model or character that influences your major decisions?
G) Absolutely. I consider both Thich Nhat Hanh and Ram Dass to be my most influential teachers. What I have learned from reading their work, and from observing the way they live their lives, has helped me a lot as I move along my own path. I continue to return to their work because I learn something new every time.
B) Given the chance to travel back in time and do over a certain year of your life, how old would you want to be again?
G) I’d be 25. I had a sharp tongue and no filter. Given the chance, I would go back and be more kind. The greatest lesson that I ever learned came from that year, though, so I try to remember that.
B) Transitioning into an early spring this year, we will soon be rewarded with warmer days. If you could choose only three items to bring to an outdoor picnic to make for a perfect day, what would they be?
G) My wife, our dog, and take out from Anna’s Vegan Café.
B) Do you have a favorite book, or story that you would care to share?
G) I have so many, but I always come back to A Prayer for Owen Meany, by John Irving. It’s a really beautiful story about friendship and love, and how those things impact us and make us who we are. Since it’s John Irving the characters are really complex and interesting, and there are all kinds of twists and turns.
B) Congratulations! You have just received free tickets to your favorite musical artist at your favorite venue! What musician are you going to see, and where?
G) I’d probably say something different every single day. Today I’d go see Amos Lee at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa, Oklahoma. That sounds perfect to me.
B) Is there a must-have weekly food choice, and what is your go-to meal?
G) My must-have weekly food choice is Mexican food of some sort–especially tacos. If I’m in charge of dinner, though, my go-to meal is homemade cornmeal crust pizza and salad.
B) Tell us something that nobody would guess about you.
G) I spent one summer traveling through Hungary performing as a mime in a street drama. So if anyone out there is looking for a tree or a rock for their next party, I might be your gal.
Interview by Jason Bove
