To all of my dear friends and relatives... She fell.

To all of my dear friends and relatives,

You know which list you are on... and I love you all. Last Friday, I was notified that my mother, Peggy, had passed away. While this is never good news, and there can never be a ‘best’ time to learn of this, the manner and delivery of both were shocking and tragic. I know many of you either have no idea of the nature of our relationship (my mother’s and I), but many of you know exactly the type of relationship we had; somewhat estranged, eternally unpredictable…..

She fell.


For my mother, this could represent much more than this last physical act of falling from a second-floor balcony (I won’t get into the bad stuff; I was always taught not to say anything at all if you couldn’t say anything nice). My mom was hopelessly nostalgic, intrinsically competitive; and I have to remember her as the ultimate vision of herself. She was creative - string arts, sewing, a culinary wiz, a baking fiend (I’m still trying to get her peanut butter cookies perfected). She could be selfless at times – she worked with the Los Angeles Community Action Network (LACAN) to feed, clothe, and house the homeless. She worked with the Culver City Community Center helping Senior citizens with their activities.

As to the nostalgia, maybe my mom was hoping for that simpler time in the 50’s and 60s. Maybe she just liked all the happy memories. As a child, I remember painting ceramic ornaments with our Aunt Verna, her twin sister. Going to auctions, shopping, staying up late talking…. More recently – laughing hysterically at trying to teach me how to crochet (she taught me wrong! I have video proof!).

We all have problems, issues - things we don’t want to deal with. Death is #1 on that list for most (well maybe next to public speaking – to me, this letter almost qualifies as that – I don’t usually burden others with my emotional tribulations). If nothing else, people…. I know it’s uncomfortable, looking your mortality in the face and moving forward anyway, but especially if you have a family to leave behind – make a living trust, write out your will – let someone know exactly what you want to happen. If I had not had that conversation with my mother, I may not have done what she wanted. She was only 64. I didn’t expect to have to deal with the death of one of my parents for 15 years or so. (The men and women on both sides of the family ranged in age from 64 to 100 at the time of their death; I was hoping for the latter end of that range, I guess.)

May you all have started your new year out

…on a much more pleasant note,

Kari

P.S.
If you want to contact me, I am easiest to get via email, or you can contact me on my portable/home number (if you have it - edited for public posting)

Myers-Brigg Test Results

Your personality type is ISTJ.
Introverted (I) 71% Extraverted (E) 29%
Sensing (S) 55% Intuitive (N) 45%
Thinking (T) 70% Feeling (F) 30%
Judging (J) 68% Perceiving (P) 32%

Careers for ISTJ Personality Types

Whether you're a young adult trying to find your place in the world, or a not-so-young adult trying to find out if you're moving along the right path, it's important to understand yourself and the personality traits which will impact your likeliness to succeed or fail at various careers. It's equally important to understand what is really important to you. When armed with an understanding of your strengths and weaknesses, and an awareness of what you truly value, you are in an excellent position to pick a career which you will find rewarding.

ISTJs generally have the following traits:

• Value tradition, security, and peaceful living
• Will work long and hard to fulfill duties
• Can be depended on to follow through on tasks
• Loyal and faithful
• Stable, practical and down-to-earth
• Family-minded
• Dislike doing things which don't make sense to them
• Dislike abstract theory, unless they see the practical application
• Natural leaders
• Prefer to work alone, but work well in teams when necessary
• Extremely observant, they take in facts via their senses and store them internally
• Vast, rich inner store of facts which they rely on to understand problems which they encounter in their lives
• Profound respect for facts and concrete information
• Make decisions objectively, applying logic and rational thinking
• Dislike change, unless they are shown it's benefit in a concrete way
• Have strong opinions about the way things should be done
• Appreciate structured, orderly environments
• Have very high standards for their own behavior and the behavior of others
• Not naturally in-tune with other people's feelings
• Able to accomplish almost anything if they put their minds to it
• Community minded "good citizens"

ISTJs have one character trait which puts them at a definite advantage in terms of career success - Perserverance. An ISTJ can do almost anything that they have decided to do. However, there are areas in which they will function more happily and naturally. An ISTJ will do best in a career in which they can use their excellent organizational skills and their powers of concentration to create order and structure. ISTJs seem to fit extremely well into the Management and Executive layer of the corporate business world.

The following list of professions is built on our impressions of careers which would be especially suitable for an ISTJ. It is meant to be a starting place, rather than an exhaustive list. There are no guarantees that any or all of the careers listed here would be appropriate for you, or that your best career match is among those listed.

Possible Career Paths for the ISTJ:

• Business Executives, Administrators and Managers
• Accountants and Financial Officers
• Police and Detectives
• Judges
• Lawyers
• Medical Doctors / Dentists
• Computer Programmers, Systems Analysts, and Computer Specialists
• Military Leaders