Hi
As my first entry, I would like to introduce myself.
My name is Joanie and I am the product specialist here at OpticsPlanet.com I originally was hired to do some writing for the website due to my background in writing, but was eventually offered a job here in Chicago. The decision to leave my beautiful Portland, Oregon was difficult (and I still miss Oregon, so), but the opportunity to help others with questions about optics, birding, astronomy and related subjects proved too much to resist.
Adjusting to the pace of life here in Chicago and adapting to a young, but rapidly growing internet company has not been easy, but now, after almost nine months on the job, I firmly believe that I have one of the best jobs in the world. There is nothing like the satisfaction of knowing I helped another person get started in birding, astronomy, photography and so on. And, yeah, working with the finest optics in the world isn't too bad, either. Ha!
I am a zen vegetarian with a love of earth Mother and all things natural and basically a non-material person, except for my optics and bicycle. If I won the lottery, I would get new tires for my old Geo, then give the rest away. This may seem strange, given that I ride a bicycle even in the snow, but I have been putting off buying car tires for a long time, now. I just consider cars an affront to Earth Mother and I drive only when necessary. When I do, it's fairly slow (anything is slow compared to the way people drive here.) . It's a wonder to me how these Chicago drivers can see birds alongside the road when they drive so fast. Ha!
I and am now at a stage in my life where I find myself alone. I am grateful, though, that this job keeps me too busy to get lonely, but someday I hope to find a (tall, dark and handsome) companion to share my love of birding and astronomy.
These two pursuits, and others as well, have consumed me from my earliest years. I have written a small book on astronomy (now out of print) and am a contributing writer for BirdWatcher's Digest as well as newsletters for various organizations. I have also been a seminar presenter on optics and also beginning birding. Be warned, though, that when I get in front of a crowd and begin talking optics, it is hard to shut me up. What the heck, though. What good is knowledge if it can't be shared?
Much of what I know has been learned out in the field over the last forty plus years of using optics, but much has also been learned behind the counter of a major retailer of optical equipment. I ran the optics department in the store for twelve years and behind me was the gun department, so I also know firearms. Although I don't hunt anymore and even find it hard to kill a spider or fly, I did hunt and target shoot competitively in my youth. These days, though, you are more likely to find me volunteering as a guide at a nature center or local observatory.
I have also been a science teacher at the middle school and high school level. I love kids, but hate paperwork or I might still be teaching. I've never fit the mold of the paranoid, factory mentality that so pervades our school systems these days.
Okay, so by now you've guessed I am to the left of liberal. I am so liberal, in fact, that I love everyone, no matter what their politics and background. Life is too short to fill it with the poison of hatred. Blessings to all.
Joanie
