GeekMom Secret Origins: 6 Things About Andrea Schwalm

I love to handle gadgets. And I find jargon and statistics kinda sexy. Because of my children, I probably know more about autoimmune disorders and learning disabilities than most laypeople do. These days though, I am much better at avoiding the phrases “cross-hemispherical communication” or “pneumothorax” at cocktail parties. Currently, I have two part-time jobs. […]
Image may contain Clothing Apparel Human Person Vegetation Plant Dress Yard Outdoors Nature and Camera
  1. I love to handle gadgets. And I find jargon and statistics kinda sexy.
  2. Because of my children, I probably know more about autoimmune disorders and learning disabilities than most laypeople do. These days though, I am much better at avoiding the phrases “cross-hemispherical communication” or “pneumothorax” at cocktail parties.
  3. Currently, I have two part-time jobs. Through them, I organize food drives, facilitate adult support groups and run a youth group. In my spare time, I take pictures and post them to flickr. I write and facebook and tweet. Also, there are these two young-ish people that I rather like who are still willing to come on adventures with me.
  4. My “bucket list” is kind of tame: It involves a great many wifi-equipped foreign bed-and-breakfasts and a couple of classes each on pinhole photography and stained-glass window-making. With maybe a sci-fi writer’s workshop thrown in…
  5. I define geekiness not by any set particular interest but instead by an unusual level of curiosity and passion brought to ANY activity or topic. By that definition, we are each in my family geeks in our own way—videography, photography, comic books, parenting, literature, pop music, movies…
  6. My life so far has not been anything close to what I'd planned—for instance: there is a lot less standing around a piano singing show tunes. And no home laboratory. Meanwhile, that best-selling children’s book still exists only in my subconscious…and I certainly didn’t expect the ten years of military wifedom. However, as Douglas Adams once said: “I may not have gone where I intended to go, but I think I have ended up where I intended to be.”