Okay, it has been quite the hiatus, but if I am going to pay for the domain, I should probably be posting to it, amiright? I am.
Anyway… Happy 2024 to everyone a bit late. Until I can get back in the swing of things, these might be published a little erratically and not necessarily on Tuesday’s. Hello Thursday, how you doing? Bear with me, I forgot how long these take to do and how tedious the formatting issues are.
What better way to start the blog back up than by interviewing a ex-work--colleague-who-has-always-made-me-smile?
Today we get to see 20 questions with Tanya Vora. A few jobs ago, Tanya and I worked together in a UX department. I was mainly focus on UX design, and she was a UX researcher. We ended up working on a project with a research component that involved close to 20 90 minute interviews. It was a bunch. Tanya has a dry sense of humor that I enjoy. She is smart and charming and I am a better person for having known her. We recently reconnected on the socials and I thought, “Who better to restart the blog up with than the delightful Tanya?” And I was right, There is no one better to restart this bad-boy up with than Tanya. She is one of the best, and everyone should know her.
Without further ado, 20 Questions with Tanya.
In a previous life I was a cartographer/geographer and I have always loved the idea of people’s geographic story. For example (I have not had to write this for over a year now) my geographic story goes thusly… I was born as an air force brat at an Air Force base just outside of Oklahoma City. My dad was transferred to one of the many Air Force Bases in Montgomery, Alabama and then the family moved up to Birmingham, Alabama when he got out of the Air Force. I lived in the BIrmingham area until I went off to college at Kent State University. I followed my then fiance and now ex-wife to grad school in Columbus, Ohio, where I have lived since.
Question 1: What is your geographic story?
First off, thanks for the kind words. I’ll be using the paragraph above as daily motivational affirmations. Loved working together and getting to know ya!
My story begins before I was born. My parents emmigrated from India and came to the US in the 80’s. It was because of their big leap that I’m here today…in Ohio. Some members of my Dad’s family went to New Zealand, in a city that’s 70 degrees for most of the year and has multiple forms of reliable public transportation. But I’m not complaining…today.
I was raised in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio and then moved to Columbus to attend tOSU when I was 18. I’ve since been living in Columbus with my partner James and two cats, Rou and Namiko. I’d like to move out of Ohio one day, but in due time. It’s affordable here and I’ve built a supportive and caring community. I’m building a couple businesses at the moment and want to save up before finally making the big move.
I would have lost money betting that you had lived in more places than just the 2 Ohio cities. You seem so much more cosmopolitan than just having been in the midwest. I would imagine that being 1st gen immigrant family adds to the cosmopolitaness… cosmopolinaity… So, Question 2: Do you get the opportunity to travel much then? Where is the most interesting place you have been?
Well they do say that Cuyahoga Falls is the Paris, France of the US.
I love traveling! The escapism and food - big fan. My parents liked to take us on trips while growing up. Some trips included: several summer road trips to visit my cousins in New Jersey, visits to India to see family, & Disney World.
These days it depends on if I can find the time and money. Owning two businesses makes this challenging. I’d like to also mention that I’ve been incredibly privileged to have been able to travel as much as I have throughout my life.
The most interesting place I’ve been to was Bolivia. When I was a freshman at OSU I was a part of the International Affairs Scholars program. This meant that we had the opportunity to take a course about Bolivian history and then visit the country at the end of the semester (back when there were semesters). We went to Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Isla del Sol, and La Paz. It’s a beautiful country that has so much to offer in each city. It was an incredibly unique experience, considering we took a class taught by two professors of Bolivian heritage who also joined us on the trip.
That sounds absolutely amazing. I need to travel more than I have recently. I would love to cross an ocean again soon.
Here comes the hard question. Question 3: Cake or pie? Which specific one and why?
CAKE. Belle’s Bread near Tensuke Market. The strawberry and matcha flavors. It’s the most fluffy, airy, beautiful, gorgeous cake that I’ve ever had. We get it every year for my birthday.
I have never had that cake (editors note, I will link to it). It sounds delightful.
I do have to say that your cake response is a little tame. Previous people I have talked to or done official 20 Questions Tuesday who have picked cake tend to be more rabid about it.
This is completely anecdata but pie people tend to say something to the effect of “I like pie, and would love to eat some pie, thank you very much.” Whereas cake people tend to be “I will murder your family and kick a puppy in the rain to get the cake that I deserve. You cannot keep me from my frosting delivery system, I will end you.”
Question 4: Were you merely being polite concerning you desire for cake, and, in truth, you are a rage filled frosting monster? The world wants to know.
Haha it may be that I don’t love foods that are sweet very much! I’m very selective with the sweet dishes I will eat, but I’m a savory breakfast person FWIW. I hope this logic resonates with someone lol I often think about what dish I would eat during my last day on Earth and sweets aren’t in the top 10 or 20 of my list.
So, that leads nicely into Question 5: if you could have dinner with any 5 people in the world who have ever lived, what food would you serve for that dinner?
Anthony Bourdain (RIP, still sad about this one)
Ziwe
Tamar the Great of Georgia
James Baldwin
Aristotle OR Stevie Nicks, I’m torn between these two
I've chosen these people under the assumption that they would be honest when answering questions I ask them. Very interested in learning about the Fleetwood Mac drama in that case.
Ok to answer your question: a universally beloved dish that I make is a vegan dal makhani (recipe by Nisha Vora of Rainbow Plantlife, )
This would be served with basmati rice and naan. It meets most dietary restrictions and is filling! For dessert we’ll have the strawberry cake from Belle’s Bread, decaf coffee, and baklava.
The dal looks amazing. I think I would tear that to pieces. The issue I have with making Indian food from scratch at home is how many ingredients and spices it takes to get the flavor profile just right, and just how long it takes to cook things properly. Looking at that video, it looks like a solid 36 hours of process from the soaking to the slow simmering. The results are clearly amazing, but… Everest Cuisine is just around the corner and has Chicken Pokara ready to eat in 15 minutes…
I would suggest Stevie Nicks over Aristotle just because I think Aristotle would be up his own ass too much.
I know that you are starting to put together a stand-up career. Question 6: What drew you to the art of stand up?
I think there were several motivating factors. The first being that I enjoy finding humor in life. All of this is made up, why not laugh while we’re doing mundane tasks?
The other factor has a bit of a longer explanation. I started participating in business pitch competitions (Startup Weekend and GiveBackHack) around 2017. Essentially, you pitch your business idea in front of 100+ people the first night on Friday, build a team with other attendees, work together to validate the problem and build a deck on Saturday, then pitch the business to investors on Sunday. This process of speaking to a crowd with a mic and leading a team helped me realize that I could potentially do comedy one day.
I since then have been writing observations and notes in my Notes app on my iPhone, in hopes of creating my tight-five at some point. I’ve been keeping these entries for years now!
In February of this year, I asked a local comedian for advice on how to start comedy. I took his advice and began refining my notes into jokes, and then I finally worked up the courage to perform my first set in July. Quite a lengthy process!
I never thought that shark tank style pitches would lead to stand-up, but it makes sense.
First time I did stand up was in 5th grade. It was a partner act with my friend Patrick. He was the straight man of a typical kind of set-up/punch format. It was a lot of fun. Patrick didn’t take to the Center Point Elementary fame though and retired that year to focus on his studies. I kept the torch alive for another year and came out with a tight 7 to nab a honorable mention (4th place in the show… just off the podium, gottdamnit) in the Talent Show as a 6th Grader, The kid who won, did the same winning dance routine from the year before (He really did this amazing dance to Midnight Star’s “Freakazoid”), I know one of the other top three sang “The Rose” like 4 other people in the show, and I forget that other act that placed. That is the extent of my stand-up career. Later that year I retired from stand-up because the talent show system was rigged (the guy who danced to Freakazoid won the following year as well [he was a year behind me] by dancing to Freakazoid again. Rigged. It was an amazing dance routine though.), and there wasn’t a talent show in middle school, because middle school sucks.
We all know who the big names in stand-up are. The Seinfeld’s Patton’s, Gaffigan’s, Chapelle’s (not without controversy, I haven’t watched his last few,) but Question 7: Who is a comedian from a tier or 2 below those mega stand-up stars that really gets you giggling and what is a bit of theirs that you love?
Come out of retirement, I think you’d be great!
I’ve loved watching a couple comedians throughout their comedy careers. I’ve outlined what I like most about them:
Nate Bergatze
He’s an “Everyman comic”, he “muses about a life that could happen to any suburban 20-, then 30-something”
What intrigues me about him is that he made it big while being a clean comic, meaning he doesn’t swear or joke about vulgar topics. He’s so funny that you don’t even realize that he is strategic about keeping his jokes clean.
I love hearing his stories about what it was like growing up with a dad who was a magician.
Quinta Brunson
I’ve been following Quinta since her Buzzfeed days. I feel like I’m watching a friend reach their goals, as she’s now producing the successful sitcom, Abbott Elementary, about a show that follows the staff at a struggling, underfunded Philadelphia school.
I don’t have any comedic bits of hers that standout from her standup days, but I still think about an interview that she did with Jimmy Kimmel about why she thinks the comedy in Abbott is so successful:
“I think the more specific you go with the city, the better. The inclination…is that you want to go broader on network TV, but what I’ve learned from comedies is that the more specific you go the more universal you go…Anyone can relate it [Philadelphia] to their own home town”
I think about this quote when writing jokes about my life as the daughter of two Indian immigrants, for audiences that couldn’t be anymore different than me.
Ali Wong
Ali Wong once told Seth Meyers that she used to do 13 sets a night in NYC, which logistically sounds like a nightmare. Her work ethic is admirable, and I’m happy to see a female comic up there with all the dudes, and an Asian comic at that!!
Her bit about having Asian immigrant parents hits close to home ha
No notes. Great picks. Question 8: How do you perceive the comedy scene in Columbus? What is good? What is bad? How does it match up with other nearby places?
I haven’t explored comedy in other cities, so the following is just from my perspective in Columbus, which I’ve been pleasantly surprised by! I had assumed that it would be competitive and unkind to new comers, but it’s been anything but! Seasoned comedians have been helpful anytime I ask questions about comedy or the industry.
We’re lucky to have open mics every night in the city, which is different than how things were just a couple years ago. Don’t Tell Columbus and The Attic bring in national and local comedians every week. The scene is hot, it’s been exciting to be a part of it!
In terms of negative aspects, I think like most industries, it’s male dominated. So jokes that women write and deliver based on their lived experiences don’t always land at open mics where 90% of the people in the room are men waiting for their turn to perform.
Networking is important in comedy, so sometimes there are cliques of comedians that mostly promote those from their friendgroups. I assume this is true in any comedy scene, though. I know I’ve been guilty of this too, as I haven’t met everyone in the scene due to being new.
One last thing - I think like most art forms, the amount of time attributed to building a career in comedy rarely pays off. So much time is involved with writing and performing material at open mics and shows, only for the end product (shows) to pay comedians inadequately. I don’t blame any organizers for this dilemma - I believe this is an industry wide issue, and I’m not sure how to solve it. It feels daunting to think about the years necessary to build a comedy career in hopes of potentially making a living in this industry, which is incredibly rare (think actor statistics - 1% make it to a point where they’re professional, touring comedians that MIGHT make $50k a year.)
The scene seems much livelier than what I knew of it not that long ago. I was much more plugged into the comings and goings of comedians in Columbus about 10 years ago.I LOVE comedy and have wanted to get back into it again, and potentially get up and tell some stories. Making the time to do it is just as daunting as getting a set together. I should probably just get going to open mics and consume for a bit before even thinking of stepping up.
Let’s take this a slightly different direction. I also know, since we were co-workers, that your professional life (at least part of it) revolves around User Experience Design. Question 9: No one grows up saying “I want to be a User Experience Designer!”... so what was your path to UX?
In college I studied Communication Technology with a subspecialization in Human Computer Interaction. All this meant was that I had one class in college that taught me about UX design and research. I loved learning that there was a wholde industry dedicated to understanding how people navigate and use everyday experiences.
That class stuck with me after graduation, so I tried to obtain a UX job out the gates. I unfortunately didn’t have the experience or portfolio to pursue UX, so I instead taught myself to code HTML and CSS and landed a Web content Developer position at Abercrombie & Fitch’s headquarters in New Albany.
After 6 months, I decided to introduce my self to the UX team at Abercrombie during a happy hour. I told them I wanted to be on their team, so I shadowed them for a couple months then fully transitioned to their team as a UX researcher. I’ve since been a UX researcher and now consider myself more of a UX strategist! There was a year or two in my career where I was a UX designer, but I learned immediately that I didn’t enjoy that role. I love how objective research is; it’s hard to argue our findings during a presentation with stakeholders, when it's founded in data.
HCI is pretty much UX. I am surprised that people did not see that as translatable. I loved working with you in your research role when we were coworkers. Always insightful and very incisive with your research designs and implementation. You truly are a joy to watch, especially when you are oblivious to the research participants clearly hitting on you. On a side note: we are going to need to have a conversation over beverages about transitioning to UX Strategist. I really want that, I am tired of being reactive in my career… I would love to strategize.
Question 10: please fill in the blanks (feel free to ask others for input in the second blank) : I find that I am mostly __________. Others find that I am mostly ____________.
I find that I am mostly impatient
Others (my partner James) finds that I am mostly empathetic, creative, & entrepreneurial
Hey! Wait! That's three things, James. Stop with the overachieving. Overachieving James, amiright?
“Impatient” doesn't completely preclude “empathetic, creative, & entrepreneurial…” buuuuut… Question 11: how do you feel those two answers mesh up? Are they sides of the same coin? Or do you feel that that yours or his perception of you rings more authentic?
I think that being impatient explains my behaviors and entrepreneurial pursuits quite well! Long story short, my parents only praised success so now my siblings and I are perfectionists. We want to do it right and we want to do it well, which means we are more apt to give up on something if we’re not immediately good at it or happy with it. This explains why I’ve quit many a hobbies throughout the years 😅
In terms of my professional life, I’ve bounced around to different UX teams throughout the years because I was unhappy with the team/environment/work. Founding businesses has allowed me the freedom and control to create things within my skillsets. So I see that both of our perceptions are accurate through this lens.
There is definitely a connection between the different responses. Looking at impatient vs empathetic, creative, and entrepreneurial isn't an either or. It feels like different sides of the same coin to me as well.
Question 12: More often than not, would you consider yourself to be happy?
I think so! A number of privileges allow me to be generally happy. 2019 was rough while trying to tackle a full time job and Spice Up. Shout out to Zoloft, which I recently was allowed to stop taking this year!
That is great. Most people I have interviewed have been generally happy. There have been a couple who recognized their unhappiness due to the question being asked, and there was one I think realized their unhappiness weeks later. I am a change maker.
So Question 13: Do you have any superstitions or rituals in your life?
Don’t tell Big Pharma! They might recruit you
I don’t know how to answer these questions without a backstory or lengthy explanation lol Let me try bullet points:
Was raised religious - my family practiced Jainism. When I turned 18, my siblings and I decided that we no longer want to practice and we have since considered ourselves atheists.
For years I was a real asshole about denouncing anything that wasn’t rooted in science. Now as an adult, I realize that unexplainable observations can still be categorized as science - we just don’t know the why!
I want to believe in ghosts because of the vast amount of anecdotal evidence out there (I.e. we all know someone who has a ghost story)
I knock on wood all the time in order to avoid “tempting fate”
My top three zodiac signs are very scarily accurate to who I am
These are all amazing. Ghostly anecdata is pretty interesting, and weirdly explained very well by simulation theory. THAT is a conversation that should occur over beverages.
Question 14: Any other supernatural things you would love to be true?
Um, all of it. Krampus, cryptids, magic, ghosts. I love all things horror, but now that I’m thinking it through, I change my mind - certain horror movie monsters should not exist. Like the lady from The Ring can stay where she is.
Yeah, Samara Morgan can suck it… creepy well-girl. Stay in your fetid waters… drippy weirdo. The one I want to be real the most is Bigfoot/Yeti/Sasquatch/Skunk Ape/Amok etc… that one really feels like it would be amazing. That being said, I do not want the weirdo interdimensional creature bigfoot or the UFO alien bigfoot. I want the everyday, go as you please, “I’m a big hairy ape” bigfoot. The overly woooo-woooo crypto-zoology stuff just does not work for me. If all y’all haven’t listened to “Wild Thing” a podcast about bigfoot (at least the first season is), you should.
We are on the downward slope of this Q and A Adventure, Just going to check in and make sure I won’t miss anything you wanted to be asked. Question 15: Is there any question I have not asked you that you either expected to be asked or would like to have been asked? We still have some q’s to rectify that deficiency if we need.
The day the government releases documentation that proves that Bigfoot is in fact real will be a great day
None that come to mind! Thanks for the great questions and conversations thus far!
Awesome. I think this has been going well so far, but I do want to make sure expectations are met. Question 16: Which do you think would have a bigger immediate impact on society, Disclosure of bigfoot being real and critical nature shows being presented on Nat Geo and Discovery or an engagement announcement of Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift?
Heeeyyy would you give a male interviewee the Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce option as well? 😆
I am not a Swiftie, but even if I was I would still choose Bigfoot disclosure because I think 99% of all celebrity relationships are for PR. I’m not sure what the impact would be other than paparazzi making bank.
Bigfoot being real would just open the floodgates for more research and funding into finding other cryptids globally, which is objectively way cooler. It might also immediately cause mass hysteria.
Most definitely, I would ask, if not this exact question, a similar one to anybody I was talking to. Tay and Travis are really the IT people in the cultural zeitgeist right now. If I were asking this a year ago it might have been bigfoot v Megan and Harry doing something. The reason I asked you this question is because of how I thought a local newscast would set up the bigfoot story.
Ted: Mary, you know who is really excited about this Tayravis Engagement?
Mary: No, Ted. Who ?
Ted: Bigfoot. Bigfoot has come out of hiding to get see what’s going on with Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce. Scientists say that sasquatch or Bigfoot as he is called …..
I chose the soft ball cultural zeitgeist idea because I wanted to keep this 20 Q’s relatively light so I avoided big news items like conflicts or political turmoil… I’m looking bat you Israel and Russia.
Let’s stick with the supernatural. Question 17: What is the most credible supernatural thing that you have experienced or have heard directly from someone? No “a friend or a friend said her neighbor saw a…” stories.
I recorded an episode on my podcast Fangirl Feels about this very topic. Two friends and I recorded our encounters with the supernatural. My experience was hearing what I believed to be my grandfather on the day of his cremation.
That episode can be found here.
That is intense. You bet I will listen to that podcast.
Now it is time for me to turn the tables. Question 18: What question do you have for me?
Would you rather have a time machine that can only go to the past or a teleporter that can only go to fictional universes?
That is a fun question. The past is horrible and I am not sure that I would like to be part of that horribleness only as older and wiser. Imma choose the teleporter.
Question 19: What are you taking from these 20 Questions that you did not bring in with you?
Yes but WHICH fictional universe are you going to? I’m going to the world of Avatar the Last Airbender.
I think these questions made me realize that I’ve been living a full life. It’s hard to see the forest for the trees when you’re bogged down with the day to day and trying to get by. But looking back at these questions, I think my experiences have led me to lead an interesting and somewhat meaningful life! So thank you for including me in this.
This is partly why I do this. It is great to see someone take stock of where they are at the moment. That is why the “Are you happy” question isn’t asked until the second half of the questions. This has been an absolute joy for me as well.
As far as where I would teleport… Not to the Warhammer 40K universe, maybe to Star Wars, I am not a brony but if I had to teleport to a fictional universe, My Little Pony might not be a bad one. It did not seem super dangerous. Most fictional universes are built on the idea of conflict to create good narrative structures, so most of what we see from those settings are the conflict portions. I think I might want to teleport to the Earth of the Expanse. It is not perfect, but good enough and on planet, it seems similarly safe to what life is today. The danger comes from stepping off planet, and you don’t have to do that.
Question 20: What’s next? Be as concrete or nebulous, as short-term or long-term, and as philosophical or practical as you would like.
Hoping to keep:
Landing comedy gigs (follow along on YouTube, IG, and Threads @totalllytanya)
Helping clients with UX design and research needs through Arcanalabs.co
being silly as we about books, tv shows, and movies on Fangirl Feels Pod
Planning events and posting food related content for Spice Up (@spiceupeats on YouTube, IG, and FB)
Speaking of, we’re hosting a Spice Up event on February 22nd with James Beard nominated Chef, Avishar Barua at Agni. Get your tickets
Well this was amazing. I do feel like I know you much better now. I promise that I will try to get out and see your stand-up set soon.
So follow Tanya on all the socials you can. She is a great follow. Columbus people, look out for Tanya, she is awesome.
To recap:
Tonya is amazing
She always brings a smile to my face
I know it has been a while since I posted
It has been a crazy couple years
Deal with it
Many things have changed since the last post in May of 2022
I have remarried
I am very happy
My ex got re-married
She is very happy
My wife and my ex’s husband are both very happy
Everyone is pretty darn happy
Except for my existence in the employment space
Going on my 6th month unemployed now
Job market is crazy weird right now
I have applied for over 500 positions
Gotten thanks but no thanks emails for about 70
71, just got one a minute ago
I’m not putting anyone on blast, but I have had about 20 recruiters (internal HR reps or external staffing recruiters) ghost me after contacting me
They contact, I respond, they fall off the face of the earth
Jobs applications that seem like they are tailor made for me go nowhere
Par example (for my Quebecois readers) I have a MA in geography (with accompanying 20 year career) and a MS in User Experience Design (with a commiserate 8 year career) and did not get a call back for a GIS position focused on UX
Nothing
Rien
Nada
With all the tech layoffs going on I know I am in a pool with tons of applicants
It has been extremely depressing
Oh, well
If you aren’t creating, you are waiting, so let’s get this blog moving again
Send me a message or leave a comment if you want me to ask you 20 Questions
Have a great week everyone