The Ridgewood News
MARION BROWN/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
Occupation: Dentist.
Age: 52.
How long I have lived in Ridgewood: Since 1990 — 21 years.
Interests and hobbies: Music, art, reading, travel, tennis.
My favorite place to relax in Ridgewood: Take a walk after work at Vets park, go shopping/movies downtown with our kids or a friend.
A “perfect day” in Ridgewood would include: A walk on a beautiful spring/fall day, helping out at the Social Services food drive, or dinner out with family and/or friends.
The best-kept secret in the village: Travell School. It’s just the best environment for kids and parents.
The best things about Ridgewood: We love it here, so it will have to be almost everything, especially all of the parks. Also, the sense of community.
One thing I would like to change in the village: As a foreigner, I would like to see more intercultural activities. At Ridgewood High School they have great festivals for the Asians, West Indies/Latin, etc. groups, that are so wonderful. It would be great if we could have a parade or a festival to celebrate our diversity as a town.
The best part of my job: The people I work with.
The most difficult part of my job: The stress of doing it all … working mom.
The big decision I’m currently wrestling with: Will our kids find jobs after spending four years in college and another three to four years in their masters degrees?
I am most proud of: Our three kids.
Something that no one knows about me: My grandfather worked in the construction of the Panama Canal in 1901.
The quality I like best about myself: Always have a goal.
The quality I like least about myself: My desire to please.
My mottos: To our kids: Do what you love, be happy about your decisions because it pleases you, when possible try to do something to help humanity, and always brush your teeth!
I laugh at: Myself.
I am really good at: Talking to our kids, hugs — lots of hugs.
I admire: My husband’s patience.
Skills every person should have: Communication, respect of others.
Favorite memories: My parents dancing one last time at our daughter’s 15th birthday bash (quinceanera), the birth of our kids, the day my husband proposed.
Before I die, I’d like to: Go to Morocco, where my grandfather came from.
Book I am currently reading: “The Help.”
Something that’s been on my mind lately: How is Mexico going to ever come out of this terrible drug trafficking problem, and how the people of Monterrey will ever trust the police again.
Something that scares me: Aggressive personalities.
I will never understand: Politics, drug abuse, mothers abandoning their children.
I wish I could invent: A new immigration policy.
I get embarrassed when: I don’t know how to pronounce a word. I have lived in the United States for 30 years, but sometimes I come across a word that I have never seen before and I struggle to pronounce it or understand the meaning.
My guilty pleasure: Mexican food.
My idea of happiness: The life I have right now.
My hero: My husband.
A talent I would like to have: Sing.
My greatest regret: That I did not travel to Rome with my Mom before she died.
My favorite journey: To find the woman my Mother would be most proud of.
A person I admire: Laura Oralia de Hassan, my Mother.
My most treasured possession: My health.
Something I wish you asked me: How many languages I can understand and speak?
And my answer! Three.
