Episode 3: Conversations over Milk & Cookies - Kathryn Treat
Welcome to Episode 3 of Conversations over
Milk & Cookies hosted by Kindle Ninja.
What is this madness, you ask?
It's my way of supporting authors and
writers from the Rave Reviews Book Club. For the entire month of April, I
will be featuring the fine women and men that make up the Board of RRBC.
We interact with them everyday,
directly through tweets, or indirectly through re-tweets, but we don't really
know much about them. Their personalities really don't shine through in tweets
and re-tweets.
In
Episode 2, RRBC Spotlight and Incentives Coordinator TERI GARRINGER (@TeriGarringer) bares her funny
side in 26 Questions.
For Episode
3, RRBC Membership Director KATHRYN TREAT (@KathrynCTreat) lets
her hair down and plays the game of 24 Questions.
Let's get to know Kathryn in more
than 140 characters, shall we?
* * *
+No ninjas were hurt in making this
episode.
KINDLE NINJA (KN): Welcome
to Conversations over Milk and Cookies. How do you like your
cookies? Chewy? Crunchy? Crumbly? Something else?
Chewy.
What’s the hardest part of being the
Rave Reviews Book Club Membership Director?
I don’t believe there is a “hardest” part
although I have to balance my energy levels to avoid becoming too overwhelmed
and becoming mentally and physically fatigued. I enjoy what I am doing.
It is amazing the amount of support I have received from the wonderful members
that I have had the privilege of interacting with. I get to work with
such a wonderful bunch on the board. They are truly amazing people.
I love that I am among the first to get to welcome new members to the club.
I’ve read about your battle
with toxic mold in your book "Allergic to Life". If you could get
back at mold, what allergy (or disease) would you give it?
You would think this would be an easy
question but it is not. I have always said that I wouldn’t wish this on
my worst enemy; however, I would like them to walk in my shoes for a few months
or maybe a year. I guess I would just put mold in my shoes. Maybe I
would make it live in a room filled with antifungal medications to see what it
is like to fight for its life.
Have you ever Googled yourself?
Yes I have. About a year after
I started my blog and just before “Allergic to Life” was published, I Googled
my name. My reason was to see how affective my blog was and if it would
show up in a Google search. I wanted to know if I was reaching others.
Do you have a name for your PC /
laptop?
No. I have never named
inanimate objects. Although my computer has been my lifeline. It
has been my connection to the world.
I like your glass table / workspace.
Can I have it?
Absolutely NOT! I love having
my glass table top. I was determined when I bought this that I would buy
something that I could easily clean if, heaven forbid, I got exposed to mold
again. I wanted something I wouldn’t have to throw away and something
that didn’t contain glues and formaldehyde. I have seen a beautiful glass
table that one of our board members uses and I might trade my desk for that
one.
KINDLE NINJA: Sniff. Maybe that other
board member would give me the glass table.
If your life were a song, what would
the title be?
I have three songs that described me
for so long.
- As Tears Go By – Marianne Faithful – describes how it feels to sit
and watch others go about their lives while watching through a window
- Alone in My Room – Beach Boys —describes the safety of being inside
behind the glass windows
- If I Only Had a Brain – Wizard of Oz – describes my loss of memory
and my inability at times to recall a word in midsentence or to even
remember midsentence what I am talking about.
And who would you sing it with?
I would sing it with Liz. Liz
is one of my dear friends, a fellow mold survivor, and suffers from
environmental illness like I do.
Can you hum a tune for me?
I am totally unable to hum a
tune. I am sure I am tone deaf. You probably would not want to be
in the room with me when Liz and I are singing our songs.
What would you rather be doing now?
(instead of answering these questions).
I am enjoying answering these
questions right now. I love reading biographies and interviews by
others. If I weren’t doing this I would love spending the day outdoors
with my grandchildren or behind my sewing machine creating something beautiful.
I’d assume I’m the person you’d want
to drink Milk with (since you agreed to this interview), but who’s the person
you’d want to have coffee with?
I have never liked coffee even before
becoming ill and developing all these allergies and sensitivities. Coffee
contains mold. I am, however, addicted to green tea. I would love
to have had the opportunity to sit and have a cup of tea with Audrey
Hepburn. I read her biography years ago and thought she was such a
fascinating person.
How do you like your coffee?
I don’t drink coffee. I like my
green tea plain.
KINDLE NINJA: Remind me to fire my
researcher.
How do you feel about doughnuts
without holes?
Are we talking about cake doughnuts
or raised doughnuts? Raised doughnuts contain yeast which is not an option for
someone with mold allergies. A doughnut just is not a doughnut without a
hole in the middle.
What’s the best way to
decompress?
Weather permitting, the best way to
decompress is a nice long walk.
If you had superpowers, what would it
be?
My superpowers would be to be able to
heal with the touch of my hand.
What’s the book you wished you’d
written?
Pride and Prejudice is one of my
all-time favorite books. I would have to pick it.
If you could date a celebrity,
who would it be?
My favorite actor has always been
Jimmy Stewart. I would have loved to have the opportunity to date him. If
I had to choose someone from today it would be Brad Pitt, not because of his
looks or movie star status but because of his conviction to causes.
And where will you go?
I would love to go to a fancy
restaurant, eat anything on the menu without worrying if I am allergic to it,
and go to a movie or play without worrying if I am going to become ill from my
environment.
What’s the book that positively
shaped you?
I don’t know if any book has
positively shaped me but two books come to mind that helped me when I was in
the worst of this illness. The first book is “Tuesday’s with
Morrie”. I fell in love with Morrie and his ability to come up with such
profound thoughts and sayings despite his extreme illness. The second
book is “The Last Lecture”. Despite his battle with pancreatic cancer,
Randy Pausch delivered one of the most powerful lectures. These two men
showed me what it is like to deal with such extreme adversity with dignity and
grace. I that I have been able to do the same.
On a scale of 1 to 10, how excited
are you about life right now?
Despite my difficulties, I would say
my excitement about life is a 9 or 10. I have recently published my book
and made some amazing new friends over the last year. My health, while
not optimal, is better than it was and I have three of the most amazing
grandchildren that lift my spirit whenever they are around me. If you had asked
me this question six or seven years ago, my answer would have been more of a .5
on a scale of 1 to 10.
Coke or Pepsi?
I was a Dr. Pepper drinker!
Nicholas Sparks or Dan Brown?
Nicholas Sparks. I love his
books
J.K. Rowling or Stephenie Meyer?
I have never read books by either of
these well known authors. I have watched theTwighlight movies. If I
had to choose based on that, I would pick Stephenie Meyer.
Lastly: Ninjas or
Mold-Killers?
Do I have to choose? I think I
would combine them and have Ninja Mold-Killers. Wouldn’t that make a
great book?
KINDLE NINJA: Only if you make me
the main character!
Thanks for your time. Hope you
enjoyed the Q&A.
