It all started in 1967. My sister was SO jealous. She stomped her foot and shouted at our parents, “It’s so unfair!!!” What was she so upset about? I was going to a sold-our Janis Joplin concert.
For those of you who were born in 21st century, Joplin was a similar phenomenon to Taylor Swift. The 1967 Joplin concert tickets cost $2.50 (about 1.5 hours of $1.40 minimum wage in Ohio in 1967). The 2023 Swift tickets cost $500 (about 50 hours of $10.10 minimum wage in Ohio). Cultural activities were accessible to most people in 1967, but not so much today. But I digress.
Not only did I get to go to the concert, but I also got to meet Janis Joplin, backstage in her dressing room, while she swigged Southern Comfort from the bottle (and she did say hello to us, two 13-year-old girls). My friend’s father was the producer who brought these acts to Cincinnati. Aha! We usually we just stayed at their house, but we always had the opportunity to meet the talent. We sat on the stairs to the second floor, watching famous people eat, drink, and smoke. The experience was inspiring and a lot of fun!
Did my brush with fame make me want to be famous? Not a chance, but I do have to admit that I wanted to be a back-up singer. I think that is a role that most of us play at some point in our lives. We work to help others succeed, and without us the stars might fall from the sky.
I can’t make you happy or famous, you have to do that yourself. But I can share the secrets to good decision-making, which will lead you down the right path, the right project, the right role for you.

I have always loved making art, jewelry, tinkering, and making things better since I was a kid. I’m still doing it. The concept of continuous improvement maybe feels like a buzzword, but how does “continuous curiosity” sound? I’m a curious person, who has always followed my own interests. There were only 4 women in my architecture class of 1977. The world has changed since then (now most architecture schools are half women), but my commitment to use architecture and design as way to make life better for the people who work, play, age, live, and learn. I discovered over the past several decades that there are hundreds of decisions that must be made on almost every project, so the better I became at helping people make decisions, the more efficient, calm, and pleasant the process became. The projects are theirs, not mine. I like to focus on what makes you happy, and help you make the right decisions for you. After all, what could possibly go wrong?