I have a knack for running into the weirdest situations. My marketing and PR skills were forged in the pits of the non-profit sector, shaped in the software and financial industries, and refined in the real estate world. I’ve done everything from executing major community events, babysitting dignitaries on tour, hanging up mall decorations, doing live interviews with major media outlets and also standing behind the cameraman dancing out the cues for a client’s answer. These days, in addition to managing the customer care team and ensuring that homes are completed and turned over in great condition inside and out, I also experiment in the kitchen when there’s time between cleaning house and taking care of a baby, a dog and a husband (not necessarily in that order).
Always the first to spot roadkill and boasting of a close encounter with a baby bear while waiting at an intersection in the middle of suburban Coquitlam, I can regale you with episodes from my “soap opera” life that will leave you in stitches.
My favourite subject of ridicule is myself, and I have a quirky sense of humour. I have a wide range of loves and hobbies, such as an ongoing 20-year affair with cheese and pasta, which my friends and family have been forced to acknowledge and accommodate, after intense counseling sessions at the Spaghetti Factory.
My love of anything furry and cuddly stems from the two pet hamsters that my parents bought me at the age of 4, and also fond memories of playing with my beloved Pom in my formative years. I began keeping chinchillas in 1995, when I rescued a young abandoned chinchilla from Mom’s friend. Since then, I’ve played mother to four frisky chinchillas, and grandmother to two short lived grand-chinchillas.
Finally, my love of fish is nurtured by a friend long gone, who bought me my very first fish and tank over a decade ago. The 2 gallon freshwater tank turned into a 10 gallon, then into 20. The 20 gallon freshwater tank spent some time neighbouring a 20 gallon saltwater tank before being replaced by a 40 gallon saltwater mixed reef tank. Today, a Red Sea system has replaced the 40 gallon and the fish within are chosen based on how their colors and movement might distract my daughter.
I taught myself to use Photoshop and other CS programs to augment my marketing skills, and had the honour of showing them off in 8’x2′ displays around one of the busiest blocks in the city. I dabble in gif and video editing from time to time.
In my spare time, I am an avid fiction novel reader and will occasionally submerge in a month-long obsession with Sims.
Gafaye's Hobby Notes 