Rekindling a Passion for Baking
Catherine Wong loved baking ever since high school. In college she was the go-to-girl for all things sweet and yummy but when it came to choosing a career baking had to take a step back. Catherine staid with the food theme, though, and became a food scientist. For years she created sauces: developed new ideas for […]
JW House – A Home Away from Home
The story of Jan-Wilem Knapen is a remarkable one. This young boy who suffered from leukemia as a small child and later was diagnosed with and eventually died from brain cancer not only conceived of and inspired the creation of JW House, but played a very active role in the early fundraising to make it […]
A Volunteer Diver Tells how Cleaning Windows Can be Fun
Andy Frazer is an accomplished and experienced diver. During a trip to the Steinhart Aquarium at the California Academy of Sciences he realized that he can combine two of his passions: diving and volunteering by becoming a volunteer diver at the aquarium and helping with the monumental tasks of keeping the algae at bay and […]
Sharing the Love of a Pet – Sandra and Ginny Join a Dog Therapy Program
When Sandra rescued her dog Ginny a from a shelter she soon began looking for a way to share the affection of her little friend with people less fortunate. She also wanted to work with elderly people and found the perfect combination in a pet therapy program. She submitted the necessary paper work, and took a weekend class […]
Software Engineer by Day, Writer By Night
P. G. has her plate full, she is a software engineer by day with a 2 hour commute, a young son and a husband. By night and in moments of relative calm she is a writer. In fact, P. G. Van is her pen name, which she asks me to use for the interview. She […]
Rewards & Challenges of Teaching Yourself a New Skill
All his life Venky enjoyed music. He listend to a broad variety of genres – from the traditional and modern music played in his native India to pop and rock – but he never learned how to play an instrument. Now in his 40s with a young son who is learning how to play the guitar, […]
How Trekking in Peru Led to a Passion for the Tango
Interview with Shekhar Patkar who discovered his passion for dancing the Tango when he was getting ready to hike the Inca Trail in Peru. Now he takes classes twice a week and goes to festivals whenever possible. Listen to the podcast to hear his story and to get some pointers on how to get started yourself […]
Taking Running to the Next Level by Competing
I always liked sports: I love skiing and hiking, biking and tennis. I didn’t even mind PE class in school – if you discount the awful gymnastics classes by a Romanian PE teacher during high school. She must have mistaken us for Olympians in training. I have to admit that my group of girl-friends and […]
Writing My First Novel – It’s All About What You Love
When I started writing my first novel I had no idea that I found the one thing that I could easily be doing for the rest of my life. I had always liked writing and wrote a lot of collateral for the software company I co-founded myself instead of hiring a writer. But, writing correspondence, marketing texts and […]
From Graphic Design to Selling Handmade Items
Patti always had a talent for and interest in design and spent most of her professional life as a graphic designer for a number of companies and organizations. From an early age on, she was also a avid sewist and two years ago she took the plunge and combined her passions and talents and started designing and […]
Reading Partners: Helping Kids to Become Proud, Confident Readers
When Vivian was asked by a friend to help out with the Reading Partners program when a number of tutors suddenly departed she and her husband said yes. Little did they know that they would still be reading Partners five years later, driving to an elementary school once a week to work with kids who have fallen […]
Saving Orphaned Baby Gorillas and Chimpanzees in Cameroon
Had I looked for the perfect story to illustrate the mission of A Varied Life I would need to look no further than the story of Susan Lutter. A marketing professional she stopped working for money at the age of 50 and began, what she calls to “work from the heart”. Her heart took her […]
Sometimes Small Change Isn’t Enough: Teaching in Laos
Normally I bring you stories of people who added something new to their daily lives, The mission of A Varied Life is to inspire people to add variety and not to change their entire lives around. However, sometimes a small change just isn’t enough and so – occasionally – I will bring you the story of […]
Advocate for a Foster Child
When a friend took Moe Rubenzahl to a Board meeting of Child Advocates of Silicon Valley he immediately liked what he saw: an organization training people to become court appointed special advocates for a foster child. After serving on the board for three years Moe took the next step and became a Court Appointed Special Advocate […]
A Former City Girl Turns Bee-Keeper in Montana
Pamela started being a bee-keeper this year on her 10-acre homestead in Montana. She is committed to raising healthy pollinators with honey being a bonus. Learn how she handles challenges with the local bears, avoids getting stung and how easy it was to get started as a bee-keeper. Find the podcast here
Of Writing a Book and Fighting Demons
Another story about writing a book, or two and fighting the demons that constantly whisper in ones ear that one should really do something much more productive with ones time.
Star Trek: Boldly Go Where I Haven’t Gone Before
A New experience: Boldly go where I haven’t gone before! The story of how an otherwise rational and logical woman turned into a Star Trek “fan girl”
Australia Adventure – My First Solo Trip
My first solo trip: a scary prospect for an extrovert. So I had to make it count and flew all the way from California to Australia.