Elesean Fields

LAC, which I thought for the longest was acronym for Likable And Cute, turned out to be Lori-Anne.  I met Lori-Anne on a web forum, and then got to know her better through LiveJournal.  Lori-Anne is one of those women I admire for working herself into a career.  I don't remember where she was working when we first met, but I do remember that at one point she was working two jobs to pay the bills and volunteering at an animal shelter at the same time.  Once she was settled and established with work that met her financial needs, she started expanding out creatively, and now owns a handmade jewelry company called Jewelry Maven.

I own a several of her pieces and love them.  I've got one necklace in particular that draws raves every time I wear it.

Lori-Anne is diligent and dedicated.  She is true to her friends, and loyal to her family.  She has made a place in her home for her mother, which speaks volumes not only to Lori-Anne's heart, but also to the type of person her mother is.  After all, she raised this wonderful woman.

Meet Lori-Anne:

First Name: Lori-Anne
Age Range I will be 40 this year. It's my age, I own it and I certainly earned it.
Job Title: Interesting question since we've re-organized again. I think my title is Production Management Supervisor. Although I like to refer to myself as a professional nag. I nag a lot here.
Industry: Educational Publishing.

Who are you? I am the walrus! No...I'm not. I am a partnered Jewish/Buddhist woman who loves shoes and sci-fi. I like pink and movies based on graphic novels.  I swear like a sailor but know when to keep a lid on that. I am hard working, a good friend and I hope a good daughter.  In all things, I am a work in progress.  And I like color, a lot of color.

Describe Your Family: I am an only child of an only child. I was raised by my mom who was a single parent.  I do not know my father as he saw fit to forget about me when I was but a baby.  I like to think he feels the loss more keenly than I do but I am sure that's arrogance on my part.  I was also raised by a wealth of other people, including my grandmother, a number of drag queens and just a very odd but lovable selection of people my mom knew. I am very lucky though; I have a lot of wonderful friends who I consider family. This includes my best friend who I've known since I was 11. We are sisters in every way that really counts.

What does the first hour of your day look like? Blurry without my glasses. (as you can see I use humor as a shield quite often). I function on a pretty routine but regimented schedule. I get up, I get dressed, I get out of the house. I do not watch the news or read the paper...I do what I need to to get out of the house and get to work. I commute by public transportation so I tend to be aware of bus schedules, etc.

What does the last hour of your day look like? Quiet. I usually am already in bed watching tv or reading.  I have trouble sleeping so I try and keep as quiet as possible so that it's easier to fall asleep. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.  Mostly I try and remember to brush my teeth before I pass out.

What makes you feel successful? When I make a piece of jewelry I am proud of  and since I really like my job, doing a good job makes me feel successful. But there are days when I think I've achieved something just by getting through the day in one piece.  But mostly if I think I've made a difference in someone's day, I feel like I've been successful.  I try to feel good about the small things because at the end of the day, I think it's those things that really matter.  I am way more sentimental as a general rule than I let on.

What brings you joy? My friends. And even though he's gone now, my little fur baby Navarre gave me more joy than I am sure I deserved.
 
What were you like in first, sixth, and twelfth grades? Well, I was cute, in a goofy way in the first grade. I was cross eyed, coke bottle glasses, really long hair and lots of bruises. I expect I was quite shy and to be honest, that's carried through most of my life until recently.  I was quiet so I got teased a bit but I was smart so it was a double edged sword for the bullies if they wanted help with their schoolwork. But I was way more fearless than I was when I got older. And that goes for the 6th grade too. I looked about the same except I had my eye straightened.  I was teased less because of it but middle school was a minefield anyway because well, the kids are jerks. Plain and simple.  I was an odd kid. They don't like odd kids in middle school.  12 grade....hmm...well my hair was shorter and my glasses were no longer as thick thanks to modern optical technology!  I was still shy and a bit quiet. In a lot of ways I always did feel like the odd kid out but I was generally always ok with that even though I was worried about not being liked. I was a mass of conflicting impulses for sure.   I dressed cute in the 12th grade. Well, 80s cute.

What advice would you give yourself at each of those ages?  I would tell myelf to relax, loosen up and not worry about what others thought about me. I have spent many years wondering that and it's not worth it. Mostly, it only matters what you and the people you truly love think.  I would tell myself to go away to college though and to start travelling earlier than I did and to not be scared of failing and to just try. Failing is not the worst thing in the world. I look back and I am seriously annoyed with myself as a teenager. I would tell myself to be more like I was when I was in the first grade.

Who do you admire? My grandmother. I want to be like her when I grow up.   She was a tough lady who was independent, smart, gorgeous and took no crap from anyone.  But man, that woman could cuss you out if she wanted to and you would be twitching on the floor hoping for it to be over soon.

How would you like to be remembered? As a good friend and a good daughter. And a good mom to my pets.