Introduce yourself!

Hi!  I’m Caroline, a relatively new staffer here at FBC.  I started here in Japan in 2002,when I was a student in Kansai Gaidai.  I couldn’t leave Japan alone after that; after I got my degree in psychology, I went to work for some English schools that shall remain nameless - to protect their identity and all that-and then I ended up here!  I work mostly as a Member Service Representative-when you call, I’m one of the people you can talk to.  Also, I’m the Community Relations person.  I seek out new people, new companies to spread the good word of FBC.  On top of that, I’m the little guinea pig for the guinea pig page.  Yes, I’m putting everything on the line to test things out!  Or maybe not.  I’m also usually the writer for the features page, like the Barbeque page last time.

Tell us about your family.

I have my mom and dad, as well as two spoiled cats, living in Naperville, IL - just outside of Chicago.  Yup, I is an American!  My older sister and her husband also live in Illinois; we tend to keep connected through that strange glowing box that brings me mail and news from the far off lands of my birth.

What is your strength?

My ability to take a conversation and totally derail the topic.  I’m the queen of tangents and random thought - there’s a really noisy bird outside my window right now.

What is your favorite color?

Noisy bird… wait, what was the question?  Oh.  Usually dark red, but for some reason, purple’s becoming my color of choice…never noticed it before.  I have tons of purple pens. 

Hamburgers or Sushi?

Why not put them together?  Have hamburger sushi, or a sushi hamburger?  It’ll sell like hotcakes!

Away from FBC, what do you like to do?

I’m a bit of a knitter.  I knit scarves, and I just finished a shawl.  I also knit hand warmers that people like. I like to travel around Japan.  I read a ton-my apartment is covered with books - and I also try to find time to paint and draw.  Next up-trying digital painting, if I don’t kill the computer first!  And as all the staffers here at FBC will tell you, I know waaaaay too much about anime and manga.  Yes, I take pride in being called an otaku.  I mean, look what I wore for the Halloween Open House (points if you know who I dressed up like.)  From the retro to the current, I try to stay on top of the game.

Favorite films:

Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Clue-a classic that stars great comedians in very funny film - and the Hayao Miyazaki classics.  I’m such an anime person.  It really shows.

Favorite music:

I have such an eclectic taste in music, it’s hard to pin anything down.  I tend to say I like everything from Mozart to Metallica, as well as some well-known and some underground Japanese bands.  My otaku-ness shining through again…

Why do hot dogs come in packages of ten and hot dog buns in packages of eight?

It’s all part of the Great Hot Dog Conspiracy.  It’s to try and revitalize the economy to keep on buying hot dog buns to try and even out the surplus of hot dog buns, then you end up buying more hot dogs to get rid of the extra buns, THEN you have to buy MORE buns to get rid of the leftover dogs…it’s a never ending cycle and it means people will keep buying more and that’ll bring the economy back up.  You know, maybe being a economist was my true calling… (yeah, right.)