The Great Interview Experiment- Me and Julia

My interview with Julia

I was lucky enough to interview Julia from Not Graceful Enough to be a Julia. Go on and check her blog out, she's a fabulous woman with a terrific job, she's attractive, knows how to cook and has a good head on her shoulders. It was a pleasure reading her blog, thinking up the questions, and finally interviewing her. Read on....


Me: From reading your blog, I learned that you bought a
house. You fixed the hot water heater yourself, that's
fabulous! I'd be afraid to even touch it out of fear
of being electrocuted or burned. How do you like being
a homeowner? What can you say about it?


Julia: I sort of just happened into home ownership the way I do most things... with a lot of luck and worry. For the most part it was a smooth process, but being young and single it definitely stresses me out. I love being able to say I own my own home, but there are so many days where I wake up or go to sleep thinking, "What have I done? How am I going to maintain this house?" Ultimately, I like it because it's close to work, I have a fenced in backyard for my dog and sun-worshipping, and it's the perfect size for me but with room to have guests. However, I'm not sure I'm going to be so quick to leap into home ownership once I leave this house behind. Or I'll at least live somewhere like a condo or townhouse where maintenance is kept to a minimum.



Me: Are you finished decorating? Do you ever feel
frustrated finding the right colors or items like
furniture and putting the whole thing together?


Julia: Ha! This house is a ridiculous mish-mash of hand me downs, furniture I've had since I was a kid, and Target's finest. The first piece of real furniture I ever bought was a stuffed chair and ottoman from Pier One. I was so proud of myself! I've done quite a bit to my house... you should've seen it when I bought it! So not my style. However, I have a long way to go. My guest room has basically become a catch-all with a bed, and eventually I want to turn it into a studio/office with a bed. But, it takes time and money and motivation... all of which I'm lacking at the moment.

Me: You wrote that you were an only child. So you must
enjoy your own company? I was an only child, too, so I
like the subject matter. As an only child myself, I
spent a lot of my time alone, compared to friends with
siblings so I rarely have a problem with being alone
or getting bored. People must ask you about living
alone, do you feel that growing up as an only child
taught you to get along well with yourself? Do you
ever get bored? Do you think being an only child made
you develop a better imagination that others?


Julia: My imagination is always going strong! Sometimes to my detriment. I am pretty independent and like to spend time on my own, but like everyone I have a strong desire for interaction with others. I do think growing up as an only child taught me independence, but I also had parents who encouraged me to assert myself. I really do love to socialize, but I also like to go to the movies by myself or just sit at home and read all weekend.


Me: Dark chocolate is the latest thing, it's supposedly
healthy and good for you, and now everyone seems to
like it, plus it's easy to find in the stores compared
to a few years ago. What is your favorite? Have you
ever tried the funky chocolates in Target? They look
pretty, but if I remember correctly, some taste like
pepper, I tried them once and didn't care for them.
You also like wine. Can you suggest a good
chocolate/wine combo?


Julia: I've always been big on dark chocolate. It was my mom's favorite growing up so I think it just became what I ate too. It's gotten to the point where I don't even like regular chocolate and white chocolate?? Forget it... gross.


Sharffen Berger has recently become one of my favorites for dark chocolate. I especially like the bars with esspresso nibs mixed in. I like intense or spicy red wines. I tend to gravitate toward shiraz and zinfandel, but let's face it I know very little about wine and am more than happy to spend $10 on a big bottle of red at the grocery store. I say play around with it, never spend a ton of money on wine, nowadays you don't have to.

Me: You write that you're on television, is it just local
or can you be seen nationwide? If you want that one
private, that's understandable.


Julia: The TV show is just a side project for the local cable access channel, but it has probably been one of the most humbling experiences of my life. Seeing myself on TV for the first time this Fall was a misery I would wish on no one.


Actually my "real" job is in radio and that's truly where my heart is.


Me: What do you enjoy most about your job? Do you feel
your job allows for you to be creative enough or do
you have follow someones orders or approval?

Julia: I love telling stories and I think the best part of my job is being able to help people tell their stories in a way that impacts others or helps others better understand a situation. I do feel my job allows me to be creative, but because I also manage others I also have to deal with paperwork and meetings and meeting standards and all of the things others have to deal with in their nine to fives.

Me: With your job in TV, is there anything you can do
about the fake, size 0, plastic-y, young, skinny ones
that dominate prime time? I don't watch much tv but
when I do I see a lot of unhealthy images for everyone
to feel inferior about.


Julia: I wish!!! Unfortunately what I do in TV is so minimal it barely registers on anyone's interest meter, locally or otherwise. I have to guess that I'm not alone in being frustrated with what has become the standard of beauty in today's society. I joke that I'm waiting for Rubenesque to become the new black and then I'll be ahead of my time as far as fashion and style are concerned. I think all we can do as women is work to lift each other up. I'm as guilty as anyone of comparing myself to others around me and that's a horrible thing to do to yourself. I think we see each other as competition so much of the time, when we should be looking at each other as allies. Have I mentioned that I can be ridiculously idealistic sometimes??


Me: From seeing your photos on Flickr, you are very exotic
looking, with your dark hair and eyes. What's your
ethnic background? Italian? Portuguese? A little Irish
mixed in? Isn't Julia a Portuguese name?


Julia: Wow! I'm about as exotic as a Romanian gymnast! You're the first person who has ever described me as exotic! It makes me feel so fabulous! Actually I'm a pretty standard mix of German and eastern European. My great grandparents on my father's side were immigrants from eastern Europe and made their way to West Virginia where they worked in coal mines and built bridges (literally). My mother's side of the family is German... they're much fairer than I am. Plus, I have a nasty habit of spending too much time in the sun. Julia is a family name. I'm named after my great grandmother who I also share my birthday with. However, I don't actually go by Julia... which is why my blog is named as it is. Julia is a name that, in my opinion, sounds so classy and graceful and I feel like I'm constantly failing to be even remotely close to either of those characteristics.


Me: You also have a very natural look, you don't wear a
lot of make up, right? Do you have to put a lot on
when you go on camera?


Julia: First of all, thank you. I try not to wear a lot of make-up, but it's rare that I'm ever without it. You never know when the paparazzi are going to be around. I've had freckles for as long as I remember and I've always loved them so I try not to cover them up if I can help it. But, when I know I have to tape a segment for the show I put more make-up on, the one thing I've found is that in order to not look like you've been trapped in a windowless room for weeks you pretty much have to wear a ton of blush.


I've also begun wearing mascara, which up until last year I NEVER wore. I hope it's not a getting older sort of thing, but I just started to feel like I needed it, whereas before I hated wearing it and hated the way my eyes looked when I did.


Personally, I do think you could wear the red
lipstick. Nothing on the orange-y red side, but
maybe a berry red, brick red, or a primary red.

Me: One last question, you're from Kentucky. Have you ever
been to the Kentucky Derby?


Julia: I feel like I'm going to be such a disappointment when I say this, but no. I have never been to the KY Derby. I will say that Kentucky is truly a beautiful state and now that I no longer live there I've grown to appreciate it so much more. I know that there are quite a few stereotypes about the area I come from, but honestly it's a wonderful place with wonderful people and I'm always proud to tell people I'm a native Kentuckian.


Me: So this isn't your forever home? I figured you were
all settled. Does this house have enough room for a
husband and baby? Just looking into the future for
you...;)

Julia: Hmmm... well I suppose it does have enough room for those things, but we wouldn't be able to fit much else! I actually live in one of those "Edward Scissorhands" neighborhoods where all the houses look the same. It's sort of weird and without any sort of character, but it was a good start for me. I definitely don't envision myself always living in this house. I actually don't envision myself always living in NC, but that's a part of my life that has yet to be figured out.


*****If you'd like to get interviewed and conduct an interview click here. Neil of Citizen Of The Month came up with the idea-learn all about it on his blog.