I got my first clue things were shifting when they changed the name of the Personnel Department to Human Resources. That title brought to mind bodies wearing pressed suits and hanging from huge hooks, cycling around on a motorized rack like the one in the dry cleaners. A neat filing system, it displayed unlimited selections to replace the used-up models that had been piled into the roll-off dumpster in the alley. My second clue arrived the morning after the merger papers were signed.

My family: The pets out number the humans.

My work: Is my passion.

My passion: My business.

My favorite possession: My MAC and iPhone

My hometown: Albuquerque, NM

I’m thinking about: How long this questionnaire is.

Words I live by:  Do the right thing. Do the very best you can do. Treat others with love and respect.

I can’t live without: Pets, husband, coffee, bottled water my friend Janie in Las Vegas.

I am most proud of: The work we do for our clients.

What keeps me awake at night: Nothing. Well, maybe Bonzai Moufassa needed his tummy scratched but that’s it.

One thing I never want to do again: Become unfocused.

I am guilty of: Drinking way too much caffeine.

Right now I’m reading: Autobiography of PT Barnum

The one item that has changed my life: Internet

Favorite web site: iGoogle

Last major purchase: Texans Season Tickets

If I had a vanity plate on my car, it would say:  I doubt I’d ever have one.

Feed the Pig’s mascot, Benjamin, creeped me out a bit, but not nearly as much as the zero balance in my savings account. Benjamin has lots of tips and tools to help you find ways to save. As an added bonus, they have a special site for tweens. 

It’s never too early to start saving. 

At the beginning of the current economic upheaval, I was forced, as were so many single women I know, to cut my expenses severely. Like other women, I realized I would need to begin by divesting myself of the household help. The first to go were the chauffeur, the butler, the day cook and the bartender, all of whom knew I hated to see them leave. I watched them trudge slowly as a group down the long driveway to the wrought-iron gate, heads held high, attempting to disguise their reluctance. I personally will never forget that morning, though I hope they will in time.

Wiping away a few tears with the tip of my scarf, I found myself handing pink slips that very same day to the gardener, the personal trainer, the concierge and the onsite hairstylist, most of whom seemed to have sensed it coming. I suppose I was the last to admit how dire my circumstances had become. With these mainstays on the way out, I couldn’t rationalize retaining other key personnel, so I wrote out a brand new batch of slips for the spiritual advisor, pastry chef and piano-tuner, the latter slightly less difficult to let go of since I discovered I’ve never actually owned a piano. I asked the accountant to write out his own slip, for I felt he really should have had the foresight to offset this particular crisis in the first place.