New Member Spotlight 7/1/2024
Meet New Members Brad & Soraya!
Soraya Aghai and Brad Schwarzhoff are so excited about joining 2U, they answered every single question on the Get Acquainted Questionnaire! Hooray for them!
Soraya says:
Q: Are you an early riser?
A: I’m an early riser because I have to be. Good luck to anyone who is a later sleeper and has kids. Breakfast is whatever is easy and fast usually.
Q: How long have you lived in Chicago?
A: I’ve lived in Chicago for twenty years at this point.
Q: What’s your favorite Chicago trivia?
A: I couldn’t believe people reversed the flow of the river when I first heard that!
Q: How did you find 2U?
A: I’ve been interested in Unitarianism for a while, because I grew up in a household and community with multiple theologies represented, and have always thought it was a little silly that people have to “choose one.” We can all learn a lot from each other.
Q:Most memorable Halloween costume?
A: I dressed up a few years ago as Jeff Bezos, complete with astronaut jumpsuit and bald cap, because, you know, he’s kind of a monster.
Q: Do you like your job?
A: I’m an RN. I would say I feel satisfaction from my work, but I’m not sure “like” is the right word. It can be really hard sometimes.
Q: Have you ever milked a cow?
A: No, but I’ve milked a goat in grade school when I went to a re-creation of an old settlement in WA.
Q: Do you have roommates? Who cooks? Who does the dishes?
A: My roommates are Brad and our two foster kids. I would say Brad is the dishwashing hero, but I probably cook more.
Q: Do you have a favorite movie?
A: My favorite movie is honestly probably Labyrinth. Good kids’ movies never get old, and leave you feeling uplifted, in my opinion.
Q: What’s your number one comfort food?
A: I love mac-and-cheese, or Persian food when I need something familiar.
Q: What was your favorite book when you were a kid?
A: I remember crying and crying when I read The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe and Aslan died. I also loved The Giver.
Q: Did you ever swim in Lake Michigan?
A: Yes, I swim in the lake every summer.
Q: Ever go out on the ledge at the top of the Sears/Willis tower?
A: Yes, over the edge even though I felt dizzy!
Q: When you have out-of-town visitors, where do you take them?
A: I love going to the Chicago Botanic Gardens, Field Museum, or the Shedd. If it’s summer, Ravinia is so fun, too!
And here’s Brad’s answers!
Q:How long have you lived in Chicago? What do you like about the city?
A: Twenty-three years. I love the food. The cultural diversity. It’s all about the people. We live on a wonderful block in Andersonville with the nicest neighbors. I love quick access to fantastic live-music/comedy theater. If you live further away from the city, a trip to do one of these things becomes difficult to the point where it’s not worth doing . . . which would make me sad. The food is incredible and it’s hard to imagine living somewhere that doesn’t have a huge variety of great food. Plus we just finished a ten-year process of remodeling our house and so I don’t see us leaving any time soon.
Q: How did you find 2U? What do you like about it?
A: My wife found 2U and I’m glad she did. Similar to the answer to why I like Chicago, I really like the people at 2U. The acceptance of everyone and the open-mindedness is something that’s missing in almost every other church/religion. I love being able to take the best ideas from all faiths and have whatever you come up with be completely accepted.
Q: Most memorable Halloween costume?
A: I had a very offensive Halloween costume that upset some people that I wore a very long time ago, but was still my favorite. I won’t go into details here :)
Q: Do you like your job?
A: I’m a self-employed software developer/programmer. I do like my job; it’s like solving puzzles all day.
Q: Have you ever milked a cow?
A: No, but one of my first memories was on my parents’ farm in WI where I saw a baby cow being born. We moved from there when I was six.
Q: Do you have a favorite movie?
A: Quirky comedies, dark comedies, science fiction. I showed Jayden The Matrix (one of my favs) a while back and he loved it.
Q: Did you ever swim in Lake Michigan?
A: Yes, but more often at the beach I play volleyball. I love doubles beach volleyball. Don’t get to play as much with kids, but it’s one of my favorite things to do.
Q: Did you ever go out on the ledge at the top of the Sears/Willis Tower?
A: Yes, but also have been sky diving.
Q: Where do you take out-of-town visitors?
A: Beach, Ravinia, Museum of Science and Industry, architectural tour, great food.
Q: Can you drive a stick shift?
A: Yes! Only bought stick shift cars up until I bought a plug-in hybrid which unfortunately does not come in stick shift variety.
Q: Anything else?
A: Love traveling, been to all fifty states and many countries. Most recent big trip was to Japan where a friend of mine lives. Also – love live music. I enjoy playing music as well, but very out of practice.
