Meet Jennifer

An interview with Jennifer, Technical Lead

By Jen's Brain

Interviewer: Good morning, Jennifer. Thank you for meeting with me today.

Jennifer: Good morning. Thanks for inviting me. And thank you for the coffee. It’s very good.

Interviewer: You’re very welcome. I was told you like to keep things more casual, outside the workplace.

Jennifer: [Smiles] I have found the workplace to be too casual sometimes but, yes, I try to keep things compartmentalized.

Interviewer: That’s something I’d expect to hear from someone in Silicon Valley.

Jennifer: Is that how you perceive me? Do I throw off that ‘Silicon Valley Vibe’?

Interviewer: Honestly, you kinda do. In fact, just about everyone we spoke to in preparation for this interview, recalls you as a bit of a nerd.

Jennifer: [Laughs] Just a bit?

Interviewer: [Smiles] Is that how you see yourself? As a nerd?

Jennifer: Nerd, geek, transistor head. Someone once accused me of being the offspring of Max Headroom. 

Interviewer: Ouch!

Jennifer: [Laughs] Don’t worry, I didn’t feel a thing. At the time, I hadn’t even seen the show, so the resemblance was completely lost on me. 

Interviewer: Have you seen it since? What do you think, now?

Jennifer: I tried to watch it recently but, now that I know what I didn’t then, it has no entertainment value for me. It’s just historical reference.

Interviewer: That makes me feel sad, for some reason.  

Jennifer: That’s good.

Interviewer: How is feeling sad a good thing? 

Jennifer: Think about it…you heard me say the pleasure of something that should have been entertaining for me was, basically, stolen. It reminded you, viscerally, of something you’ve felt that way about in the past. You aren’t feeling sad for my loss. Your mind and your body are remembering that time and passing you the emotional memory. The good part is that they’re passing you the right emotion, for the right reason. You are identifying with me. Empathizing.  Your systems are working properly.

Interviewer: And yours don’t?

Jennifer: [Shrugs] That’s why we’re here.

Interviewer: Wow. That was succinct. You just answered several of my questions, without my even asking. 

Jennifer: We can move on, then.

Interviewer: Okay, let’s talk about your role in the committee. You’ve described yourself as “the self-taught tech guru of the bunch.” How did that come about? 

Jennifer: [long pause] Well, like Lady Gaga says, “I was born this way.” My dad was one of those super geniuses that built top-secret computers in top-secret places so, genetically, there is that. On top of that, I was steeped in electronics, circuits, codes and secret spy stuff from day one.

Interviewer: Nature vs. Nurture?

Jennifer: Exactly.

Interviewer: So, who's winning? Nature or Nurture? Who do you credit with your abilities?

Jennifer: You can’t have one, without the other. Without the nurturing to teach us how to actually use what nature gave us, it’s a null set, always adding up to zero.  

Interviewer: Hmm. I hadn’t thought of it that way. Let me ask it a bit differently, then. Who do you think is winning? Nature or Nurture?

Jennifer: [Laughs] Oh! I’m planning to kick Nurture’s butt, all the way back to the stone age!

Interviewer: [Laughs] Okay, then! So, let me ask you this: Besides the role you play as tech guru, how do you fit into the committee? Are you one of the original members?

Jennifer: I suppose you can say that. I am what most people would think of as a ‘core identity’ or the first, assuming that, when I was born, there was only one. I don’t think there was but that’s another conversation.

When I was hit in the head with the baseball bat and suffered the TBI, something happened that no one yet understands: My brain, which was in the process of building my conscious existence and connecting the wiring for the ‘core’ identity when it was so rudely  interrupted by the blow, had to write a change order for my schematics to account for the physical damage to the building site. 

The site, itself, had been damaged but not destroyed, so my brain picked another location nearby to finish what it had started. Voila!  Little Jeni was born.

Interviewer: So, Little Jeni is your alter?

Jennifer: Sort of. It helps if you think of us as identical twins, separated at birth. We were aware of each other’s existence, but didn’t keep in touch.

Interviewer: Thank you for explaining that. I have to admit, I am fascinated by the science in all this. 

Jennifer: It is fascinating, isn’t it? But science is just the tool we use to communicate with God. 

Interviewer: You’re a believer, then?

Jennifer: A believer? In God? Who wouldn’t be? God is in the science. God designed the science. I’m just trying to prove the hypothesis.

Interviewer: What hypothesis?

Jennifer: That we are not human beings, trying to live a spiritual life. We are spiritual beings, trying to live a human life.

Interviewer: Wow! That's food for thought. Well, on that note, it looks like it’s time to wrap it up. I’d like to say, "Thank you, again," for taking the time to meet with me. I’ve really enjoyed talking with you.

Jennifer: Likewise. And thanks for the coffee. Maybe I’ll bake some muffins or something for next time. Do you prefer blueberry or banana?

Interviewer: [Laughs] And she cooks, too! Blueberry. Definitely blueberry. Jennifer, I hope you have a great day. It really has been a pleasure.

Jennifer: You also. Thanks again.