Users/MariahBetz

About

Rocwiki Field Researcher Ms. Mari Geiger-Betz, aka The Fiddling Bear, evaluating shrubbery in Letchworth Park, New York.

Mariah Alexis Sweet (b. July 7, 1979)

I was born in Miami, Florida and raised in West Irondequoit around the Titus and Cooper area. I lived in East Irondequoit from ages ten until thirteen and then my family moved to the Cobbs Hill neighborhood of the city. I attended Briarwood Elementary, Rogers Elementary, Laurelton-Pardee Elementary, and East Ridge Junior High.

I was home schooled through high school and then attended MCC for several years. At eighteen I landed my first technical position at ISP Direct performing technical support and UNIX systems administration. My second position was at the Red Hat help desk at The Sutherland Group, which I remember fondly. From there I worked as a Solaris sysadmin at Rochester Gas & Electric, an AIX specialist at Nortel Networks, and a digital video and Linux specialist at Kodak downtown.

After leaving Kodak I worked steadily to open a thrift shop and cafe on East Main Street, but my savings were stretched too thin. So, alas, the Dream Emporium was but a dream. It may be revived some day, though, fear not thrift lovers! On a side note, I wouldn't recommend attempting to open a quaint shop if your location of choice happens to be across from a crack house (unless you like crack, in which case it's probably a good idea).

I'm currently a happy homemaker, caring for three dogs, three cats, a boa constrictor, and one husband. Our animal companions are as follows:

Dogs: Sashimi Lola, Sebastian Milo, and Juniper Tallulah. We have two pit mixes and one border collie mix. All three were adopted from Lollypop; Juni is our newest arrival.

Cats: Stash, Little Bear, and Dalwhinnie. Jay says cats shouldn't have middle names!

Pigs: Winston Bixby and Willow Tatiana. They're at the Lollypop Farm petting zoo now and doing well! Head over there and ask to meet them.

Snake: Iris Rainbow.

Aside from pet care, my other hobbies vary. Lately I've been doing lots of origami (we're trying to fold 1,000 cranes for our wedding ceremony), mobile making (using aforementioned cranes), reading, dog walking, and household renovation. The renovation has been a formidable project, but well worth it. I'm about to begin ripping out all the base boards and installing all new base and crown molding, using the robust pneumatic nail gun I received for Chanukah this year; I'm looking forward to doing this, as I've been interested in working with crown molding for some time. So far I have nearly singled-handedly stripped wallpaper from our master bedroom, guest room/nursery, office (Jay helped here), library, and powder room. One of the rooms even had striped wallpaper on the ceiling, so it looked like a pink cage! I've also primed and painted most of those rooms (library and kitchen remaining), plus the upstairs hallway, the foyer, the dining room and the living room. I also restored most of the walnut paneling in our library (which was inexplicably covered in wallpaper), but that project is still in progress.

I'm engaged to be married to Jay Sweet, the love of my life and my best friend of nearly ten years. We're currently expecting our first child on February 17, 2009, which will be our one-year anniversary. We're considering Georgiana Lily or Quinn Alexander for our new baby, both twists on special family names.

Winter 2008 Projects

• Install new deck in pool area. After hearing a few quotes were putting this off for a couple years to work on other renovations.
  

• Marriage. Our wedding took place on February 17, 2008 at Lamberton Conservatory! :)
  

• Puppy training! Juni has completed the basic and advanced courses at Lollypop.

Our New Puppy: Juniper Tallulah

Spring 2008 Projects

• Build three Square Foot Gardens and plant veggies, herbs, and flowers (they're growing beautifully and we've had lots of salads)
  

• Pierce labret and have double tragus piercings installed.

My First Square Foot Garden

Summer 2008 Projects

• Mix dough for bun in oven.
  

• My 29th birthday is on July 7. Yay!
  

• Install initial 600 square feet of maple hardwood flooring in the sun porch, dining room, and foyer.
  

• We're attending a Radiohead concert at the Parc Jean-Drapeau in Montreal on August 6! This show was amazing!
  

• On the same night of the concert, we're also attending an international fireworks competition. The fireworks were in clear view during the concert!
  

• Furnish and decorate the nursery.

L'International des Feux Loto-Québec

Fall 2008 Projects

• Move TV to basement and set up rec-room for football.
  

• Install another 500 square feet of maple hardwood flooring in our living room and library. (living room on hold until after the baby arrives)
  

• Paint library and install bookshelves, so that it may properly be referred to as a "library" for the first time :D
  

• Transform foyer closet into mudroom.
  

• Carve pumpkins! Run through the Amazing Maize Maze! Pet a goat at Power's Farm! (didn't manage the carving this year!)

Winter 2009 Projects

• Ding!
  

• Give birth to our son at home in our birthing pool, with our CNM Meg and our doula Christa.

Lists, Links, and Miscellany

Last Restaurant Meal: Hogans Hideaway in late September. I had the chowder (meh), salad (yum) and bread (yum.).

Last Movie I Watched: Burn After Reading at (Pittsford Plaza) - B+. Clooney was hilarious.

Recent Reading: Atmospheric Disturances, by Rivka Galchen. Vivid, dark, offbeat.

Contact Information

E-mail: I prefer to be contacted by postal mail. Remember to use your wax seal.

Special Information

• I'm searching for my half-brother, Anthony Michael Betz. Tony was born March 10, 1972 to parents Michael Betz and Rita Maria Chavez. I've been searching for him for over fifteen years, so if you have any information about my brother please contact me at the email address above!

MariahBetz's Statistics

Edits	Pages Created	Files Contributed	First Edit Date	Last Edit	Last Page Edited
722	99	133	2005-11-14 00:31:01	2010-10-03 14:54:54	Wilbert's Christmas Trees

Comments

See my talk page.