I had an idyllic upbringing in Massachusetts and got a degree in art from Smith College several lifetimes ago. I have worked in museums and as a community organizer, and lived in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Colorado, North Carolina, and Maryland before discovering the best place, Arizona, in 1990. Back when I was in Maryland, I decided to save the birds (and their habitats) by becoming a hydrologist. I enrolled in the graduate program in hydrology at University of Arizona and worked as a hydrologist with a Tucson hydrogeology consulting firm for six years. I bought a house, but the agent who represented me was not very helpful. I got a real estate license so I could buy investment properties without relying on an agent. I now own and manage several properties. I helped my friends buy houses. They referred their friends to me. In 1999, I decided selling houses was a lot more fun than hydrology, and I have been a full time real estate broker ever since.