All about Pat – 26 Facts

Pat Iyer

These are 26 facts about me that you will not find in any bio used to introduce me before I teach a course.
1. I was born and raised in New Jersey. We pronounce it Jersey, not Joisey. I like New Jersey and especially our Jersey tomatoes. I could eat them three times a day.
2. When I was 10, I started writing to a pen pal in Colorado I met through an ad in our church newsletter. Letters progressed to audiocassettes, and then to email. We have been best friends ever since.
3. I have shopped through most of the mountain resorts in Colorado, and been with my friend on trips in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York, New Mexico, Florida, Texas, Utah, New Mexico, and Indiana.
4. I have been in every state in the United States except North Dakota and Oklahoma. I enjoy traveling.
5. I own the iPhone, iTouch, iPad and iPod. My oldest son introduced me to the iPod when my 60 CD player broke (a month past the warrante expiration date). And I use a PC instead of a Mac.
6. My two sons are 7 years apart.

Raj Iyer Jr.- oldest son

7. Immediately after I finished my diploma program, I went to University of Pennsylvania for a bachelors degree, and completed 6 years of education in a row.
8. I was on the University of Pennsylvania campus when they erected the Peace Sign by the library.
9. I met my husband three months before I started by bachelors degree. He proposed to me when we had been dating 5 weeks.
10. We have been married 48 years.
11. My husband is from India. I have been to India 3 times. Each time was an amazing experience that makes me appreciate things I take for granted.
12. When I took college courses at Penn “pass fail”, I worked as hard in them as I did in other classes in which I received a grade.
13. I returned to University of Pennsylvania to get a masters degree and loved my coursework and the excitement of learning. I am a perpetual student, always learning, always reading, always listening to CDs when I drive.
14. I got in trouble as a kid because I tore corners off library books and chewed them. Certain paper tastes better than others.
15. My father was an aeronautical engineer who took me to Idlewild Airport in New Jersey to watch the planes take off and land.
16. I have twin brothers who are three years younger and a sister who is four years older.

My sister Connie

17. I once made my sister memorize all of the ingredients in a box of chocolate that was given to me. She had to recite the ingredients before I would give her a piece of candy. She learned them!
18. I had red hair when I was a child; my mother would not let me wear red because “redheads don’t wear red”. Even now I have few clothes that are red.
19. My favorite color is turquoise.
20. When I have gone scuba diving, the water poured into my mouthpiece. I don’t like scuba diving.
21. The idea of being underwater in diving equipment has no appeal.
22. I own a second house in Florida.
23. My mother graduated from nursing school two weeks after I did.
24. I got caught driving my boyfriend’s car when I was 15. We thought if I drove in a high school parking lot it would be OK. The policeman did not agree.
25. I tried driving a stick shift car once. My philosophy is if the car can shift itself, I should not have to.
26. My grandmother was English and my grandfather was Irish. I love Irish accents.
There you have it! 26 miscellaneous tidbits that you may not have known before reading this!