A 2019 Interview with Eline Verriest
Who is your favorite Disney character?
Belle (but also Cogsworth), Merida.
What is your favorite Disney movie?
Difficult question! I think I’d choose Mary Poppins ever so slightly over Beauty and the beast. I loved Wall-e too but that is also Pixar.
What is your favorite food?
Lasagna.
What is your favorite animal?
Probably just a nice house dog.
What is your favorite color?
Orange; warm, happy, rich colour.
What is your favorite drink?
Iced Tea and Champagne (not together. For a cocktail, a Long Island Ice Tea.
What is your favorite tv show?
Friends & Brooklyn 99.
What’s your top three favorite places you’ve ever traveled?
Hawaii, Colombia, Guatemala.
If you could live anywhere, where would it be?
Gent.
What does your average day look like?
Wake up at 6:40, shower/get ready, eat breakfast while calling Eric or watching Netflix or reading an article, make bag, go to train, call eric at lunch, work until 17 (if there's no extra work to do). after work either work out, pole dance or ballet or go home and relax with Netflix.
What do you spend a ridiculous amount of money on?
Flights, Skin Creams, Teas, and Shoes.
If you only had two extra hours per day outside of work, what would you spend it on?
Sounds Horrible! Pole Dance or working out.
What has become more important for you in the last few years?
Quality friendships, relationships, me, Eric (bf).
What has become less important for you in the last few years?
Putting myself out there for new experiences and people. Still do, but not as rigorously.
What would you do/have/be if you had $10 million dollars?
Put in bank and invest some, give a percentage to charity, buy a house, take my family on a trip if they want to :D and fly my Honduran family out.
What can you do that will be remembered in 200-400 years?
People will have vanished from the earth by then, but the most likely thing would be planting a bunch of trees :)
What assets do you have (not financial)?
I like to make people feel good. Nice, funny, creative, athletic.
When you think of the word successful, who comes to mind?
Happy, fulfilled, have a job they love
What is something you believe that other people think is insane?
There's no such thing as a "self-made man". Everybody is a product of their environment.
What is the book (or books) that you’ve gifted and/or discussed/referenced the most?
“Memoirs of a geisha”, “Three daughters of China”, “My grandmother apologizes and sends her regards.”
What is your favorite documentary or movie?
Documentary: “An inconvenient truth, when i was about 17, because it encouraged me to do more research. One of my favorite movies "les untouchables."
What purchase of $100 or less has most positively impacted your life in the last couple years?
Microwave/oven :D Made cooking so much less time consuming. And menstrual cup!
What are your morning rituals? What do the first 60minutes of your day look like?
Turn off alarm, check for messages from eric, choose clothes, shower etc, have breakfast while calling eric or watching YouTube/reading article, leave for train.
What obsessions do you explore on the evenings or weekends?
No obsessions. I like Netflix, music, sports, dance, talking to Eric and friends.
What topic would you speak about if you were asked to give a ted talk on something outside your main area of expertise?
Maybe something like the (mostly negative) influence of religion on science/culture/sexuality/world image and how we can change it to the better (in third world countries cause that’s where I experienced it).
Do you have a quote you live your life by or think about often?
“Don't take life too seriously, nobody gets out alive anyway.”
“Treat others like you'd like to be treated.”
What is the worst advice you see or hear being dispensed in the world?
You should eat meat and drink dairy (in general, like country). Be nice to everyone; this is true but now I need to learn not to be too nice to rude/selfish people --> nice is not the same as polite.
If you could have one gigantic billboard anywhere with anything on it, what would it say?
Some info about how to help counter climate change and/or something with girls doing cool empowering stuff, to show them it's not always about our looks or something 'girly’.
What is something weird or unsettling that happens to you on a regular basis?
Mila’s (colleague) bitchiness.
What have you changed your mind about in the last few years, why?
My sense of self-worth and my poise has improved.
What do you believe is true, even though you can’t prove it?
Scheming angels of the 3rd order are behind every significant relationship we’ve ever had. And, sadly, they do this ironically.
What advice would you give to your 20-, 25-, or 30-year-old self? and please place where you were at the time, and what you were doing?
Getting fired from my first job made me go actively looking for a new job. something I was planning on doing but hadn’t started it.
What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made? could be an investment of money, time, energy, or other resource. How did you decide to make the investment?
Probably my trip to Honduras. after that my accordion :) I had a lot of use of my car but it's less impactful. Trip Honduras; wanted to do voluntary work and practice Spanish in the meantime and I loved Colombia so I chose a "Latin" country. accordion; I needed a "better" one to improve my playing.
If you were teaching a ninth grade class, what would you teach?
Probably a language. I’d say art history or so but they mostly don’t care about that.
What do you think financially successful people who are generally unhappy in common?
Too much focus on money and status.
If you had to choose three herbs or spices to cook with for the next year, what would they be?
Rosemary, Basil, Sage.
Do you meditate?
No, unless you mean being really focused on one thing, then it could be piano or ballet.
What is the best or most worthwhile investment you’ve made?
Accordion.
Who are three people or sources you’ve learned from- or followed closely- in the last year?
An, Eric (bf), Martin; the Roma musician I play with.
What is the worst advice you see or hear given in your tradE?
Not sure but breaking down a house to put a new one for energy's sake is lazy (although sometimes necessary) and is only better in saving energy after 50 years.
If you were a billionaire and you could give 2-3 books to every graduating high schooler, what would they be?
No answer given.
What are some of the choices you’ve made that made you who you are?
Trip to Colombia, Honduras, music weeks, international camps as a kid, moving to gent, starting a music group, choosing sports in high school.
What’s the best lessons your mother ever taught you?
Ask. You already have a no and you can only get a yes.
What are you waiting for?
The choice of country and our (bf) conversation about it (and visa situation) and then the ok, let’s do it.
If you were fired from your job today, what would you do to get things together financially?
Look for a new job. I have enough savings to bridge that gap.
What do you owe your community?
Nothing. just me taking care of the environment for future people.
Is there anything you would die for?
Probably if I would have a kid, to protect it. not sure about now though.
What is your idea of happiness?
Having an enjoyable job, enough free time to do hobbies and see people, have a nice circle of friends and family, some nature, your company.
What is your idea of wealthy?
Having enough money to live comfortably (and healthy) and be able to do fun stuff.
How do you ideally see yourself at the age of 75?
Having a nice pension (money wise), not having to pay off a house or renting, close knit group of friends and family, still active.
What do you always have with you when you leave the house?
Wallet, ChapStick, tissues, cell phone, might have hand cream and sanitizer.
If you could automatically learn another language or two, what would they be?
Mandarin (job opportunities?) and Portuguese (it's pretty).