Nicole Strubinski
Photo by Michael Garcia
Video Game Designer by day, Stand-Up Comic by night, Nicole Strubinski, had us in stitches. Catch her set at Open Mic nights at Durty Bull Brewing:
If you could add any office rule, what would it be?
When someone wears a cool outfit to work, it should be mandatory to talk to them about it. Give a compliment, ask a question, hell, even give critique? I am styling some avant garde looks for my 9-5, and what is the recognition I get? None. Zero. What the hell is this? My oversized dress shirts and vintage finds need some appreciation to get me to and from my desk everyday. Plus, I would kill to see some of my coworkers in a tabi boot.
What are you trying to change about your life right now?
This is tough, because I think I am always trying to tweak parts of my life to see if anything can make me any more sane. So far, no cigar, but here are just a few things I’m working on:
Eating less yogurt (I have a problem)
Being kinder
Exercising more
Learning how to cook better (I’m not that good, which is where the yogurt problem comes in)
Practicing gratitude for my family and friends
Prez. Lincoln's quotation, “And this, too, shall pass away” is one of my favorites. One thing that is always true is that things are always changing. Though honestly I think my yogurt problem will be sticking around for a while. #Probiotics4Life
If you could erase one emotion from your life, what would it be and why?
Loneliness. Since moving to Cary for work, I’ve been lucky to meet many interesting people, but I’m still struggling with the adjustment. I just graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design about a month ago, which was a crazy social place where I was surrounded by my peers. Now I have to drive 30 minutes if I want to see more than 5 people my own age. I feel a bit isolated sometimes. Doing every stand-up comedy open mic (and future gig...?) that I can has been helping me expand my social circle here, so I am optimistic that the lonely emotions will erase themselves.
How has your family shaped your personality or values?
My dad immigrated to the states from Poland, so his strict, yet loving, upbringing influenced so much about me. My work ethic and my drive come from him, but so does my weird and abstract sense of humor. I think I’m trilingual; I speak Polish, English, and whatever language my dad tells jokes in. Most of them don't translate, so they sound like surrealist poetry to the unfamiliar ear. My mom is from the Midwest, so growing up with an easygoing American parent meant that there were no rules. That meant I’d be up all night watching Family Guy. Probably not good for my development but, hey, I ended up mostly okay... I think.
Though my parents got divorced at a young age, they both taught me a lot about what to do - and what not to do - when it comes to loving others, raising a family, and cracking a joke.
Would you vote for an A.I. POTUS?
I would, but I’ve been banned from voting for life because I’m a convicted felon (jk). I am actually super interested in AI and have taken a few courses on it at uni. My take on AI is that it’s a great tool, but ultimately its results need to be filtered by a partial, subjective human brain for them to mean anything nuanced or useful. I’d probably vote for whomever is wielding AI in an effective enough way to convince me that their solid policy takes are “authentically” their own; that they aren’t just secretly being churned out by some machine underneath their podium to gain popular opinion. Also, most politicians are robots anyway, so I would love for someone to debate me on the difference :P
Having fun reading our interviews? Please consider a contribution of any size here. Your funds will be spent on commissioning local creatives.
