Ellen Georgieff:  

bicycle version of the ricksha. The classes were small, about 4 to 12 people in a class, and half the spoken words in class were Tagalog. When the weather was good, we frequently had classes on the lawn. Workplace I spent almost my entire adult life in the Operating Room. Surgery has always been relaxing and second nature to me. I began to live a double life, by day I was in the OR, and by night I was in the theater. I was a techie. I travelled over half the world, while I was in the military in the 60's and 70's. I travelled about the States in the 70's and 80's. In the 80's I started learning about the theater and sound. In the 90's I directed and produced a TV show in Dallas, Texas. I became the offical photographer of the theaters in Dallas by accident. When the show I was doing ended, one of the actors was starting "Man dela Mancha" and asked if I would snap a few pix, I did. We went to a party, and the pictures got passed around. Than I heard, "Wait a minute. That's my play." The director was looking at my pix, and he was amazed. I was hired - right there at the party. See pix in my photo section, both Garland Civic Theater and Soundtrax. Suddenly, I was the new hot property. I was photographing some people, and they asked if I could record a concert for them. I did. It was good. It was on TV. I became a TV producer. I received three Crystal Awards for this work. It's not as easy as it sounds, first you have to know something, than you have to know someone. But mostly, you HAVE TO love it. This continued until the mid 90's when I had an auto accident. I spent 7 years in rehab. I lived in absolute poverty, mostly on the brink of homelessness. I worked everyday to relearn to walk and talk and to regain memory and words. Everyday I travelled 3 miles to the VA Hospital for rehab. Everyday I said I will work in the Operating Room again. Nobody believed this. My doctors were trying to help me realize I was never going back. They would say, "Well, on a day like today, aren't you glad you don't have to go to work?" Pure determination and stubborness, I relearned how to walk and talk. My gait is fairly good and now my studdering is mostly because I can't find the words. I went back to work a few years ago. This is the hardest thing I have ever had to do. Not because of the work, that always came easy for me, but because of the attitudes I face everyday, and the problems the VA has since caused. A few months ago, I was nominated for "Who's Who In American Women, 2007." I'm told about 40,000 women are chosen/nominated and about half of those go into the Who's Who book.