Ask Me Anything - September 4, 2020

Did you hear about the 2nd round of cuts for Taco Bell?How bummed are you that Taco Bell is dropping the Mexican Pizza from the menu?Why the Mexican Pizza!! WHYYY Taco Bell!?!?!What are your thoughts about the Mexican Pizza going away? We need to protest!

Y’all - I can’t EVEN. But I’m very grateful that I have a delicious recipe for Taco Bell’s Mexican Pizzas, and I make them once a week.

With you pharma background - do you generally believe vaccines are safe, it’s the rushing issue?What’s your biggest concern with the expedited COVID vaccine - efficacy or safety?

I firmly believe that the routine vaccines given from infancy are safe and effective, as they have long term data to back them up. My kids are vaccinated according to the CDC guidelines and we all receive our flu shots every year.

My concern about the COVID vaccines are two-fold - demonstrating efficacy and the dosage schedule for an effective immune response, and the state of the FDA right now. The Emergency Use Authorization of both hydroxychloroquine and convalescent plasma before a double-blinded placebo clinical trial was conducted is incredibly irresponsible, and the former had to be rescinded. The current FDA head is inexperienced in regulatory policy and has shown he’s too willing to allow the political agenda to influence life-and-death decisions on drug approvals. I fear he will be pressured into fast-tracking a vaccine approval without sufficient data.

Will you and your family get the COVID vaccine when it’s made available to the public?

Absolutely

What is the best way to stay up to date on vaccine trials and progress?

STAT News is the best resource for healthcare news, and their COVID coverage is excellent.

What is bringing you joy?

Romance novels, walks in Central Parks, when my kids play nicely with each other, getting in a cooking zone and preparing something delicious, Zoom/FaceTime dates with friends

How do you feel about Photoshop/Facetune?

Small touch ups (smoothing wrinkles in a dress, adjusting brightness/contrast/white balance) is totally fine and I do them. Major alterations to your face or body…no. Just no.

Are Democrats doing enough to prepare for Trump to contest the election/claim victory early?

I honestly don’t know. I wish I had better news for you, and this is why I’m so focused on voter turnout. Everyone who is eligible to vote NEEDS to vote. Period.

Are you hopeful for a Biden/Kamala win? I’m feeling defeated because of vote by mail, etc.

I’m not hopeful. I’m scared as hell. Which is why I spend whatever time I have text banking and working on GOTV ideas with They See Blue. Because we cannot survive four more years of Trump as president.

What are your 3 highlights of the last week?

1. Lots of really awesome investor/advisor catch up calls with founders.

2. Reading 3 breezy romance novels last weekend.

3. Discovering a new coffee shop in our neighborhood.

What is the one thing you’re doing for yourself this weekend?

Getting Taco Bell and sitting in the car while I eat it in peace (we’re visiting my parents this weekend).

What is giving you hope right now? Okay if not much.

My kids. The ingenuity of so many TikTok creators. The Lincoln Project 🤷🏽‍♀️

Can you expand on what it means that the stock market is not the economy?

I have a full podcast episode about this topic (my first full podcast episode, actually)

How do you think the South Asian population will vote? Will Kamala be enough of a draw?

it convinced my very conservative uncle to vote for the Democratic ticket for the first time in 30 years. But older South Asians can be conservative, so it’s hard to tell. But this is why I’m working with They See Blue to help turn out the South Asian vote this election (and every election after).

Top 5 books of all time?

1. The Awakening by Kate Chopin

2. War & Peace by Leo Tolstoy

3. A Suitable Boy by Vikram Seth

4. Homegoing by Yaa Gyasi

5. Pelosi by Molly Ball

Any tips for establishing yourself at a new job remotely?

Career Contessa has two great articles on this topic - how to make your work stand out while working remotely, and how to ace the first 90 days in a new job.

Any time management tips for moms that are WFH and caring for infant?

Voice memos are my lifesaver when I’m juggling the kids. I’ll send voice memos to respond to texts and brief e-mails, use Rev to dictate ideas and lengthier emails (they transcribe it, I edit and send). Neither of my boys were clockwork nappers, so calls were a bit of a crapshoot but the baby carrier and walking around while taking a call worked. I have some other productivity tips here.

In what ways has the pandemic changed your view of politics?

The private sector needs to step up - and I’m talking about the largest corporations, whose net profits have increased by utilizing gig economy workers who have no benefits or protections. I think we’re approaching the stimulus all wrong, and individuals, gig workers, and small businesses need to be prioritized over corporations who are sitting on cash reserves and have healthy stock positions due to the booming market. I’ve always considered myself a pragmatic progressive, and this pandemic just strengthened that position.

Book recommendations on managing personal finance and succeeding

The Financial Diet is one of my favorite financial resources, and I’ve heard great things about their book. I also love podcasts - Martinis And Your Money and So Money are two of my favorites.

Are you TTC? Maybe I missed something.

Please never ask a woman that, no matter how open she is about her life on the Internet. You don’t know what could be happening in her life and how hurtful inquiries like this could be.

And for the record, we are discussing a third child because perimenopause has definitely moved up my fertility clock and if it’s what we want, we have to make a decision soon.

Where is the shirt you wore under your Amazon nightgown from?

These lace half tanks!

Favorite part of Majesty?

When Beatrice visits Massachusetts.

#smartnsweaty ride soon?

Yes! When Cody releases his XOXO ride schedule, let’s do it!

My dad had Guillian-Barré! I never met anyone else who knows someone.

For those wondering, I had mentioned my uncle’s diagnosis (and subsequent death) from GBS when sharing this article in Thursday’s. #5SmartReads. It’s an incredibly rare inflammatory disease with only one treatment (IVIG).

Are you still using Homer for your son and how do you like it?

When I need to get some things done and need to keep Rho occupied for an hour or so, I give him the iPad and let him play and read on the Homer apps. Rho’s reading skills have definitely progressed since he began using it in the spring, and it’s one of the few apps I let him use.

Any tips on getting organized for a move?

Every time we’ve moved, we set a budget large enough for full service moving (full packing and unpacking) and to hire an organizer to help us purge our home, oversee the movers to properly label everything, and oversees the unpacking and the organizing of the new place. I recognize how privileged and insufferable this probably sounds, but moving is insanely stressful and I observed my parents making the same investment during our many moves during my childhood, and how much easier it was when we invested in this level of support.

Are you stoked for Sister Sister’s Netflix release?

EXTREMELY. It’s one of my favorite shows!

Random thing you’re very cheap about/refuse to pay a premium for?

Rugs. I have two young kids and having easy-to-clean, inexpensive rugs are a necessity. I’ve found some amazing ones from RUGS USA.

Activity ideas for 8-10 month old? Did you do Montessori activities with your kids?

I am terrible about these (Rhaki plays with the latest Lovevery kit he receives and Rho’s toys), but my friends Neha and Jennie have AMAZING recommendations.

How can I become a #5SmartReads contributor?

Please e-mail me at info (at) hithaonthego (dot) com

What do you do if you are severely underpaid for your position but early in your career?

If you’ve been at your company even for a year, take a look at what you’ve accomplished and try to quantify it. If you can show how you improved the company’s bottom line in a tangible way, you can enter the negotiations with that. I would also join Ladies Get Paid’s community to chat with other women to get comparables for salary, and for the best advice on negotiating.

Burnt out @ work. No childcare. 1 year old. How do I remind my boss about what I’m dealing without complaining?

Clear expectations on when you’re available for calls, and when you’ll respond to e-mails and non-urgent correspondence, is key. It’s also important to remember that this is temporary (I hope), kids will grow up, and just because you’re not on call at every second doesn’t mean you’re still not getting your things done. Being proactive about communicating when certain tasks and things get done also help keep you at the top of your manager’s mind, but make sure the cadence is agreed upon by you both.

When will you feel safe to travel by air (so you can come visit me)?

My heart says now, my head says when we have distributed a vaccine widely (and enough people have actually been vaccinated).