Member Spotlight: Rehtaeh al'Navi

Author: Rehtaeh al'Navi, July 2011

Editor's Note: As a twist, this month's Member Spotlight was pretty much handed to me fully formed. 
Instead of just answering the questions I asked of her, she researched our older Member Spotlights, decided what we wanted from the data, and did it herself.
Because I think she did such an excellent job of it, I've decided to publish it in the entirety. So happy reading about this awesome woman! -Erin

When did you join TV.Net?

I joined TV.net in February 2006 after I had pronounced to my husband “You know, I’ve been reading these books since 1995, I think it’s time to admit I’m a fan. I wonder if there are any fan clubs out there?” I went to the Tor website, which led me to Dragonmount. Somehow I found a link on RL couples who met through the WoT and ended up at TV.net. It was a moment I won’t forget, because I immediately fell in love with the site. It was smaller than Dragonmount and immediately welcoming. I couldn’t wait to get my avatar up and start posting.

My site name is Rehtaeh and at Anni I learned that nobody pronounces it correctly. It’s supposed to be “Ruh-TAY-uh”, but at Anni, no one recognized my name. I didn’t recognize mine either when I was being called for my Meritsat Anni LOL The reason was because apparently everyone else pronounces it “RAY-tuh”. So, it’s probably best to just keep it simple and call me “Reh” (RAY) for short.

Citizen/Novice/Accepted

I could not wait to join the Tower as a Novice! My real motivation at the time was to get into the Classroom. All I wanted to do was take classes. I can’t remember all the classes I took, but I sure loved being in the classroom! I loved being in the dorms and had a lot of fun . My roommate was Kyria d’Oreyn. She and I ended up Guesting in White together. She aspired White before me. We had a squirrel named Chikako who lived under our beds.

I was also one of the leaders of the Hamsterati. There were 12 of us initially and we grew to 22! My main job, besides helping mastermind and participate in general mischief was to put our avi heads on our hamster bodies. The founding members at the time were Calypsa, Egara, Taylee, Skye, Mystica, Liathiana, Elays, Ilverin, Jaydena, Aleita and Nova. Eventually the Hamsterati grew to include Antarai, Celinda, Cuendi, Ebona, Kamara, Lyara, Sa’, Tsubasa, Mimi, and Dorelei…and if any of them deny it, I have pictures! However, the Hamsterati pics all have our old avi heads before the time when there was a mass sitewide change to ensure all TV.net avis complied with copyrighting. So, a lot of us look different now. Strangely, we never got called to the MoN for our behavior (there was no MoA at the time). Ah, good times!!!

How did you like/dislike the guesting process? Why White?

Well, when I was Raised to Accepted in July 2006, there was no Guesting process yet :D I had been stalked by the Whites as early on as a Citizen and had a lot of fun with them in the Olde Warder and Hen. Stalking, back then, by Ajahs was somewhat condoned behind the scenes, if not entirely “legal”. As a Citizen, Novice and Accepted, of course, I didn’t know I was being stalked.

Right after I aspired White, the rules did change and Guesting was implemented. I was expected to go back and Guest. This was as bit challenging for me and I must admit, did involve some tears, but I had some great advisors, including Z, Andra and Viv to encourage me into accepting this new reality. It was also a good learning opportunity for me and to “Aes Sedai Up” (Cowgirl Up) and practice maturity expected on the site. All said and done, I do believe in the Guesting process now. Several senior members who never had the opportunity have taken advantage of this after demoting and have discovered homes. All the Accepted who came after me had no other experience than Guesting, and I’ve heard good things about it.

I’ve just always felt really close to the Whites. I did feel a little like I might be Red for a while. But, the more time I spent on the Boards with some of the Reds, and as people moved apart as we aspired into our Ajahs, I became firmly convinced I was White. Although we’ve had a lot of changes with demotions over the past couple of years, I still feel White. We enjoy our unity in board events, we are extremely supportive of one another, we are silly and like to laugh, we are a group of strong, diverse women who try to use logic to address any situation rather than relying on emotion. A bunch of us are notorious lurkers. In my situation, I tend to get swallowed by the RL monster. We’re always “there”, just maybe not as “present” as many others on the Boards. Site Whites are definitely not Book Whites.

Have you been to any RL events? What did you enjoy/do you remember most from the events?

I’ve been to several unofficial RL events and was Raised live by Mother in March 2007 in LA. That was an amazing experience! I highly recommend Live Raisings. I’ve been to LA and Bay Area unofficial events a few times, almost always accompanied by Andra. I recently went to Sacramento so that I could see Brandon Sanderson & Harriet and have my TGS and ToM signed. That was awesome!

My first official event was 10th Anni in Charleston, SC this year. Wow! What an emotional, amazing event! It was great to meet new people, run on very little sleep and try to do everything. Of course, the most amazing parts of 10th Anni, besides spending huge amounts of time with my Whites, meeting people IRL I always wanted to meet, spending time with Brandon Sanderson & Team Jordan, and going to the mecca of RJ’s house was watching all the Live Raisings and the Keeper ceremony. I would love to go to another official event, definitely. Spending time with Riley was awesome. Somehow, I started out on the Welcome Committee and ended up on the Safety Committee by the end of the event. LOL Everybody I spent time with I wanted to spend more time with. I guess that’s part of what makes RL events so much fun!

Okay, sometimes you might wonder at my “Whiteness” because I’ve cried at all of these events! LOL

What jobs have you held/do you hold?

I love serving and truly believe in being a “Servant of All”. In fact, I think that’s a line in almost all of my apps LOL

I was Soul of the White Ajah, then First Reasoner (HoA), then Heart of the White Ajah. I am currently a Sitter for the White Ajah and am simultaneously just finishing my term as Professors Guildmistress. If I didn’t have a position on the site, I believe I would feel quite lost. I like that now there are so many opportunities! I became First Reasoner (HoA) right at the time when the term limits (18 months) came into being. This was another big change for me to wrap my mind around. But, eventually I did and I am glad that others have the opportunity to experience this role.

In all my roles, what I love best is interacting with others, feeling “in touch” with the site by being behind the scenes in an Admin role or in a Sitter role, and serving others. My least favorite part is having to turn in reports. Report writing is much better now, though with Google docs :D I am good at keeping the data, it’s just finding the time to synthesize everything that I find myself procrastinating over.

Are you especially close to any other TV.Net members?

Andra Sedai (Tara Roquemore) and I are friends. She’s got a lot going on IRL right now, but we keep in touch via text and FB. I also got close to Keisha (Kathi Benson) at Anni and she and I text, PM and FB. Natalya (Tiina Lindh-Knuutila) and I are friends as well and I miss her muchly now that she’s been back in Finland. I haven’t seen her since Julia was born, but I hope to get out to Finland in the near future to visit her :D We keep in touch via FB. Elays and I were friends in the dorms, and it was great seeing her IRL at 10th Anni. I wish I had more time to spend with her.

Branwynn Sedai (Yellow) and I have known each other from another site and I really enjoyed meeting her IRL at Anni. Magz (Grey) and I went through similar experiences as HoAs and I truly enjoyed meeting her IRL at Anni as well. Plus, Magz hosts a mean Beer Tasting! Riley and I have PMed since Anni. Caerwyn and I have seen each other since 10th Anni, and have met IRL before as well. He’s a super nice guy!

I’ve had a lot of historical friendships, but it seems sometimes that closeness moves on. I would say I initially felt close to Z, Kiana and Elbie when I first joined White. I also really liked getting to know Viv when I was HoA and she was my Director. Karalyne al’Meida (Red) was someone I enjoyed spending time with on the site and she and I got into some mischief as Novices and Accepted.

IRL

IRL, I’ve been married 10 years to my Husband, Ivan. Several members have met him IRL including Taric & Ismene, Andra, Xaviara, Tiina, Caerwyn. I am a stepmom to Ivan’s son, Lucas who is now 13.

My Nurse Practitioner calls me her “Little Workaholic”. I work two jobs and am high energy at both. My full-time, bring-home-the-bacon job is as a Social Work Assistant Director for people with developmental disabilities (Autism, Epilepsy, Cerebral Palsy and Mental Retardation (now called Intellectual Disability)). In CA, we serve approximately 244,000 individuals and their families, I have responsibility for assuring quality service for approximately 8500 individuals and their families. The goal in CA is to ensure that people can live in their home communities and reach their potentials. I love my job.

In the evenings, I teach General Psychology and Human Sexuality at the local community college. I love this and call it my hobby, even though I do get paid for it. :D

The challenge for me is to find balance between my career(s), my family, my health and my online life! LOL

Aside from my life TV.net, I also love reading (of course), writing, contributing to Goodreads.com as a librarian, hiking, and traveling.