Hello, music lovers. My name is Mavourneen, which means ‘my darling’ in Gaelic. I’m a Jersey Girl, been here my entire life. I’ve heard every Jersey joke there is, and my personal favorite was shared by Jimbe in Trivia some years back: Flush twice. It’s a long way to New Jersey. Our beaches are the finest, our food the tastiest and our people most colorful. And we have a boatload of bragging rights, musically speaking. I was born in the same hospital as Bruce Springsteen. That, and a buck fifty, will get me on the bus but it’s still pretty cool to say. My husband and I have tickets for the Kid Rock/Bon Jovi show next month. I am stoked.

I am an adoptee and an only child. I grew up in Union City, NJ. Home of embroidery and the passion play. I currently reside in Bloomfield. Here’s another cool factoid…the final scene of the Sopranos was shot at an ice cream parlor in my town. I hate to break it this crowd, but you cannot play Don’t Stop Believin’ as there are no table jukes. Never were.

I’ve worked in banking and retail and medicine. I’m currently at home. My husband Scott is in IT and is an avid runner. He has roughly a dozen marathons under his belt, inc NYC. My daughter Jennifer is 25 and teaches HS English. We’re all hoping she’ll have a job in September. Shannon is 21 and manages a local pet store. She’s very fortunate in that she loves her job. Kelsey is 15 and psyched to have just passed her written driving test. We have 2 dogs 3 cats 5 rabbits and a tree frog.

My favorite artist is Billy Joel. His ‘She’s Right On Time’ is up there on my list of his best stuff. I don’t ever have to hear Piano Man again as long as I live. I also like show tunes and Motown and Stray Cats and Squeeze and The Beatles and Babs and Johnny Mathis. I don’t listen to a lot of today’s music, but there have been a few random songs I’ve really liked: Hey Ya, Crazy, Single Ladies. So that’s my musical taste.

I enjoy playing along every day. I know nothing about music compared to this group. But I’m learning as I go and have heard some really great stuff that I would not have otherwise been exposed to.

Let’s see…I’m a Taurus, my favorite color is purple, I like puzzles of all kinds and I dabble in gardening. And I’m happy to be among you.