Interview: Linda Bilyeu

Linda Bilyeu, also known as Sunshine625, was voted as the Most Helpful Hubber in the 2012 Hubbies. And I, for one, could not agree more...!

Thanks to Linda, I have:

• Learned to embrace my inner Rock Star...!
• Remembered that really cool people usually have a beautiful perspective on happiness.
• Reflected greatly on why I am so glad to be a woman...!
• Been inspired to take on the 30 / 30 Hub Challenge once and the 30 / 60 a couple times more...!
• Learned to keep the occasional drama in a big community in its proper place...!
• Realized that pimping is a good thang in HubVille...!

Linda has a fun, upbeat and creative manner of writing about all sorts of subjects, from soup to nuts. She has a passion that is embraced throughout her work, which is truly like a ray of sunshine...!

If for some reason you are not one of Linda's 1060 followers, you are missing out...! If you already are, I know you will love this interview as much as I do:

after my medication has taken effect or when I'm asleep, on most nights. I seldom relax. I'm a high strung, hyper-active person. Relaxation is an eerie feeling to me.

The times I feel saddest are...

when someone I care about is hurting or in pain. I have a disorder called "Excessive Empathy." You won't find this disorder in the medical books. It's an ailment that quite a few people possess. There is no known cure. You learn to adjust.

Something I'd like to teach others..

how to be more considerate towards one another. It's a simple process. Eminem explains it best: "It doesn't matter if you are black or white, gay or straight, fat or skinny - be nice to me and I'll be nice to you" See how simple that is?

My secret passion ... my dream job...

I'd like to be Ellen DeGeneres. Just for one week. Besides being the funniest person on this planet (well, at least my planet) her voice is heard. She could make a difference in so many aspects of our existence. Whether with bullying, sexual gender, politics, animal cruelty, what makeup looks best on you or which celebrities are hot at the moment. Ellen covers all genres. I would like to be her for just one week. My "real" dream job would be to win the lotto and own my own island in the Caribbean and enjoy the good life. Damn reality keeps calling me back!

Most hated gift I ever gave someone ...

not the most hated, but definitely the most perplexed. I gave my daughters sterling silver charms for Christmas. I purchased them on Ebay, but I placed them in a Tiffany box that I purchased at a yard sale. They were so disappointed when they found out they weren't really from Tiffany's. Was it wrong that I laughed until I almost cried?

The gift I could have done without ...

An iron for Mother's Day.

If you peeked in my junk drawer, you'd be surprised to find ...

Chocolate. My emergency stash. Need I say more?

My date from Hades ...

I was about 17 years old and was on a first date with a guy who I met via a friend. We drove out to the beach. He talked too much about himself. Hello? Wasn't it all about me? I decided it was time to go home. He had a sports car and drove about 90 miles per hour the entire way home. I was petrified. 30 minutes after dropping me off he called to ask me to hang out the next day! WTF? A short time later I found out that he was a member of the Young Republicans at Hofstra University. This might explain why I have never voted Republican.

My worst/ or funniest vacation story ....

The year was 1995. Hubby #1 (I'm only on #2 now, for those who are keeping count) decided to take a vacation to Las Vegas with our little ones who were then 5 and 9 yrs old. Well, if one kid didn't have jet lag or carsick or have a belly ache the other one did. It was a memorable Thanksgiving weekend. We had planned to renew our vows, we opted out. Instead we agreed to a divorce the following year.

To perform on stage with Keith Urban or Tim McGraw! Either one will do! Heck, I'll even take a threesome!

What I most look for in a friend...

Dual-sided conversations, honesty and having each others back. I don't want to hear all about you. I don't want to hear lies and fabrications. I don't want a knife in my back. It's that simple.

Something I will never part with...

That would be my BFF. I can't imagine how I survived before my BFF entered my life. I don't ever want to go back there again. Being without my iPhone would be like hell on earth!

To be your own health advocate. To not always accept what your doctor says as the final word, but to do your own research. Doctors are human, they make mistakes.

The worst part of getting older...

Needing to wear reading glasses. Other than that the older I get, the better I get. Don't we all? A writing lesson I learned the hard way... To make your titles Google friendly so that you benefit from their search engines.

My favorite movie and why...

"Crash" this movie is so underrated, yet it taught me so much about humanity and racial issues. How quickly we could judge one another due to appearances. To fight for what you believe in, never to accept NO for an answer. It also taught me to not drive if I'm upset or crying!

What subjects / genres do you enjoy reading/ about ?

I enjoy autobiographies of people who made a difference in this world. I also enjoy legal thrillers. Oh, and toss in a lot of Jackie Collins! That women has taught me things I might never have known! She has been my favorite author since I was a teen.

What would be a subject/ genre that you would like to read more/ about...?

Lucky Santangelo via Jackie Collins. It's about time she became a grandma!

Can you take us to a favorite piece of writing on HubPages by you that does not get much traffic...

Sunshine - Random Facts

"Crusin'..." by Smokey Robinson

As expected, this interview has been much fun, upbeat and allowed us to learn even more about you.

The Supremes song: "Automatically Sunshine" seemed a perfect way to end this perfectly lovely interview. So Linda, this one's for you...♥ Maria

© Maria Jordan (revised September, 2014)