Immigration Attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano

Pardon My Interruption

Immigration attorney Carlina Tapia-Ruano is the founder of Chicago firm Tapia-Ruano & Gunn P.C. and a past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Association. Before participating in a panel on what immigration reform would mean for Chicago, she talked about her worst job ever (waitressing), the salad dressing that best describes her (something healthy and spicy), and where she’d like to time-travel to (100 years back).

Q:

What salad dressing best describes you?


A:

Italian. It’s basic, it’s healthy, and yet it provides some spices.


Q:

What is your biggest weakness?


A:

Oh, so many! [Laughs]. The one that first comes to mind may not be the biggest, but it’s that I tend to listen, but I interrupt people when they speak, and that’s a huge annoyance for the speaker and for me and my comprehension. I was hoping you didn’t mean a moral deficiency …


Q:

Who or what do you root for?


A:

I root for immigrants. I believe very strongly in the kind of work we do, and it’s not only a job or an occupation: It’s actually a philosophy, a way of life, and it encompasses everything I do and everything I produce.


Q:

What annoys you most about the Internet?


A:

I suppose what annoys me most is the fact that when I’m attempting to read something I am interrupted by unsolicited, unwanted communications.


Q:

What item would you bid for on eBay?


A:

I often bid for jewelry on eBay.


Q:

How do you like your eggs?


A:

I like my eggs cooked over easy or sunny-side up.


Q:

What’s the most overrated food of Chicago?


A:

Its hot dogs.


Q:

What year, past or future, would you time-travel to if you could?


A:

I think I would time-travel to the past—to the year of the Titanic. The first 20 years of the last century must have been revolutionary, and I would like to travel back to then.


Q:

What’s the worst job you’ve ever had?


A:

The only job I was ever fired from: as a waitress in a small coffee shop. I thought the pay was lousy, the demands were unreasonable, the location was very cramped, and my very valuable service was completely, if not undervalued, it was ignored.


Q:

Where did you go on your last vacation?


A:

Panama