Sarah Kraly, executive assistant at the Kansas City Design Center, tells The Pitch‘s Questionnaire she will crush your children at Candyland

Instagram handle: @sarahkraly

Hometown: KCMO 

Current neighborhood: Hyde Park

What I do (in 140 characters or less): I work with a team of badass graduate students and design professionals to help make KC’s built environment better. I also make photographs.

What’s your addiction? Rock climbing. Highly recommend this sport if you love adventure and never want to have extra money again.

What’s your game? All board games. I get super competitive, and it’s a problem. I’m not above crushing young children at Candyland and laughing maniacally about it afterward.

What’s your drink? Old-fashioned when I’m feeling fancy, whiskey soda when I’m feeling poor.

Where’s dinner? Komatsu lately. Loving KC’s ramen game right now but also wondering how many ramen restaurants our local economy can sustain. I hope the answer is in the low hundreds.

What’s on your KC postcard? Definitely the KC skyline from Kaw Point, because of its historical significance and because you can see the river, which everyone forgets about.

Finish these sentences: “Kansas City got it right when …” It decided it should start taking multi-modal transit semi-seriously. Better late than never!

“Kansas City screwed up when …” We embraced racial segregation and divided our city by perpetuating practices like redlining and racially restrictive covenants, which we’ve never recovered from (though it must be said there are amazing people out there working hard toward fixing this). 

“Kansas City needs …” More investment in low-income communities and solutions to our growing infrastructure problems. On that second note: PLEASE, I beg you, get out on April 4 and vote YES on the general-obligation bond proposal. Sidewalks without gaping cracks! Streets with fewer potholes! Maybe even some bike lanes that aren’t sharrows, which, let’s be real, are completely useless. This could be us, people!

“As a kid, I wanted to be …” A veterinarian, but — twist — only for cats.

“In five years, I’ll be …” Laughing about the time we almost let an orange-faced fascist dictator ruin our free democracy. Almost.

“I always laugh at …” Nihilist memes.

“I’ve been known to binge watch …” Broad City and documentaries about food and serial killers.

“I can’t stop listening to …” The Baby-Sitter’s Club Club podcast. So good.

“My dream concert lineup is …” Youth Lagoon and Arcade Fire opening for Joy Division.

“I just read …” Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson. This is one of those books everyone should read at some point, but it’s especially timely right now given the current divisive political climate. This quote, I think, sums it up well: “We have a choice. We can embrace our humanness, which means embracing our broken natures and the compassion that remains our best hope of healing. Or we can deny our brokenness, forswear compassion, and, as a result, deny our own humanity.”

What’s your hidden talent? I can knit like no one’s business. I’d like to pretend I’m modest about it, but I’m basically like the Kanye West of knitting.

The best advice I ever got: My dad once told me: “People are just trying to get by” — meaning, when dealing with difficult people, try to remember that they’re just doing the best job they can with the cards they’ve been dealt. This advice has really helped me be less of a jerk over the years.

Worst advice? “Don’t worry, everything happens for a reason.” Cut off the for a reason and you’ve got yourself some sage advice there.

My sidekick? My dog Chivo. He’s like Morrissey in canine form, which sounds insufferable but it’s actually kind of cute how he hates everything.

What is your spirit animal? The squirrel I saw in Denver last year that was carrying a whole tortilla.

Who is your hero? My 4-year-old niece. She’s so salty. I love her.

Who (or what) is your nemesis? This stealthy mouse at my work that has an unbelievable intellect coupled with a frankly inspiring will to live. I’ve gone through four iterations of mousetraps over the past few months — nothing. He’s my white whale.

What’s your greatest struggle right now? The patriarchy

My favorite toy as a child: Those cardboard blocks that are painted to look like bricks. My brother and I used to build these giant walls with them that we’d destroy, Kool-Aid Man–style.

My dating triumph/tragedy: Triumph: loving someone with all my heart. Tragedy: thinking it was a good idea to date that person again after an epic break-up. Spoiler alert: It didn’t work out.

My brush with fame: I once locked eyes with Andie MacDowell in the Charleston airport. We had an instant rapport, I feel.

My soapbox: Please stop putting your email in your email signature. It’s redundant and silly.

What was the last thing you had to apologize for? Taking out my hanger (hungry-anger) on innocent bystanders.

Who’s sorry now? People who thought that their vote didn’t matter or, worse, that it didn’t matter who got elected. I’d say third-party voters, but they never say die, let alone say sorry.

My recent triumph: Cooking a wagyu steak to perfect mid-rare for my Valentine. Stuff of dreams.