Uses This

A collection of nerdy interviews asking people from all walks of life what they use to get the job done.

A picture of Paige Icardi

Paige Icardi

Home cook, future yoga teacher

Posted in chef, mac

Who are you, and what do you do?

Hi! My name is Paige Icardi. What I do currently is drastically different than what I've been doing for the past 5 years.

Previously I was extremely immersed in the food industry via Bi-Rite Market in San Francisco. It's a wonderful specialty grocery store that prides itself in curating the most high-quality, thoughtful and amazing tasting food, whether it's the produce, meat or unique pantry goods.

My start there was originally as a cashier and turned into one of those situations where I moved on up for the next two years, eventually to a store manager and then maintained that position for three more years. I've always loved food and cooking - something that I still was heavily involved in even as a store manager - but still never saw myself in a management role.

It took me two years of stress and one year of being extremely ill to finally have the sense to quit.

That leads to me what I currently do. While I continue my recovery, I've been practicing a lot of yoga, which has done a great deal for helping me with pain management. It has been such an integral part of my life now, so much so that I also wanted to quit so I could study yoga more and eventually teach it too.

Since I'm technically unemployed, I've also been keeping myself busy and making some money cooking for a family that shops at the market. For her and her family I cook a handful of meals and recipes that fit their diets with only ingredients from Bi-Rite, which makes me happy that I still have some sort of tie to the store. It's been a really wonderful way to keep busy doing something I'm very passionate about, and to make a little extra money on the side.

What hardware do you use?

Currently my hardware consists of my yoga mat, some props and cozy clothes. I absolutely love the yoga brand, Alo Yoga, which is where my mat is from, along with lots of my comfy leggings. I live on their mat, and am currently typing this atop it.

I also get a lot of help from my MacBook Air and iPhone 8. Despite my age and generation, I'm not the most technologically savvy and like to keep it simple.

And what software?

I actually use a fantastic app/website to take yoga classes when I'm not practicing alone called Alo Moves, formally known as CodyApp. It's way more affordable than going to yoga classes in San Francisco, and I absolutely love the variety of amazing teachers and types of yoga it has to offer.

What would be your dream setup?

My dream set up consists of having my own space for me to practice. All I want in a space is peace and quiet, plenty of room/wall space - and hardwood floors! Right now I'm currently in a living room in a 1 bedroom apartment and, while my husband and I are luckier than most to have a roomier apartment, it's still cramped and we would benefit from a little more space. We have been discussing for quite some time now the idea of buying a house, potentially in the Pacific Northwest, so the dream setup will hopefully become a reality sooner than later.