Said Sayrafiezadeh : (2) " The difference between our family and other poor families was that my mother actively chose to be poor. She was highly literate, and she had a college degree, but after my father left, she took the first secretarial job she could find and never looked for other employment again. " - Said Sayrafiezadeh " The daily quota I’ve set for myself is 500 words or approximately a page and a half double-spaced. Which isn’t much, except that I’m extremely slow, extremely meticulous. ‘Le mot juste’ haunts me. On a good day, I will finally secrete the 500th word at about 5 o’clock, and I’ll reward myself by going to Housing Works Bookstore to read. " - Said Sayrafiezadeh