My Single Peeps: Shanee F.

Shanee was born and raised in Beverly Hills by Israeli parents. After college, she moved to New York for four years, where she worked in marketing. “I absolutely adore New York, but I came back because my heart is here — my family and good friends are here. I have the most amazing friends in the world.” She then proceeds to play a game of Jewish Geography with me. I don’t think we’ve ever met before, but she keeps trying. “I know everyone,” she half jokes. She works as a program director for the Israeli Leadership Council here in Los Angeles. “I know tons of people because of that. It’s an awful thing, because I literally create events and bring together some of the best young Jewish professionals in the city every eight weeks, and people think, ‘Doesn’t that make it easy to meet guys?’ But it doesn’t, because it’s in a work capacity, and everyone sees you as the person who puts this together. I guess I don’t come off as attainable because of that.”

I ask her what she’s looking for in a man. “If I can build him, he’s 6 feet, he’s dark-haired, dark eyes, he comes from a good family — and by good I don’t mean perfect, but they’re aware of each other and have a relationship. And he’s settled in his life. Not boring. He has direction, not someone who’s lost. I think by the time you get to your mid- to late 30s, if you’re not really sure of who you are at your core, you’ll always be looking for it. He wants kids. Ideally, he has some sort of Israeli connection. Speaks Hebrew …” Then, out of nowhere she says, “I love green.” I stop typing. She laughs. “That’s random,” she continues, “green’s my favorite color.” I notice her eyes — a stunning sparkling green. I’m about to compliment her, but she’s on to another topic.

“I have a fantastic apartment in Encino, and I love to decorate it. I love to make dinners. I love to host. I love to know when other people are enjoying themselves. The older you get, the more you realize you have to take care of yourself. So, for a long time I had a tendency to forget about myself. I will always want to make sure everyone’s OK, and I’ll always make sure my friends are the best they can be, and I’ll always want to help. But it’s time, at 33 years old, to make sure I’m taken care of, and I’m the best I can be. And I think maybe that’s part of the reason I’m [going on My Single Peeps]. I’m the most sociable person. If you throw me in the desert, I will come back with a friend. But when I know there are a lot of eyes [on me] I am paralyzed. I’m a scaredy-cat, in general. And I think it’s about time that I start doing things that break me out of that mentality.”
Most important to Shanee is family. She has five brothers — she’s the only girl in the family — and she’s extremely close to her nephews. “Being a mom is my priority. It’s such a priority. If I need to work, I need to work. It’s OK. But if I’m able to not work, that’s very OK. Kids need a lot of attention. Kids need a lot of focus. I love children. Love, love, love … more than anything, it’s the most important part of my future. I will be an amazing mother. I know it.”

If you’re interested in anyone you see on My Single Peeps, send an e-mail and a picture, including the person’s name in the subject line, to mysinglepeeps@jewishjournal.com, and we’ll forward it to your favorite peep.

Seth Menachem is an actor and writer living in Los Angeles with his wife and daughter. You can see more of his work on his Web site, sethmenachem.com, and meet even more single peeps at mysinglepeeps.com.