Technology

I find all things techie super interesting, but when asked to blog about anything technology related; I'm at a loss. My biggest technology thrill comes when I can find a way to make my work easier. I will stand my much repeated comment "I'm not smart, I am lazy."

I look to technology for opportunities to make my life easier and to free up my time. I have trouble when working with people who are adverse (even scared) to embrace new systems. I struggle to explain how to rely on a piece of hardware or some new software to complete tasks that were once done with triplicate copies and multiple signatures. The common denominator among all people is time. When I take the approach, "this new technology automates steps 3, 6, and 10 of the way you're used to and here's how..." I am usually able to break through and show how we truly are completing more things with less resources.

To me this means I have more time to do the truly dorky accounting work that first attracted me to the degree.

Off Track

So I have gotten too much into the thick of work to really play, and now I find myself six things behind. I suppose it's typical of a dorky accountant to not want to play, but I have been busy with other things...
I am now trying to get back on track (that and someone stopped in my office and I was listening to mediocre music and was enticed by the idea of completion and the potential of winning a shuffle). Thing Six did not entice me too much. I don't have a tremendous amount of online photos (much to the dismay of my myspace and facebook friends). I find the various mashups somewhat fun for voyeurism, but not for my own playing. I'm all over the learn part, but the hands on playing with this type of things just doesn't grab me; give me a flat file full of data that you want in presentable, meaningful charts, and I am ALL over it. Now that's what I call fun (especially when I can use Excel). SO I've completed thing six, but probably not to it's fullest potential. I am, however aware, and that seems important (ignorance may be bliss, but it doesn't get you very far).

Sick Days

So I'm off to thing #5 and rather than sit at my desk for hours and hours and hours trolling through billions and billions of pics, I am fortunate enough to be home with a sick 9 year old. We both spent the night in the living room while the rest of the house slept. So I began playing on flickr while she watched a fascinating movie starring the creepy Bratz (http://www.bratz.com/). If you are familiare with the actual dolls, know that they have no feet, creepy! So her movie ends, and I say, "Come blog with me." We were looking through pics and I was getting nowhere, (visual overload). I look to her for some guidance.

Side note, we just adopted two kittens (this was a condition of the relationship, and I did not think the day would necessarily come, but alas...).

So she's saying, "look for cats or kittens" Not being a domesticated animal enthusiast, I am not blogging a kitten picture, that would just be a misrepresentation. So I ask, "what's your favorite thing in the entire world?" And she says, "Llamas!!!!" So that's how we got here. Thing #5, check

Painting

I have not been as disciplined in my blogging as I would have hoped to be. I have been playing online over the past week or so (maybe the past few years...), and trying to learn a thing or two, but then the phone rings, a new email pops, someone stops in, etc., etc., etc. I have not attempted blogging within my playing as I am aware of the time needed for me to write anything, and cannot devote two days of work to laboring over a five sentence blog post that should not make my palms sweaty.


So I spent some of my summer while my family was away painting bedrooms, meaning that I thought about painting for the five weeks they were away, and spent my last few days alone feverishly painting (with a little help from friends; imagine link here, but they aren't set-up, yet) to make it look as though my month had not been a complete lazy waste. The rooms ended up okay, the 16 year old was happy w/ the Buckeye colors http://ohiostatebuckeyes.com/, although I could care less. The 8 and 9 year olds were very pleased with their valley scene bedroom, although I think it looked different in real life than in their imaginations:
Thank you art teacher for rendering my creativity juvenile on a good day. This left only my room and the 15 year old's...

I thought better of a nice homecoming surprise for WU and held off painting our room until we can officially choose colors together and paint; I am becoming accustomed to the flat primer that we've lived with for years, while taping up samples of different shades of the same four colors.

The 15 year old was away for another few weeks buying us painting time. We had a color request which was easily accommodated, yellow, you know the angry color (http://www.infoplease.com/spot/colors1.html). I went to the store to find a nice soft yellow, and settled on one called something like Banana Cream Pie, or maybe that's just what it reminded me of. So I had two yellows in the house when the kids came home, the more visible one was the shade I used to create the sun in the valley scene. I believe it was called UTI Yellow, or something similarly harsh. The kids are having dinner with us, and I ask the 15 year old if she's seen the color, to which she replies, "yes, I love it!" I can't imagine she really saw the sample swipe on the banana cream bucket, hopefully she will not be disappointed when she sees a muted yellow rather than the harsh, bright, angering shade of the sun. Only time will tell.

In closing, ANY bedroom color suggestions would be greatly appreciated; if a left brained accountant thinks she's got the creativity to paint a valley in a bedroom, a little inspiration is most definitely in order.

Ugh, blogging...

So far I've resisted blogging. I think it stems from my adolescent (aka awkward, ugly, hormonal) period when I was first asked to journal. I could not figure out why this man (my English teacher) cared what was in head, deserved to know what was in my head, or what he would do with said information... So I half-heartedly journaled, giving little insight and a LOT of fluff (aka made-up and/or exageratted junk). I've come across people who have found some sort of serenity from journaling, and I've been in awe. Despite my best efforts, I have several journals with half a page of nonsense left off mid-sentence (no doubt for a more interesting calculus problem, novel, or sitcom; in that order) and 149 1/2 blank pages. Oh well, at least I tried.
I've looked at blogging much the same way, who cares what's in my head, and once someone's read it, what will they think? I am much more secure in myself since adolescence (as I hope we all are) and I have this wonderful opportunity through work http://columbusmetropolitanlibrary.wordpress.com/ to participate in a voluntary program where I can keep current on technology and have fun with it. So I decided to take the plunge and start a blog.
For those that care to read, enjoy! My disclaimer(sssss):
Everything you've read has been painstakingly written, deleted, and re-worded at leat twice (numbers I can do, words come a bit more deliberately)
~87% of an iceberg is underwater; you may be reading the fluff
I distract easily; I'm aware of all the balls I'm juggling, it just may take a while to get back to the point
If I have a concise story to tell, you may want to set aside a couple hours to pour through several irrelevent pieces of information; the point will be worth it
I will not blog about politics, religion, or my feelings (mi sh'yavin, yavin - those who know...)