So I was reminicing about what my life has been like in IT. If you can think it, I’ve probably seen it over the last 4 years. I’ve seen computers that have been run over by cars, thrown out second story windows, stabbed, kicked, etc. But one of my favorites was a cute story about a laptop that had been completely ruined and was being replaced under flood insurance. How that works I will never know because what had happend to the laptop was not a flood but a cute 5-year old little girl. The mom brought her in when she dropped off the laptop and the little girl began explaining how she was drawing on the lapdop: “I was dust making a piture for bowyow and bowyow got upset cause there’s no wader in da piture if he gots thirsty. And I didn’t wan him to gets sick frum “d-wy-dra-shun” so I got him a cup of wader.” Then the mom quietly picked up the story, “bowyow is her imaginery friend. I think he is supposed to be a dog but we aren’t quite sure. Anyway, I just gotten home from work and she was walking to the table with a cup of water. It wasn’t until I heard her saying here is the water for the piture that I knew what was going on. I went running into the the room but it was too late. I got their just in time to watch the entire cup of be poured onto the screen and hear the sizzle’s as the laptop shorted out. I called the warranty people and told them that water had gotten into the laptop and it didn’t work anymore and before i could further explain they told me to call my homeowner’s insurance. Well long story short, I told them the whole story of what happened and they decided that they would pay for the replacement or fixing of the laptop since it “would really have been a shame for bowyow not to have any water. So here we are.”
I went on to order her a new laptop and suprisingly I was able to recover some pictures and stuff from the fried laptop. And yes, one of those pictures was bowyow: 2 bright pink ovals arranged like a snow man with green squares for eyes, brown stick figure arms and legs, and one big mess of mutli-coloured scriggles for hair. Yeah, scriggles…I said it.
Remebering this story made me think. A little girl had a friend, an imaginary friend, who was upset and thirsty and she stopped what she was doing and got him something to drink. As older people we have real friends and neighbors. And we know when they are upset and in need. Maybe they lost thier job, or the times are rough, or maybe they are just down on thier luck but so often we make ourselves blind to what is going on and turn them into imaginary friends. We make excuses like we are just to busy, or we say it’s their own fault or blame something else. Butall the excuses in the world won’t change that they need help and without it they will short out like that laptop. Maybe they need to talk, or a shoulder to cry on, or someone to hangout and laugh with, or maybe they just need something to drink. So let me ask you… have you gotten your friend a glass of water lately?
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Birthday Wish (originally posted 3/15/2010)
Accidentaly deleted this post so I resurrected it... I hate moving to a new blog.
Yay….it’s my birthday. 26 years old. “Still a baby” everyone says. “Oh you are so young, you haven’t even experienced life yet!” I always get reminded. My personal favorite, though an action and not a quote, taking an older person who knows or understands absolutely nothing about what you do and making him or her your supervisor simply because the higher ups don’t trust your judgement because you lack a degree and your are the youngest person in the office. Curious as how most of the people saying this are only a couple of years older than me or no less than 20 years older than me. These responses usually come after being asked my opinion on some subject like politics, education, religion, etc. Funny, they also happen when asked about my job or how to fix some computer problem, or whatever… These are all subjects i take seriously and I take the time to do my research, testing when needed, and everything else involved when forming your own informed opinion or making your own decisions. I work hard at everything I do and learn just like those that have gone before me. I demand the same respect that they do. Just because I do not have my degree yet or I am not 5000 years old and experienced everything does not mean that my intelligence is any less than yours or that I am somehow incapable. So now that all that is out of the way, here is my birthday wish:
A pony. I want a freakin’ pony…
Thought i might wish for something bad didn’t ya? Hehe, that’s next year…
Yay….it’s my birthday. 26 years old. “Still a baby” everyone says. “Oh you are so young, you haven’t even experienced life yet!” I always get reminded. My personal favorite, though an action and not a quote, taking an older person who knows or understands absolutely nothing about what you do and making him or her your supervisor simply because the higher ups don’t trust your judgement because you lack a degree and your are the youngest person in the office. Curious as how most of the people saying this are only a couple of years older than me or no less than 20 years older than me. These responses usually come after being asked my opinion on some subject like politics, education, religion, etc. Funny, they also happen when asked about my job or how to fix some computer problem, or whatever… These are all subjects i take seriously and I take the time to do my research, testing when needed, and everything else involved when forming your own informed opinion or making your own decisions. I work hard at everything I do and learn just like those that have gone before me. I demand the same respect that they do. Just because I do not have my degree yet or I am not 5000 years old and experienced everything does not mean that my intelligence is any less than yours or that I am somehow incapable. So now that all that is out of the way, here is my birthday wish:
A pony. I want a freakin’ pony…
Thought i might wish for something bad didn’t ya? Hehe, that’s next year…
Take it to heart
While looking at my “unofficial” college transcript I had an epiphany…
Sometimes we fail at things because we can’t do it. Sometimes we fail at things because we don’t like to do it. Sometimes we fail because we aren’t meant to do it.
In college, out of all the students who usually don’t do well it is either because they didn’t like the classes and work or because they were taking the wrong classes and were meant for something else. In my experience, I have tried 2 different (but very similar) degrees: Computer Science and Computer Engineering. I am very good at programming and for the most part it comes naturally to me, wish I knew why… And yet my other classes suffer. As my wife and I talked it over and analyzed everything we cam up with this:
Common Theme: Good at Computers, bad at Math and lazy at everything else. Nutshell: Fail at Math because i can’t do it, Fail at everything else because I don’t like it. And, the higher I go in programming, the more I don’t like it…hmmmm what a pattern.
So, we looked at what I liked: Nerd Factor: Computers and Networks and the Business process. I work as an IT Administrator (4 yrs now and going) and I am working in an accounting firm. It is absolutley remarkable how IT and Business go hand in hand.
So I made the decision to switch to Management Information Systems and I am also working torward a Masters in Business Administration. Now, I like everything and I can do everything. Wow…college career saved… and the really funny thing about all this:
Why did it take 7 years to figure it out? I’ll tell you why, letting others influence my future by allowing them to dictate what and when is the best decisions for me and allowing other to plan my future.
Remember: Only YOU can make YOU happy. Only YOU can make decisions for YOU. To succeed, be prepared to ask for help. And, make sure that the path your on is yours and that you enjoy it. If you don’t, it is never to late to late to change it. Just a little harder…
Ask yourself: Am I doing things I enjoy? Why are these classes so hard for me? Do I skip class because I really have other things to do or is it because of something else? And Freshman, if your advisor tells you that you have to choose a major and pushes a plan-of-study in your face and says you have to do it now because of <insert random lame excuse> don’t be afraid to them NO. You can change your mind up until you apply for graduation. I think you can even change it then to…
Sometimes we fail at things because we can’t do it. Sometimes we fail at things because we don’t like to do it. Sometimes we fail because we aren’t meant to do it.
In college, out of all the students who usually don’t do well it is either because they didn’t like the classes and work or because they were taking the wrong classes and were meant for something else. In my experience, I have tried 2 different (but very similar) degrees: Computer Science and Computer Engineering. I am very good at programming and for the most part it comes naturally to me, wish I knew why… And yet my other classes suffer. As my wife and I talked it over and analyzed everything we cam up with this:
Common Theme: Good at Computers, bad at Math and lazy at everything else. Nutshell: Fail at Math because i can’t do it, Fail at everything else because I don’t like it. And, the higher I go in programming, the more I don’t like it…hmmmm what a pattern.
So, we looked at what I liked: Nerd Factor: Computers and Networks and the Business process. I work as an IT Administrator (4 yrs now and going) and I am working in an accounting firm. It is absolutley remarkable how IT and Business go hand in hand.
So I made the decision to switch to Management Information Systems and I am also working torward a Masters in Business Administration. Now, I like everything and I can do everything. Wow…college career saved… and the really funny thing about all this:
Why did it take 7 years to figure it out? I’ll tell you why, letting others influence my future by allowing them to dictate what and when is the best decisions for me and allowing other to plan my future.
Remember: Only YOU can make YOU happy. Only YOU can make decisions for YOU. To succeed, be prepared to ask for help. And, make sure that the path your on is yours and that you enjoy it. If you don’t, it is never to late to late to change it. Just a little harder…
Ask yourself: Am I doing things I enjoy? Why are these classes so hard for me? Do I skip class because I really have other things to do or is it because of something else? And Freshman, if your advisor tells you that you have to choose a major and pushes a plan-of-study in your face and says you have to do it now because of <insert random lame excuse> don’t be afraid to them NO. You can change your mind up until you apply for graduation. I think you can even change it then to…
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