• where the rez meets the virtual world …

    I’m just your average Native American, half Plains Cree, half Mohawk, rez-livin’, single motherin’, IT instructin’, sci-fi lovin’ woman who just so happens to love knittin’, hockey and baseball.

    Oh yeah, and I'm totally made of awesome.

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Tag: work

This one’s for Betsy …

You know who you are.  ;)

I can’t believe it’s been … wow.  Something like 7 weeks straight of just Twitter spew entries.  Ugh.  Sorry about that.  It’s been a busy summer.  We went to 3 powwows, ziplining, my sister and her boyfriend moved from California to Portland to Saskatoon, my other sister moved from Calgary to Saskatoon, my other sister hurt her ankle and is now on medical, my cousin had her baby, my niece had HER baby, and my kids are back in school as of today.

Oh yes, and I’m back teaching again this week.  *sigh*

Oh AND my computer’s HDD up and died on me, so I’m without a computer at home.  WOE!  As soon as I get some downtime, I’ll see if I can reformat and salvage it.  Bleh.

Hopefully, I’ll have time later for a proper update.  In the meantime, if you haven’t already, you can catch up via the Twitter feeds.  :P

No Comments by sharon on August 26, 2010
filed in life, technology, work
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Semi-Update

I know I promised an update, but it’s been a very busy week for me.  Busy month, really.  And here it is, July already.  Crazy!

Proper update tomorrow.  I SWEAR!  I have a whole whack of interesting things coming up this week month.  I have an entire backlog of cool posts planned, and I cannot wait to get them out!  Just see what I have planned:

  • Conference in Calgary with Cisco
  • PC v. Mac debate: Yes, I’m a PC
  • My boy’s birthday! He turned 6 on Canada Day!
  • My novel(s), and what I have planned for them
  • A webseries I want to write/film some day
  • Creative Commons Licensing

I have a whole lot to say on each of these, and I can’t wait to get these posts out.  I’ll probably start with the birthday one tomorrow.  :)  My little man.  *sigh*  When did he get so big?!

Until then …

No Comments by sharon on July 3, 2010
filed in life, technology, website, work
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sharonangus.com is back! Woo!

Well, I didn’t win the lottery.  Boo-urns.  The jackpot for the LottoMax was $50+ million, but I kept forgetting to buy a ticket as I’m not a big lottery player.  My sister did buy a ticket, but only bought ONE!  *SIGH*  Then when I checked Twitter this morning, the CBC headlines said the jackpot would be split between a ticket here in Saskatchewan and one in Labrador.  I got excited for a second.  :P

But it looks like I’m going back to work on Monday.  *woe*

Anyhoot …

So, the site was down for a week and it looks like I lost a post or two.  Nothing groundbreaking or super awesome, so that’s cool.  I was mostly concerned about my Steampunk post, but that made it out alive, so I’m happy.  :)  I did lose my last Twitter backup, but I’m pretty sure I can do that one manually later today, so you may see two “Weekly Twitter spews” in a row for this week.  Just ignore them.  ;)

What happened was, I moved servers as my totally awesome host (and I’m dead serious about that, he’s totally AWESOMESAUCE) decided to close down his seller account, and move onto his friend’s hosting account.  And his new host agreed to take me on as well.  So now I have a new TOTALLY AWESOMESAUCE HOST.  <3  I am surrounded by AWESOMESAUCE and I can’t believe how fortunate I am in this regard.

So a huge thank you goes out to both Mark and Brian!  <3

Oh, but anyways, what happened with the site going down … that was TOTALLY MY FAULT!  lol  When they moved the servers, I ended up having to go to Calgary for a conference and wasn’t around to switch the DNS to the new servers.  And when I got back, I then had to head up north to Meadow Lake to teach a class for a day.  When I got back from there, I was totally brain dead and kept trying to log into the wrong place to do that.  DUR.  I felt really stupid.  When I finally did realize my mistake (after being corrected so sweetly by Mark lol), I forgot my password to my GoDaddy account.  Good times.

But obviously I have finally figured everything out, and things are now a-okay.  WHEW!  *kermit flail*  Yaaaaaaaay!

And hopefully, once I have recovered my last Twitter spew, and I’ve cleaned up my living room (it’s chaos up there!), I’ll do a proper post about my trip to Calgary because it was totally interesting in all sorts of ways as it was a conference about Cisco Telepresence and its role in modern education.  Oooooooh.  ;)

No Comments by sharon on June 26, 2010
filed in life, technology, twitter, website, work
tagged , , , , , , ,

Sometimes I love my job …

Today it felt like I made a lot of progress with one of my interns.  I just wish more than one had shown up for lecture.  *sigh*

All the same, I love that feeling when going over concepts with them and they go “Ohhhhhhhhh!” and something finally clicks.  It’s great!  Especially when I know it was something I had such a difficult time with learning in Toronto when I first learned it.  So it wasn’t exactly something easy for me to learn, nor was it easy for me to come up with some way to teach it, but going back over the materials and finding new ways to present it for them to get the concepts … well, there’s something really satisfying about that.

Classful and classless routing aren’t easy concepts.  Neither is binary, or routing protocols, all of which we covered in today’s tutorial.  It was good times.  :)

Sort of makes me think I’m in the right job.  Yay!

No Comments by sharon on February 26, 2010
filed in life, work
tagged ,

“Math class is tough!”

Well, according to Barbie, it is.  But not according to recent findings.  Apparently, recent research has debunked the myth that boys are better at math than girls.  Although boys have traditionally performed better in the “hard” sciences and maths than girls, and men still make up a far greater percentage of the workforce in science-related jobs, as it turns out, girls, when given the same opportunities as boys perform just as well as boys.

So what’s the problem?  Well, that little bit in the middle there:  ”when given the same opportunities as boys”.  Yes, it appears that girls under-performing in math has more to do with cultural differences than any genetic deficiencies.  Where boys are favoured, girls tend not to enroll in maths or sciences.  But when girls are seen as equals, they not only enroll, but excel in advanced maths and sciences.

Another problem is a decided lack of female role models employed in the jobs where these talents would be put to use.  If these young women are being taught by men, then the girls are left feeling anxious about their talents.  At least that’s the theory put forth by this article.  It’s a theory that makes a lot of sense to me.

I often wonder what I’m doing in my job, that I’m sort of a fraud, or something.  That I don’t belong.  But then I think … hey!  I do belong!  And I work hard and love my job and technology!  And the best part?  Half my students are women.  That makes me feel even better and keeps me going.

I hope that my daughter (who, at the moments is aiming for a career in the sciences some day) appreciates the opportunities that I’m giving her.  Because I was deeply encouraged to go into the Arts as a child, and the sciences were never even offered to me.  I think this is an issue for a lot of First Nations people.  The arts tend to be offered more freely to us rather than sciences for some reason, as though we’re all meant to be great artists or lawyers or politicians representing our people, or teachers educating our youth.  I feel as though so much of my life was wasted chasing someone else’s dream.  While I loved my Native Studies and English courses, I sometimes wonder how far I would have been if I’d been able to explore the computer sciences at an earlier age.  *sigh*

Oh those “What Ifs”  …

But … I have traveled this road and I am so lucky!  Yay!  I swear, I have the biggest grin on my face right now!  Ooh!  Off to pick up the kids and take them to see the Olympic Torch as it goes through Lloydminster!  Later, taters!

1 Comment by sharon on January 12, 2010
filed in life, linkedin, pop culture, technology, work
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The End is near …

Ooooh … how ominous! Well, the end of the year anyway. :P

Yesterday was my sister’s birthday, and two days before that was my brother’s birthday, so … HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SARA AND MITCH! I love you both! Sara, your gift is coming tomorrow (when I get paid), and Mitch, your presents are in the box of gifts I sent last week. Enjoy!

I suppose the end of the year is a time to reflect on what’s transpired. Overall, I think this past year has been pretty phenomenal for my little family. I’m so thankful for what we’ve accomplished, for what we’ve been blessed with, and that we’ve done it all together.

This is the year that saw us get a real car. And despite the accident – oh, I forgot to post about that … Well, someone in town, who shall remain nameless here, backed into my sister when she was picking up the kids from school. It was the week earlier this month when we had a CRAZY cold spell and the plastic on the bumper/grill cracked and the whole front end just broke off including the fog lights. Urgh. But that’s part of the GOOD part of this year, believe it or not! The guy accepted full responsibility and his insurance is covering the whole of the repairs, AND thankfully, no one was injured! Yaaaaaaaaaaaaaay!

The best part? The Yubee still runs great. :D

This year I also got a raise, so money hasn’t been as tight as in previous years. Which was part of the reason I could afford our little Escape. I was also made a permanent employee which has taken a lot of weight off my shoulders in regards to the annual summer layoff anxiety spells I used to go through with this job. lol HUGE relief to say the least. Plus, I really love my job. I sort of feel like I’m finally hitting my stride. Even on days when I feel like doing a keyboard smash over something silly the interns have done (or more than likely, have neglected to do), I still love my job.

Oh! And my sister got a job at the hospital in town at the senior care centre! I think she really likes it there, and I know they really like having her there. I’m so terribly proud of her! She’s a few months away from completing her training for this job, but they hired her on based on her grades so far, and some of her hours will go towards her practicum. It’s so neat seeing her dressed in scrubs and hearing her stories when she comes home of all the cute elders there. I can tell she already loves her job too.

The kids started at a new school this year as well. So far, they seem to enjoy it. My daughter always has something to complain about, but now it seems she’s struggling to find things to complain about, which is good. :P My nephew really loves his teacher, and he seems to have made a few really good friends. It’s still their first year there, and so far so good. We’ll see.

And just when it seemed the year couldn’t get any better, we wrapped it up with my sister and her son spending Christmas with us for the first time. It was probably one of my most favourite Christmases ever. Most certainly a memory I’ll treasure forever. <3

Oh … and before I forget, I got Wii Fit for Christmas from Sara! Woo! Which I’m going to go play on before the kids get up because they keep hijacking it from me. Stupid Nintendo made it too fun. :P

I hope everyone has a lovely and safe New Years Eve! Tomorrow, we’re heading out to Edmonton to see Avatar! Wooooooo!

No Comments by sharon on December 31, 2009
filed in life
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And the countdown begins …

Okay, some people may think it’s too early to start thinking about Christmas already, but I have a lot of planning to do!  My goodness!

We have an annual Christmas party to plan for, for crying out loud!  *flail*  Yes, my sister and I love throwing a Christmas party every year, and this year it’s going to be on the 12th of December, so we have to start planning pretty soon if we’re going to pull it off.  That’s only 38 days away!  I have to start thinking about menus, guest lists, cleaning, what we’re going to do, etc.  Lots and lots to do!

And Christmas is only 50 days away!  0_o  That means I only have roughly 30 days of knitting left if I’m going to make sure I have enough time to ship my Christmas presents off in time.  *double flail*  Oh and then there’s the menu for Christmas dinner …

Oh and my sister’s birthday is in there too.  AND my brother’s.

And I have to start preparing for my time off!  WOO!

So, no, it is not too early for me to start thinking about Christmas.  *meep*  But I love this time of year.  It’s the time after Christmas that I loathe.  lol  When it gets super cold and seems so endless!  Bah.

So … what are your plans for the holidays?

No Comments by sharon on November 4, 2009
filed in life
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World Teachers Day

Today is World Teachers Day! As an educator, and as someone who highly values education, I think it is important that we all take a moment to recognise the teachers in our lives.

Where would we be without the women and men who dedicate their lives to educating our children, and ourselves as adults?

I firmly believe education is an ongoing process, something that continues from the day we’re born when we first discover how to take that first breath to our adult lives when we learn a new skill if we change careers. And we learn these things from teachers, instructors, professors and educators.

So let’s all take a moment and hug a teacher! Yay!

No Comments by sharon on October 5, 2009
filed in linkedin, work
tagged , ,

To new beginnings …


Kimmeh

Kimmeh

In a week, Kim will be moving on to bigger and brighter things.  *sigh*

That’s right, Kimmeh got a new job at another organization and she’ll be leaving us at KCDC.  :(  I’m pretty torn.  I mean first she tells us she’s engaged, and then less than a week later, she tells us she’s got a new job elsewhere.  I’m very happy for her, but I feel so lost.  She was my instructor when I took classes here at KCDC, and then she was my mentor and my friend.  And now … oh woe.

I’m going to be so lonely without her.  *sniffles*

I mean, we had a great time working together!  We chatted, we ranted, we talked about our kids.  It was so much fun.  We even went to Toronto for training together!

Working with Kim was both a privilege and an honour.  While I’m so happy for her, I’m so sad for me.  At least I still have Nick.  lol

*raises a glass*  TO KIMMEH!  My fellow Oilers fan, and my friend!  May you have a great time at your new job and make tons of money and meet tons of awesome co-workers like me and Nick!  Or better yet, ones who are way better than us.  :P

1 Comment by sharon on October 2, 2009
filed in life, work
tagged ,

Holy crap, it’s September …

Me and my red bandana ...

Me and my red bandana ...

*looks under shoe for August*  Nope, not there …

Dang, man.  The summer totally got away  on me.  Partly because I think it never really got here in the first place.  And for all the cold weather, we finally had a couple of really gorgeously hot days … in September.  It’s like the ultimate tease.  Oh Mother Nature, you evil woman.

And even amidst the warm weather, I was watching the leaves turn brilliant shades of yellow and the geese begin their annual trip south.  It doesn’t really seem fair.  Also, I am not looking forward to winter this year.  Especially not after last year’s marathon season of snow.  Oi.

So here we are, September has snuck up on me, school is in full swing, and I’m already half-way to a nervous break down.  lol  I’m teaching 3 classes this year and holy, is it tough.  I’m already confusing my classes.  I forget which class I’ve discussed which topic.  It’s good times.  :P  Only, not really.

Add to the stress of work the fact that we had 3 flat tires in two weeks.  WOOWOO!  So now we have to buy new tires because ours are shot.  Except it’s too early for winter tires, and but it’s so close to winter, we have to buy winter tires.  So this means, we have to buy 2 complete sets of tires.  All-seasons to get us to winter, and a set of winter tires once winter gets here.  UGH.  And I’m the sole-income at the moment.  Blah.  I’m not writing this so people can feel sorry for me, just writing it for the record.

Anyhoot, the plus side of all this is that I’m rediscovering the awesomeness of baking.  Since we can’t afford to buy bakery goodies anymore, I am baking goodies at home again.  I made some loverly homemade oatmeal cookies.  They were tasteh!  Some I made plain and a few I tossed in a couple of dried cranberries.  Ooh they were delicious!  Thankfully, there are a few more still.  :D

I also, for the first time ever, made bread this weekend.  I think I will make more this upcoming weekend, but I will most definitely begin earlier in the day!  I started my experiment at 7pm which was a terrible mistake.  I ended up waiting until almost midnight to take it out of the oven.  Ugh.  Never again!  But alls well that ends well.  :D  It was awesome.  I can’t wait to eat more.  In fact …

Oh yes, and the above picture?  I dressed up my daughter and took pictures of her.  lol  She was my little model.  I got the idea listening to ‘Me and Bobby McGhee’ by Janis Joplin.  Y’know the lines:

I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
I was playing soft while Bobby sang the blues.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding Bobby’s hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.

And since her guitar was red, I thought it would be so perfect!  *happy sigh*  I love that song.  The pictures turned out so cute.  Anyhoot … I should go.  I should also take more pictures of the kids like that some day.  They’re so beautiful and make such lovely little models.  :)

No Comments by sharon on September 9, 2009
filed in life
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