Thought some of you might enjoy watching this. I had to make a one minute video essay to share who I am for my Heinz College, Carnegie Mellon University application. I’m super excited about their program, as it’s a Master of Information System Management, with a concentration in Business Intelligence and Data Analytics.
I had a lot of fun making the video and finding good music, so thought I’d post it up here to show off my work.

One day, I want to be her.

News Report: Women needed in Technology

Kernel – a small piece of information
Service – how a computer system receives power
Network adapter – a plug-in so that networks can communicate w/ea other
Heartbeat – the main power source of a large computer (now I know you’re laughing out loud!)
Interrupt-driven – a printer that breaks when bad data is sent to it

Here are the real answers:
Kernel – is actually the main brains of a operating system (Windows, Apple OS X); it manages communication between the hardware and the applications
Service – Many things can be considered a service, but mainly we talk about certain processes that are running. So in order to be able to access your google mail, a “mail” service needs to be running. This is the job that allows your program or application to run.
Network adapter – where you plug in the internet cord on your computer
Heartbeat – if the computer doesn’t have a heartbeat, it’s dead or disconnected to the network. Just like in a person, without a heartbeat, there’s bad news. Means the computer is on and communicating
Interrupt-driven – a process or service that doesn’t start or do anything until it’s interrupted and told to do something

(The chart is small, so click on it to see a larger version; or see the text below for the text of the chart)

I think that this is a good chart of what IT leaders need to be looking at for their organization.
Cost is important! Especially in higher education where the cost for a private institution is sky-rocketing.

When you look at our department, and IT in general, I think, licensing accounts for a lot of our budget. I went to a session at SCaLE (Southern CA Linux Expo) where the presenter, who worked at an elementary school, switched all of their computers to use Linux products rather than Microsoft machines. They saved thousands on licensing.

Raises a good question: do all of our staff members really need to be using Windows/Mac machines? Could we put the specialized Windows products on Citrix so that users are served up Internet Explorer and other Windows-proprietary services via a web browser or Citrix client?

It would be hard to switch everyone to a platform like this, but what about doing a lot of users? The secretaries who use Office and the Web. They could use Linux. Really they could. It’s not too difficult once it’s set up.

Set 1:
The Questions IT Leaders Must Answer
– Why is information technology so expensive?
– How can we reduce the cost of information technology?
– Are we more or less expensive than our peers? than effective IT organizations outside higher education?
– Are our services as effective as they should be relative to their costs

The Current Benchmark Data
– Cross-institutional data on central IT budgets
– Cross-institutional data on central IT costs for staffing, capital projects, and operations
– Propriety benchmarks from consulting groups

The Needed Data
– Service-based costs standardized across higher education
– Service catalogs and key performance indicators based on industry standards and adapted for higher education
– Research on cost drivers for specific applications or services (e.g., ERPs)

Set 2:
The Questions IT Leaders Must Answer
– How can information technology be a more effective partner with institutional leadership?
– How can information technology better support the institution’s strategy?
– How can our institution use information technology most effectively?

The Current Benchmark Data
– Case studies of effective uses of information technology
– Survey data associating effective results with specific practices

The Needed Data
– A definition and measurement of alignment that can be applied across all types of higher education institutions
– Factors associated with lesser or greater alignment and resulting models
– An assessment kit to assist higher education institutions that desire to benchmark their institution against national benchmarks

Set 3:
The Questions IT Leaders Must Answer
– Should we partner with other institutions on some of our IT services?
– What is the right sourcing model?

The Current Benchmark Data
– Anecdotes
– Examples and data from outside higher education

The Needed Data
– Research on effective models of cross-institutional collaboration
– Analytics using service-based costs standardized across higher education to identify successful sourcing models for various services and institutional types

Set 4:
The Questions IT Leaders Must Answer
– Are we leading or lagging our peers in instructional technology? use of social media? information security? mobile technologies? research computing?
– What would it cost to become a leader in these areas?

The Current Benchmark Data
– Survey results based on questionable samples
– Informal peer polls
– Anecdotes

The Needed Data
– Maturity indices for IT services in higher education and cross-institutional comparative data
– Analytics using service-based costs standardized across higher education to compare service costs for various maturity levels and institutional types.

Set 5:
The Questions IT Leaders Must Answer
– Who is doing x and how?

The Current Benchmark Data
– Informal listserv-based polls and queries

The Needed Data
– Just-in-time representative research on hot topics

So when he says he’ll call and doesn’t, does that mean that he lost your number? Or he’s just not that in to you? The rules are confusing.
Way to go about making one confused about guys. As if it wasn’t hard enough…
My roommates, and I watched “He’s just not that in to you”. If I wasn’t a Christian, I’d say it was a good movie. It was funny, had all the necessary drama, even had a pretty good “happy” clever ending. (Okay, I actually did like how the guy put the ring in his old pants pockets that she wanted to throw away. He told her to check the pockets for valuables before she threw away the pants. Alas, there was a ring box in the pockets. Cute.)

But the way that I see things is through my “Christian-colored” glasses. And looking at it that way, it was bad. Trashy. Nothing of what was “True, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, or praiseworthy” was in there. Our hearts are supposed to focus on Jesus. Not chasing men. Or thinking of them as someone to “get” and “win”. Especially in Christian relationships, those people are our brothers/sisters, and we’re called to honor them in our thoughts, as well as in our actions. We’re supposed to be seeking after Jesus. Chasing him, and his heart. And if you accidentally run in to someone who’s exceedingly helpful to your journey while you’re chasing Jesus, then consider them a good running buddy, and run together.

Yes, I can be a normal girl and gush over some crush for 20 minutes to my roommates. But all the while that I’m doing this, I think that I’m being silly about it, and can’t believe I’m carrying on like this; I mean, what is “normal”? Because, in reality, I’m not a normal girl– I’m an IT girl, need I say more?, lol. But isn’t that what girls are supposed to do? Talk about that one cute guy you have your eye on and tell all the juicy details? That’s what happens in the movies…

But living in reality this isn’t the way it goes; or does it? What are the movies? How we’d like real life to be? Our fantasy life about how it should look? Even in the church, we have this combined view of relationships. We watch so many movies about relationships, rather than learning about it from God’s point of view in the Bible. We take to heart what Hollywood tells us. That’s why I don’t watch many movies (and maybe wish I didn’t watch this one). Each new movie we watch, it seeps a little more in to our worldview. We being to think that it’s “normal” to do those worldly things. We buy in to this stuff!

I remember someone once saying that chick-flicks can be just as harmful for girls as porn is to guys. Now maybe this is too harsh, but I think it’s an interesting thought. Both of them are things that distort reality. It presents the opposite gender in an unrealistic way; in a way that a real person, a true lover, can never meet up to, as these fictitious “characters” are airbrushed or screenplay-directed to “perfection”. There’s an expectation that the guy will be prince charming in every way. That he’ll pick up on the fact that you’re interested in him and wish that he’d ask you out with the hints you give, say all the cute things at the perfect time, never forget to wash the dishes, keep his side or the room clean, always smell good.
Now, wait a second. Yes, I do want one of those. But I don’t want someone just to tell me cute little things and be all sweet and romantic — unfortunately I’m a realist and am not much of a romantic (but I do like flowers! ha). I want someone who will serve. And not just me, but also others around. Not when I’m looking, not for me, but for God. That they would be a person that love gushes out of — to those around them, to their neighbors, to the poor, to those who are annoying, and to those who care for them. Let’s be realists and accept those people who have flaws because no one’s perfect. Heck, I hope no one is waiting for the perfect me. Because it’s going to take a long time. And I’ll probably be dead before I get married at that point, then But let’s look for REAL people, not Hollywood people. They don’t exist. Get over it.

Also, is the end goal a ring? Marriage doesn’t signify that you’ve made it. I went to a wedding reception tonight and it was great to see the couple together. They’re people that I can see being better for the kingdom of God because they’re together. That’s what it’s all about, right? Being a helper, serving one another, being an example of Christ and the church. This is the most tangible example of Christ’s love for the church — the husband and wife picture. Yet, we get caught up in the other “Hollywood” drama of it all.

And, THE END. Yeah, how do you end something like this? Thanks for reading my ramblings. Hello insight-into-a-non-normal-girl’s-mind. Or maybe you’ll think I’m more of a normal, confusing girl with all this talk.

I know there are other sides of this that I didn’t talk about, but that’s all for now. So don’t think I’m too crazy. I’m not ALL against romance. Hey, God created that part of it too.

I love sprinklers. It’s such a fun process. I’ve helped my dad fix sprinklers in the past, but haven’t ever been a part of the whole thing. It’s like a puzzle. Very logical. You glue one corner piece on, you put a “T” piece on, you cut the next pipe and glue it on. Fun. I was able to do most of the sprinkler work, with my dad supervising. New skill learned today — how to install sprinklers.
We made such great progress! I was so happy to be able to turn on the sprinklers in the front yard and see the ground get watered! I was hoping that Juan and Tony would be able to start working on digging up the grass and turning up the soil in the backyard today; however, we realized that we had too much dirt in the front yard and so they worked on hauling that to the back yard and digging the front yard sprinkler trenches.

It’s been so fun to have them working with me, because I get to practice my Spanish. Juan doesn’t speak any English, and Tony does just a little, so I’ve been having so much fun practicing and trying to talk with them. I love Spanish. I’m not that great at it, but I’ve been listening to Coffee Break Spanish a few times a week and going through their podcasts. It’s helped me recall what I learned in school, but you really have to recall it when you need to speak it. They’re friendly guys and like me trying to talk in Spanish, even if I ask them to do something with the wrong conjugation of the verb. They have given much grace to me.

More pics of all the fun today:

The start of the day - digging ditches and marking sprinkler positions

Putting the sprinklers in the trenches

End of the day with the planter border in

Such a nice flattened yard!

It made me start thinking and looking at my option. Yes, $200 is a lot. But I have a job and could do it. It’s more the principle of it, though. I have a 14 month old phone and it just dies on me. Never was dropped, took great care of it, didn’t do anything unusual to it (no jailbreaking, messing with it, etc.). PLUS, this is my thrid iPhone 4. The first two had problems and were replaced last year. I’m disappointed with the quality of these phones. As I sat at Apple, I saw about 5 people come in and say that their phones had just “died”. They were still under warranty (some 3 months, one lady 9 months, another 4 months) so Apple just gave them new phones. Almost like it wasn’t a big deal. So then when my phone has the same problem (that’s apparently a known issue if there were about 5-10 people within my three trips to the store that had the same problem) but it’s out of warranty, they won’t do anything. Frustrating. It’s obviously a hardware issue. And there’s something that wasn’t made well if they’re returning some percentage of them. I didn’t have any problems with my iPhone 3G. But there have been so many problems with these iPhone 4′s, especially hardware related.

So I ended up going home trying to figure out what to do. A friend has graciously lent me his old iPhone 3G for however long I need it, which is awesome. One problem: iPhone 3G’s don’t accept 4.3 software (which is what my broken phone had). Because of this, I can’t sync my data to the iPhone 3G. It’s too “old”. Frustrating that Apple does this, because really, it’s a 3 year old phone! That’s not that old! It makes me mad that they’re not compatible. I thought Apple was all about compatibility and customer service. I have not experienced this. These are the expectations and image that Apple promotes. Yet as they’ve gotten larger and more popular (and making more money), they have declined in their core mission.

The tech at the last Apple store (who was awesome, btw) said that last year he would have been able to help me, no problem. But recently they’ve cracked down. If you don’t have an extended warranty, they won’t do anything. The warranties are expensive, which is why I didn’t get it. Now I’m sorta wishing I did. However, I think that your phone should be able to last for 2 years (the length of your contract) before dying on you. I can understand if it was user damage. Of course not; don’t cover it. They dropped it, their fault. But if it just dies? Faulty hardware. If your computer just died after a year, it would be covered. They almost always give you 3 year warranties.

It’s just a frustrating situation. I understand what Apple’s saying. I’m out of warranty. Yes. But please, make the “iPhone 5″ good so that it doesn’t just die from normal use. Because I love your phones and what they do. I need my phone. It’s critical to my life and job; so please make sure I don’t have to return three iPhone 5s in the future. If they don’t have good reviews for hardware, I probably won’t be buying one. This is just ridiculous.

Yet, a bigger life lesson has been learned in this besides about buying warranties or not buying iPhones. I was bothered by paying $200 for a replacement phone. But I’ve been willing to pay $350 for a new phone last year and two years prior to that. They kind of get you with upgrading. The old phones slow down and don’t work as well so you want to upgrade. I’m so used to the convenience of always having information at my fingertips. It’s become a life necessity. I can get places without my iPhone map. However, I don’t know the FASTEST way to get there necessarily. And I can get to the store or restaurant, but what if they’re closed by the time I get there? Then I wasted my time. Time is REALLY important to me. I like to do things the most efficiently. Wasting time is something I don’t do. If I have to wait somewhere, I read an article (physical or digital). If I have 30 minutes driving, I’ll call a friend to catch up. An hour to spare before an event? Go to Starbucks and use the wireless.

I’m a getting things done person (GTD) for sure! I’ve learned this through my trip to Europe (where my sister was like “I’ve never seen someone go to this many places and events in one day! We’ve hit all the things to see here!”). Of course; can’t waste time waiting an hour for the bus. If we had looked up the time schedule, we would have had an extra hour to play. I have learned this recently at work when people are fooling around, not working. We’re here to work. Let’s get it done. I have learned this doing yard work; “Why are you standing around? Get to work”. Okay, so my sisters had this running joke when I was in high school that they were going to start calling me “SD” for Slave Driver because I wanted them to “get to work” doing whatever we were supposed to be doing instead of fooling around.

I don’t like to waste things, so whether that’s time or money, I’m against it. Thinking about money, I was planning to upgrade my phone this next coming year, so another $350 out there. But since this happened it would mean I’d end up paying the $200 to fix my phone and $350 to upgrade in the end of next year. $550 on a phone (which isn’t just a phone, more like my second brain, so I guess it’s not that unreasonable! ) is still ridiculous in one year.

I’ve decided that I’m going to put up with not having all of my data synced (thank God for cloud services where most of my contacts had been synced to, and my evernote data is there) and stick with my borrowed iPhone 3G. It works. It’s sluggish, but does what I really need (minus the good camera that I can print pictures out with bummer)… I’m grateful to have something. And I’d rather use my money elsewhere than $200 for a new phone right now.

I have a friend who is going to be a missionary and asked for support. I can either use my money to support him or get a new phone. Which is more eternal? Hmm. That’s a different way of looking at things. What if I looked at everything like this? The way I spend my money is important to me. I want to make wise choices and be frugal when I can so I can support others and the kingdom of God with my money. But do I think of my every day choices that way? If I go out to dinner X times a week, that means I can’t give “that” much to serve others who need it more. Hmm…

Praise God for life lessons that are worth more than a broken iPhone (which actually is still worth a decent amount of money, ridiculously enough ).

Her analysis is interesting, although it’s a long video. I thought it was interesting how she talked about the 15 year olds at a birthday party. Phones allow you to “leave” when you’re feeling awkward, rather than sticking it out. How many awkward situations are avoided because you have a phone? Sitting at an airport, waiting for the bus, sitting at a restaurant by yourself? We’ve become unused to being still and really being “alone”.

Sherry Turkle: Expecting More from Technology and Less from Each Other
February 4, 2011 Sherry Turkle director, MIT Initiative on Technology and Self
http://www.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_fc8nc7el/uiconf_id/1628312

Thanks to all my wonderful friends for celebrating me and making me feel loved and cared for! You all are great!

Lunch with work friends at Red Robin and then a little chocolate fondue party after work, put on by my wonderful roommates Michelle and Jen!

Now, on to another year of life. In a way, I hope 23 will be a little less eventful. But I can’t guarantee that… I’m a person who thrives off of the adventure of life and always loves learning, which both make life quite eventful!

The thing that I’ve learned this year is that every day is another day to enjoy. Life seems to be speeding by, so all you can do is enjoy the one you have today. (Pretty sure this is why Matthew talks about not “worrying about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself”. (Matt 6:34))
And I’ve learned that the one thing you can hope in is God and the hope of knowing him more. What an exciting thing to look forward to this next year!

The glory be to God for the many, many blessings he has given.

These were my favorite questions and responses that they had.

WSJ: How important is it for women to have mentors?

Ms. Wojcicki: One thing that’s more important than mentoring is having peers and friends. It’s not an accident the three of us are still here. We joined within a month of each other. We had each other and that was worth a lot.

Ms. Fitzpatrick: That sort of thing is especially important for women where confidence tends to get in their way, especially in the early years.

WSJ: Is the small proportion of women in technology a problem or not?

Ms. Wojcicki: I would like to see more women in technology. I would welcome and enjoy having more women to work with.

I think this is really true!

This scares me about re-entering the tech industry after taking a break (for child-rearing):

WSJ: What challenges do women face in the industry?

Ms. Wojcicki: There is a lot of opportunity for people to come in fresh, to start their own business. On the other hand, because it’s so fast-moving if you drop out of that market, it’s harder to come back in. You can’t do a lot of these jobs two days a week, like you could do in other types of careers.

WSJ: Do tech companies in Silicon Valley do a good job of helping women re-enter the work force and have good maternity-leave policies?

Ms. Fitzpatrick: We have positive examples of people who have taken multiple years off. It’s possible, but it takes a lot of motivation.

Interesting thought:
This [Tech] is a market with a talent shortage. Computer scientists (not just women computer scientists) are decreasing.