Where have I been?

This blog has been quiet since March of 2008. I have to admit that it doesn't sound that long ago. During that time I've gone from being a full-time student, to a full-time employee, to a part-time self-employed computer consultant. I've been working for a company called Double Exposure Technology Consulting in Manhattan. Most of my work there has involved converting PC users to Mac users. I transfer data from the PCs, I show the users how to use their new Macs to do everything that their PCs did and more, and I stick around to answer questions. What I've been most surprised about is how much I actually like one-on-one human interfacing. It turns out that I have the patience of a saint. If you don't know me personally, then let me explain...

I grew up around computers. My father has spent almost his whole adult life working as a computer programmer. I may be giving away my age to say that I started learning how to program computers at the same time that I learned how to read (don't ask me what that did for my spelling and grammar... it wasn't pretty; and please don't point out my current failings in that area, an ego can only take so much!). When I was a kid I played with all sorts of computers, and all sorts of programming languages. I used the original Macintosh SE, a TI, and the computer I spent the most time with through high school was a Linux box that my Dad helped me build. I worked in the IT dept in college, and started working for Big Blue shortly after graduation. And perhaps it's hard to believe now, but I was, at least internally, the very picture of one of those nerdy computer geeks who doesn't know how to talk to actual people. My saving grace was that I had a very "emo" (before there was such a word) poetry phase in high school that built up a foundation of language and emotional awareness that set the stage for a social blossoming in college. But I'm naturally an introvert. I just like spending time by myself, with my thoughts. I always thought that I'd be the lone wolf programmer who didn't know or care that the world was going on outside my cubicle.

Clearly I've broken out of my shell. Sure there were inklings that I would love to teach: I had a semester stint as a math tutor, I trained a group of fellow IBMers on a particular automation technology using materials that I designed myself, and I am always ready to jump in and help a newbie do something that I've previously muddled my way through. I've discovered that I love that social interaction. I love helping people. I think part of what makes me good at it is that I don't pre-judge. I know what it's like to be a smart person who just happens to not know something, so when I'm answering questions about the computer, there's no condescension. People's brains all work differently and everyone comes to it with a not only a different level of experience, but also a different quality of experience. The technology that you were exposed to and your qualitative experiences surrounding it during your young adulthood affects a lot of your views about technology. It's very different to teach someone who is fluent in a different operating system from someone whose experience with electronics is limited to typewriters and microwaves. There are plenty of people who will relinquish the technology in life to their spouse, partner, or kids not because they can't learn it, but because it's better for their primary relationships.

So, yes, I love teaching. And not in an academic setting. I'm not sure if I'll every return to academia. I'm not counting it out, but right now there are bills to pay!