Talkin' Bout GETT

On Saturday, my daughter and I attended Girls Exploring Tomorrow's Technology, otherwise known as GETT. As you all know, both my husband and I are rather geeky people. Needless to say, the conference was not really aimed at us. But there were some interesting things going on. The girls and the parents were separated all day. While the parents sat in lectures, the girls were broken into groups to do breakout sessions that tackled different areas of STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) careers. The day started off with a helicopter landing by Stacy Sheard from Sikorsky Global Helicopters. Then the girls went off to the auditorium to begin their day and the parents went to the cafeteria to begin ours.

My daughter (and her friend) were in the eBay Enterprise group. (Every group had a different sponsor companies as their group names.) They got to do four out of the twenty available breakout sessions. Here are the ones they did:

Aviation and Aeronautics - Participants learn about the various applications and capabilities of helicopters. This hands-on experience includes sitting in the pilot's seat and exploring the aircraft. For the Love of Roller Coasters! - Participants learn the basic principles of roller coaster engineering and design and then create their own! How many loops, drops, and banks can be made? Inside the Box/Hardware Rocks! - Participants will learn what makes a computer "tick" by taking one apart; they will also discuss a variety of IT career path options. Say Cheese! - Participants will gain an understanding of dairy farming as well as how milk forms into a finished product via a tasting activity.

Only two of these were on their list of the activities they wanted to do. (Say Cheese! and For the Love of Roller Coasters) While they had fun, they found Say Cheese! to be disappointing. The group made butter via the mason-jar-shaking method. I'm not quite sure how that fits into a STEM category so it was just weird overall. The girls were also disappointed in the Hardware Rocks! session because the people who assembled the computer before them, didn't put it back together correctly. As a result, there were extra pieces all over the desk when they came in and they didn't know where the pieces went. However, they did highly enjoy For the Love of Roller Coasters! (They said they would have given up Say Cheese! for a second round in the coaster session.) The Aviation and Aeronautics session was given a firm 'meh.' Though I think that was because the other girls in the group wouldn't make room for everyone to see into the copter.

As for the parents side, I found it rather boring. As I said, the conference wasn't aimed at my family. It was probably very informative for parents who aren't as "techie" as we are. The one panel I did find interesting was the one about the Chester County library system. Apparently, they have a large number of online programs they run for free if you have a Chester County library card. One of their programs is called Mango and it is free foreign language classes. It looks super cool and I can't wait to get a library card from their library system to check it out. (I am in a different county. While I do have a library card, it is not for their library system.)

Overall, I do recommend people send their girls (grades 6 - 12) to the free conference. There are a lot of things they can learn from the hands-on experience and talking to women that are actually doing these things for a living. However, if you are a techie parent, feel free to skip the lectures. They will only be preaching to the choir.

My inspirations

Today was a little bit ridiculous. Let's just get to the list:

17. People I want to be like when I grow up

I feel like this list grows every day. In no particular order (because there is no way I could put them in an order):

Aisha Tyler (@aishatyler) - She is smart and funny and geeky and you should read Self Inflicted Wounds because then you'll want to be like her too.

Misha Collins (@mishacollins) - He is witty and thoughtful and has a kickass charity Random Acts and he's just such an inspiration to be a better person.

John Green (@realjohngreen) - DFTBA! (Don't Forget To Be Awesome!) Do I need to say more? Oh, and um, The Fault in Our Stars.

My mom is also pretty cool. I wouldn't mind being a bit like her.

Hmm...there's a couple of cosplayers that I admire.

Overall, I'd like to be just like me....but cooler :)

My To-Do List

16. This week's to-do list

My schedule is always crazy. This week starts off with my husband's birthday. (Happy Birthday, Hon!) Besides that, my daughter had a World Thinking Day event to attend with her Girl Scout troop. After the event, we took my husband out to dinner at Applebee's for dinner.

Monday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM (including the commute) with the evening spent doing whatever chores I couldn't finish over the weekend Tuesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance classes from 6:00PM to 7:15PM. Wednesday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, start the week's chores Thursday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, try to finish the week's chores Friday - Work from 7:00AM to 5:30PM, take daughter to dance rehearsal from 5:30PM to 7:00PM, take daughter to Girl Scout sleepover event immediately after dance, go to Brandon Sanderson book signing with husband Saturday - Get a much-needed massage with the husband, pick daughter up from Girl Scout sleepover, take daughter to birthday party sleepover, try to clean the house Sunday - Laundry, pick daughter up from birthday party sleepover

Yes, most of my schedule involves taking my daughter to various events. I'm a mom. It's what we do. At least I get a massage this weekend :)

Travelin' Treats

14. Favorite Treats When Traveling

I almost forgot to do today's prompt! But I'm getting it done in time...

When I was younger, I used to do a lot of traveling. One of my favorite things to eat when I was on a road trip was beef jerky. It is a good source of protein and chewy so it would keep me full and awake. The down side is that the jerky would get stuck in my teeth. But it is still delicious stuff.

If I was taking a plane, I preferred to just chew gum. Since I have issues with my ears, the pressure from the altitude would make my ears hurt a lot. I found that if I chew gum or something similar, it wouldn't hurt as much.

Generally, I'd only eat treats when I was traveling with other people. Then I'd share their treats. I am not a good traveling companion. I eat your stuff :)

Where I grew up

13. Describe Your Childhood Home

My father actually still lives in my childhood home so this one is quite easy!

I grew up in a Jubilee in the Highland Park section of Levittown, PA. The house has four bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. There is an attached garage and a good-sized fenced-in backyard. The front yard is perfectly sized for children to run around without having to play in the street.

Now that the technical details are done, here's the fun stuff!

In the backyard, we had a chestnut tree. (I believe my father has since removed it.) For those of you that don't know, chestnuts don't come in a ready-to-roast-on-an-open-fire state. Oh no. Chestnuts come in a spiky ready-to-kill state. You have to risk life and limb to open those suckers to get to the actual nut part. As a result, our backyard was frequently filled with the devil fruit. Running around in bare feet was an act of insanity. We had a Slip N' Slide for one whole summer before the damned things ruined it. Yeah. I hate chestnuts.

The front yard used to have a huge oak tree. My father had painted the trunk white, though I don't remember exactly why. I seem to recall something about bugs. Anyway, for a little while, we had a tree swing tied to it. It also played "Home Base" to many games of tag. This tree was removed many years ago due to disease. I mourned the loss of that tree. It was awesome. (Much better than the stupid chestnut tree.)

Despite having four bedrooms and only four members of the family, my younger sister and I frequently shared a room. When we were small, we shared the small room downstairs next to my parents' room. When we were older, we moved upstairs to share the larger bedroom. (While that room is awesomely huge, it has sloped walls. One can't stand up straight to lean on a wall...unless you are like three feet tall. It made furniture placement a pain.) At some point, I moved across the hall to the smaller upstairs bedroom. I don't have a lot of memories there so I don't think it lasted very long.

The house actually has not changed much in 30*cough* years. It is still filled with many funtastic 70s things like dark blue carpeting in the upstairs bedroom. I believe the kitchen cabinets are still avocado green. Maybe one day I can talk my father into updating the house a bit more. Then again, maybe pigs really will sprout wings and fly.

Who? Me?

12. Things I Always Do For Myself

I am a pretty dedicated mother and wife. There aren't a lot of things that I specifically do for myself. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the things my daughter and husband do. It's not like I'm being dragging along unwillingly. I just wouldn't categorize it as doing it "for me." But there are a few things I do....

  • Get massages (though I wish this would happen more often)
  • Listen to music
  • Watch a couple of TV shows (Supernatural, The Originals, and a couple of crappy 'reality' shows like Diggers)
  • Attempt to sleep more (this one is rarely accomplished)

I kinda prefer the things we do together as a family - watch funny YouTube videos, go driving around, or even just hanging out. I enjoy spending time with my family.

Foc-SQUIRREL!

11. When I Need To Focus I

Yeeeeah. I'm not so good at the focusing thing. I don't know that I have ADD but I do have a difficult time not multi-tasking. When I'm making jewelry, I'm usually watching TV too. When I'm sewing plushies, I'm listening to music. I'm not sure if I have a good reason for it. When I'm doing something that only requires my hands, another part of my body needs to be engaged as well.

That doesn't necessarily mean I am paying a lot of attention to the TV or the song. It's more like background noise. Too much quiet is creepy.

I will say that I don't turn anything else on when I am trying to read a book. I can't focus on the characters and story with something else going on. I guess that is the answer to the question. When I need to focus I read a book.

I feel like there should be an evil chortle here

10. If I Ruled The World

If I ruled the world, eh?

Well.

If I ruled the world, universal healthcare would be a real thing that works the way it is supposed to. (And, see, since I'm ruler, people don't get to bitch about it, which would then fuck everything up, because I would get to tape their mouths shut or whatever.)

If I ruled the world, people would get to take time off of work for sicknesses and family emergencies and just to spend some time with their kids for once and not have to worry if they still have a job to come back to when everything is better. Yes, people would still have to work but it wouldn't consume their entire lives. Work to live, don't live to work.

If I ruled the world, paparazzi would leave famous people alone when they aren't being "famous." Meaning there wouldn't be someone hiding in the tree outside Angelina Jolie's house to try to get a picture of any member of her family. The famous people should be the ones to decide how much of their personal lives we see, not some creepy guy with a camera.

If I ruled the world, the fine arts would never be in danger of losing funding. Children in elementary school would be required to take some sort of fine art class in school - painting, an instrument, drama classes, sculpting...whatever. After elementary school, the classes would be optional but still available.

If I ruled the world, equal would mean EQUAL. For everybody.

If I ruled the world, the mentally ill would be taken care of properly. (See universal healthcare above. Yes, this includes mental health.) Addicts would be able to get help to stop being addicts. (See universal healthcare above. Yes, this still includes mental health.) Veterans would get the help they need for whatever their problems are. (See universal healthcare above. Also see Equal means EQUAL. Veterans get this stuff too.) As a result, the homeless population would decrease.

If I ruled the world, people would not suck. They would be properly educated (get out of my schools, Creationism), properly fed (equal meaning equal means people get paid equally...therefore people could actually afford to buy good nutritious food for their families), and properly mannered (hm. maybe we'll add a Manners class to the elementary school curriculum as well).

There is probably so many other things I would do. But, of course, I don't rule the world. And that makes me sad.

Keep Calm

9. Keep Calm and ________.

DFTBA! (Don't Forget To Be Awesome!)

That is all I have. It's my favorite saying. (I'm not sure if he was the originator but John Green says it all the time in his videos.) And since I am up way too early for a Sunday because I have to go bridesmaid dress shopping with my sister, this is all you get for today. I hope I will be less tired tomorrow. Also, daylight saving time sucks.