A Passion for Learning; A Passion for Teaching
I’ve always been one of those insatiable people, about everything. This includes learning. When something interests me, I immerse myself in it. It’s one of the more constructive ways an obsessive personality can safely indulge in this behavior ‘disorder’. I prefer to label myself as “extremely focused” rather than obsessive, but I can certainly understand why it unnerves some folks that I remember details that probably never took up residence in their minds to begin with, let alone that they forgot. My Pawpaw always said I had ‘a mind like a steel trap’. He was a blacksmith, so he would know. Some of my more folky practices are centered around some of the items I have that my Pawpaw made. I used to have a horseshoe he made, but the maintenance personnel at an apartment I lived in availed themselves of it, and my then boyfriend’s watch and rings. I’ve often wondered what happened to them ..you don’t just take stuff from a Witch’s house and get away with it. (insert maniacal laugh).
See how my mind works? Maybe a little ADD too, but it assures me of never living a boring life. There is so much wonder out in the Universe, so much that I will never have a chance to wrap my mind around. But I try. Often, when I am in the throes of assimilating info on my current ‘focus’ it inspires others to learn along with me. The organic process of learning, especially in groups is amazing. It’s like watching a wildfire, and you can be the wind.
So, I’ve been in the middle of implementation of Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint Site development for a while now. It’s part of my job responsibility to make sure that all our folks have the tools they need, that those tools work reliably, and that they know how to use them. In this process I’ve rediscovered how much I love teaching people. I love it when they ‘get it’ and take off like a shot, using this new information to make their jobs, even their lives, easier. Granted, our company is somewhat behind the times as far as this goes. Most small businesses have been on the Blackberry train for years. Our is just getting started. I don’t own a Blackberry, but now I know how they work, can program them, show others how to use options on them and set up email accounts. And I’m in the market for a new phone…so one might be in my future.
My most favorite by far of our new toys is the fax server. No more fax spam! Yes, every day we would get several pages of fax spam. Vacations for $500 to Europe, condo timeshares, you know that kind of crap. Now I can prevent it from ever printing, saving paper and trees. I can give someone a fax, or they can access it without either of us having to get up and go anywhere. And I love being able to fax from my desktop.
I’d had experience with these functions before, so my boss made me a sort of defacto trainer, because I know more about Outlook than anyone else in the building. I’ve been to classes to learn more and am still happily assimilating and passing info down the line.
One of the things that ‘comforts’ us OCD people is the” illusion of order”. I can spend hours touching natural fiber yarns arranged by color in a LYS (local yard store for those not fiber savvy). I can spend hours arranging beads by color or filing, labeling, sorting, etc. It’s a bit on the goofy side, but it ‘soothes’ me. It allows my mind to work out problems while my hands are occupied with something not quite mindless, but repetitive enough that I can ‘focus’ elsewhere mentally. When the weather permits, I do this in the garden. Weeding is good for this, and a lot of my problems have been solved while weeding. Same with spinning - I can spin or wind yarn for hours and be happy. Knitting is a bit different…I can’t follow a pattern for shit, but I can knit…I can purl too, but if I just stick to garter stitch, the same thing happens, I go ‘there’ and life works itself out.
Lately though, it’s like my brain is in fast mode. Things just come to me. Ideas, problem solutions, work arounds and more. And I think this is directly linked to putting myself out there in terms of learning new things and taking chances on ME…and learning that I don’t end where I thought I did anymore - literally AND figuratively. I can certainly live with that.While I am still concerned for the state of the economy, worry about health care, the state of the environment, world population and such, I feel like I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. That’s a good feeling.
See how my mind works? Maybe a little ADD too, but it assures me of never living a boring life. There is so much wonder out in the Universe, so much that I will never have a chance to wrap my mind around. But I try. Often, when I am in the throes of assimilating info on my current ‘focus’ it inspires others to learn along with me. The organic process of learning, especially in groups is amazing. It’s like watching a wildfire, and you can be the wind.
So, I’ve been in the middle of implementation of Microsoft Exchange and Sharepoint Site development for a while now. It’s part of my job responsibility to make sure that all our folks have the tools they need, that those tools work reliably, and that they know how to use them. In this process I’ve rediscovered how much I love teaching people. I love it when they ‘get it’ and take off like a shot, using this new information to make their jobs, even their lives, easier. Granted, our company is somewhat behind the times as far as this goes. Most small businesses have been on the Blackberry train for years. Our is just getting started. I don’t own a Blackberry, but now I know how they work, can program them, show others how to use options on them and set up email accounts. And I’m in the market for a new phone…so one might be in my future.
My most favorite by far of our new toys is the fax server. No more fax spam! Yes, every day we would get several pages of fax spam. Vacations for $500 to Europe, condo timeshares, you know that kind of crap. Now I can prevent it from ever printing, saving paper and trees. I can give someone a fax, or they can access it without either of us having to get up and go anywhere. And I love being able to fax from my desktop.
I’d had experience with these functions before, so my boss made me a sort of defacto trainer, because I know more about Outlook than anyone else in the building. I’ve been to classes to learn more and am still happily assimilating and passing info down the line.
One of the things that ‘comforts’ us OCD people is the” illusion of order”. I can spend hours touching natural fiber yarns arranged by color in a LYS (local yard store for those not fiber savvy). I can spend hours arranging beads by color or filing, labeling, sorting, etc. It’s a bit on the goofy side, but it ‘soothes’ me. It allows my mind to work out problems while my hands are occupied with something not quite mindless, but repetitive enough that I can ‘focus’ elsewhere mentally. When the weather permits, I do this in the garden. Weeding is good for this, and a lot of my problems have been solved while weeding. Same with spinning - I can spin or wind yarn for hours and be happy. Knitting is a bit different…I can’t follow a pattern for shit, but I can knit…I can purl too, but if I just stick to garter stitch, the same thing happens, I go ‘there’ and life works itself out.
Lately though, it’s like my brain is in fast mode. Things just come to me. Ideas, problem solutions, work arounds and more. And I think this is directly linked to putting myself out there in terms of learning new things and taking chances on ME…and learning that I don’t end where I thought I did anymore - literally AND figuratively. I can certainly live with that.While I am still concerned for the state of the economy, worry about health care, the state of the environment, world population and such, I feel like I am doing what I am supposed to be doing. That’s a good feeling.