Last summer I had a crazy idea -- I decided to sit for a professional exam that, if I passed, would certify me as an association executive. I'd have initials after my name on LinkedIn! I am already an association professional and no letters or lack of letters can change that, but my scope is currently a bit narrow. I know a lot about one facet of association management, a little about another, and cursory info about the rest. Even I sit for this exam and fail miserably, the reading and ...
Lynda, the Library, and me
The Big!Work!Project! which surely you are tired of hearing of by now involved new software, and a new-to-us way of writing reports. It's Crystal Reports, which while it's new-to-us, isn't very new-to-me. I was using it over 10 years ago at the C-P, and I won't lie, seeing it re-emerge sent a shiver of dread down my spine. What I needed was a refresher. Last Tuesday night, I had a dream that I went to Lynda.com (a training site that's been live since 1995) and signed up for Crystal Reports ...
Biting the bullet: WordCamp Philly
My journey to bring my professional life into the current millennium continues. I don't know anyone here. I'm completely out of my comfort zone. But I can finally afford to take a class at Temple! I'm playing with my theme today while I learn, so you'll be seeing weirdness here today. Well, more weirdness than usual ...
School days, school days
This week I'm taking a "Fundamentals of SQL" class at the local branch of our County College. I'm a bit nervous, because it's out of my educational comfort zone (which solely entails listening to Coffee Break Spanish and TechTV podcasts). But, I believe that the future - my future - is going to lie in managing the vast quantities of data that is served up online. And it's time to jump in and wrangle some knowledge. This class, paid for months ago, coincides with the finale of Dancing with the ...
Would've been, could've been
It's been quite a rejuvenating week so far. We had tickets to the Phillies game last night, but decided to take the financial loss and not go. Why? It was in the 30s and blustery and damp. And they lost the game in the 11th. Which means I would have tossed one or both of my shoes onto the field and been arrested. And we don't need that. The cold and damp weather's quashed my desire to go sightseeing across the river. So we've been prowling bookstores and coffee joints and doing house-y things ...
