Month: November 2007

Categories
Travel Work

2008 SEDUG Conference

Last week we went down to Myrtle Beach for the SouthEast Datatel Users Group conference at the Hilton there. Once again it was cold and windy so we didn’t spend much time outside, and never walked on the beach. The closest we got was the patio that looked over the beach. Even then it was getting cold.

CDF and the girls did a lot of shopping on Thursday while I attended the conference sessions. Neither MD or CE felt like taking a nap, so they were on the go most of the day. They slept well at night, even though CE cried for about five minutes before going to sleep.

Some of the conference sessions were interesting (such as the new Colleague Studio plugin for the Eclipse IDE), but as Ravi said, the conference was for a break from work, not for learning. 😉 Also I got to attend one session in the Dunes room at the top of the hotel, which has a wonderful view of the beach.

Categories
Work

Public Speaking

I have always been known as quiet, but growing older I have found it easier to be more outgoing. I still have a long way to go, especially in casual conversation, but public speaking is an area where I’ve really improved. I’m sure doing the announcements, and now scripture readings, prayers, etc., at church have helped get me over the stage fright.

This past October I was part of a panel on Disaster Recovery at the Community College IIPS conference. A while back a vendor we worked with asked if I would be interested in participating in a session and I agreed. It turned out that I would be presenting with four other people, so it wasn’t as bad as being the sole speaker. I made sure I was prepared, though, and had no problem speaking. I was actually better prepared than some of the others on the panel and they thanked me afterwards for carrying their part of the discussion.

Then last week and tomorrow I volunteered to teach classes on a reporting software package we use at work. I know it well enough to teach, but still I kind of surprised myself that I felt like getting front of a class. It’s been a few years since I last taught a class like that. It went well though — again, it’s good to be prepared.