-Pre-Workshop Success-

So, about a week ago, Chris and I had a mini, pre-workshop with about 10 of the ladies from women unlimited, and it was a blast!

Now, from my perspective, and having a lack of female interaction this year, in a way, these few hours were a little overwhelming but comforting all at the same time. Before I get to that though, let me tell you a little bit about what the workshop was about...

Let's go back a bit to get the whole picture here... so, about 2 months ago, Chris was approached with (another) teaching opportunity by Lynn MacKinlay of the program Women Unlimited (Just some background on Women Unlimited... This is a program dedicated to women who have completed high school or the equivalent, and never got a chance to get to get a real career. This program focuses on careers that aren't traditional to women, mostly the trades and technology.). Of course, Chris jumped right into the idea, and asked me to come along for the ride, and I also agreed with high hopes and complete enthusiasm. And our journey started there. Anyways, back to the meat of the story, Lynn came in one day and mentioned that she realized that there were a few women with very limited computer skill, if any at all. This is when the 'pre-workshop' idea was conceived. We decided on April 9th, and it would last about 5 hours.

Now that you know what was going on, let's get back to the story.

My day started at about 9 ish, and as I walked into the school, I saw, by chance, the group of ladies that would soon be the group I'd be teaching. This totally got me stoked! Normally, when I know I have to be teaching or standing up in front of people, I get the jitters, but I was just totally on fire! I also had a presentation earlier that morning in one of my classes, but I was totally excited and wasn't nervous for that either. So, after a little bit of a wait, and a SAAD (System Analysis and Design) presentation which went well, it was off to Chris' office to get everything worked out and ready.

Eleven o'clock, and the 10 ladies start trickling in, and that's when I started to get nervous. Unlike most times, this time, I took a deep breath and did what I had to do, and it was a blast! These ladies had a lot of energy and lots of spunk, and that alone kept me on my toes. The only 'spunk' I'm used to hearing are the crazy cracks the guys like to make. Now, before I get in trouble, I'm not in anyway putting the guys down, because I have a blast with them, but it's kind of nice to feel a whole lot of 'estrogen' in the room, and get some 'girlie' back into you.

I think my favorite part of the day was lunch (the food was awesome, but that wasn't the reason, lol), because I got a real feel for what these ladies were like. For a good part of the lunch break, down in the Women Unlimited classroom, I just sat and listened to what the ladies had to say, most to each other, but they took me in like one of their own in no time. We all talked and carried on and had an awesome time. They all had such interesting stories, and their lives have been all pretty hard, which made me feel pretty lucky for having what I have. Even though they had all had it rough, the were probably some of the nicest people that you could have met. They really had a good grasp about what a 'bad time' was and knew how to smile at the good times. They really taught me something that day, always be thankful for what you have, and strive and work hard for the things that you don't.

I seriously can't wait until May to host the actual workshop! It's going to be a blast! Wish me luck!

A Bientot!