I haven’t always been a geek. I was encouraged to take computer class in my small town high school by my Dad because, smart man that he is, he figured it would be useful no matter what I ended up doing in life. However, I struggled from day one. It was boring. It was hard. It was intimidating. All the boys did it better and faster and I felt stupid and slow.
Then came the day when it all clicked. I was sitting in the living room frustrated with this little program I was supposed to write when my Dad sat down with me and patiently walked me through the problem, step by step. As we worked through the logic, a light went on. It started to make sense, and I could see the solution in my mind’s eye. The pieces all fell into place.
I aced the project and figured that from that point onward I could do anything I set my mind to.
Today I’m a geek at Microsoft and I get to travel across Canada talking to the people who run computer systems for corporations. It’s the best job ever, combining my love for all things tech and my love of talking to people and building relationships.
However, I’m even more excited about the next few weeks because I get to talk to you – moms and dads – about some cool technology that can make your life a little easier. As a mother of almost-two-year-old, very energetic twin boys, I can relate to your busy lives! I know that technology can be intimidating and overwhelming, but it can also be liberating and inspiring. It can help you be creative, more organized and more connected, and that’s what I want to share with you.
Recently I had the pleasure of meeting some pretty amazing UrbanMoms mom and dads at a fun evening event where I got to show them the new Microsoft Office 2010 suite. Check out Jen’s blog post – that’s me in the glasses. We talked about some of the issues around technology and education and how Microsoft is building the tools today for the way people are going to work tomorrow.
Over the next few weeks, I’ll be sharing some tips and tricks about how to jazz up school assignments, organize your projects and coordinate your busy family lives. I hope you’ll find them as useful as I do.
Until next week….
Ruth Morton
Microsoft Geek and Mother of Twins
