So Margaret made me go to the She’s Geeky (un)conference Monday and Tuesday in Mountain View. I must admit she dragged me there kicking and screaming. “I have too much to do to go to a two day conference right now!!” I said “I have the attention span of a gnat!!!” But I went and damn if I didn’t have a terrific time. What an inspiration. There were so many talented and accomplished women, both young and not as young. We talked, we networked, we strategized, we learned. As someone who has always felt that even though I’m very technically adept with my graphics applications I don’t think of myself as “geeky“ I found these women to be kindred spirits.
I spent one session getting reacquainted with my Sharpie pen, doing blind contour (only look at your subject, not the paper) drawings of fellow geeks. I told you I have a short attention span. Getting back in touch with my doodling self made me realize that when I occupy my antsy hands I actually can listen and focus better. I know it doesn’t make any sense, and I was certainly chastised by all of the Sister Patrick Marys in catholic grade school, but maybe this is what makes me a geek. I realized I approach the world as a visual person who has learned to translate those quirky visions to websites. I think I might actually hear in pictures. People ask me what I learned and I can’t regurgitate details, but I can definitely tell you what it looked like. So, I’m not a coder, but I am a newly self-identified geek.