Administrative Sparkle Blog

I am an electronic techie geek.

I actually fell into this by accident. I actually started out as a hairdresser in California. I have always been creative and hair, beauty, and style was always interesting to me. And, it seemed, I was pretty good at it. I always had friends and family who wanted me to do their hair or change their look. Soon after getting my Cosmetology license, I met the man of my dreams, got married and pregnant, and we were soon moving to different states when he decided to leave the Air Force. We moved to Ohio, where he was from; then off to Pennsylvania, for his college to work on airplanes (he used to work on fighter jets); and then to Minnesota where he took a job with one of the big boys (at the time) with Northwest Airlines. The excursions that took us outside of California eliminated my ability to work as a “beauty consultant” as each state requires its own licensing. I was moving around to too many different states to keep up.

So off to college I went to attain knowledge in a profession that was more “practical” with my circumstances. So I chose the certificated program, “Legal Secretarial Specialist” at Rasmussen Business College in Minnesota. I chose to take the most difficult administrative program with the thinking that I could work in the administrative field in any industry and any state. This was the time when home computers were starting to take off and my little nomadic tribe of a family decided to get one. The days of DOS.

That is where it all began. Whenever we had problems with the computer, I was the one who was asked to fix it. Most of the time it was about how slow the computer would run. So I picked up books on DOS and learned the various macro systems that would increase the speed, ran the defrag program, and tweaked his games so they seem to run seamlessly as he enjoyed shooting things up.

I got a job with a law firm who represented several cities as the “City Attorneys.” They did a large amount of criminal documentation that was given to the assistant as dictation. Before I came on board, every word was typed in. Most of the information was for the offenses and redundant, used over and over again in most of the Criminal Complaints. This was when WordPerfect was the only choice for word processing and most law firms still use this software today. This is where I honed my skills in creating templates and macros. After that, we were able to get the Complaint done within days instead of weeks. This was also when “reveal codes” was a necessity to examine because you did not always print what you saw onscreen. This was before WYSIWYG. I still use reveal codes to see the details of what is in a document today with Word.

That is the evolution of my electronic techie geekiness. I have since built my own desktop computer, that is still wicked fast today, even though most of the time I work on my laptop.

I am always surprised when I come across administrative assistants who still use the computer and various applications as a glorified typewriter. The programs offer so much functionality and access to creating truly creative and dynamic ways of presenting information. Most have a handle on the more intermediate applications of programs today. You have to in order to keep up with the needs a company has in presenting information.

Today.

I continue to keep up with technology by visiting the various sites you see on my sidebar to learn new skills and applications that the various programs can do. I don’t go out and buy the really big books like I used to, but would like to. I also keep up with the new programs shortly after they are offered. I usually give a little bit of time for the company, usually Microsoft, to work out the bugs. And then I am off and running.

I find the program that I probably live in the most in today’s technology age is the Calendar. I use the “Task” function a LOT and should probably do a write up on that because there is so much you can do with it. The Calendar also houses the email system. Email has become the method of communication. No longer is the boss coming to you with the request of a project or task, it is now being sent via email.

On my quest to seek out technology that simplifies my life, I was greatly interested in the new iTouch with the Apps feature. I had put it off for quite some time as I was hoping they would come out with one that had the same GB as my current one, which they now call the “Classic.” However, I decided to go for it.

There is a bit of a back story to the reason why I ended up getting it before they hit 120 GB. I thought I lost my “Classic” at the gym. I know, God forbid. On my way to Best Buy, I stopped by the gym and, shocking to me, someone had turned it in. YAY! So I began to reassess my purchase. I started thinking, “Well this month is my birthday. You wanted to get this in the past, so what would you get yourself instead for your birthday?” I could get a nice pair of shoes, or maybe go to the bookstore, or maybe something that I needed. I decided on the iTouch.

One of the reasons I actually wanted the iTouch was for the functionality that of a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant). I used to have a Palm, but something went crazy on it. I also had a Palm phone when I was on Verizon. I could carry all my information with me wherever I go. I realize that many of the phones have the various features, but I didn’t find the features to be quick and easy to use on the phone. After all, that isn’t their primary function. The iPhone has all of this, I realize, but I am not with AT&T. However, I am a big fan of Apple and have had the iPod for many years. So getting the iTouch was upgrading, again. I still hope to get a Mac. Maybe next year’s birthday gift.

I downloaded some Apps and am really interested in getting back to you on my impression of a free app called “Intuition: Mom’s Assistant.” I also read about an app called “Siri Assistant,” which I hear is phenomenal, but can only be used on the iPhone. Oh well.

I would love to hear from you what programs, features, and technology you just can’t live without. What makes your job and life easier? What helps you to be more efficient, productive, organized, and sane?

Don’t forget to take a look at the sidebar for websites that offer tutorials and tips on making you the “go to” person in the office when something techie needs to be done.