Some people seem to be under the impression
that Mrs PC isn’t a real person. I would
like to set the record straight. I am
real, and a woman too! As it’s summer
and many of you are in holiday mode, my thoughts for this month’s article were
to shed some light on what I get up to at work and in my spare time, and what
kind of person I am rather than focus on my usual topics.
You may imagine that I am geeky and remain
indoors in front of a screen as my preference, looking pale and unhealthy,
however you couldn’t be more wrong. Of
course I do use a lot of technology in my life and love it (most of the
time). Life without my iPhone, podcasts and iPlayer
would be unthinkable. Teaching IT means
that I have to be indoors when I am working, but I am a very outdoorsy person
in my spare time.
I have a very inquiring mind and enjoy learning
new skills. One of the benefits of my
job is that it keeps me up to date with technology. What I like most is when my students teach me
something new, or they discover something we are both looking for during a
lesson moments before I see it. I also
love new gadgets and learning how to use them.
My job brings me into contact with all
sorts of people at all kinds of different stages in their lives and with
wonderful interests or jobs from ages around 40-90+. I am a very sociable person so I enjoy
meeting new students and forging friendships over time with those who see me
regularly.
I am married, and my husband and I have
been together for over 25 years- expect you are now calculating my age! We have 2 children who are grown up but
haven’t quite left home yet. We all
enjoy spending time together as a family and share a love of the outdoors and
walking with our dogs. When the children
outgrew bucket and spade holidays in Devon, we started to visit the Yorkshire
Dales, and continue to enjoy our holidays there every year. Our favourite Dale is Swaledale. There is no mobile phone signal and it is a
true escape from city life.
I spend a fair amount of time training for my
hobbies of skiing and mountaineering. In training I run, cycle and go to the
gym as well as hill walk. I have to be
fit to do the type of skiing I love. It
is called ski touring. It is a form of
backcountry or off piste skiing. The
skis used are normal width, but super lightweight with special bindings, which
allow the heel to rise for walking uphill, but clip into the boots for a secure
ride downhill. Climbing skins are used
for uphill skiing, and detached for the downhill. They allow you to glide forward but stop you
from running back downhill. The huge
advantage of this kind of skiing is that you can go anywhere. You don’t need a ski resort or lift, and can
enjoy the silence and beauty of the mountains as well as wonderful powder
skiing if you are lucky. My family don’t
share my passion for ski touring or mountaineering!
When on any trip or outing, I take lots of
photographs, and have always enjoyed photography. My goal after every trip is to create
something from the photographs, such as a photobook or a short movie with
photos and videos and a soundtrack. To
my shame, many of these projects are unfinished or not even started, and my
desk is quite often littered in paperwork to catch up on. I could really do with a clone of Mrs PC to
come along and help me. If you know
anyone, do please ask them to get in touch!
Happy summer holidays. Enjoy your technology, and have fun with
it.
