Time for change
Feb 27 '06
The Bottom Line Thanks to those who have always supported me.
When some people see something that they don't like, they sit around and grumble. They go on and on about how they could do things better if given a chance. They talk about how bad others are doing the job. And they spend so much time talking about how bad things are that they never do anything to actually make it better.
I'm not like that. I've always been the kind of person who just jumps in when I see that I can make a difference. I don't just sit around complaining. I come up with a plan for how I can help and then put it into action. If all I can do is a little bit, that's what I do. Invariably, my cooperation in the smaller things ends up leading to larger opportunities to help and to greater responsibilities.
Such it was with Epinions.
I found the site way back in 1999. From the start, I saw the potential of Epinions. At the time, I was working as a consultant. When I needed to recommend new software for the job, I could find lots of sites that had nearly unreadable reviews that usually boiled down to "Microsoft sucks!" or with reviews that talked extensively about the technical aspects of a product but never gave me the "person in the trenches" view. Book review sites were similar. Reviews were written by people who hadn't read the entire book or by people who could not articulate what they liked or disliked. I saw that Epinions had the potential provide more useful information for the consumer. They just needed help to get the more useful reviews to the top of the pile and to make their product database more sound.
So I started helping. I rated firmly but fairly. I sent in suggestions for improving functionality and alerted Epinions to incorrect data or poor software design. Over time, my efforts were rewarded. The folks at Epinions always knew that, although I didn't always tell them what they wanted to hear, I would always give them an honest answer that would benefit them as much or more than it would me. In turn, they implemented some of my ideas and stood behind me even when lots of self-proclaimed "great writers" wanted Epinions to remove any amount of power that I had on the site.
I've enjoyed my time with Epinions, and I'm glad that I spent the time on the site that I did. I earned the respect of people that I respected. I occasionally wearied of the self-proclaimed victims on the site, but I still believed that the potential of Epinions merited the time that I had to spend.
In all of the time that I've been working with Epinions, I've had some other things going on in my life. I am a mother of a beautiful daughter, a child who daily surprises me with her sensitivity and her brilliance. The experts say that she is "gifted". I don't know about classifications, but I do know she doesn't think like most other kids. When she started public school, I immediately found how ill-equipped schools are to handle kids like her. Most schools spend so much time and effort to get all kids to the point where they can pass the state tests, but there is little time left for teachers to figure out what to do with a kid who has already surpassed all of the goals of her grade level.
All parents go through some adjustments and struggles to figure out how to deal with their child's school, but my husband and I went through more than most, I think. We lived in a place with a lousy school and couldn't afford to move. We both worked full time but couldn't afford tuition at a private school. I could have simply sat around, complaining about how bad things were, but I honestly believed (still do, for that matter) that if every parent put forth a little effort to help the school staff, the teachers would have more time to achieve more than the basics and to accommodate those who are "ahead".
So once again, I jumped in. For three years, I did what I could to help out at the school. I focused on an area near and dear to my heart: books! I helped with book fairs and the PTO. Unfortunately, the school principal really limited what volunteers could do, and with the hours I worked, I couldn't do as much as I wanted.
Time went on. September 11th was a huge wake-up call for me, a big old cosmic whack along side the head. I had been working 16-20 hour days several days a week and squeezing in time for my family and volunteering in between. To thank me for my sacrifices, the company for which I worked laid me off three days after September 11th. My husband's company closed down three weeks later. The days that followed were horrible for us.
I went through a tough time after that. I sat watching the news for hours, sometimes in tears, trying to figure out what to do. We desperately searched for jobs and found nothing. We waited. I forced myself to get off the couch. I spent more time at the school to fill up the hours and hoped that I could at least make a difference there. I started a reading program and spent my time listening to children read. Miraculously, in a school where 60% of the students failed the state test, the majority of the kids joined the program and loved it. Some of them were so thrilled to have someone take the time to listen to them, and the best day was a day when a child who had been struggling to read on any level zipped through a book like it was nothing.
The more time that I spent at the school, the more I realized that I could never go back to the kind of job that I'd had before. I had been working long hours to enable people who cared for little beyond the bottom line make profits. I accomplished more good for the world when I earned nothing, and my family was happier when I was working fewer than ten hours a day.
After a year of being laid off, my husband received a job offer from an unexpected place. He applied for a job in Seattle and received a job offer from Texas. Without much choice and $300 left in the checking account, he accepted. Fortunately, we moved to a place with a much, much better school. The principal at the new school not only welcomed parent involvement; she expected it. When my husband told her that I'd like to volunteer, she immediately came up with dozens of opportunities for me.
So once again, I jumped in. The more time I spent around the school, the more I found that there were things I could do to help. The teachers quickly learned that I was good with computers, and even the computer manager at the school started to rely on me to help solve computer problems. I became such a fixture around the school that even the students believed that I was a member of the staff. In April, I was elected President of the school PTA. I freelanced to earn a few extra dollars, but with all the time I spent volunteering and with Epinions, there wasn't much time to work more.
In August, the computer manager of the school received a promotion. Almost as soon as he turned in his resignation, I started receiving phone calls from staff members who thought that I should apply for the job. I talked about it with my husband, and he thought it was an excellent idea. The salary wasn't much, and I was way over-qualified for the job. But the hours were reasonable, and the salary was still more than what I was earning from freelancing. So I interviewed for the job and got it easily. (Over a dozen people interviewed for the job, but I was the only applicant with a BS in Computer Science and over twenty years of experience with computers!)
So I started a new career, sort of. I'm the computer manager of the school, maintaining hundreds of computers, cameras, printers, and other assorted computer gadgets. I also produce the school yearbook, maintain the school web site, teach the teachers how to use computers and devices more effectively and help with dozens of day-to-day workings of the school. I also have a computer club through which thirty or so young computer geniuses get the opportunity to learn more about computers than their classroom teachers could ever teach them. The kids humble me by calling me "teacher". (I've seen real teachers in action, and I am not even close to their equivalent!)
I'm now extremely busy with things that have nothing to do with Epinions. The PTA is very active, and it takes considerable time to organize things. We're in the process of trying to acquire ceiling mounted projectors for every room in the building. At over $2700 each, that's a huge undertaking. They're something that every Title I school in the district has, but our middle class school will likely never get them without the PTA's help. So we're working on it. My work as computer manager takes time too. Unlike the last computer manager, I have a hard time leaving at 3:05 when I know that there is a teacher in need. And there are always projects that I like to work on after hours simply because they're easier to work on when folks aren't asking for help. I am constantly looking for projects to use with my computer club kids too. (They're so bright that it's a bit scary!) I also spend time thinking about how to use technology to help children with special needs. I'm also an assistant Girl Scout leader, and the girls, now preparing to bridge to Cadet level, require more attention than ever. (It's amazing the kind of trouble that a dozen giggling eleven and twelve year olds can get into!) And my husband and daughter need me too. My daughter is at an age where she has opinions that she can articulate. I love talking with her and spending time with her, and I realize that the time when she wants to have me around this much is coming. So I'm enjoying it while I can.
At the end of the day, I'm exhausted but happy. I'm contributing in a place where I am making a difference. I go to bed every day knowing that I've made a difference and that the people that I've helped are happy because of what I've done. I feel appreciated, by my coworkers and the children (who have all agreed that I'm "really cool") and by my husband and daughter, who appreciate that I'm more "there" for them than I once was.
My only regret is that I don't have as much time to spend on Epinions as I once did. It's hard to focus on which book review is better than another when I'm still thinking about something that's happening on the PTA or at the school. I have trouble finding the time or energy to keep track of which members are behaving (or not) when I know how much more good I could do with my time elsewhere. I'd rather spend the little free time I have reading books than reading what other people thought of the books.
So it's time for me to step down as CL. Epinions needs someone who can devote more time to the site, and I just don't have that time to spend right now. I will have summers free, but it's not fair to ask them and the other members who rely on me to wait.
I've recommended a replacement that I'm sure can be as tough and fair as I have tried to be. Hopefully she will continue rewarding those who look less toward self-promotion and more toward thoughtful, well-written reviews. I hope that she will continue to keep those who subtly harass other members on short leashes. I know that she will work well with my co-leads. I trust that the leads that I trust most (Rex and Helen!) will help steer her in the right direction.
I'm not leaving Epinions. Summer is coming, and I'm sure I'll have time to spend on the site then. I won't be PTA president forever. (The parents are begging me for one more year. I say 'No', but then, I said 'no' last year and look what happened!) As the computer manager, I'll occasionally be able to review new equipment, and now that I have an income (albeit a small one), I can afford to buy new toys now and then. Hopefully I'll have more time to read so I can review more books.
I want to thank those who have always supported me. I cherish you for your integrity, and even though I'm not spending the time on the site that I once did, I think about you daily. I miss our chats and email exchanges and look forward to the summer when I can do that again.
Be good to the new CL and to Ariane and Bridgette too. They're good folk who really care about Epinions. They believe in the potential of Epinions. Help them help Epinions reach it!
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Epinions.com ID:
gracef
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 - Top 500 |
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Location: Lost in Texas
Reviews written: 206
Trusted by: 313 members
About Me:
Well, bless your heart!
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