Service

Puppies!

This post is all about puppies.

On Instagram, I noticed our top photo based on likes involved a puppy who happened to stroll into BuckeyeBar. So I thought, why not use adorable puppies to promote our other awesome services, like BuckeyeBox? And thus started a series of photos involving Lemmy and Rey, two adorable foster puppies (now adopted!) playing in our physical BuckeyeBox box!

Group projects are much easier when you collaborate in the cloud! #BuckeyeBox #Teamwork #dogsofinstagram

A photo posted by Office of the CIO (@techohiostate) on

#MBALife is full of puppies too. Now that I am done with class (let me repeat that, I am DONE WITH CLASS!!!), my own pup at home has been enjoying my company and (mostly) undivided attention. There are belly rubs and naps on the couch and patio outings! There’s even more time to play with his #bff Gus who lives one building over.

Here is post-MBA Rax, guiding my hand towards his belly for pets:

Rax paw-edit

Stay tuned for more adventures in RandiLand, including my excursion to Brazil, orientation preparation, the ImproveIT program, culture team endeavors…and who knows what else #WorkLife will have in store for me as 2016 progresses!

#DataPrivacy Month

From January 28 to February 28, the OCIO will be sharing data privacy tips on Twitter and Google+. I encourage you to join in on the conversation using the hashtag #DataPrivacy. You can share your tips and ask questions too!

So what are some recent trends in the data privacy realm that you should watch out for?

  • Tax Identity Theft – yes, scammers will file a tax return for you!…..and then reroute your return into their own bank accounts. Not cool. Read more here: https://ocio.osu.edu/blog/community/2015/01/26/10-tips-to-protect-yourself-during-tax-season
  • Social Media Security – for #badnerds willing to do a little research, social media sites are a data mine. Be aware of what you share, and check your privacy settings often. Anytime a site like Facebook updates, chances are you will be reset to the default “share all the things with all the creepy people” setting. More tips here: http://go.osu.edu/securesm
  • Geo-location – did you know that a lot of apps ask for access to your location? They generally don’t need to know that you are at the corner of 5th and High to be able to run properly, but they might sell that type of information to advertisers. Oh, and hackers can see where you are too. It’s best to keep your location services turned off when not using them to locate the nearest donut shop. (By the way, I recommend this one.)

Those are all the tips I have for you for now! You’ll just have to follow TechOhioState to find out more through the month of February!

Leaving Harlan Alive

I haven’t blogged in a while, but I’ve also been recovering from my vacation to Kentucky! (The song above will give you an idea of where I was…)

I travelled to Harlan County with two dozen high school kids and other adult volunteers to complete service projects for the residents there. St Paul’s Church in Westerville hosts this trip called Gospel Road every year, and I’ve had the pleasure of attending twice now.

This year, the kids learned so much about what life is like in the holler, and I got to teach them how to roll paint like a pro! We worked for families suffering from the loss of loved ones, individuals who were too sick to do household chores and others whose hearts were full of pride in their home, but their pockets were too empty to keep up with maintenance.

My team of painters and the wonderfully welcoming family we worked for the first few days in Kentucky

My team of painters and the wonderfully welcoming family we worked for the first few days in Kentucky

It was truly a blessing to be able to visit with these people and learn their stories—you never know what you might learn about yourself in the process. Me, I have a much greater appreciation for the things I went without for a week…air conditioning, a comfortable bed, a clean house, cell phone service, the Internet, and showers. Oh how I love showers. (Part of the fun of this trip is bathing in the lake. “Bring shampoo that floats” is always on our packing list!)

Another wonderful blessing showed up at our second work site and literally jumped in my lap! Meet Rax, the Jack Russel/Yorkie/Other terrier mix that came home with me from Kentucky!

Rax the small terrier is enjoying sitting in my lap on the patio - yay for suburb life!

Rax, the small terrier, is enjoying sitting on my lap on the patio – yay for suburb life!

His owners were no longer able to take care of him. They let him roam the neighborhood, play in the streets and the woods, sleep on the neighbor’s porch, acquire food on his own… This poor guy was looking for someone to take him in, and his owners wanted a better home for him as well. They handed him over to my care and it is just fantastic how quickly he has grown to love me and my air-conditioned lifestyle! Such a happy pup! And I was happy to get him out of Harlan alive!

So I’m back from Kentucky, getting Rax adjusted to Ohio, finishing up the summer semester at Fisher AND my team is getting ready to release a brand new service catalog! Stay tuned for that, folks! It’s so shiny! 😀