August 17 will be my last day at Systems Contractor News (SCN). When I joined the SCN team four years ago, my goal was to modernize the magazine—and I believe I have accomplished that goal. From hosting the first-ever SCN Think Tank and turning that into the modern version of the AV/IT Summit to redesigning the magazine to creating diversity initiatives, I'm proud of the work I've done at Future.
Like anything in life, my goals were not achieved on my own; I had an amazing team behind me at SCN. Katie Makal, managing editor, is always there to make every piece sound 10,000 times better or to answer my never-ending questions about style guides. Nicole Cobban, managing design director, makes the pages of the magazine look beautiful and she never fails to make my half-baked design ideas come to life in an amazing way. Tony Savona, VP of content creation, has never-ending patience to help me problem solve and he does it all while making me laugh. On a personal level, I will never forget the kindnesses the Future team has shown me. During my time at the company, my brother was diagnosed with and died from lung cancer. It was a very unexpected diagnosis, as he had been healthy and went to the doctor for back pain. I was in Amsterdam at ISE 2019 when we got the news; the team held me up while I spent days crying my eyes out. My brother lived in Hawaii so caring for him was not an easy task, and my family rotated who was with him. "Just go" was a phrase I heard frequently from my team during this time. There was no hesitation, no complaining about the extra work they'd have to do, they simply handled everything for me and allowed me to focus on my family. I could never put into words how grateful I am to them for that. The last four years have been a happy adventure for me, and I'm so thankful I was able to spend them with such an amazing team. But it's time for new adventures and challenges. Stay tuned on Twitter and LinkedIn to learn more.
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Hey there. Me again. Still a huge nerd and still reading a ton. 41 books this year to be exact.
Because I forget what I read, I keep track here. Honestly, I think I even forgot to log some books in May, June, and July—but who knows? This year, I've asterisked my favorites so you can read them, too! Click here for my 2017 list. Click here for my 2018 list. January - 6 Books Ink and Bone by Lisa Unger* The Last Mrs. Parrish by Liv Constantine My Squirrel Life by Ellie Kemper An Annonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen The Last Time I Lied by Riley Sager Fierce Kingdom by Gin Phillips February - 3 Books The Spite Game by Anna Snoekstra Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz The Flight Attendant by Chris Bohjalian March - 2 Books Find Her by Lisa Gardner Our Little Secret by Roz Nay April - 3 Books Sweetbittter by Stephanie Danler Hummingbird by Jude Angelini Keep Her Safe by Sophie Hannah May - 1 Book Hyena by Jude Angelini June - 2 Books Right Behind You by Lisa Gardner The Forgotten Girls by Sara Blaedel July - 4 Books Look for Me by Lisa Gardner The Rules of Magic by Alice Hoffman* Layover by David Bell A Secret History of Witches by Louisa Morgan August - 6 Books The Last House Guest by Megan Miranda Darkness to Light by Lamar Odom with Chris Palmer The Turn of the Key by Ruth Ware Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman* Life Will Be the Death of Me by Chelsea Handler* Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land September - 6 Books Someone We Know by Shari Lapena Beer Money: A Memoir of Privilege and Loss by Frances Stroh* Sometimes I Lie by Alice Feeney Sisters First: Stories From Our Wild and Wonderful Life by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush* Wild Embers by Nikita Gill The Book of Essie by Meghan Maclean Weir October - 3 Books Fake Like Me by Barbara Bourland That's What Frenemies Are For by Sophie Littlefield and Lauren Gershell Daisy Jones and the Six: A Novel by Taylor Jenkins Reid* November - 1 Book Fresh Off the Boat: A Memoir by Eddie Huang December - 4 Books Inside Out: A Memoir by Demi Moore My Friend Anna by Rachel DeLoache Williams* Born to be Brad: My Life and Style, So Far by Brad Goreski with Mickey Rapkin A New Model: What Confidence, Beauty, and Power Really Look Like by Ashley Graham with Rebecca Paley Today is my brother Billy's 35th birthday. Just two months ago, we didn't think he'd make it past 34. At the end of January, he went to the E.R. for back pain. They discovered he had a herniated disc...but they also discovered something much worse--Stage 4 Metastatic Lung Cancer. The past few months have been an emotional roller coast for our family and our friends. The cancer was discovered so suddenly and things went downhill more quickly than anyone could ever have imagined. There were some really dark days. We have been blessed with additional time because they found a genetic mutation; he is doing a targeted therapy that has given him back a year or two with quality of life. Each day brings new challenges, but he's happy and grateful to have more time to spend with Noah (10) and Sophia (5). Billy is now able to care for himself, but he's unable to work. Money is tight and life is not fair. In honor of his birthday, I'm going to ask you to skip your Starbucks today. Instead, how about making a donation? His work ohana set up a GoFundMe to help with his medical and living expenses. CLICK HERE TO HELP SUPPORT BILLY DURING THIS BATTLE. You've seen my Twitter and Instagram posts about reading. You may have even seen my 2017 and 2018 reading lists on this blog. But do you know why I read so obsessively? It's not solely for my love of reading and learning (although that definitely plays a role)—it's because there was a point when I couldn't read.
Let's start at the beginning. I grew up with a love of reading, inherited from my mom. She read to us constantly, and I believe that is that foundation for my love of books. I could read before most of my classmates, even though I was the youngest in the class. I was embarrassed when my first grade teacher would make me read to the class for storytime, but also a little proud. As a child and teen, I always had my nose in a book. I wore out the pages of Anne of Green Gables, and, owned nearly every Babysitters Club book, thanks to my older cousin Abigail who had outgrown them. Nights were often spent reading the Little House on the Prairie series with my mom. Books filled my birthday and Christmas wish lists. But in my late 20s and early 30s, my eyes were exhausted from working all day on a computer. Of course, I still read, but not with the voracity that had previously consumed me. A book here, a book there. Maybe one a month, but probably less if I'm being honest. I was busy living my best life. Then came May 2016 when I had a traumatic brain injury (TBI). I was in denial about the seriousness of it all for a long time (and sometimes I still am); more realistically, my brain was unable to process that I couldn't do the things I used to do. I was off work for a long time, and didn't understand why. I was unable to write any kind of cohesive sentence, and couldn't focus for more than a few minutes at a time. Most devastatingly, I couldn't read. Yes, I could see the words and I knew what they meant. But I could not process more than a page at a time. The words would jump around on the page—nothing made sense. And I definitely could not remember what I had read a few paragraphs before so it would take me around five minutes or more to read one page. I don't know if you could even call it reading a page, because I would inevitably forget what I had read within minutes. This was not the brain I was used to. This was not my brain. My doctor suggested trying books on tape. I tried, but could only listen for around 10 minutes at a time before I would lose all comprehension. Reading, even auditory "reading", was a painstakingly slow process. My ability to read quickly and comprehend easily was something I was so proud of, and I had lost that ability nearly entirely. At one point, the doctors weren't sure I'd ever be able to go back to an office job because they couldn't guarantee that my reading and writing abilities would ever return to where they were prior to the TBI. After several months of not being allowed to work, I returned to the office. It was a painful process; I was exhausted all of the time. Using your brain, especially when it's broken, depletes so much of your energy. I would get home from work, and go to sleep within an hour or two. But, slowly, it started to get easier. I wasn't transposing words as much as I used to; my newly developed stutter was subsiding. Every day, I was able to process more and more. I was listening to a lot of podcasts, which were easier for me to comprehend than audiobooks. Then I started listening to more audiobooks and—slowly but surely—my attention span and comprehension increased. Then one day in late 2016, I opened a book a friend had given me to read once I was feeling up to it--Where'd You Go Bernadette by Maria Semple. It took me awhile to get through it, longer than I was used to. But it awakened something within me. That love of reading that I once had slowly started to return. Once I started reading, I couldn't stop. I started visiting the library again, checking out a few books at a time, and making my way through them faster than I'd imagined. I decided I would read 25 books in 2017, but I knew I could do better. So I challenged myself to read 50; an ambitious goal, one that I knew I probably wouldn't meet, but one I was excited about. I didn't meet that goal in 2017, and was two books short in 2018. But none of that mattered to me. I was—and am—so damn proud of myself for how far I've come. To go from not being able to read a single page in mid-2016 to reading over 48 books in 2018 is an accomplishment I'll treasure, goals be damned. I guess that old cliche is true, if you love something, set it free, and if it comes back to you, it's yours to keep. Looks like I'm stuck with books and my love of reading forever, and that's a-okay with me! Author's Note: All of this is something I've never shared with anyone outside of my immediate family and a few close friends. It's scary to even put it down on paper, because all of the memories—the struggles, the sadness, the frustration—come flooding back; it's a place I hope I never have to return to. What I've written today is just a small portion of the struggles I experienced with my TBI, and, maybe one day, I'll be ready to share more of the story. But, today, I'm sharing this part with you in the hopes that it helps someone else who is struggling with a TBI or a learning disorder or anything that prevents them from doing what they love. There is hope at the end of the tunnel, and things do get better. It hasn't been any easy road, but it's a road worth taking. As you know from last year, I'm a huge book nerd. I love to read. But I also forget how much I've read. So for the second year, I'm keeping track here.
Here's what I've ready in 2018, and I've asterisked my favorites so you can add them to your 2019 reading lists. January - 4 Books A Stitch of Time by Lauren Marks I'm Fine...and other lies by Whitney Cummings Lucky Charming by Kate Chastain* Unqualified by Anna Faris February - 5 Books I Was Saved By The Bell: Stories of Life, Love, and Dreams That Do Come True by Peter Engel So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo* The Actor's Life: A Survival Guide by Jenna Fischer The Roanoke Girls by Amy Engel Behind Closed Doors: A Novel by B.A. Paris* March - 5 Books The Lying Game by Ruth Ware Magpie Murders by Anthony Horowitz* Pretty Girls: A Novel by Karin Slaughter Superconsumers: A Simple, Speedy, and Sustainable Path to Superior Growth by Eddie Yoon I Can't Make This Up: Life Lessons by Kevin Hart with Neil Strauss April - 4 Books The Breakdown by B.A. Paris Scranton Lace by Margot Douaihy Lead Your Tribe, Love Your Work by Piyush Patel* The New Neighbors by Simon Lelic May - 3 Books Into the Water by Paula Hawkins The Party by Robyn Harding Go Set A Watchman By Harper Lee* June - 3 Books I Am Malala by Malala Yousafzai The Death of Mrs. Westaway by Ruth Ware Bring Me Back by B.A. Paris July - 2 Books Something in the Water by Catherine Steadman Billy Blockade by Stephen King* August - 4 Books Believe Me by JP Delaney I Let You Go by Claire Mackintosh Then She Was Gone by Lisa Jewell A Stranger in the House by Shari Lapena September - 7 Books The Last Black Unicorn by Tiffany Haddish* So Close to Being the Sh*t Ya'll Don't Even Know by Retta The Girls in the Garden by Lisa Jewell The Couple Next Door by Shari Lapena A Simple Favor by Darcey Bell Running Against the Tide by Captain Lee* An Unwanted Guest by Shari Lapena October - 5 Books The Demonologist: The Extraordinary Career of Ed & Lorraine Warren by Gerald Brittle Map of Days: The Fourth Novel if Miss Peregrine’s Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent Final Girls by Riley Sager* The Merciless by Danielle Vega November - 2 Books The Wife Between Us by Greer Hendricks & Sarah Pekkanen Suck It, Wonder Woman! by Olivia Munn December - 4 Books I Don't Know Where You Know Me From by Judy Greer Self-Inflicted Wounds: Heartwarming Tales of Epic Humiliation by Aisha Tyler The Stranger in the Woods by Michael Finkel* Bond Girl by Erin Duffy Most of you know Margot Douaihy—and if you don't, you're missing out. Today is, unfortunately, her last day as Content Director of AVTechnology Magazine. I can't be too sad about it because she's staying on as Editor-at-Large, and is pursuing her dreams of being an independent storyteller. Margot has come to be more than a co-worker to me: she's a friend, work wife, and mentor. Basically, when I grow up, I want to be her. So, on her last day as a full-time Future plc employee, here is a tribute to Miss Margot Douaihy and her many amazing qualities. Passion Margot is one of the most passionate people I know. And she's not passionate about just one thing—she puts her heart and soul into every single thing she does. It's evident in her work. She can talk for hours about AV-over-IP, blockchain and bitcoins...all the things most people would find mundane. Not only does Margot make herself an expert, she is genuinely interested in all of those subjects. Her passion is evident in her writing. Want to see for yourself? Click here to read articles she's authored for AVTechnology Magazine. Kindness You will not find a kinder soul than Margot's. She is genuinely interested in helping people. When I first started at Systems Contractor News, I called Margot nearly every hour on the hour with a question. She never made me feel stupid (and, trust me, some of my questions were stupid); she patiently took the time to answer each and every question I had. She's the best friend you'll ever have—one of the few people I know I can call any day, any time when I am in need of an ear to bend. Mentor Margot is a mentor to many. She never fails to pass along her wisdom. She doesn't hold her lessons learn close to her chest; she shares them with the world so others can learn from her experiences. Margot has shown me what it truly means to be a journalist, and how to be vulnerable, honest, and inclusive. She's helped me handle the tough stories and showed me how to report the truth in difficult situations. And I know for a fact that she's helped others because she just won the 2018 Mattera Mentorship Award; this award honors "leaders who excel in mentoring and helping to shape the careers of less experienced colleagues." Educator Educator and mentor go hand-in-hand. You can't be one without the other, and Margot is the epitome of both. Fun fact: Margot serves as a Lecturer and Advisor at Franklin Piece University in Rindge, NH. With her new found free time, I have no doubt we will see Margot teaching many AV classes at shows like InfoComm and Integrated Systems Europe (ISE). She will definitely be dropping all kinds of knowledge bombs at the SCN Think Tank and AV/IT Summit in San Jose on April 19th. And, yes, that is a semi-shameless plug. #RESIST No matter what side of the political fence you fall on, you have to appreciate someone who fights for what they believe in...and actively works toward making the world a better place. Combine Margot's sense of social justice with her innate passion, and, as The Killers would say, "She's got soul but she's not a soldier." So, cheers to you, Margot. Looking forward to watching where you go with life's next adventure! It's Valentine's Day and I'm full of cheesey mushiness. I even posted about love on the SCN blog! Rolling with my #GladtoBeHere attitude and practicing gratefulness, I thought I'd list out some things I love. My Husband This is obviously obvious. Sid's a cool dude. He treats me well, makes me laugh, and is a total tech nerd. Rory Rory, our chiweenie, has a mind of her own. She makes me laugh every single day. Whether she's following me around the house like a shadow or begging me for a belly rub, she's just a "happy happy girl" as my family likes to say. I love her spunky attitude. Sophia & Noah Speaking of spunky attitudes and making me laugh, if you've met me even once, you've probably heard me talk about my four-year-old niece, Sophia Bee. She has an Auntie-Megan sized attitude and a heart of gold. And then there's her older brother, Noah. He's nine and still lets me read to him. He's got jokes. He's as curious as a cat. He loves crystals. He's one of my favorite humans. Nature I need nature. If I go a week or two without a long walk in the woods, my soul gets crunchy. Spending time with the trees makes my heart soar. Add in some mountains and I've died and gone to heaven. Books I'm sure you know by now how much I love to read. Case-in-point--last year's reading of over 41 books. Right before I started this blog, I was snuggled up on the couch (with Rory, obviously) diving into A Man Called Ove. Terrible Reality TV Shows I'd be embarrassed to name some of the TV shows I watch. Let me rephrase that: I should be embarrassed to name some of the TV shows I watch. Love After Lockup, Below Deck, and Vanderpump Rules to name a few. Sid will literally leave the room if he catches me watching these. But they're the perfect time to just let my brain go and have some mindless laughs. Water Kinda weird but water is my favorite beverage. Pretty much the only thing I drink (except for the occasional orange or apple juice) and I just LOVE IT SO MUCH! Oh, and I love lakes and the ocean. But I'm mostly talking about that yummy Chicago tap water. Wow. This list is a little weird. But that's okay because I am, too! So here's to having a lovely Valentine's Day with your favorite weirdo. :) My 2018 Word of the Year is explore.
Find out what explore means to me: http://www.avnetwork.com/systems-contractor-news/finding-your-word-of-the-year/127656 I'm a huge bibliophile. A self-admitted book nerd. I read a lot. Like, a lot, a lot. I read so much most years I couldn't even tell you half the books I've read. So this year, I'm going to try something different and list all my books in one place.
Here's what I've read in 2017: January - 7 Books The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead Rockettes, Rockstars and Rockbottom by Keltie Colleen The Goldfinch by Donna Tartt The Notorious RBG by Irin Carmon & Shana Knizhnik The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware Drinking & Tweeting by Brandi Glanville Sorry Not Sorry by Naya Rivera February - 5 Books Scrappy Little Nobody by Anna Kendrik Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult Southern Education of a Jersey Girl by Jamie Primak Sullivan The Regulars by Georgia Clark Yes, My Accent is Real by Kunal Nayyar March - 3 Books Where Am I Now by Mara Wilson Tony & Susan by Austin Wright Today Will Be Different by Maria Semple April - 3 Books Someday Someday Maybe by Lauren Graham All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda The Most Dangerous Place on Earth by Lindsey Lee Johnson May - 3 Books The Girl Before by JP Delaney Searching for John Hughes by Jason Diamond Beartown: a novel by Fredrick Backman June - 2 Books I See You by Clare Mackintosh Garlic and Sapphires: The secret life of a critic in disguise by Ruth Reichl July - 5 Books The Girl with Seven Names: A North Korean Defector's Story by Hyeonseo Lee I'm Thinking of Ending Things by Iain Reid Good as Gone by Amy Gentry How to Be a Grown-Up by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus The Forgetting Time: A Novel by Sharon Guskin August - 4 Books The Perfect Stranger by Megan Miranda Ali in Wonderland: And Other Tall Tales by Alexandra Wentworth The Rules Do Not Apply: A Memoir by Ariel Levy In a Dark, Dark Wood by Ruth Ware September - 2 Books According to a Source by Abby Stern The Girl with All The Gifts by M.R. Carey October - 3 Books You House is on Fire, All Your Children Are Gone by Stefan Kiesbye Come Closer by Sara Gran My Best Friend's Exorcism by Grady Hendrix November - 3 Books Always A Bridesmaid (For Hire) by Jen Glantz The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson Sleeping Beauties by Stephen King & Owen King December - 1 Book Lucky Charming by Kate Chastain Why do some women criticize and block other women at every turn? We'll start with a quick story that inspired this blog...I was recently named Women in Consumer Technology's 2018 Woman to Watch (YEAH, GO ME!), an honor that both thrilled and excited me. My euphoria was almost immediately crashed when I heard through the grapevine, from multiple sources, that another woman was bashing me to industry associates saying "Megan's part of a group of girls that all just nominate each other for awards and that's how they win awards." My immediate reaction was not one of anger, but one of sorrow. I'm sorry that this woman doesn't have any awesome group of women supporting her and building her up. Do I have an awesome lady gang in the AV industry? ABSOLUTELY. Do I nominate other women for industry awards? HECK YES. But do you know why I do it? Not because they're woman or they're my friends—I do it because they deserve it. And *spoileralert* if they weren't worthy, they wouldn't be winning. I've been in this industry for almost a dozen years, and I've met a plethora of women willing to help build me up in all ways. They've been there to strategize on the latest marketing techniques, work together on making our industry associations stronger, talk me through countless career hurdles, and even to share personal stories of heartbreak and triumph outside the office. Now that I'm a little older, and a little wiser, I've had the privilege of being a mentor to younger women just beginning their AV careers. Getting a little corny, if they can believe it, they can achieve it, and I'm there to help them achieve it, not to take credit for them, or tear them down. I guess what I'm saying is this: there's room for all of us at the top; let's build each other up instead of tearing each other down. We're in a male-dominated industry—we don't need discord and separations, we need to band together. Next time you're angry about the accomplishments of another woman, turn that frown upside down, and be genuinely happy for them. Give her a call, text, e-mail, and tell her how amazing she is. Share her wins on your social. After all, what's good for the goose is good for the gander. P.S. If you haven't cultivated your own awesome girl gang, join one of the many industry groups that have formed. You'll meet some cool people who are happy to have you in their circle. AVIXA Women's Council https://www.avixa.org/about-avixa/membership/volunteer/committees-councils/avixa-women-s-council Women in Consumer Technology https://www.womeninconsumertechnology.org/ Women of Digital Signage http://www.womenofdigitalsignage.org/ Women of the Channel wotc.crn.com P.P.S. Men are always welcome to join and support these groups! |
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