The Sparks Lady

I've been through these stages before. Days blur together, and even weekends have no meaning anymore. I'm on day 10 of hopefully only 13 days in a row of either school or work. I keep forgetting what day of the week it is. The painful part is, if work became available on day 14, I would have to take it.  The last time I was a semi poor college student, I had a lot less to worry about. I was maybe just as busy as I am now, but I had less things to stress about. This time around I have more bills, working 2 jobs and sometimes it's still not enough. Going back to school, after working for 4 years, I know what it's like being able to support myself, and find myself frustrated trying to deal with the change.  Even though I know school is only temporary, and I'm halfway through, I still trip myself up over the day to day, while trying to remember this is all for the best in the end. I always like to keep my life balanced: work time, social time, down time. Rig...

The male-dominated electrical power industry realizes it has to cast a much wider net in search of new recruits to its workforce, meaning tapping into under-represented groups such as women. Share on Facebook TANNIS TOOHEY / TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTO Thousands of workers are going to be needed to replace those leaving the electricity sector over the next few years, industry experts say. By:   Tyler Hamilton   Energy and Technology Columnist,   Published on Fri Jul 06 2012 There’s much talk these days about the sorry state of Canada’s aging electricity infrastructure, as well as the need to invest in the smart grid and add more renewable-energy sources to the power mix. What’s less talked about is where the industry is going to find the skilled workers needed to carry out what the Conference Board of Canada calculates as $347 billion in required public and private investment between now and 2030. Investment is expe...

As I have now completed my first term at Mohawk College, I have learned some pro's and con's to being one of the few female in the school, and in class. I'll leave it up to you to figure out which is which. 1. There is never a line up for the bathroom. And even better, it's pretty much always clean as they hardly ever get used. 2. The best guy friends to have are ones that are in relationships. No threat that they mistake your friendliness for something more. 3. You experience a sense of solidarity with the other women in your class. You have to stick together. 4. I still haven't decided how this works with women outside of my class. I try to give a little smile or nod of the head when I pass them in the hallway. For the most part I get a similar response in return. The odd time the look I get makes me think we are fighting each other for turf of female presence in the male environment. 5.  For the most part I still experience chivalry. Doors get help open...