Sacha Chua - tag - girl

Being a girl

2006-05-31T11:20:00Z

Tara Hunt
knows what it's like to fade into the background if one has a
partner in crime. I don't really have that problem, probably because
people are, like, “Ooh! a girl!” Kinda.

I like being a girl. I like turning up to tech conferences in dresses
and earrings. I like hacking my computer T-shirts into something with
more style. I like being me.

I like sneaking into tech get-togethers like the Linux Users Group or
Ruby Users Group without worrying about technical credibility. I blend
in. I'm part of the woodwork. People will just assume that I'm
someone's girlfriend.

I like playing up my social aspect. I like connecting with people.
Most people find it hard to reach out. They think it's easier for me
because I'm a girl. Maybe it is. Maybe it isn't. Maybe I just use
being a girl as an excuse to get over my nervousness. =)

If I have to bat my eyelashes at people and bribe them with homemade
cookies, so be it.

If I have to jolt people out of their stereotypes by asking
well-thought questions, I do so with great gusto.

If I have to bring out my laptop and do some console work in front of
them to show them I've got the chops, fine.

And when the shadows in my head whisper that I'm not as good as the
others, not as geeky as the others, I drown them in Emacs Lisp. ;)

You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.

All kitted out with U of T logowear

2006-04-22T08:09:00Z

It's a good thing that the campus bookstore had a sale on clothing and
other school items, as I needed to pick up a few things. I don't mind
advertising things I like, and the university has been very good to
me. Besides, it's a great way to start conversation at the CHI
conference I'm going to next week.

I splurged on a pink-and-white zip-up hoodie with “University of
Toronto” written across the zippered front. It was expensive, but I'll
get more wear out of it than out of the T-shirts, at least while I'm
in a temperate country.

And I picked up a corduroy miniskirt, too! Why does U of T have small
corduroy miniskirts with the school name on them?

We really should have cute IML T-shirts. I'd wear an IML baby-tee. The
Google shirt I'm wearing right now fits quite nicely.

Anyway, I have to plan my backpack for next week's trip. I'm bringing
cookies. When I went to Cambridge, I made it through a week with my
backpack, but I ended up leaving my plastic containers behind. Maybe I
can just wrap up the plastic containers nicely and give them a tin
each. David and Jonathan are Cool People, and definitely deserve
cookies. =)

I _might_ bring the red malong if I have space. It's very versatile,
and I'd love to wear it at least once just to bring a little flavor to
the conference.

You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.

Girl!

2006-04-14T08:43:00Z

I play around with Ruby on Rails, and what do I do?

Build one webapp to keep track of what's in my fridge, and another
webapp to keep track of what's in my closet.

I'm going to do it in _pink_, too… ;)

You can e-mail me at sacha@sachachua.com.