FGOF

Man, I'm getting old. Looked in the mirror yesterday morning on my way to a conference and swore it was my aunt (35 years older than me, has been dead for 12 years) looking back at me.

I decided I needed lipstick, so I opened my bag.

Ethernet cable, USB stick, bluetooth dongle, lipstick. All in one pocket of my backpack. I decided I need to make a new name: FGOF, Female geeks over Fifty.

I went to the conference and was amazed at all the grad students there. I squinted to read their badges (my eyesight is not what it was) and discovered that many of them had a Prof. Dr. in front of their name. Then I got appointed senior member to the steering committee. Another FGOF at the conference is going to do early retirement to spite her dean.

I remember the first time I met a FGOS (over 60). She walked into the room at a conference where we were preparing a newsletter and freaking out because we couldn't get the pictures from the Photoshop computer to the printer machine. She wore cordury jeans, had her hair in a pony tail, and had her keys clipped to her belt. And had a USB stick (something no one had at that time) on the key chain. She pulled the stick out, sucked the pics, moved them, smiled and then left. I remember thinking: that's exactly what I want to be like when I'm 60!