Daily Joint Staff Directorate for Intelligence Bosnia Herzegovina Strategic Intelligence Assessments circa 1995/6.

It was my job at the time.

(Expert is such a loaded term)

I know a fair amount about many things, but have never focused on any areas for long enough to consider myself an expert.

I am an expert lighting designer. Unfortunately, I am photosensitive and a migraineur. While I have the physiological predisposition to see an extraordinarily wide range of color and possess an innate sense of intensity, those same attributes make me vulnerable to overstimulation and pain.

I am also an expert in logistics and organization. I can look at traffic patters of things and people then figure out how to move them efficiently and comfortably. This mirrors my keen sense of patterns, one which translates into the ability to argue a point, discern errors in research or flaws in logic.

So, I can light the way, point to what you're looking for, direct you to it, then explain why you might want to consider looking for something else.

But I am an expert in:

Multiple choice tests.

Surviving teenage heartbreaks.

Finding information online.

Grocery shopping on a shoestring *without* clipping coupons.

Honestly, I would be happier to see this if it weren't just about teaching highly-educated career women in urban areas how to get their voices heard. There are a lot of other voices that are even more often silent.

Politics

Economics

Home schooling

Getting letters to the editor published

Music (the business as well as musicianship)

There is a technique to op-eds as well as simple letters to the editor and these workshops sound wonderful. It does seem to be true that many women do not have confidence in their opinions. When I mention getting a letter to the editor published, women respond with a tone of awe, as if this is a great act of bravery and accomplishment. Men simply say whether they agree with me or not.

I have not written many op-eds (and none have been published) because I'm generally not interested in that style of writing, preferring the briefer, letter format.

So, you go, girls.

Public health

Kids' health

Freelance writing

Being a mom

Researching information

I once wrote an article on how women can ask for a raise. The expert that I interviewed for this article said that many women have difficulty asking for a raise because they have been brought up to believe that they shouldn't brag - but it's a lot easier to get a raise if you can brag about all the good work you have done for a company.

Same thing with listing the things that we are experts in. Many women have been brought up to be modest about their accomplishments and have difficulty acknowledging that they are very good at something.

I am an expert in:

Taking standardized exams.

Networking.

Indie rock.

Sarcasm.

Hedge fund operations.

Remembering the names and important facts about most everyone I meet. Which I suppose, helps with the networking.

-parenting

-writing

-counseling

-communication

-addiction/codependency and recovery

-living serenely with straight hair that will never hold a curl

-the movie "Once"

-playing 70's music albums in my head from beginning to end on long drives when all about me are teenagers and listening to music I dislike

-friendship

-being happy

Is it possible that men are more published in Op Ed sections because they seem to think their pointless, arrogant opinions are interesting and insightful more than women?

I don't know about man vs. woman but in my experience most Op Ed pieces are full of crap. I guess I wouldn't feel so bad if my sex could claim greater abstinence from such an ego-revelling drug.

But to each his/her own!

I am an expert in Angevin history, playing make-believe and wasting way too much time on Salon writing letters to the editor.

I have references but no degrees. Does that count?

Making complicated scientific and technical concepts understandable for a lay audience.

Working with male geeks who are very smart and good at what they do but can often be cranky and antisocial.

Sightsinging.

Making other people's writing look much, much better.

-procrastinating

-throwing together stuff at the last minute (see above)

-having opinions about stuff and spouting off about them when I probably shouldn't

-spelling

-trivia (For real! I won Quiz Bowl when I was in college--haven't tried out for Jeopardy yet but it's an ongoing fantasy.)

-never throwing stuff away

My occupation is medicine but as I'm still on the newer end of things, I don't feel like I can call myself an expert for at least another couple of years.

I once wrote a letter to the editor of a little independant paper and it got published. I was amazed that a couple years later my boss googled me (he was goofing around and I was sitting right there-nothing insidious about it) and my letter was still there! I was glad I hadn't written anything really inflammatory.

-yet I misspelled "independent". Oops.

Web design and coding. I have been designing and developing websites and company identities online and offline for 13+ years. I starting working on the web when most of you were still sucking on pacifiers.

Making art out of recycled materials. I have been making art out of garbage for years. My art has been installed in parks around San Francisco and shown in galleries. I have led community groups to create and execute projects out of recycled materials. I am currently leading an effort to build a sculpture garden in San Francisco's Bayview using native plants and found objects (if anyone knows sources of funding for this, please contact me, ASAP. I've applied for a ton of grants, alas so far to no avail, but I have not given up.) I was featured on the Discovery Channel for building a lowrider cycle powered by a chainsaw that looks like a phoenix.

Cooking I'm a great chef, too!

Writing.

Editing manuscripts of arcane material into a state where even my mom can understand them.

Teaching lawyers, software engineers, and other varieties of geeks to write in clear English.

Software usability research.

Raising whole ecosystems of dust bunnies behind the couch.

Teaching children to ride a bike, tie shoes, ski, pack a lunch, wrap a present, write a thank you note, and innumerable other tasks.