Today was our monthly get-together and we had a cook-out at the new apartment complex where several of us live - not me, mind you.  It's WAY on the other side of town from me.  Oddly enough, the two times I've been there before I've taken my new bike.  Go figure!  But it's good to know it can make it that far on its battery, even if it's not fully-charged, and it's fun to be free to travel like that.

In fact, I was just over there Thursday evening.  Some of us un-attached people here (I don't like the term "singles," I think because of "singles groups" in US fellowships kind of feel like left-overs, so lately I've used "un-attached," which is especially fitting because most of the "attached" people I know are very attached - as in, spouse plus multiple children)... anyway, we had talked about having a progressive dinner, but due to holiday traffic and people getting sick, it couldn't happen, so there was a small potluck instead.  As it turned out, it was all ladies who showed up at Sarah's apartment, and the informal, comfortable time of chatting and eating that followed was beyond wonderful.  The (co-ed but also all-un-attached-people) coffee-shop discussion that led to the original idea started me realizing that I miss this kind of hang-out time, but I didn't realize how much I missed it until I got home Thursday night.  It was just so good to be with other people at a similar place in their lives; the fact that were were of similar cultural backgrounds and all female was an even more relaxing, nice change for the evening, too.  And of course the food was fabulous in its totally un-planned way - first cake, then sausages, a salad, rolls, and cinnamon raisin pretzels.  I'm probably forgetting something, but it wasn't much, just enough to feel bountiful but not wasteful.

Today I took a taxi rather than my bike (I've got a cold), but the food and fellowship out there was also wonderful.  Mike and Carl grilled up hot dogs and chicken, and after the meal, with its various side-dishes, we had my contribution: s'mores and some brown-sugar-cinnamon apples that had baked on the coals while the meat was cooking.  Yum!  It was loads of fun, even though a certain someone who shall remain nameless pulled my knitting needles out of my current project to use as drum-sticks ;)  (I wasn't smiling at the time, but the stitches were recovered with no harm done aside from a little dust being added to the project.)  Photos of the cook-out follow.

in full swing just before eating

speaking of swing: These are one part of the Chinese playground-exercise-station collection that features in many apartment complexes and school athletic fields.  Sara, Hannah (or Kayla?), and Pat.

a little post-lunch swinging, as well.  Peter and Carl...

...and Ling and Sarah.

Roasted marshmallows... (Andrew, Sara, and Pat)

...plus crackers and chocolate... (Pat and Andrew behind Chitty and Ling)

...equals S'mores! Sarah and Teagen chow down.

Yum! Me.

Chloe guards the leftover food

new lives growing

sing-along. Wang, Kelly, and Mike.

stacking stools

chatting - Deb, Elvis, and Sarah, with Cherie sniffing the grass in the background.  She loved it out there, as did we all (even the flies and bees)!

Tomorrow school starts back up for real.  I hope I'm ready.

I start Diagnostic Radiology on Monday. Maybe I'll actually have some medically-relevant posts coming up. We'll see.

The special started of with an interesting and clear presentation from Kristian Segerstrale, CEO Playfish, a social games company. Based on deep insights in both the gaming and SN market he was able to express why social gaming is the next logical step for both industries. In order to increase the life cycle of existing SNs such as Facebook and MySpace they have to improve constantly otherwise users will not come back and get bored of the service, social gaming will make the users come back. Kristian argued that the gaming industry is missing out a large piece of the market because there are a lot of emotions that the gaming industry has not tapped in yet, namely social emotions like love, envy and pride. Until recently most games were played in solitude and social gaming will change this. As Kristian pointed out gamers will not have to identify themselves as gamers or hardcore gamers anymore. In the future more and more people get in touch via friends or persons they know as opposed to having to go to a store and buy a game, which acknowledges that you are a ‘gamer’.

Games can tap into SNs and know who your friends are. Unlike the mobile market where companies always had to wait for new more sophisticated handsets that are able to run certain games or applications, SNs have provided the market with a ready to tap in infrastructure or digital village. According to the experience that Playfish has build up in little more than a year social gaming has certain characteristics:

• The games are played with Real Life friends
• The audience is massive: the infrastructure is aleady laid out, just think of the sum of all members of Facebook, MySpace, Hyves, etc
• Engagement is high, people play around 30 minutes a day.
  The demographics are very broad
• Social Games have new kinds of mechanics (more socially targeted, also business models differ: digital goods)

Case studies that Kristian mentioned were among others the immensely popular ‘Friends For Sale’ game on Facebook and the by Playfish developed ‘Who Has The Biggest Brain’. Through these examples it became clear that social games are very different from regular casual games because they demand much more interaction, emotion and social engagement from users and their real life friends. Also the distribution of social games is different: 95% of the players get in touch with the game through viral word of mouth within existing communities.

Based on the first half of Kristian’s presentation it seems that the future looks very bright for the young but vastly growing industry, but there are some possible pitfalls and social gaming faces several challenges. First of all experience has taught the industry that creating a hit game is very hard. It seems that most of the success social games on Facebook were lucky shots that sticked coincidentally. The time and expertise needed for deliberate and sustainable success should not be underestimated and the young Playfish is still learning a lot every day. An essential element for a bright future of the industry is getting the monetization right. Besides the more common advertising and branded game model there have been successful cases of the implementation of a partial digital goods business model. There is plenty that social gaming companies can learn from for instance Korea (think Cyworld) or China (Shanda or Tencent with QQ) on digital goods monetization systems. Also in order to build for the long run, users have to be approached with honesty. The market has to be prevented from spam and hit-and-runs from companies that try to make a quick buck. I think Facebook can help here because it is also very much in their interest to prevent the SN from being flooded with ‘crap’ games. Lastly a more broad adaptation of OpenSocial is needed in order to get the industry to a new level.

After Kristian a venture capitalist from Atlas Ventures, Maximilian Niederhofer, added some more insights in the direction the social gaming market is going. Maximilian showed the crowd some interesting statistics to put the potential growth in perspective. In the current gaming market the best selling console is the PS2 with over 120 million sold. When you compare this with the amount of people that make use of Flash in the world, 1.2 billion, one can imagine the potential that social gaming has.

Furthermore Maximailian incorporated on the idea that Kristian had mentioned before. Where currently real ‘gamers’  have to commit to a game and subsequently find friends to play with, social gaming will turn this around: you have friends first and then gaming comes into play. Nintendo Wii was one of the first consoles that understood this, when you look at their ads it is not about graphics but all about playing and having fun with your friends. Basically the emphasis has shifted from graphics and gameplay to social emotions.

The third speaker of the PICNIC special was the CEO and founder of Social Gaming Network (SGN), Shervin Pishevar. SGN is currently one of the leading social gaming companies in the world and has developed among other the successful Facebook social game and community Fluff Friends. A game that got special attention was iGolf (check out the TechCrunch clip below), an iPhone game where you can swing you iPhone like a golf club, very cool and innovative, but not very social if you ask me. Shervin gave some great insights in the statistics of social games in general based on SGN numbers. Among others he mentioned several strategies and mechanical changes of a game to lengthen the relatively short life cycle and accelerate the growth in daily active users (DAU).

After a short brake all the speakers sat down for a panel discussion where it was emphasized how many possibilities there are in the growing market. A special note was made on localized social games. There is no company that has really excelled in this yet and there are plenty of opportunities for start-ups in this area according to all panel members. The rest of the day there were several interesting case studies and presentation from among others Bigpoint (browser based MMOs), watAgame (Go Supermodel),  and also Yme Bosma from the popular Dutch SN Hyves spoke briefly about the future of SNs in Holland, gaming and mobile. The day was concluded by another panel discussion where subjects as for instance the definition of a social game and the possibility that social games offer for marketeers were discussed. Overall the Social Gaming special was very interesting and insightful, it provided me with some great insights in where the market is going and what the SN and gaming situation will possibly look like in 5 years.

For more information on Social gaming:

http://www.plus8star.com/resources/BDEJ_PlusEightStar.pdf
http://www.insidesocialgames.com/
http://www.littlebigplanet.com

Hoppas solen lyser även på er! Ta vara på dagen!

We then caught the train back home, went to Coles and then back to my house. We drank diet coke, chilled and watched the movie Now and Then. I decided that seeing i hadn't gone in a couple of months, that i would attend hot damn that night. And i'm glad i did. I had a really good time and i got to see/hang out with awesome people. I didn't end up getting home until about 6:30 in the morning and dad had already left for work. Mum was awake and i had some conversation with her that i can't even remember. I decided that hot damn is good if you don't thrash it and go every week. So i may make an appearance every couple of months.

Anyway, i woke up at midday feeling like absolute shit. Vodka is not my friend. I went and watched the Ellen DeGeneres show until i decided that i needed fish and chips for lunch. I put them in the oven and waited for them to cook for like half an hour. By the time they were ready, i felt so sick and i couldn't even eat them! Way bummed. I was supposed to go to Buzi's in a couple of hours for a BBQ which started at 2. We didn't make it there until 5. After taking some panadol i felt a whole lot better.

It was the first time i have been to Buzi's house in Thornleigh and i think we were all in the mood for good hungover hangs. As there were no boys there, Buzi was in charge of cooking the BBQ. And i was all, what! A girl cooking a BBQ? Is this right? Can this work? The simple answer: YES! Buzi makes BBQ-ing sexy. But yeah it was a pretty chillaxed afternoon/evening.

I ended up falling asleep at her house while we were watching War of the Worlds. Mum eventually came and picked me up at about 11. I was sooooo siked for bed, i pretty much just collapsed.

I had to wake up at 7AM for work this morning which was reaaal lame. And it was possibly the longest day of my life. Lisa made it better as we both traded goss.  Tonight is going to be a quiet one. Was going to go to the city, but the wet weather put me off. So Steph and i are having a beer and pizza night. Should be awesome!

xx

It’s funny how a different setting doesn’t change the person you are.  You may think it might, but you bring your habits with you.  Once the newness wears off a bit, you go back to doing things the way you always have; unless you make a conscious choice to change.

I’m a doer, and sometimes I am so busy doing that I forget to look at the world around me - even when it is so beautiful.  The other day, I was working in the front yard with Lyra.  “Mommy, let’s go look at the river,” she suggested.
“I’m trying to get this done, sweetheart.  Why don’t you go look?”  I said without looking up.
“No, I want you to come with me,” she insisted.  Finally, I did.  We sat on the edge of the bank behind our house, and looked at the river, at the color on the hills behind it.   We talked about going swimming in the summertime.  After a few minutes, we walked back to Dave and Sue’s house for lunch.  “Thanks for coming with me, Mom,” said Lyra.

In the spirit of Just Being, I packed a picnic lunch today and we took it down to the river.  It was so warm and beautiful, it would have been a sin to eat indoors.  Lyra and Marley took off their socks and shoes, and waded in a little pool.  We sat on a rock bar by a massive log jam.  After a while, the kids took their sandwiches and climbed the logpile, barefoot.  A movement on the other side of the river caught our eye; a little black creature was playing in the water, slipping in and out, and dashing along the shore with fluid movements.   It looked and moved just like a ferret - except ferrets despise water.  I think it must have been a young otter, though I’ve never seen a black one before.   The kids didn’t want to get down from the log jam which they were scaling like master explorers, but finally we got them headed back up the hill for home.  I’m glad we broke away from all the things clamoring to be done, to take a look at the river.

Click here to view more photos of Taking a Moment.

Now this park is old and very unsafe. There is one big slide, four swings, and one climbing apparatus. Needless to say I don't think very many people ever go there. Which is precisely why we went there. We had such a good time.

That last picture is Mark giving a family a little peace and a good time. There was ONE other family there. Three of the siblings were bickering while the mom walked laps with the baby; the youngest girl was crying because the swings were so twisted they were too high for her; the brother tried to fix one; the mom got mad that the brother tried to fix the wrong one....not very fun to listen to. So Mark thought that if he could fix the swings, climbing up there would be worth it. As we were on the slide, we could hear the entire family laughing together as the mom had stopped walking and was swinging with her children. It was music to my ears and made my heart smile. It was because of that "simple" task of fixing those swings that that family was given happy time together. I was so very thankful. I love this man.

Cosa tiene le aziende lontane dal 2.0? La cocreatività! La mancanza di controllo spaventa, hanno paura di rovinare il loro business e solo i loro uber-specialisti possono creare.

Katarina Skoberne di OpenAd però afferma: per avere qualcosa devi cedere qualcosa. Così nacque la famosa campagna di Make Poverty History.

Yes, I am back. No, I did not kill myself or accidentally get myself killed – yet. I have two partial entries written, but things kept happening so fast around me, I couldn't get anything finished before something else fell on top of my aluminum-wearing head (that is a joke). I know it is hard to believe that everything I write in here is real, yet it is, to the best of my ability to be honest, including about myself.

I am a real human being. These things have happened to me. Gets easier to understand the nearly daily wishing I could off myself, doesn't it?

I guess I am in sarcasm mode today. It isn't a pretty mode for me, and I am rarely in it. But it has been a very rough time lately. Pardon me if I accidentally repeat myself, as I am not reading my last entry first, so I have no idea what I wrote in that one at the time.

I think perhaps I wrote about my pathetic birthday party, where only seven people showed up and it rained the entire time until we took the tent down. Let's start from there. In no particular order, since I couldn't remember order if it bit me on the ass.

For one thing, I broke my left foot. Of course. How did I break my left foot? Just walking. Just walking. (I do love the movie, btw.) How is that for absurd? All I had to do was walk and my foot was broken. Do you wonder that I sit and shake my head and laugh or cry or feel like I am losing it when I can break my foot just walking?

It took three doctors and quite awhile to find out that this is what had happened. They finally sent me to a podiatrist in the boonies who called me “honey” and “dear” and made me want to punch him. He did x-rays, and came back in with the simple diagnosis “Hon, you're a mess.” It isn't just the fracture; there are about a half-dozen things wrong with my foot, which will probably send me back to physical therapy yet again.

There were days during all this waiting that I felt like large railroad spikes were being driven through various areas of my foot, especially my heel, which is where the fracture occurred. At least I heal well, and after three weeks in The Boot (I hate that thing; I feel like I should be a Dominatrix with a whip while wearing the thing, nothing against Dommes, mind you), my left foot was well on its way to healing, but my right foot was completely bruised from the metal insets on the The Boot. Luckily, no breaks on the right; just a tremendous amount of pain from the bruising.

Sirens outside again. This is about the third time I have heard them. I hope the city is still there, as it appears I certainly am.

I have another outbreak of Thrush. It's common, with the breathing meds I take for my COPD. It's easy enough to fix. But everything I eat, drink or take burns to eat,.drink, or take. To the point where I feel like screaming and have to jump up and down and shake my arm to make it STOP! Very painful.

I have been on the welfare merry-go-round yet again (also known as the “You-pathetic-loser-

What's-wrong-with-you-that-you-couldn't-make-it-on-your-own). My mother-in-law tried to get me signed up for everything. I did get signed up for Food Stamps, but there is one item missing they need (a note from a doctor saying I can't work, I believe), and I don't get them until then and I don't see my doctor until next week. The rabbi I used to work for paid my gas bill, reluctantly. And I am still facing the electric bill of over $600, wondering how in the world I am going to deal with that. Doing this poor person dance is difficult. It's like tap-dancing in a roomful of cats. Literally.

My life has been threatened by two different men in the past weeks. I may have mentioned one of these last time, but I don't recall. M-i-law S. has this agreement going with a group of guys that they get to borrow her car, as long as they fill it up with gas when they bring it back to her. That way, she has gas, they have transportation, and I, well, I think it's a weird deal at best.

At any rate, “the boys” as S. calls them were going to pick me up, pick up S., and all of us were going to run errands and go to appointments. Until I tried to point out that there would have been an easier way to do this (not really understanding what it was they were doing, mind you), and J. lost it. He screamed at me, called me every name in the book,, threatened to kill me, and damn near did by ramming the car within inches of a large truck on my side. I got out of the car when he stopped, because I will NEVER be in a car with that lunatic again. I was made to understand finally that he had been raped and very recently diagnosed with HIV with very low titers. I feel very badly for him for that, but that's all he had to say to me: “Look, this is what is happening, and I need some space, okay?” No problem. But he didn't say a thing until he nearly caused an accident.

Then there is my next-door-neighbor, M. And most of this breaks my heart because I do love his common-law-wife, K., I really do. She is sweet and kind and lovely, with a lot of laughter and love in her. We have been tip-toeing around things because M. can't stand me and vice versa. But it's all come to a head.

One day, I was talking to K., having a nice time, and we hugged (as we are prone to do) goodbye. M. saw us and snapped “Break it up!”. So we went our own ways to do whatever we were doing. Wouldn't you know it – I fell again (I fell 5 times in 6 days; I think that's a record). I asked her to come help a bit because I was in pain. She did, and then M. barges over like the shit-infested bull he is, and tells her (and I do quote exactly here): “Get your ass on home, bitch!” You don't talk to my friends in front of me that way, and you damn sure don't do it in my home. I was furious.

I kept trying to reach her on the phone, but of course, he was not allowing her to answer. He is a very controlling little schmuck, and if he doesn't want her to talk to anyone, he won't let her have the phone book, he won't put her on the phone, and he will talk to whoever is calling.

I tried maybe six times; I don't consider that harassment. I was truly concerned for her safety. He had closed all the doors and windows, wasn't letting her speak to anyone, and I was terrified for her.

So I called the police and told them this. And what happened? She backed M. up. She lied.

I whispered to her as she went into the house “I cannot believe you lied to the police!”. She ignored me. My heart was broken; here I was, going out on a limb for her, and she wouldn't even tell the truth to the police. I appeared to be some nutsy neighbor, and the police told me to stay on my side of the yard.

Now, I know that K. is bipolar. But she has been stable on mer meds for 20 some years. And I know that she has suffered mental/psychological/emotional abuse from M, probably for about the same timeframe. But I do not understand what she did. I just don't.

Maybe it's because I have never been a victim of abuse for long enough to get into the cycle. I have been in the situation, twice. Once with R., my current husband. I felt I owed it to him to try to work on the marriage, but he wasn't interested in that, and I probably should have kicked him out two years earlier than I did. The other time was brief, and not worth mentioning.

But I do not really understand the psychology here. I was so frustrated, and so sad watching all this go on.

The next day, I managed to get ahold of her for a few minutes to tell her she was still my friend no matter what, and ask her why she lied to the police. Unfortunately M. came stomping out, and decided to punish her for talking to me. He took her knitting she had been working on, and took the scissors and cut it off where she had been making something beautiful. Then he took several of her houseplants and threw them down on the ground, breaking some of the pots.

I had already called the police, because he had been over to my place and said “I hate you, and I hate your damn vines, too”, and pulled down some of my vines. He then said “Your life is going to be a lot shorter than you think it is.” Then he flat out said “I'm going to kill you.” So I called the police. They were in the middle of the fight when the police came, and this time, K. told them exactly what M. had done, and how he wouldn't let her ever have friends, etc.

This time, the police were more on hand to break them up and less to listen to me. They gave me a card with a case number on it if I wanted to go file charges at the Night Prosecutor's Office. Yeah, great, that'll do a whole hell of a lot. Worse, I lost the damned card, so now I can't find the number. I guess I can call, and see if I can get them to order M. into anger management and counseling. I don't know.

He certainly is no better; he is worse. He caught me at the door the other day and said “Where's K.?” I said “She isn't here.” He was right in my face. Apparently he believed me, and left. I don't know where she was. Probably talking a walk to get away from him.

Yesterday, S. and I ran around and went to the podiatrist, got some food and errands done. K. was on the porch, and I was just engaging in superficial conversation (Hi, how are you, lovely weather and all that) when M. comes out and barks “What are you doing here?." Um, I live her dude? He started going off on me, and K. was telling him to stop and she didn't need this and S. was trying to hustle me inside, telling me to ignore it, that all he wanted was a reaction from me.

I am still heartbroken. I find a friend whom I really like, and who lives right next door, and I cannot see her because her husband is an asshole. I hate this, I really do.

He's threatened me a third time over the phone. I am not afraid of him.

I am afraid of losing electricity. Losing electricity means losing my air conditioner, which equals losing breathing ability. Not to mention straining my already poor vision. I love good storms, but I always pray to Urantia to watch over the electricity and leave it on.

This time, I failed. We, landlocked lubbers, managed to suffer from the tail end of Hurricane Ike. I have never heard of a hurricane in the midwest, but it apparently is possible. We got the winds, and other states got the rain. The winds had knocked out the electricity about an hour after I got off the computer with a thing I do for pet-loss grief support. At least I got that done.

But when the electricity went off, I thought “Oh, my Gods, no!” I had no idea how long it would be off. I dug out an old phone and hooked it up. The buttons don't work right, so I can't always call out, but sometimes I can. I called friends in other areas, a few of whom didn't lose power and were giving me TV reports. I called the electric company; okay, I harassed the electric company about when the power would be back on. I knew I could not take it for long. And I heard a day; I heard three days: and with a sinking feeling, I heard a week.

It was six days. SIX DAYS. Six days without lights. Six days without washer or dryer. Six days without stove and hot water. Six days without TV and DVD player. Six days watching the food all go bad. Six days without computer. Six days without music. Six days all alone in the candle-lit dark, with no air conditioning.

Of course it had an effect. In the dark, I started hallucinating. I panicked. I ended up in the emergency room with one hell of a panic attack.

Or course it had an effect. After a week without A/C, I can't breathe right, and still can't. I called my pulmonologist's office and told them what had happened, and about the short course of Prednisone my old clinic used to give me, and they called in a prescription. Which isn't working. I have hit that Albuterol over and over again, and nothing seems to be working. It is a nightmare.

And here I am. Food is spoiled, and I couldn't get it together to get to the Salvation Army to get a voucher. I can't breathe half the time, and cough like I am coughing up a lung. I can't tell you how many candles I used up over those six days. And a $300 co-pay I don't have.

Only one thing could “top” that one. And that is death, of course.

My M-i-l's sister-in-law died. I felt about HA as though she were my sister, even though without transportation and with her agoraphobia etc. I rarely saw her in the later years. But I still loved her.

She was at a picnic or something, and had to go to the bathroom, for which she needed help (she had put on a tremendous amount of weight, unfortunately). She started slipping, which set off her blood pressure, which set off her heart. Luckily, a paramedic was right there, and they got her to the hospital. She was in her room and stabilized when all hell broke lose, and S. started running towards her room. HZ had just had a heart attack a few months earlier. But she died of congestive heart failure, just after midnight that week. At least she got to get out and have a nice last day. But it still wounds, of course, and S. is hardly back to normal, and neither am I.

I'm sure there's more, but that is a black enough rock to go hide under for now.

]]> http://redjotter.wordpress.com/?p=629 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:34:52 +0000 redjotter http://redjotter.ro.wordpress.com/2008/10/02/service-design-workshop/ Last friday Service Design Network Netherlands gave a hands-on service design workshop at PICNIC08.

Arne has posted up some great pics on the DesignThinkers blog. I wish this had been happening during my stay in Amsterdam :(

There has also been an exciting launch of Service Design Network Netherlands. The creatives involved are : Eden Design & Communication, 31Volts, Creative Cities Amsterdam Area, STBY and DesignThinkers

Since June 2008, in monthly informal meetings, Service Design professionals in the Netherlands exchange knowledge and experiences arising from their work in this emerging field.

Several initiatives to widen this network and mutually promote service design in The Netherlands have already emerged. The network has been officially launched during PICNIC'08 in Amsterdam.

Congratulations to Arne who is the Chairman of the collaboration :)

[gallery]

Then yesterday while i was cleaning my room i got a call from Karina inviting me to go on a picnic with her. So i had a shower and headed down to her house. We then ventured to Coles to pick up some supplies and then headed off to Boronia park. We had a lovely array of healthy food and we sat in the sun for a few hours. Photos of Karina and I (aka Team White Legs).

It was really lovely picnic and we got to catch up on what is going on each other's lives. Good work!

Then i went home and chilled out for a couple of hours. Lisa picked me up around 7 and we went to Maccas and got ice cream. We thought we would venture out and rather than going to Thornleigh, we would go to the Space Station Maccas in Lane Cove. Then we drove around, watched some Indians play tennis, chilled at the YMCA and then went home. So exhausted! Great day. And i have another picnic on tomorrow! So exciting.

As for today, i plan to sit in the sun, clean my room some more and start some assignments. Feeling good!!

xx

Picnic is Amsterdam’s new media event of the year. This is one of the few times when people come together to discuss developments, innovations and changes in the industry on this scale. As a result, this is also one of the few events that attracts an international audience..

Aici in poiana ne-am hotarat si noi sa petrecem cateva ore in aer curat. Locul era frumos cum spuneam insa plin de mizerii. Erau acolo aruncate tot felul de gunoaie, de la clasicele cutii de bere pana la scutece de unica folosinta ( folosite :D ). In timp ce baietii s-au apucat de gratar, noi fetele ( bine, bine... nu le-am convins pe toate) am inceput sa strangem gunoiul din poiana ( au participat si copii , bineinteles). Din fericire cineva lasase la marginea padurii niste saci de rafie noi nouti. Noi am reusit sa umplem cativa, dar, mai era mult de munca acolo. Important este ca cineva inaintea noastra s-a gandit sa lase sacii, noi ne-am gandit sa-i umplem si poate la un moment dat romanii se vor hotara sa nu mai arunce gunoiul la intamplare :D . Dupa gratar am jucat fotbal ( cu o minge pe care au gasit-o copii in padure :) ) 

La intoarcere ne-am oprit la Piatra Verde, am admirat privelistea si am facut cateva poze:

I wanted to say thank you again to everyone that worked so hard putting the 20yr reunion together You guys did a fantastic job!!!! … I had such a great time and was so happy to get to see everyone. I agree with Brian and would love to get together with everyone again and maybe not wait another 5yrs..lol… I spoke to Troy, Francie , Dawn, and a few others at the end of the night and told them I wouldnt mind helping try to plan a get together maybe in the spring. I think Ive got Russell Brock talked into letting us have the get together at his house.. Ill keep you all posted. I look forward to staying in touch with everyone this time and wish everyone and there families all the best…
Jason Harp

Picnic at the Botanical Gardens wasn't a bad suggestion. It was great and awesome at the same time!
All of us made food and brought it to the garden. We sat on the plains of green grass with disposable mats. Fried rice, Sausages with bacon and pineapple, Chicken Wings, Gyoza and Sandwiches - it was just indescribable! Plus I've got great company! Heart to heart talks, secret telling, confessions, truth or dare, lomography shots, Dslr picture taking, being ourselves, and the other happy picnic people around us(dog-walkers, children, friends and couples). I loved it.

Joy, Sherm, ShiHui, Car.

Thank you to everyone that could make it to the picnic. It was fun regardless of the weather. 

Federico y Sandra

Davida enjoying the air

Roberto Leslie David and Bill

SO, the job...well, it's not exactly what I thought it was going to be, but it's still good. It's gotten a little better since they've started training me on more stuff to do. For weeks, I'd have, like, 3 hours in the afternoon with NOTHING to do. It was driving me insane! But things are picking up. It's not hard, though I do make big mistakes that I feel awful about, because they're just stupid.

My co-workers are AWESOME! They're so funny! It can be really fun in that office! There is one that MAY or may not be trying to sabotage me, but that's just conjecture at this point. I don't trust her AT ALL, but everyone else is really nice, supportive, and understanding. My Lead, the woman in charge of my training, is fabulous! She's extremely knowledgable, patient, and just a sweet lady.

My boss...well, not really sure what to make of her. She claims to "be there" if you need her, but gives every kind of impression otherwise. She's very standoffish, and unapproachable. Maybe she doesn't mean to be, but I feel like I need to apologize every time I speak to her because she sounds irritated most of the time. I THINK she likes me, but on any given day...

Just went to my first "company picnic" yesterday. OMG, you guys it was FANTABULOUS!! St John's reserved Celebration City for the day, and everything was FREE! EVERYTHING!! Cotton candy, ice cream, popcorn, fountain drinks, and they had a building set up for meals with hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken, potato salad etc, where you eat as much as you want, any time you wanted! We also all got free t-shirts. You're only allowed one guest and children, but I scored another ticket so I could bring my parents. You have NO idea how GREAT it felt to know that I could do that for them. That we could all go because of ME, because of MY JOB!! Mom and Dad were thanking me all day. We rode a lot of rides, and the kids had a blast in the kids' area of the park. For those of you who don't know (cuz I didn't), Celebration City is like a cross between six-flags and Silver Dollar City. It was just a kick-ass good time!!

YAY FOR WORKING!!!!!! GO ME!!!!

E se lo stesso spirito avesse animato italia.it, magari con una gara aperta?

{video in arrivo}