Attended the 2009 MinneBar (un)Conference today, held at Best Buy's World Headquarters - quite an impressive place. The conference is a day long event with several rooms running concurrent sessions on tech, design, business, and general interest topics.  You were free to come and go between these sessions as your interest dictated. As far as 'design' goes, I'd have to say the emphasis on most of the sessions offered in that category were focused more on 'development', but since many of us designers do both, at least to some degree, they were still beneficial and I enjoyed them.  Here is a sampling of the sessions I attended:

Posted via email from Robyn's posterous

What a cool project this is! Via Twitter, I came across a project-in-the-works by Don Shapiro. He's writing a book called 'Life is a Fork in the Road', and is wondering this:

Posted via email from Robyn's posterous

Dangerous Curves Ahead...........

Sometimes the most beautiful destinations require the most perilous journeys.

Back in April, I wrote a post about my sister Heidi. She is 42, severely mentally retarded with mild cerebral palsy, and was given up to the foster care system when she was just over a year old. We lived in Seattle at the time, and my parents were told she would never speak or walk or be independent, and would probably not live long. Our family moved out of the state shortly after she was given up, and she still resides there, though the family lost touch with her. I encourage you to read about how it came to be that we are back in touch now, so I don't have to bore those who have already read it here again.


I'd been promising her a trip to Minnesota to meet the rest of her family, and intended to do it this past summer. But in June/July both my mom and my aunt died, then Sam's surgery was in August, and moving all three kids back to college in Sept.... life just took things over and I am still not really feeling myself, but Heidi was still waiting. And asking her providers each day if today was the day she gets to go to Minnesota with her sister. I decided that it would need to be a short trip, but I could probably get the most people gathered in one spot to meet her if I brought her here and drove her 'up north' to my dad's home where at least all the men-folk gather for Deer Hunting opener. I was pretty sure I could get the women to attend willingly. I'd be combining this trip for her to meet her family with me spending a bit of solo time in Seattle to spread some of my mom's ashes there.

So, a few weeks ago, I brought Heidi to Minnesota, where most of us live, to meet her family. When I die, this trip will surely be one of the best memories that will be flashing before my eyes. Here is a recap of how it went, broken down by day:

Wednesday:
My flight was supposed to have been at 5:30 on a Wednesday evening. It was the day after the election, and while en route to the airport I'd been talking to my dad about politics and listening to him rant about 'Kobombie' (that is what he calls Obama, and for the record, doesn't like McCain either. He is sure our country is doomed...). Anyway he was still talking as I drove and found a spot in the airport ramp. I was running a bit behind, but didn't want to have this discussion out loud throughout the airport, so I stayed inside the car, shutting it off, putting my keys away, organizing last minute things in my purse and computer bag while he talked. As we were finishing I was saying goodbye and got out, to walk around to the passenger side to get my purse, computer bag, and suitcase. (Normally my purse comes out with me out the drivers side, right ladies?). Well, I hung up the phone and realized that out of habit, I had locked the car upon exiting, and now my keys, purse, computer bag, suitcase, and airline ticket were all locked inside my car. I swore out loud. In public. I NEVER do that. To keep it shorter, and eliminating the next ridiculous series of events that involved the AAA guys and a family traveling to VietNam that couldn't speak english, lets just conclude with I missed my flight, had to take the next one, and by the time I arrived in Seattle, rented my car, found the hotel and got checked in, it was 3:30am according Minnesota time, and I needed both sleep and an attitude adjustment.

Thursday:
I slept a bit late, for obvious reasons, and finally got up and got ready. Originally, I had made arrangements to meet a social worker at a Juvenile Detention Center/Orphanage place that my siblings and I had been 'guests of' when we were little. I had researched it, found the name and address, and wanted to get a copy of my file, so I could know how old I was when I was there, how long I was there etc. They were really nice, but couldn't give me that info over the phone, so my plan was to meet with this woman while there and view my file. Turns out she needed to reschedule for Friday morning instead now, so I had the rest of Thursday to wander a little and drive around and look for neighborhoods in the Tacoma area that we may have lived in. I was in a one of those fogs where you don't quite feel like you have fully woken up for the day yet, and it was raining, so ended up falling asleep really really early, which I needed.

Friday:
Got up early, checked out of my hotel and drove back south to Tacoma to meet with the social worker. I got a bit lost, and was late for our appointment, but she had been stuck with a client anyway, so it worked out fine. She was really nice, and actually gave me a copy of the file. Turns out I was 7 at the time I stayed there. There is no record of when we were released so we don't know for sure. My dad cant remember, it was a really tough time in his life, but he thinks we might have only been there a few weeks. Both my older brother and sister, however, think we lived there maybe a few months. I have no idea. Before I was done with her, she gave me instructions on how to get to the building I would have been at. I followed them, and when I drove around a street and it came into view, I recognized it. I didn't expect to really, and I didn't expect looking at it to elicit any emotions, but I got choked up and teary. But not for long, because now I had to hurry to drive to Heidi's home north of Seattle. She was soooo happy to see me, and we got her ready and checked over her suitcase and made our way to the airport. Heidi has a really happy demeanor, and is very talkative, though it's hard to understand her. And she has the mentality of a 2 or 3 year old. She made sure each and every person she saw at the airport, car rental return place, and on the airplane that she was going to Minnesota with her sister for a party, and that they were all invited and would they please come? It was so cute. Was pretty late by the time we got to my home finally, and she slept very soundly.



Saturday:
After helping her shower and getting her breakfast, we started the 2.5 hour drive to my dads home, stopping along the way to pick up my youngest brother first (yes, the one who is usually homeless, but for now is staying in a Boarding House). We arrived at my dad's and he was waiting really nervously out on his deck. He had invited many of his siblings over, I think for moral support for himself, and I can't blame him. For so many years he has felt unsettled about this, and now he was going to meet her again for the first time since she was a baby. I'd been sending her photos of all of us for years, so she already knew which one 'daddy' was! All in all there were about 30 - 35 people there for her to meet. I had told her all along that we were having a party for her, and had arranged for balloons and cake, and of course food (God Bless sister-in-law's on that one), to be there for her to add to the festive feel, but she just couldn't wrap her head around a 'party' without it being a 'birthday party'. So, we made it a birthday party for her, but she expected presents. We hadn't had any arranged, and it was so touching when my aunts and others were digging thru their purses for anything Heidi would consider and love as a present. They came up with a folding hairbrush that had a mirror on one side, a few costume-jewelry pins, a necklace, a pen and pad of paper... She was thrilled and excited for all of them! She wasn't shy AT ALL and just inserted herself in the midst of her family. She met her dad, her aunts and uncles (some of whom remembered her when she was a baby) and she met cousins, neices, nephews, and her 2 brothers. She was able to also speak to her two other sisters on the phone, as they could not make it. Everyone was so patient and kind to her, and really happy to see her. She had a wonderful day!!!! I took a million photos, and then drove her back down to the cities to my home that night so she didn't have to have so much commotion around her for so long. Again, she slept really well.

Sunday:
After helping her shower and breakfast again, and packing up to go back to Seattle, we went shopping. I told her she could pick out whatever she wanted as my gift to her. She choose a new outfit for her 'baby' (which is a doll I bought for her several years ago, and she that she carries everywhere with her. The dolls name is Kirsten, and she came with Heidi to Minnesota. She talks to her, and nurtures her, it is quite sweet), and she also chose some crayons and coloring books, which were nice on the airplane. We had the photos printed that I had taken while we were shopping and I bought a photo book to put them in. We started the drive to the airport and I sort of got lost in my own thoughts for a bit and wasn't talking much, but Heidi kept saying that 'You will miss me'. I looked over at one point and wondered if she was crying. I couldn't tell at first, because her face isn't arranged quite typical, and her mouth is sort of in a twisted manner, but then I saw a tear. She also started having dry, gagging heaves. I wasn't sure from what she was saying if she was sad to be leaving, or if she missed her home in Seattle, or both. (I would later learn from her caregiver that is Heidi's typical reaction to stress and that she was probably feeling a good bit of both emotions). I held her hand and kept talking to her, but she continued gagging and feeling stressed throughout the flight back. It was late when we finally got to the airport, rented a car, and drove another hour north to her home. She was really really happy to see her caregivers, and I stayed and visited a while until I felt she needed more space and quiet. Drove to a nearby hotel and checked in and collapsed, but was happy.

Monday:
After getting up and checking out, I allowed myself a bit of time to drive around and see the city before leaving back to the airport, as it was the first sunny day out of all of them so far. I drove over to West Seattle, which is where you can get the best view of the city itself. Had a cup of clam chowder at a place on the water while I watched a pair of sea lions playing in the sound, and just sat and pondered the events that just happened.

I love information. I collect it. Information about anything and everything. I sincerely love to learn about new subjects, new people, master new skills. My biggest roadblock is this: I am inherently and pathetically unorganized. Here are some examples of what I mean:

♦I am a nut about bookmarking sites I enjoy and subscribing to blogs and sites I want to keep up with, but my Google Reader and Bloglines are so full right now that I will NEVER realistically read it all. I need to just take a deep breath, press the "CLEAR ALL" button and try to pretend that it doesn't feel like I just cut my left arm off. Again.

♦And I'm a file/article hoarder. I save folders and folders worth of files that I want to keep. But I can never remember where I saved them. My file/folder naming system certainly makes sense when I am creating it, just not a few months later.

♦In addition to that I have a folder on my desktop, in plain view, labeled "READ OVER WHEN YOU HAVE TIME". It currently contains over 200 articles/websites that I still have not had time for.

♦I am guilty of 'out of site, out of mind' quite often. If something isn't staring me in the face, I will tend to forget about it. I don't mean to, I just am distracted by the other things that ARE staring me in the face. So, I am one of those really annoying people who has to have post-it notes all over to remind me of things.

♦And finally, I am a list person. I need to see a visual of the things I need to accomplish. Each item on the list must have a nice square box in front of it, ready for me to check off in victory when I accomplish it. I think the visual task list is helpful, but I also think the process of getting a thought out of my head, down my arm and out on to the paper simply helps it drill deeper into my sense of what I need to do.

Can anyone out there relate to this?

Today, in my efforts to look for something (that I still have not located, dang it) I came across the following list. I had intended to post it way back around the new year, lol. I'm a bit late, but really, these tips are applicable anytime at all. It's probably best this way anyway, because if they had been my New Years Resolutions, I would have had to humbly admit right around February that I was falling short in many of them. I cannot take credit for writing the list, it was just one of those articles I saved at one point, so please, if you wrote it, feel free to take credit where it is due.


39 Tips for Better Life - 2008

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile.
It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day.

3. Buy a DVR and tape your late night shows and get more sleep.

4. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement,
'My purpose is to __________ today.'

5. Live with the 3 E's -- Energy, Enthusiasm, and Empathy.

6. Play more games and read more books than you did in 2007.

7. Make time to practice meditation, and prayer.
They provide us with daily fuel for our busy lives.

8. Spend time with people over the age of 70 and under the age of 6.

9. Dream more while you are awake.

10. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food
that is manufactured in plants.

11. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild
Alaskan salmon, broccoli, almonds & walnuts.

12. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

13. Clear clutter from your house, your car, your desk and let new
and flowing energy into your life.

14. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, OR issues of the
past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest
your energy in the positive present moment.

15. Realize that life is a school and you are here to learn.
Problems are simply part of the curriculum t hat appear and fade
away like algebra class but the lessons you learn will last a
lifetime.

16. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a
college kid with a maxed out charge card.

17.. Smile and laugh more. It will keep the NEGATIVE BLUES away.

18. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

19. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

20. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

21. You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.

22. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

23. Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their
journey is all about.

24. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

25. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years,
will this matter?'

26. Forgive everyone for everything.

27. What other people think of you is none of your business.

28. REMEMBER GOD heals everything.

29. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

30. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends
will. Stay in touch.

31. Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.

32. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

33. The best is yet to come.

34. No matter how you feel, get up, dress up and show up.

35. Do the right thing!

36. Call your family often. (Or email them to death!!!)

37. Each night before you go to bed complete the following
statements: I am thankful for __________. Today I accomplished
_________.

38. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

39. Enjoy the ride. Remember this is not Disney World and you
certainly don't want a fast pass. You only have one ride through
life so make the most of it and enjoy the ride.

May your troubles be less, May your blessings be more, May nothing
but happiness come through your door!