Month of April, 2008

Daniel Davis Books for Auction

Daniel Davis is an illustrator and author at Steam Crow in Phoenix. He recently donated a set of his books to the Kids Need to Read foundation, and they're being auctioning off on eBay ($$ for kid's books).

Kids Need to Read
Ebay Auction

Marrow Donor Found

I almost cried from happiness this morning when I got email from Abby telling me that Erica found a marrow donor! Remember when I asked you to register, especially if you're multi-racial? This is great news!

Abby's email:

"Hi everyone,

Since I wrote to you a while back requesting that you get on the registry for my friend Erica (you remember her, from this song and this blog), I wanted to send you an update. Erica was given another chance at life from my new hero, her bone marrow donor. The donor is a 5/6 match, so not a perfect match (are you on the registry yet?), but the transplant seems to have gone smoothly so far.

Today is Day Zero for her. There have been some rough days lately due to really strong chemo and some nasty radiation, but overall, she has held up with her usual strength, grace, and sense of humor. Please keep her, and her donor, in your thoughts in the coming weeks, as we wait anxiously to learn whether her body will accept the marrow, and as she begins the long road to health.

Feel free to leave well-wishes for her on her blog. She loves to read them, and she keeps the comments as a sort of journal of the experience. And if you have any ideas for yummy-tasting low-microbial recipes, I'm all ears. We're at a loss for how to make her highly-restricted diet appetizing.

What a beautiful day!
Abby

P.S. Obviously, many people with blood diseases aren't as lucky as Erica. Please register if you haven't."

Wedding Ring Prototype

Chris and I designed our wedding rings. Cody, my friend and awesome metalsmith, drew up the digital design. While the ring hasn't been made yet, I am excited enough to want to share! I think this is gorgeous and can't wait to see it completed.

The idea behind the ring is our two lives are like the two different colored lines. The lines intersect to show how our lives have intersected.

The colors in the design might not accurately reflect the color of the ring. I've picked out turquoise and orange powder coatings and Cody will begin testing them out in the coming weeks. Chris's ring will be slightly wider than mine and will be turquoise and brown.

Getting this much control and direction of the process is so awesome. We're really lucky to know Cody!

Puppy Needs a Good Home

A friend of a friend found this cute little puppy at 7th St and Tonto in Phoenix. They're hoping to find him a good home instead of taking him to a shelter. Do you or anyone you know need a new family member?

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Proud of my Little Corner of the Internet

I've always been proud of my blog. It's mine...all mine. But now I have something else on the Internet to be proud of. I'm really, really proud of ReadPhoenix.com. As of today, ReadPhoenix has 168 blogs listed. Some are personal, some professional, some company blogs, but all of them are related to Phoenix. This number has exceeded my expectations and definitely makes me proud of it. I feel like I filled a need. I hope I'm bringing the community together.

Of course none of this would be possible without the awesome coding & design skills of the Integrum team. They were able to quickly turn my dream into reality. They turned it into something that lots of people use! It's a testament to Integrum's investment in the Phoenix community that they would do this project. Thank you, Integrum!

A couple weekends ago, Chris and I went to a party. While there, a woman I hadn't met before recognized my name and said she was on my site. I immediately thought about EricaLucci.com and was confused. Then she explained she had recently added her blog to ReadPhoenix and that it was her favorite site of recent. I was so flattered and excited! I'm glad a little site like ReadPhoenix could make other people happy. I'm very proud of it.

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Stop the Phone Books

Today I sent email to the phone book company asking them to stop sending me phone books. I don't use the phone book any more and don't want the paper to go straight into the recycle bin. I was inspired by the site, 50 Ways to Help (link via Gist).

I was surprised to get this response:

"Our records have been updated. Thank you for using [name of phone book company here]."

Do you think they're serious? Or is this just the email they send when there's no procedure in place to deal with such a request? I guess I'll know in a year or so when I do or don't get any more phone books.

Fund-A-Stache 2008

Some of the guys at work are really into facial hair. They participate in Wiskerino. And make awesome videos like this. They even use facial hair for a good cause!

http://www.fundastache.org

For the month of May, men will be growing mustaches for charity. They'll be posting pictures so there's entertainment along the way. It's an awesome idea and one that's already been dubbed as COOL.

You should check it out. If you're feeling generous, donate to the charity chosen by your favorite mustache-growing man. If you're feeling playful, join in and grow a 'stache for May!

House For Sale or Rent in Waynesboro, PA

My younger sister's husband is in the Navy and is close to his next transfer. They're going overseas so they're trying to sell or rent their house in Waynesboro, Pennsylvania.

If you know anyone in that area, please pass this along since it would help a lot! Everyone else can cross their fingers the house is taken care of quickly because they've got a billion other things to worry about with a 1 year old and a move across the pond!

View the Listing

Concrete Class

Last Saturday, Chris and I had the pleasure of attending a class about concrete at Gore Design Co. It was coordinated by Modern Phoenix. (Thanks, Alison!) Gore Design does concrete countertops and sinks and such. They teach classes to others in the concrete industry, but this class was for non-professionals. For "Do-It-Yourself-ers."

We spent Saturday afternoon building a coffee table or bench , depending on your interpretatin of the design, with the class. It was awesome. Chris and I especially liked the integration of concrete with wood since that's something he's wanted to do for awhile. Brandon and Jeremy were great teachers and a lot of fun to work with.

At the end of the day, the drew names out of a hat for the winner of the sample bench as well as the bench we built as a group. Chris won the sample bench! (Pears not included.)

View all the photos from the concrete class.

*Update 4/26: Chris was going to pick up the bench last night but unfortunately it's been broken. Accidents happen in a shop and unfortunately an accident happened to the bench. The guys at Gore were totally cool and offered to make another one. But I don't think it's fair to ask them to do that since it was just the demo for the class. We'll make our own using the skills they taught us!

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Interstate

My friend, David, over at Stringify, just published an iphone app that I think is lots of fun! It's called Interstate. It's a way to check off each state when you see a license plate from that state. It even shows you what percentage is complete. Fun that he took a game we've all played and made a fun little app. I'm definitely playing this next time I'm on a road trip!

Modern Phoenix Home Tour

Last weekend Chris and I went on the Modern Phoenix home tour. It was concentrated in a Scottsdale neighborhood with mid-century modern homes sprinkled in between regular homes. Plus a few homes driving distance in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley. We first heard about Modern Phoenix in an article in Desert Living magazine. It was a well-organized event and we really enjoyed all the homes on the tour.

While these homes make me want to live in a more modern structure, I'm not rushing out to buy one. Seeing all the work these people had to pour into these homes to make them as fabulous as they are today is humbling. I'm not looking to take on a project like that just yet. Maybe someday, but not today. Today, I'll happily look at other people's successes and enjoy the view.

The entire set of pictures from the Modern Phoenix Home Tour.

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Job Change

Friday, March 28th was my last day working at Integrum Technologies. It was just a little over a year ago that I started working there as a project manager.

There is a time and place for everything and it's now my time to leave. I'm moving to a slightly larger company of 70 people. The office is in downtown Phoenix, which will be an improved commute for me. My role will be "Client Services Project Manager" which is a fantastic fit considering my previous experience. Plus, the company focuses in an area that I've been interested in since graduate school. For the time-being the employer will remain unnamed on my site, but it's not a secret. I'm happy to share in a non-Google-able forum. Drop me an email or instant message me.

Making the decision to leave Integrum was very hard. Integrum is like a family to me. Every single person there is someone I hold in high regard due to their skill, creativity, and personality. I know our friendships will change now that we're not going to see each other five days a week, but they'll never go away. These are people who have challenged me and taught me and cared for me. Never before have I made these kinds of friendships with coworkers but through this experience I hope to always make these kinds of connections.

Working at Integrum gave me so many things, but the most important thing it gave me was perspective. The environment helped me realize that really, really good work can be done in a really, really, really fun space. It helped me redefine work and my new definition will always include fun.

Work is about people and relationships - both with coworkers and clients and even your competition. It's about doing your best while you're at work then turning off and changing focus when you're away. Work is about doing the right thing. It's about listening to others. It's about being open and honest. It's about improving constantly. It's about laughter.

I've never laughed as much as I have with my team at Integrum. And when I first started there, I really needed the laughter. All of that laughter and all the other experiences have made me into a better person, which makes me a better worker. I'm lucky to have gotten this perspective, especially so early in my professional career. I hope I'm able to carry it with me always. I owe the team at Integrum a lot for giving it to me.

Thank you, Jade, Heidmo, Lindsay, Gist, Curtis, Young, Josh, Curtis, Derek, and Irish.

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Mini-Vacation to Texas

I've been off work the past week. (More explanation on that soon.) So I've been spending all this time off to work on the wedding and a few other odd things I needed to take care of.

On Monday, I sent out the bulk of the invitations. There were 134 envelopes! Chris and I still have twenty or thirty to finish as we're finishing collecting addresses from people. It feels good to hear from people that they received the invitation. We take a lot of pride in the invitations because Chris designed them as well as picked out the paper. I helped assemble and enjoyed thinking about our friends and family as I put them together. It's neat the little labors of love are getting into their hands! I've even been hearing lots of compliments on the design. My mother's friend said they were "the most inventive wedding invitations" she's seen.

On Tuesday, I went over and over my To Do lists. I was preparing for my trip. On Wednesday, I flew back to Texas where I've been for the rest of the week. My mother and I have spent all of our time preparing for the wedding weekend. We've done plenty of shopping, ordering, planning, meeting, and list-making. Plus, we had some social time with Chris's mom and hopefully filled her in on all the details. I'm confident that we did everything we needed to do* and we are prepared for the event!

It feels SO, SO, SO good to be prepared. Plus, I'm now able to get excited about the wedding rather than worry about it. I'm looking forward to seeing all the family, my friends, Chris's friends, my parents' friends, his parents' friends...! It's going to be fun and I'm going to feel relaxed. Which is the best wedding gift I could ask for!

Some of the highlights of my trip were meeting with a couple women who will provide their services for my wedding. First, I met with Emily who bakes cakes out of her home. Check out pictures of gorgeous and inventive cakes on her Flickr stream. I'm acquaintances with Emily's brother, Luke, which is how I learned of her skill. We chatted on the phone briefly before meeting, but once I met her, I knew she was perfect. Emily's style is much like my own and I totally trust her design. Plus, her prices fit nicely into our budget. I'm really looking forward to seeing and eating the neat things she bakes for me!

Second, I met with Ashley who is a photography student at University of Texas in Arlington. She was recommended by one of the photography professors. Meeting with her and her boyfriend, Ross, confirmed she's a perfect fit for the event. Ashley reminds me a lot of myself as a junior in college. She's ambitious and creative and curious and thoughtful. While she doesn't have much experience, I'm thrilled to give her a chance to get some experience. I look forward to her creativity and love that she "gets" the vision Chris and I have for our ceremony. Ashley and Ross are exactly the kind of people I would be friends with and I hope we can continue a friendship after this event.

The trip was very productive and fun. It was great getting to hang out with my parents too! I extended my stay a little bit in order to attend the memorial service for Zac. It was good to spend some time with his family and especially his brother, Ben. They're all handling things so well and even helped make me feel better. I got a little weepy and Ben was quick to remind me that Zac would kick me for crying. So I was able to smile and remember all the good times with him. I'm glad I could be there.

*OK, truth be told, I have one more thing that needs to be done. I need to order chairs. But I'm pretty sure that can be done over the phone any time in the next couple weeks.

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Zac

September 13, 1978 - March 31, 2008
http://zacgalaviz.com

Zac passed away on Monday after an eight year battle with cancer. He was 29 years old. So, so young. My heart goes out to his wife and family. I know they are missing Zac a lot.

Zac and I first met in high school. He was hanging out with Summer a lot so that's how I got to know him. He was so cute and so fun to be with. Our friendship came easily.

That friendship, like most, varied intensities over the years. The last couple years I lived in Arlington, Zac and I hung out a bit. We liked the same bars and I really liked our shared background/memories. There's something about having history with a person that always makes me comfortable.

In my memories, Zac was always happy. He was fun and outgoing. He loved music...he always loved music. I can remember in high school cruising in his giant Cadillac (or Buick or something equally as huge from the 70s) and blasting the radio. I remember him playing music both in public, where he loved to perform, and in the comfort of his house. His and Melanie's house had instruments everywhere! Music was always such a big part of his life.

Family was a big part of his life too. It always has been. He has 7 siblings and while I don't know them all, the ones I do know are awesome. This family is an example to all how to live and love.

Back in 2005 when Zac and I were hanging out, he was in a band with his brothers, Noah and Ben, and their friend, Shane. They played covers and had quite a few shows around Arlington. I made it out as often as I could because they were awesome. I was lucky enough to have them play at my graduation party. That party was such a special time for me and having them play was definitely a highlight.

Zac will be missed so much. But I know in between our sadness, all of us that knew him are also celebrating his life. We're feeling happy and lucky to have called him our friend.

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Google Calendar April Fools Joke

Dear Google,

Thank you for today's April Fools joke in Google Calendar. It has entertained me and made me laugh. Nicely done.

At first I was somewhat puzzled by the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button for creating a calendar item. It struck me as weird. So I pressed it.

Low and behold I got a new calendar item for tomorrow night. Look, it's a date with Angelina Jolie! I figured I was feeling pretty lucky so I got another calendar item for tomorrow night - a date with the President!