In 2004 and again in 2008 I had a brush with my own mortality.  There is nothing like the fear of losing your own life, or the life of someone in your family, to make you consider your priorities and evaluate your contributions to society. In 2008 I decided that constantly chasing money and financial success was neither adding value to my life nor to my community or society as a whole. So I planned a multi-year, round-the-world, ultimate escape trip  … by recumbent bicycle. It would afford an unprecedented degree of freedom and liberty from the obligations and responsibilities of “normal” life in the developed world. It would allow a gentle pace (propelled by strenuous exercise) and access to geographies and cultures off the moneyed tourist track.

Then I started linking up with old friends via social media and looking at what they had done with their lives:  some achieving to expectation, some wildly successful despite inauspicious starts, others disappointingly reduced to career oblivion despite exhibiting much early promise.  While I did not compare my achievements with theirs, nor regret  any choices made in my life, I did wonder if escaping on my grand cycle tour would be  using the gift of my life in the best possible way.  But the question became what to do? What to do?

I decided to combine my entrepreneurship and e-commerce expertise with the things I love, literature and technology,  and bring my passion for health, life and learning to those who have yet to discover those joys.  I hope to inspire a spirit of sharing and bring hope to those whose lives are deprived of the basic physical and psychological needs which they require to succeed. If I bring literacy and financial resources to inspire even  just one potential leader in an under-privileged community I will have achieved something.

When searching for an appropriate name for a new social enterprise which hoped to enlighten and inspire,  I recalled an essay on an Italian poem which I was required to write as a post-graduate diploma student in languages in 2001.

Here is my documented version of the inspiration for the name M’illumino:

“M’illumino was inspired by the Italian hermetic poet Giuseppe Ungaretti’s 1917 poem Mattina (Morning):

M’illumino
d’immenso

Literally, I illuminate myself with immense.  Or figuratively, the sun rises in me, my light is immense and comes from within.

All humans are “immense” and when this creativity, passion and power is not only recognised but developed and harnessed by societies, corporations, communities and individuals, they will all achieve striking results.

I am excited and passionate about allowing the maximum expression of all facets of our lives through science, art, music, language and communication, architecture, technology, health, relationships, sensuality, spirituality, adventure and the appreciation of unique cultures and the planet’s sensational environment.

Life is magnificent!”

The Gates Foundation suggests that all people are of equal value, I agree, but I would go further; while we are all of equal value we are all immeasurably valuable to ourselves, our families, our communities and human society.  Please be thankful for every little thing in your life and contribute what you can to improving the quality of life of someone less privileged, whether they are in your own community or the other side of the world.

Success is a strange thing. Everyone strives for it (in some form or another), yet when they obtain it, the world ridicules them for claiming it. So i guess we’re only allowed to claim things we don’t have. I can hear my mom & granny in my ear now, “You’ve got to claim your healing!!!”

I laugh.

Making Kansas City’s “A-List: 30 Under 30″ opened my eyes to a lot. I’m not scared of success. I’ve never claimed it, instead I work for it. When I obtain it I’m not bashful about it…..And that my dear, is what pisses people off. One arrogant asshole said it was a turn off. To him and any other fuck’wad that has a problem with it, you can kindly kiss my ass.

CELEBRATE YOUR SUCCESS!!! I mean it. Last night I ended up barefoot and dancing on a white leather couch in Mint Ultra Lounge. One glass of chardonnay. Five glasses of water. Sweat pouring off my body. Hair and makeup still flawless. I lived in my moment. I celebrated my hard work (NOT THE RECOGNITION).

Last night I took the time to pause and truly gave myself a pat on the back for staying on my grind, keeping my blinders on so as not to loose focus, and allowing myself to see the invisible & reach for the impossible. The stuff I was “honored” for were merely byproducts of the bigger goal I’m pushing for.

Did seeing me dance on a couch while rocking a mini dress with fishnets, ruffle bloomers, and a fabulous waist belt annoy some people……HELL YES

Do I care…..HELL NO

I was doing me. Truth is, I’ve always done me. Throughout high school the “in-crowd” teased me….(well they teased everyone who was different, it’s how they got their kicks & legitimized themselves as cool). Now when I see them they are still complete assholes.

Last night was like a scene from Freddie vs. Jason where Freddie Kruger gets pulled into the real world a.k.a Jason’s world & gets his ass handed to him. I was Jason. They were Freddie.

The majority of the “A-Listers” are eccentric, strange, weird, creative, and artsy individuals. We were the ones who were teased in high school, yet we were the ones being recognized for extraordinary accomplishments throughout the year. We were the ones cameras snapped photos of. We were the ones on stage and in the seated areas. We were the ones whose names were being shouted out throughout the night (individually and in mass). This was our night. This was our party.

Last night was sooooo much better than that feeling guests on Maury get after getting plastic surgery, dressing up like a stripper, and bringing those who teased them, back in the day, onto the show in hopes they’ll cower at their feet. A handful of those jerks from high school were there. They were still assholes, but I finally realized how insignificant they truly are. One monkey don’t stop no show. I will continue to strive and obtain success. They will never kiss my ass, and it doesn’t matter because I respect them more because they don’t.

To all of you who are paving your own paths to success, I commend you. Keep doing you. Acknowledge your success. Never claim success, only achieve it, for you can only claim something you’ve either lost or won. Success falls into neither category. Run your own race, with your blinders on. Don’t look to the right or the left because only you alone know where you’re going. You are the only person who sees the invisible dream others have said is impossible to achieve. Protect your energy & happiness with your life. Steer clear of energy drainers & scavengers (people who plan on riding your coattails to the top). Plug in to a network of positivity and love.

Embrace your “weirdo factor.” The successful ARE weird. If they weren’t, everyone would be a Bill Gates, Donald Trump, or Oprah.

Embrace your success. Be a Kanye or Diddy. Your success is your leverage. Pat your dayum self on the back. Remember, no one has ever said Kanye is wrong for the things he says….just how/when he says them. And although Diddy is considered by most to be an asshole….no one can deny their respect for him as a businessman.

I consider these to be “A Weirdo’s Secret to Success”

They say that a picture speaks a thousand words, so this post should be an epic tale indeed!

And according the achievements page, Samhai is at 373/700 quests for Eastern Kingdoms and 363/700 for Kalimdor, too!

Back when I played Wai, hitting 40 meant I could finally get a slow mount. Although it took being run through Scarlet Monestary a couple of times before I had the gold. Nowadays? It means I get an epic mount not only 20 levels earlier but also a lot cheaper. Oh, and an achievement, too, yes please, thank you very much.

Yes, that’s the new, slow saber saber she’s currently riding. Didn’t I mention that she’s exalted with Darnassus? And Stormwind, too? This is what gaming’s about. Relaxing and having fun. Am I enjoying myself? Too right, I am!

A friend of mine bought his girlfriend a birthday present over two months ago. The present was to be a completed paint by numbers picture. Unfortunately, she has yet to receive the completed painting. Last I checked, the painting was about 25% done and the man swears his girlfriend will get the completed gift by Christmas. We’ll three months late is better than never. In all seriousness, aren’t there times in our lives when even the most straight forward projects get placed by the wayside in favor of the day-to-day tasks vying for our attention?

Along the lines of waiting for “things” – I myself have recently experienced a few delayed starts. For example, I recently bought a new computer bag which had to be immediately returned due to a malfunctioning handle. Cutting to the end of the story, I ended up saving an addition sum of money on an already discounted bag because the bag was reduced an additional 10% between the first and second purchase dates. Similarly, I finally decided to buy an external hard drive to back-up computer files, etc. but when a friend braved the “black Friday” crowds to purchase one for me, he was told they were out. Upon his return home (around 5:30am black Friday) he went on line and found one for less money and with a better warranty.

As we near the end of 2009 it’s true, some of us have not obtained all that we would have liked this year. For some (like my friend’s girlfriend) it’s a gift. For others it’s a need such as a new job to replace the one lost due to the economic downturn. Yet for others, it’s something in between a gift and a need; such as a new computer bag. So what’s to be made of all this? What can we deduce when we did all we could to paint inside the lines but despite our efforts, did not get the result we wanted? Conversely, what if we took a chance to paint outside the lines, taking a risk and trying something new, but still failed to obtain the goal?

Well, as best as I can see, good things do truly come to those that wait. Economies have life cycles to them, change has its seasons, and the race is not always won by the swift. So what’s this mean for us all? I’m going to go out on a limb and say that our good things are coming, we’ll pay less for them, and they will be what we should have when we should have them. To that end, I’m happy to announce that I’m going to extend my discounted life coaching offer through the end of 2009. While I can not predict when the economy will be in full swing again or when your new computer bag will arrive, I can safely say that by taking the time now to ensure you maximize your skills and talents, you’ll be well positioned to fill it with life’s blessings.

To learn more about this topic contact Dr Marilyn at www.DrMarilyn-EAW.com

Shooters line up to "get on the board" and have a crack at the target at the Wilson's Mills Fire Department turkey shoot.

For those of you that ain’t from ’round here, you may not not know what a Turkey Shoot is.  In fact, you may have never even heard of one.  (In full disclosure, I’ve never been to one myself).  Here in rural North Carolina, Turkey Shoots are usually done by the local Fire Department as a fund raiser (often volunteer fire departments that need supplemental income above and beyond the small amount in public funding they receive).  During the nights proceeding Thanksgiving, people gather to pay about $3 or $4 for the opportunity to win a turkey.  They bring their own shotguns and to make it fair, the fire department provides everyone with the shells.  The participants line up to shoot at targets (not, as you may have originally thought, a turkey), usually at least 35 feet away, and the person who gets the closest to the “X” wins a turkey. 

Any good ‘ol boys (or girls) out there that have participated in a Turkey Shoot?  How about other traditions or fundraisers that organizations held in your community that “outsiders” may think were strange?

A reporter for the local paper wrote an entertaining recap of his first experience at a Turkey Shoot; the first part of his story is below:

I was holding a shotgun for the first time since Boy Scout camp about eight years ago. I didn’t even know how to load the thing.

When I finally fired the shot, briefly deafening my left ear, I found I’d completely missed the paper target. But I considered it a success since I hadn’t hit one of the cars parked nearby.

Not surprisingly, I didn’t come close to winning a ham or a turkey — the object of the annual fundraiser for the Wilson’s Mills Fire Department.

But Clayton resident Allen Pulley did walk away with a ham for his Thanksgiving dinner, and he had a few words of advice for me.

“You’ve got to have a good gun, a good shell and luck,” said Pulley, sporting a camouflage jacket and a faded cap promoting a pheasant hunt. A crack marksman, he travels to shooting contests all over the country, and he’s been to just about every turkey shoot the fire department has ever had.

Pulley said the main reason he comes is to support the local firefighters. “I think I done bought one fire truck already,” he said.

But organizers of the event — which runs several nights a week throughout November — said attendance has been down in recent years.

“Turkey shoot ain’t what it used to be,” said Charles T. Wilson, the last original member of the fire department, which started in the 1970s.

Firefighter Bill Hardison says the community has changed. “Now 75 percent of the people in town don’t know what hunting is,” he said.

http://www.theherald-nc.com/news/story/12348.html

Whoso to fame dost aspire,
Must not sleep at night by his campfire.
He who would scale the utmost heights,
Would not be in a costly attire.
For he must tame his delights,
Else he won’t see the coming daylights.
Let him work with his hands and not his mind,
For thoughts are in the head forever confined,
Let him learn to sing a solo and not a duet.
In the course of life, no, victory is not combined.
Beware, lest to others you come in debt,
For we all are our own best asset.

The man who will carry mountains,
Must not abide by water fountains.
Let him begin by carrying small stones.
For through that, comes strength to his backbones,
Then let him climb the mountain to see lowlands,
For then only can he see all the borderlands,
Let him not fear the mountain to descend,
For all that arises must have a downtrend,
No gem is made perfect without friction,
So let him not fear lest he garner many an abrasion,
And he who seeketh fame without toil and strife,
The impossible, seeketh and wasteth life.

author: Ayotokunbo Ajewole
date: 27 Nov,1999

You gotta love all the new applications that are available through our ever-improving technology. The ability to carry around a pocket-sized piece of equipment (like i-phone or blackberry) that gives you immediate access to your calendar, contact list, email and more is really amazing. But I have one question for all you die-hard electronics users: Is your electronic calendar running your life?

Already some of you are screaming: but of course! Isn’t that the point? Well, not exactly. You see, inputting every single activity, birthday, appointment, and task into your calendar/planner may make you feel “organized” but does it help you get more done?

Honestly, that’s what I used to do. I used to put every single family members’ activities/commitments on my personal calendar, along with my own obligations/tasks/reminders. And although I could quickly see how “busy” I was in all the varying roles I have, I sure didn’t feel accomplished. In fact, I heard a great saying, “Activity can be an anesthesia for achievement.” Ouch! Hearing that one hurt. In fact, the speaker went on to say that “Activity is an input, but achievement is an output.”

What’s this all mean? It means that inputting every activity in the world on your personal “to-do” list whether that is in an electronic format or on paper doesn’t mean you are really focused on achieving the most important and fulfilling things in life. In fact, I have found the less I do, the more I achieve. And I don’t even need a fancy electronic app to help me with that!

…eller achievement hunter for at være mere politisk korrekt!

En achievement i denne sammenhæng er en belønning i form af point (gamerpoints), som en gamer får ved at udføre forskellige opgaver i et computerspil. De findes i udpræget grad på en Xbox 360 eller en Playstation 3 (her hedder de trophies). De achievements gameren samler sammen, bliver linket til hans/hendes gamercard (kaldet PSN ID på en Playstation 3), som kan bruges til vise verden på forskellige online fora (herunder Twitter og Facebook), hvilke spil man har spillet, og hvor mange gamerpoints man har optjent. Nedenfor ses et eksempel på et gamercard med 615 gamerpoints.

Gamercard

Achievements er samtidig et værktøj, som en spiludvikler kan bruge til at præge en gamer i en ønsket retning. Det kunne fx være ved at bruge achievements til at anspore til samarbejde istedet for saboterende adfærd ved holdspil. Ydermere har undersøgelser vist, at achievements er med til at generere mersalg.

Det interessante er, at de såkaldte “achievement whores” er, at de næsten er villige til at gøre hvad som helst, for at få flest mulige gamerpoints:

1) De vil bruge uanede mængder af tid på at booste deres gamercard.

2) De vil købe og/eller leje spil, som de finder komplet uinteressante for at booste deres gamercard.

3) De vil snyde sig til gamerpoints ved at indlæse gemte spil på hukommelseskort, som ikke tilhører dem selv.

4) De vil betale sig fra at få flere gamerpoints ved at udlevere personlige oplysninger om deres gamerkonto, så “professionelle” gamere kan booste deres gamercard mod betaling og samtidig risikere misbrug.

Det mest interessante er efter min personlige mening, at “achievement whores” slet ikke får noget for deres anstrengelser (andet end anerkendelse), selvom det selvfølgelig ikke er op til mig at vurdere værdien af achievements. Jeg finder det bare tankevækkende, at nogle gamere er villige til at gennemgå et eller flere af ovenstående punkter.

Der findes ikke meget direkte litteratur om fænomenet, men jeg mener bestemt det er værd at dykke ned i. T.L. Taylor har skrevet om “Powergamers”, som tilnærmelsesvis kan bruges som en analogi til “achievement whores”. Derudover bringer psykologen Mihály Csíkszentmihályi interessante perspektiver på banen med hans teori om flow. Kort sagt går det ud på, at vi drages, så snart der i computerspillet findes udfordringer, som  matcher vores evner. Vi vil opleve fortvivlelse hvis det er for svært, og kedsomhed hvis vi finder det for nemt. Teorien om flow forklarer dog ikke, at selv trivielle handlinger i et computerspil, som ikke er behæftet med nogen særlig sværhedsgrad, stadig kan virke dragende.

Til sidst vil jeg gerne vise en video, som jeg synes opsummerer det hele meget godt. God fornøjelse:

…are very annoying when you have so many characters.

Thank you

Originally uploaded by Exanna1

Well, the server finally came back up last night, bt I had to wait until this morning to get the final pieces to my Pilgrim’s Bounty puzzle. Hubby made a gnome rogue while I got one last Turkey Shooter. After shooting him, he logged on his main- a lvl 80 pally- and we headed to Sethekk Halls. I donned my best pilgrim outfit to defeat Talon King Ikiss, and voila! I got my title! I love titles. I don’t care too much about other achievements, but the holiday events are pretty sweet to me.

The Turkinator
After the server did come back up, someone offered to pay me in gold to get The Turkinator for them. Getting that on a different class of toon was difficult for me, but I did it, and he was grateful. My wrists hurt when I was done, LOL, but at least he gets his Pilgrim title, too

As I type, my two biggest boys are busy earning Granny Points.

Tea finished, Artie aged 7 is washing up, while Humph aged 9 is drying.

Five points each.

Seven for tidying your bedroom.

Two for hanging up your coat unbidden.

One for putting your pyjamas under your pillow and making your bed.

Extra points for cheerful cooperation.

The cake is ready.

Mark 9:33-37
They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.” He took a little child and had him stand among them. Taking him in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me does not welcome me but the one who sent me.”

The path to success in God’s kingdom is certainly not the path the world takes to gain success. Jesus reminds us today that greatness in God’s eyes is not being recognized as the one who saved most souls or being chosen the best in our service to God but it is instead helping people to remember God and not ourselves and serving him for his glory. This is totally contrary to success in this world where people commend us by the magnitude of our achievements, the significance of our wealth, the vastness of our reach and so on. We become a brand and success is measured by a recognizable yardstick.

In Christ, we are expected to serve him selflessly and he will reward us when we meet God face to face. Therefore, I need to be serving God as a child of God and not as Vineet because then it will be about me. My service to God is to share the good news of the gospel and point people to Christ. My joy should be to humble myself before man to show them what God’s love was, even as low as washing the feet of other men if that’s what it takes to show them God’s love. This is certainly not something most of us are willing to do and if we are, not something we will do publicly. At some point, we want recognition and some comforting of our own ego but that is where we are missing the point of the gospel. Christ came here on earth to serve us and to die on the cross for us which is our role model. I hope you are challenged to consider your service to God as joy and humility in our service as our way of showing his love to the world. Our reward is already given to us when we submitted our lives to Jesus’s authority.

In His Loving Service,
Vineet

God's Unspoken Beauty

Congratulations are in order to all that attended our clear of Obsidian Sanctum with three drakes up!  Toty was the lucky winner of the Reins of the Twilight Drake.  The encounter was cleared after only four or five attempts through the use of a zerging (rush) strategy.  A special shout out to the healers and the raid leader for making it happen. 

One of the key things about this strategy is that absolutely no DPS can die to flame walls or void zones.  A crucial moment is the first flame wall as the first void zone comes at nearly the same time.  Melee classes need to be especially cautious as the first void zone seemingly targets them first every time.  The void zone can be very difficult to spot in the midst of all the spell effects flashing on the screen.  As long as the healers can keep the main tank up and the DPS play flawlessly with their movements while maximizing their damage output, then this strategy is pure win.

This was a great decision for the guild to attempt this encounter.  The achievement earned for clearing this is a major accomplishment as it is one of the toughest fights in the game.  So kick back, relax, and enjoy the holiday week, Mythology.  Let the celebrations begin!

by Jing Villamil

In recognition of the exemplary effectiveness of its performance and capabilities as a Local Government Unit in terms of the developmental areas (economic, social environment and governance), Pozorrubio was again chosen as Provincial Champion for the Search for the Best Performing LGU based on Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) for CY 2009 by the Provincial Development Council chaired by Governor Amado Espino Jr.

This distinction is second time in a row for this eastern agricultural town of 73,000 population. While still a 2nd class municipality, it was awarded Best  Performing LGU-LGPMS of CY 2008 over all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class towns grouped together in the Municipal A category.   Now, it tops off its first year as a 1st class municipality by again garnering the same award in the same category.

Also for the second time, Pozorrubio represents Pangasinan in the RDC-DILG (Regional Development Council-Department of Internal and Local Government) Search for Region 1 Best LGU-LGPMS 2009. Last year, Pozorrubio ranked 2nd runner-up in Region 1.
Pozorrubio will face 3 other qualifiers from the 3 other provinces of Region 1: Naguilian of La Union, Tagudin of Ilocos Sur and San Nicolas of Ilocos Norte.
The Regional Search Committee (RSC) shall conduct validation visits November 23 – December 14.

by Jing Villamil

In recognition of the exemplary effectiveness of its performance and capabilities as a Local Government Unit in terms of the developmental areas (economic, social environment and governance), Pozorrubio was again chosen as Provincial Champion for the Search for the Best Performing LGU based on Local Governance Performance Management System (LGPMS) for CY 2009 by the Provincial Development Council chaired by Governor Amado Espino Jr.

This distinction is second time in a row for this eastern agricultural town of 73,000 population. While still a 2nd class municipality, it was awarded Best  Performing LGU-LGPMS of CY 2008 over all the 1st, 2nd and 3rd class towns grouped together in the Municipal A category.   Now, it tops off its first year as a 1st class municipality by again garnering the same award in the same category.

Also for the second time, Pozorrubio represents Pangasinan in the RDC-DILG (Regional Development Council-Department of Internal and Local Government) Search for Region 1 Best LGU-LGPMS 2009. Last year, Pozorrubio ranked 2nd runner-up in Region 1.
Pozorrubio will face 3 other qualifiers from the 3 other provinces of Region 1: Naguilian of La Union, Tagudin of Ilocos Sur and San Nicolas of Ilocos Norte.
The Regional Search Committee (RSC) shall conduct validation visits November 23 – December 14.

we’ve all heard the phrase: “i’ve got a lot of iron’s in the fire.” in my last blog it talked about focus being a central point of attraction, attention, and activity as one part of the definition of the word defines it. i think i must be fascinated by this word so much as i’ve witnessed it’s power and lack of power in my own life.

recently i began to take a little more stock in all of the iron’s i had in the fire, and realized that there have been so many in such a way that none of them could come to thrive. most of the time around this point in the year i begin to think about all of the things i want to accomplish in the next. this of course is a good thought as it is what sets our priorities out for the given time period. but usually for me it means more irons in the fire.

however, as i began to examine this it was as if what i noticed was not that i needed to plan to do more. rather, i needed to recognize that many things need not be done, so that a few could burn very bright. or at least have a chance too. often times being the free-spirit that i am i can get very excited about something and then become un-excited about it in a short time and want to go a different direction. part of this is in personality and part is simply a lack of discipline. yep, i said it. discipline!!!

when we know there is a goal that needs to be met be it in an area of fulfillment, family, finances, friendships, or whatever we know we are meant to be working towards in our lives, it becomes very important to examine other factors that stand in the way of our focus in these areas. no matter what challenges we may be facing there are always choices we must make in the midst of them to remain focused on those areas of importance in each season that we pass through.

even when it may not be fun, discipline to do something and stick with it often is the fuel that brings out the intensity of the fire to keep the irons that we’ve chosen hot. one area of focus may not be very fun, like a particular job we may be doing at the time. but when we see the bigger picture, that it is a means of fulfillment of part of our purpose to provide for our families, then discipline can be applied to it in greater measure.

not everything will be a blast at certain times. yet it is in these times that discipline must be applied to keep focus in an area we know deep down we are meant to, so that we achieve that which we ultimately are created to.

Kameron

After the long waiting, finally the dateline met its limit. I managed to maintain another blog to  take a part on a blog writing competition held by Pusat Bahasa, but organized by balaibahasabandung.web.id. The blog must focus on language or literature, and it has to be written in Indonesian. I named the blog bahasamania.blogspot.com. I keep maintain and updated the postings quite regulary, and there are more than 10o postings in it. I wrote some of them, noted/copied from other source, included quote of the day.

At the end of October, the announcement came up. My blog announced as the promising 1 winner from 383 participants. Alhamdulilah. From 6 of the winner, I am the only woman. Does it represents of the amount of blogger women in the cyber world? Maybe not. It might be just a number, anyway.

I got the prize, certain amount of money (in Indonesian currency, surely) plus a trophy. It is my first trophy ever. Really. I won some competitions before, but never get any trophy before. Medal, maybe. Certificate, surely. Prizes too. But this is my first trophy. I hope it will lead to other winnings, prizes, and trophies as well.

Their are times when we all believe that what we do dose not make a difference, no matter how hard we try…You can do things by the book, follow all the rules and know that it should work but the results don’t appear… You can follow all the good advice and still not make a difference…It just dose not make any sense !

We have just been through just such a satiation in our domestic cleaning business!…Getting hundreds of hits on the website… But the phone did not ring.  Flyer’s through doors … and nothing.  Increase our advertising…more like throw good cash away.  We even lost customers faster than ever before… Alarmed.  Oh Yes, but panicked.  Not a chance.  I knew that we where doing every thing right! everything except one thing…. Thinking in the right way !

I recognised what was happening almost immediately, as I have seen it so often,  it happens all around us, all the time, in every kind of business or in normal life…however I just sat back and set out to  provide guidance, advice and direction to the others, that was all.  I let them learn something…something I already know.

Change the way you think and you can change the world…As soon as they changed the way they thought,  our world changed.  The phone started ringing,  jobs started flowing in and in such quantity as to be disproportionate to our efforts.  Let me be honest with you, today we are getting a lot less visitors on the site, we are not putting out more flyer’s or adverts and are not losing customers, in fact quite the reverse…

It is a well known fact that if you do things differently you get a different result.  Shore we had been doing the right things, but we had not changed anything, except the way we thought about what we where doing and why! This is the only thing we have done differently and it made a difference and big difference.  Its not something you can measure or test. Its not something you can put your finger on… You just have to have faith.

Making a difference is about understanding that you are making a difference.  Its not not always easy but it is simple… Find a reason and just believe that what you are doing is important.  This alone will bring energy and value to your task.  What happens is that other people see or feel this energy and get excited by you and what you do, they feed on this energy and respond to it becoming enthusiastic themselves and the returns are disproportionate to your investment.

You can make a difference! Any one can!  It just take one thought to change the world and that has to start with you..!

In the name of Christ.

(I wish I could link you all back to the original post that the Christ line is from but Megs seems to have shut off her archives. /pout)

Just an average weekend for us in Shadow Rising.

Run a few heroics.

Do some dailies.

Kill a mother fucking dragon.

Note the snazzy new title?

I know, I know, we took forever to get around to doing it.

What’s hilarious is it looks like I’ve missed every other Sarth-with-drakes-up run with the guild.

Now that’s efficiency.

Screw getting each individual achievement one at a time and work my way up to 3 drakes.

Pfffft.

So how did it go down?

Egads, painfully.

The new guy (and I’m going to have to come up with something else to call him) volunteered to lead the raid.

I’ll be honest, I’ve been getting a little burnt out on organizing and leading just about every raid we do so I was more than happy to let someone else call the shots for an evening.

Not to mention, he’s done this on other toons and knows all the ins and outs to this achievement.

We were short having enough people logged in so grabbed a shaman out of LFG so we could have Bloodlust.

(That’s BLOODLUST, not heroism or whatever it’s called on the other side. BLOODLUST. RAWR.)

Grabbed a pally tank out of guild and plunked him down in front of the dragon.

The guy did great, for what he could do. Someone will be speaking with him shortly and walking him through why it’s best not to have all 71 points in the protection tree.

So after about an hour, the pally gives up.

We swap him out and have one of the DPS switch to his warrior tank and replaced the DPS spot with a guildmate that logged on.

Another hour goes by.

We’re swapping people around as they log in, but just can’t get a decent composition together and we’re stuck with this lame shaman.

The shaman wasn’t pulling in any DPS to be writing home about and *he* was the one complaining the DPS wasn’t high enough…

Boom!

Two guildmates log in.

Both have shamans.

Um, pug shaman guy?

Yeah, so we’ve been here two hours… think it’s just time to call it. But it was great of you to come out and fail with us.

/disband

/reform group with all SR members

Took another hour to get the tweaks in the method down pat and to get lucky breaks on the flame walls.

We were running a caster/melee split which was not making anything easier so it required even more effort to get the planets to align with the flame walls and void zones.

Oh, and we had to talk the holy pally into actually moving out of the way of flame walls so his bubble would be available to use in the bubble/divine sacrifice combo after the tank’s cooldowns were blown. L2 dodge flame walls. =P

Now, we’ve dropped bosses in the past.

And I’m sure that collectively, we’ve spent more than 3 hours on some bosses. (Hodir comes to mind…)

And when they die there is always the rush of “Yay! Dead boss! Lootz? What’s next?”

And then we just move on. No one lingers at the corpse. No one cheers.

But this one was different.

I’m hoping Icecrown is like this. That when we finally get a boss down we are so elated about it that the loot is forgotten until we’ve all gathered around for a photo. I hope our guild forums get filled with these.

Just in case anyone was curious, here’s the damage for the kill:

4 piece Tier 9 for DKs. Nerf it nao. kkthxbai

(Army of the dead was cheating, too.)

Loot is being handed out and it’s time for the drake roll.

One of the guys said when we started that he didn’t care about the drake.

I was a little surprised that he rolled on it.

He beat my 3.

(God my raid rolls suck, this is why I’m glad we are on loot council or I would NEVER get a drop.)

We asked him to show us the drake in Dal but he just logged off.

Then the next time he was on, he was saying how ugly it was.

If you win something that you know half the raid was drooling over after you state that you could care less about the item, don’t make disparaging remarks about said item. It takes that knife and twists it so slowly… “I have something that you wanted and I don’t even like it. Neener neener. I’m banging a supermodel but going to complain that her left tit is slightly larger than her right. Neener neener.”

I would have loved it and hugged it and called it George.

Sorry about that.

I’ve been staying up far too late in the nights past.

Anyhooo, on with the show!

As with every holiday, I produce my own guide even though everyone under the sun has also written one.

This is a completely optional holiday. For those of you after the violet proto-drake, this is NOT part of the meta.

Rewards are the title of Pilgrim and an awesome turkey pet. (Summon, build campfire, laugh – it’s hilarious.)

This holiday has two main parts – the bountiful tables and the cooking. Everyone can get the achievements for the tables, but you’ll need to level your cooking up to complete all the cooking bits. You will also need to be at least level 55 to get the instance kill.

Start the event by looking for commoners in any city, they will send you to Undercity. (In case you couldn’t guess, this will be a Horde-centric guide.)

Note on bountiful tables: The chairs at the table are labeled according to the food that is available from that spot on the table and function like vehicles. Your action bar will be possessed, just like when jousting. Button 1 will be your pass/throw button and the remaining buttons indicate the different foods. Any food available to you will be lit up.

Here’s the breakdown, achievement by achievement:

Easy as pie. Or throwing pie.

Sit in any chair at a bountiful table, target a player, press 1.

Interestingly, you cannot throw food at players of the opposing faction. I was rather disappointed about that.

Now move to each chair and do the same. If there are no players close enough to pelt with cranberries, you can target another chair at the table and pass the food to that space.

The next person to sit at that chair will have a serving of that food available as an option to eat as well as whatever the chair is for.

While at the table, eat 5 servings from each chair.

So get in a chair, throw something at someone or another chair, then eat 5 of whatever’s available.

Move to next chair, stuff your face.

Continue through all 5 chairs.

5 servings of each of the 5 foods gives you the Spirit of Sharing buff.

Rinse and repeat at all 4 capitals. Note – this is the only reason to visit Silvermoon during this event.

Whereas normally we get XP buffs form events (Midsummer pole dance), this one is a reputation gain buff.

Quick, go farm Lower City rep! Or am I the only one still working on those?

And just how many is “enough?”

40 fucking turkeys.

Actually, this really wasn’t that bad.

Wild turkeys are found in Tirisfal Glade (or Elwynn Forest if you want to go kill the Alliance turkeys) and are neutral critter types with 2 hit points.

When you kill one, there is a hilarious animation to turn it into a little roast turkey carcass and you loot a turkey from it. This is important, as you’ll need those turkeys for later – loot your turkeys!

You also get a buff upon the turkey’s demise that lasts for 30 seconds and is refreshed when the next wild turkey is slain. (This buff is NOT extended by killing Lonely Turkeys, more on that later.)

So you have to kill a turkey, then another turkey within 30 seconds. Until you have slain 40 turkeys.

At every 10 turkeys you get a new turkey killing “title” that does nothing.

Hints: Tracker snacks last an hour, but require level 70 to use. Or roll a hunter and use track beasts. Turkey population is denser the closer to Brill and UC you are, but there is more competition there as well. The area north of the eastern lake is completely devoid of turkeys, don’t end up there!

Go at low population times if you can, lots of “kill stealing” accusations around this one.

Ranged classes obviously have an advantage here. But… I was able to get 84 turkeys before the buff ran out on my priest who had to resort to running up to them and beating them with a stick. I got lots of skill points for staves.

Pretty self-explanatory.

When you visit any of the cities, there will be a vendor selling a cook book. Purchase the book and open it to get all the recipes you need.

The recipes range in cooking level from 1 to 280. Done properly, you can level your cooking from 1 to 300+ using just these recipes.

And get this, the vendors even have all the ingredients you’ll need with the exception of the turkeys.

Every vendor has the mats for Spice Bread (which you should have learned at cooking level 1 from the trainer and is the base for the stuffing), the Autumnal Spices, and the Honey.

The vendor in Orgrimmar has the berries for the Cranberry Chutney, in UC you get the pumpkins for the pie, and the cows in TB have the Sweet Potatoes.

As you visit each city, stock up on the unique ingredient from that city.

There are two quest series involved with the cooking.

The first is started when you turn in the quest from the commoner.You will be sent back and forth between the cities delivering 5 of each item to whichever city is running low on that item. This quest has two parts – you must cook the food and turn it in, so no purchasing cooked food from other players. The catch? It glitches sometimes. So if I’m in UC and cook the food that I turn in at Org, when I get to Org it would have “forgotten” that I cooked that food. To be safe, just get the mats and take them to the appropriate city and cook them there.

Completing the quest chain gives you a Turkey Caller. This is an item that summons a Lonely Turkey with a 2-minute cool down. The Lonely Turkey can be killed and looted for a wild turkey carcass to use for cooking, but does not count towards the Turkey Terminator kills. It can only be used outside.

The second set of quests is the dailies. Those will require 20 of each dish but does not require that you have been the one to cook them.

Note: Most of the items are considered to be conjured items and cannot be mailed or sold on the AH. They can be traded to other players.

Speaking of the dailies…

Bring 20 of the requested dish to different cities.

I didn’t really pay attention to what went where, terribly sorry.

But of course, the city that wants Cranberry Chutney will not be the city that has the berries. This is why you stock up on the unique ingredient every time you visit a city.

Being a mage rocked for this holiday. I was given 25 gold for a port from Org to TB. Cha-ching! (Hell yes I took it.)

The dailies give one of the following rewards every time they are completed:

• Chest piece: robe, attire or dress (these are all interchangeable as far as achievements are concerned, you will need one of them)
• Hat (you will need)
• Boots (useless)
• Turkey Shooter (you will need at least

Oh the joys of a PvP server.

I happened to be on right when the servers rolled over and started the event so I was at a bit of an advantage in terms of server population and awareness. There was also a server crash in the middle and I was one of the first ones back on.

You have to be wearing one of the chest pieces from the dailies, so either the robe, attire or dress.

I also stripped off my shoulders, gloves and belt as they just looked silly.

So wear one of the chest pieces, visit each city and sit at the table. You don’t even need to eat or throw food, just sit.

Unfortunately, you must be out of combat to sit. This gets a little tricky. You also cannot be mounted, be sure to dismount quickly.

If you die, try to res standing on a table. It makes it a little harder for people to get to you and you will be within range of 5 chairs.

• Darnassus – get to Rut’theran and ride through the pink portal. Keep going straight, around the tree bank and up the marble ramp. Just on the other side, to your left will be the tables. If you die, you will end up at the graveyard all the way out in Dolonaar, it’s a bit of a jog back.
• The Exodar – located by the main entrance. If you’ve ever done For the Horde, you probably went through the door closest to the docks. This is NOT where the tables are. The GY is at the northern end of the zone.
• Ironforge – all the way up the dirt road leading to the city, in a clearing to the right at the top. Didn’t die here, no clue where the GY is.
• Stormwind – Outside the city gates, on the north side of the road. GY is no longer out at the Eastvale Logging Camp, thank god. It’s now somewhere middle-ish of the zone.

This one is in Sethekk Halls (I think) out in Terokkar. It’s the one on the East side.

It can be done on normal or heroic. Normal requires level 55 to enter, heroic requires a key or rep or some stuff like that.

If you have a druid available, do it on Heroic and take a stab at getting Anzu.

You must be wearing the hat and your choice of chest piece from the dailies.

This one is probably the hardest of them all.

It will take you 2 days of dailies to get enough turkey shooters – they are one use items.

The turkey shooter has a cast time, so make sure your target isn’t rapidly fleeing from you.

The target is turned into a turkey, but loses no abilities. Turkeys casting fan of knives is pretty darn amusing.

Dwarf rogue was the tricky one on my server, rumor has it there are all of two of them.

To get that one, we resorted to some fancy mind vision tricks. I didn’t even know that mind vision could be chain cast like this, it was awesome.

I stood in the doorway of the Alliance inn in Dalaran. A friend cast Mind Vision on me, getting the bar keeper across the room in line of sight. He jumped the vision to that NPC and looked around the room.

Tucked in the corner where I couldn’t see him, was a dwarf rogue. He jumped the vision to him and I was able to assist target and nailed the sucker with the Turkey Shooter. I’m guessing true LoS isn’t very important with this one.

Then we promptly informed the local chat channel of the name and location of said dwarf rogue. Tee hee.

If a rogue is already under the effects of the turkey buff, hitting them with it will not give you credit. And the buff lasts for an hour unless they click it off.

So that’s how to get the Pilgrim’s Bounty done. I’ll leave you with silly turkey pictures.

That’s my hubby’s rogue driving the bike. We think the passenger glitch may be related to the fact that the machine is being operated by poultry.

First off, I have to apologise for the lateness of this post. It’s been busy; with all my reading week assignments due in and laptop failures to top it off nicely. I’ve left the “big one” hanging for a week now, completely unintentionally. Hoping not to disappoint, here we go:

Homophonic: one of DCUfm’s newest shows; currently the only show on the station catering for an LGBT audience. This show is James’ brainchild and I’ll be producing it for him for the last few weeks of the semester. Our first show was 9:00 to 10:00 Monday the 16th and we’d like to think it came across well.

The Lineup:

• Introduced the Show with “Spandex Man” by Mr. Scruff (a song used in Spaced)
• Paper Planes by M.I.A
• Gay community news (including celebrity gossip and the Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon)
• Groove Is In The Heart by Dee-Lite
• Events, nights out things for the LGBT community to get involved with.
• Take Your Mama by The Scissor Sisters
• Snack review and giveaway: this week’s snack was some ginger root sweets from the Oriental Emporium.
• Praise You by Fatboy Slim
• Interview: James’ interview with MarriagEquality
• Take On Me by Aha

Credit where credit is due: thanks to Diarmuid Hayes for being our first guest co-host.

Not gay (but supportive)

There’s a quite an unexplainable thrill that comes from working a live studio mixing desk, having a sense of control and power over the show (when it goes right). Its similar to my first love of  editing, because while the raw content has to be good, the editing (or the mixing) has to be better. It comes down to the editor(or producer) to take the raw content and mould it into the final product.

Anyway, I got through the hour without any major malfunctions, pulling up and down the levels at the right times, me and James cueing off each other nicely. James was great too, nervous at first but expertly finding his feet as we went along; new territory for both of us and another…

(BLEEP-BLOOP)

…achievement unlocked!

Listen to HOMOPHONIC:  Monday nights 9:00 to 10:00. Also listen any time for quality student radio shows such as FINAL CUT: Wednesdays 8:00 to 9:00.

(Photo: stopnlook)

(Originally posted as a series November 16 -20, 2009 on The Blog of Jason Christensen – “Your Life as a Remote User”)

Times are tough right now. Raises are not being doled out, salary’s are being cut, 401K’s are not being matched, people are loosing their jobs…morale is low. Many managers may not be concerned if their remaining employees are unhappy; where do they think they are going to go in this economic environment? Don’t be short sighted; employees who are not happy are looking elsewhere and when the climate turns many will abandon ship. Now is the time to keep your employees exhilarated!

“So what can you do to motivate a team and create loyal employees when morale is low?”

—————————————————————————————————————————————————
In this economy it’s imperative employers concentrate on non-monetary motivating factors by:

1. Taking a genuine interest in people
2. Keeping an open line of communication
3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role
4. Bestowing recognition on your team
5. Cultivating career development plans

 

—————————————————————————————————————————————————

1. Take a genuine interest in people.

When times get tough people band together; they take a bona fide interest in one another.

• Find out what is going on in the life of your team members
• What is important to them right now
• Let them know you understand
• Do what you can to help them
• Offer advice if they are looking for it

Try making a mental list of everyone you may encounter today; think of what they are working on or what they have going on in their life and try to relate to them. People appreciate it when you take an interest in their lives. It will increase morale, let people know you care and help them realize they are not just another number in the corporate books.

Remote Note:

When your team is remote and you do not see them face-to-face this can be especially challenging. Take the time to work with each of them personally. Be sure to contact them weekly even if it is just to touch base. A one-on-one call will let them know you are thinking of them and will be there help should anything come up.

Keep in mind; this may be something you have to ease into if you have not shown an interest in the past; otherwise they may think you are prying and become suspicious. So take it slow, work to re-develop those relationships and with any luck it will lead to a motivated team, stronger group bond, greater retention rates, and increased team morale.

Think of others first, show interest in their lives, offer a helping hand.

2. Keeping an open line of communication.

An open door policy sends a message to your coworkers you are approachable, willing to listen and discuss issues as they come up. An open line of communication also acquaints you with your team in order to know what is important to them. If you are familiar with their goals and desires, you will be able to lead them more effectively grooming them for the next steps they wish to achieve. Without and open line of communication you are leading them blindly and will not get the synergies needed to achieve your goals.

• Ask employees for their ideas
• Be a good listener
• Take notes
• Work to find ways to incorporate their ideas into the corporate vision

You may be surprised at the good points of information they will provide to you. And when you do use their ideas and the employees see them in action you will be surprised by their loyalty to you and the company.

Don’t forget, communication is a two way street. People feel important when they know what is going on with their company. They feel a sense of power when they are “in-the-know” on breaking news. Reach out to your staff when there is news to be shared, organize your thoughts and convey a clear, concise, informational message without breaching company confidentiality.

Remote Note:

It can be tough to have a so called “open door” when you lead a team of remote users. Here are some tips to help:

• Always take their calls or return their calls as soon as you are available.
• If you only have a moment, let them know and schedule a definitive time to speak with them further.
• Hold weekly conference calls to allow for corporate communications, success and improvement stories as well as an open forum for issues affecting the team.

Keep an open line of communication, be a good listener and make them feel important.

3. Helping people to understand the importance of their role.

People like to feel needed, so helping people understand their contribution to the corporation and showing them their efforts DO make a difference will increase their morale. It is important for people to understand how each gear turns to keep the machine operating effectively. They need to understand the part they play in the overall corporate structure and the flow of the business.

Take a particular function in your business as an example:

• Where was it generated what is the intended outcome?
• What path had the process taken before it reached your team?
• Where did it go afterward?
• What was the result and how did it contribute to the goals of the company?

It is important to illustrate this so people understand their role is not idle and without function.

Another way to generate a feeling of contribution to the company is to delegate authority. Delegate authority by:

• Encouraging people to take on additional responsibilities
• Aligning them with the company goals
• Letting them take ownership of certain processes.

This increase in leadership responsibilities will build the bench strength of your team and increase fellowship amongst employees. Furthermore take the time to publicly recognize them and convey how their initiatives helped the company and/or the customer. Better yet invite the customer to take the time to provide a public testimonial of the employees efforts. This kind of respect in a timely manner will go a long way with your team.

Remote Note:

When your team is part of a remote workforce it can be especially challenging for them to understand the role they play in the company and the path processes take from inception to fruition. By illustrating to your team the route a business process takes whether it is through a slide presentation or work flow chart it helps them understand the function of their position and how they can affect the overall process.

In addition, it is important for the remote work force to understand the appropriate contacts for varied situations they encounter in their day to day. This will help them know where to go for answers when a problem arises.

Help your team to understand their overall role in the company and build bench strength through delegation.

4. Bestowing recognition on your team.

Expendable funds are minimal, but how do you recognize your team for a job well done? One of the best ways is to allow your employees a greater stake in the company. By offering your team options in the organization it generates a deeper interest in helping the company to succeed. The closer the ties, the more loyal they will be and the more desire they will have to look out for the best interest of the company.

A lesser option is to provide them with a gift they would not otherwise spend their own money to purchase. In better times companies had gift catalogs allowing the staff to pick from a selection of nice items. In today’s climate a more resonable token may be company logo merchandise. It allows the employee to boast his affiliation with a nice corporate logo while at a minimal cost to the company.

Let’s face it, people enjoy recognition, but the timing and context have to be right. Be sure to:

• Convey praise immediately with much encouragement
• Tie the recognition to the team goals and make it part of your repertoire
• Have recognition provided by an officer of the company, this is often times worth more than a material token
• Award people based on measurable goals

An award is good, but bragging rights are better!

Remote Note:

With a team of remote users it can be difficult to publicly recognize a job well done. A great vehicle for recognizing a team member is through a weekly newsletter. Create a short article touting the wonderful job they did and if you can get a customer testimonial it makes the achievement all the better. There is nothing like being able to show others your achievements right there in print.

Another great method is on your weekly team call where their colleagues can applaud them in person. It is always nice to have a quick pat on the back for a job well done.

What a terrific way to spark a friendly internal competition for your team members in order to vie for that top spot.

Awards and recognition generate loyalty and elevate morale.

5. Cultivating career development plans.

One of the worst feelings as an employee is not knowing where you are going with your employer. Take time with the individuals on your team and sit down with them to develop a clear career path showing them the next steps they can take based on their achievements. A great time to cover this is during biannual performance reviews. Take this time to provide constructive feedback AND discuss with them what they can do to grow with the company. Find out what you can do to help each of your team members advance and work to make it happen. Not only will it help them, but as management sees future leaders continually being produced from your staff it lets them know the value you offer to the company.

Develop your team using:

• Books and short articles on related topics
• Online Courses
• Out of office training workshops or seminars

When people are excused from their regular duties for a short period of time to participate in these type of events, it makes make them feel important amongst the crowd.

Out of sight out of mind.

Remote Note:
When you manage a remote team it is challenging to enhance the visibility of the work your team does. Often their achievements get overlooked by people who work in the office since they do not see your team members regularly. This can make it difficult for members of your team to exceed in the workplace and continually grow with the company. It is important to create campaigns to tout the accomplishments of your team. It could be through a company newsletter or possibly a weekly email stating the highlights of the week. Be creative and find a method which fits your corporate structure.

Take time with your team to make sure you understand what their goals are with the company and help them to develop and achieve those goals.

Keep your team on board! Think of others first by conveying an interest in their lives, talking with them frequently, letting them know they are doing a good job and you appreciate their contributions, then help them to develop in their careers. With any luck it will lead to a motivated team, stronger group bond, greater retention rates, and increased team morale.

When you plan for success, do you really plan for success or do you think about all the things that could go wrong, all the stupid mistakes you could make and the negativity that could crop up, and try to work out ways to avoid them?

self help