I'm late to the gate with these acknowledgments of friends doing amazing things, but it's the thought that counts, right?
Someone once said to Dia something along the lines of "you are the average of your friends" and that seem right. It may also explain why I get so excited when people I know and love go and do things that are bold, cool, and amazing--they're raising my average! ;-)
What they are also doing is making me thankful that I'm surrounded by smart, beautiful, compassionate people. The latest hat trick of groovy new doings:
- Having seen him in action in front of a class of semi-conscious college students, I feel confident in stating that Phil is a master at harnessing the enthusiam and energy of young'uns to think and do good work. His latest accomplishment is CampaignAudit.org and most notably the recently published white paper analyzing the '04 election results wherein his team of student-researchers identified several races where the margin of error exceeded the margin of victory. (Like our gubernatorial race here in Washington state).
- George is moving to Rwanda. A little over a year ago, George was working at Microsoft and I met him shortly after he'd left the Borg from Redmond. He owns a comfy pad in Belltown and has his share of geek toys, but he felt the pull to make a difference and has spent the past year working toward a gig that would allow him to use his geek skills to help people in Africa. Specifically, to help people in Africa better their situation through the appropriate and useful application of technology. He's pulled it off.
- A little known fact is that Dia and I have an excellent track record as matchmakers (we're two for two!). We can't take credit for the fabulousness of Sara and Trevor, but we will puff out our chests over the fact that we know two people who, having already dislocated themselves by moving to San Diego are now wrapping up their affairs in the USofA and will shortly be moving to Denmark. They're plunging into a brand new world where Trevor will assume a professorship at the the University of Copenhagen and Sara will be applying her considerable talents and training to help refugees, or maybe become a tatoo artist. I sit in awe.
And that wraps up this edition of My Friends Are Amazing.
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