grieves05

The journey begins as three warriors cross paths...

Just returned from an outstanding trip to Captiva Island. Twas a fun weekend with the family, but not long enough to really settle in or relax much. Southwest Florida is beautiful. At certain times of year, the water is crystal clear and blue-green like the Caribbean.



The best part of our trip was a tour out on the water. Usually we just sit around the South Seas resort playing cards, eating lots of food and hanging by the pool. But this trip we sucked it up on the costs and took a chartered tour out to some of the islands that are only accessible by boat.  We found this little guy on our trip. He caught a bad case of red tide and didn't make it, but we armed him with a fierce protective battle fort for his next life. Red tide is a serious problem in South Florida and one of the main killers of my favorite animal, the manatee. There were several big fish on shore that also were wiped out by the red tide plague this week, but I figured I'd spare you those pictures.

One of my best friends suffered some big losses this week and it got me to thinking...if I had donated to a charity to support causes that worked toward a cure for the diseases that just stole loved ones from her life...would it have made much of a difference? I'd like to think so, but how do you know what to give and how much? Do you offer your time, your money? Do you donate blood or an organ?

There are so many things that impact people...

So, let's say I have some extra cash or time to donate to any cause of my choice...can I ever really make enough of a difference if I spread it all out? Or should I focus on just one thing at a time? From cancer to poverty to educating the youth of the world to animal rights to violence to saving the planet to hunger there are so many causes to support and it's a lot to get your head around.

Well, suffice to say, this is my deep thought of the day and I won't dwell on it too hard, but maybe you have an opinion. I'll throw up a poll...what would you focus on if you had to pick only one cause to support?

I'm heading out of the office early today to help her out. Perhaps time is the best thing I can donate right now.

PS I just realized that one can't possibly fit all causes in a single poll..."Other"

I'm a logical thinker and for the most part a calculated risk taker when it comes to my personal life (except that I kind of drive like a maniac).

At work; however, I have always enjoyed an environment where cutting edge levels of creativity are encouraged. The idea of pushing the bounds of what's been done to flip it upside down is exciting and necessary to really keep things interesting.  My last company for example was an early champion of online selling in the luxury world. Many of their competitors were avoiding any kind of online shop for their fans.  When we launched our full design, it was a very new layout concept that was fresh, clean and inviting - not stuffy, expensive and intimidating.

Here at dA we're working on ton of super cool stuff right now for the retail department that I know everyone is going to lurve (that's how celine dion says "love").  It's great to have support from everyone at the company too.

Obviously, people are inspired on deviantART each day by the contributions of this amazing community. But what inspires you the most? And what changes would you work on at your job if you could inspire your managers?