Holy smokes. It's been 5 years since we started TIG. A lot has happened in that time. A LOT! It all started in Jen's basement, with Mike, Martin, Aaron, Vittoria, Jen, Jarra, Andy, Myself, and occasionally various members of Jen's family :) We'd work on ideas about what TIG should and shouldn't be. We'd sit for hours typing stuff into the databases of opportunities, and events (although Vittoria did a lot of it herself).

What did *I* do at TIG? Mostly I was an ideas guy. I tried to come up with new features, and to keep the organization focussed on what it was, exactly, that we wanted to be doing. I pushed for us to have an 'elevator pitch', which is just a short way of telling someone what the organization did, in a very easy to understand way. I communicated with many members (Alex Stanley, Alexis, Taikod, and many more). I learned how to have fun again.

I made The Workshop Kit, which I understand more than 5000 of you have downloaded! w00t!

I helped hire Maria Lanza and Vanessa Currie who were/are both awesome! I believe Maria is now teaching sign language, and Vanessa is on the coast of India doing tsunami relief work.

I also got us funding to visit the TIG Slovakia office, in Kremnica, Slovakia, which was operated by Maya Lackova and Petra Machacova.

It was my first time overseas, and the trip of a lifetime. Thanks to Georg & Branislav, we spoke at a conference called "Global Networks" in Bratislava, promoting TIG and "Hope Networks", which is essentially what TIG has always been.

I actually blogged all about the trip on this very blog, which at the time was called an "Update", because blogging hadn't been invented yet. Incidentally, TIG Updates was half my idea and half Mike's idea. I proposed a tool that would allow users to post their thoughts and pictures, so that we (the 5 or 6 official TIG employees) could better keep up with what our members were doing. Mike had the awesome idea of making those posts public instead of having them only available to TIG Staff. Peanut butter + Jelly = Awesome :)

Anyway, I'm ranting...

At TIG we always tried to think of ways to connect with one another, across the world, and without spending much money -- because we didn't have any. Part of our mantra in those early days was "You don't need money to create something worthwhile".

Unfortunately for me, I did need money to pay my rent, and to start paying off my student loans. Consequently, I had to leave my job at TIG after just a year and a half. I'm glad that I was there for that time, though. It was one of the best times of my life. I met so many great people! TIG is a magnet for great people, like you!

Luckily for me, I didn't give up my dream of changing the world, or helping make it better, when I left TIG -- and believe you me, TIG has been with me every step of the way.

After my fulltime work at TIG, I became an instructor of web development at Humber College, where I got to influence over a thousand young people. I told them all about TIG. I know that some of them joined, and a few of my students even got super involved in TIG! I was super happy about that, and still am.

After Humber I worked for myself for a bit, doing freelance web development... It wasn't very fulfilling though, so when I got the chance to do a 6 month contract with Human Rights Internet through NetCorps, I jumped at the chance!

They sent me to Croatia!

Guess what I did as soon as I got to Croatia? I logged on to TIG and found Croatia's Most Active TIG Member, at the time. Her name was Irena Curin, and the pic attached to this post is of us at the Bosko Petrovic Jazz (Djez) Club near the main square (trg) in Zagreb, the capitol of Croatia. We got to be great friends while I was there, and spent many an evening drinking coffee and talking about the position of youth in the world.

My time in Croatia was THE best time I've ever had.

I'm so thankful for all the people there who made my stay enjoyable (Irena Curin, Dinko Cindric, Emina, Cvijeta, Danijela Babic, Tanja Rukavina, Darko Ljubic, Sandra Oskorus, Marko Strpic, Igor, Vesna, Branimir Sloser, Sonnet, The Rachels, Cassie, everyone at Mama Club, and many more).

When I got back from Croatia, the first thing I did was visit the new TIG office, just to say hello. Happily, I arrived just as Mike and Jen were announcing their engagement. What great timing! I was so happy to have been there for that.

Then I got a job doing web development downtown. Lucky me. Then I went to 4 of my best friends weddings. Then I broke my ankle and both bones in my lower right leg. Then I joined a choir, started taking boxing lessons, and learning guitar. Then my grandfather died.

Somewhere in those past 4 years I also dated a few lovely girls/women, and they know who they are.

That pretty much brings us up to date.
I'm still in physio therapy for my leg, which is coming along nicely. I enjoy being able to walk again, even though I now have a bit of a limp. Walking is awesome. I love walking (now I do -- before it was just kind of ok).

I'm sure the future holds a lot of cool stuff for all of us, so into the future we go!

Long Live TIG!