Also I found out a little better where I am. I´m next to the border of nowhere just west of Mercedes and near the Black River.

This week I worked with a missionary from Chile. It was cool. I liked seeing a different area and how someone else works. The areas are very different and it was a nice change. I really like my companion though and glad I don’t have to speak Spanish all the time.

Our water where we live started working this week which was pretty cool. Before that, the shower worked and nothing else which made cooking and cleaning kind of a pain. We had our first meal prepared by a Uruguayan this week too. We were invited to dinner with some Church members here. It was good but I couldn’t finish it all and felt bad about that. They gave us a ton of rolls, these huge plates of this spaghetti stuff, and then 2 slices of chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I don’t eat chocolate cake or chocolate frosting, but I did then. It was good anyways and nice to not have to cook.

A guy on the corner of our street has a giant rat thing, and it’s awesome. I think they’re called carpinchas. I also saw some old lady walking down the street with an ax but I think I missed my chance of getting a picture of that.

I remember before I left that everyone told me that the mission would be the best 2 years of my life. Some were kind enough to also warn me that it would be the toughest 2 years as well. I’ve come to realize the mission is a lot better then anyone said and also a lot tougher then anyone said. I love it and keep moving forward.

Everything has been absolutely awesome!! My companions are really cool, I’m learning a ton, my Spanish is getting pretty good, and the food here is great!

This week and last week I’ve been trying to run and get back in shape. I’ve played soccer for the past 11 years but haven’t played in a while. On Tuesday I played and it was waaaaay fun!! One kid kicked me straight in the shin which has left me with a pretty cool lookin bruise but he flipped and hurt his back so it was worth it

The next day I played again but I think I pulled my achilles or some muscle in my heel. Maybe it was just because I haven’t ran that hard in a while. Either way, my achilles felt like someone had taken a hammer to it. No fun, but I played again anyways.

I know my blogging has been fairly sporadic but I hope you stick around.

I had planned to redesign the site before I left but I didn’t have time to slice it up and turn it into a theme so this will have to do. The current design is really simple and works so I don’t mind leaving it how it is.

Well… nothin else to say except thanks. I ♥ you guys and I’ll see ya in 2 years!

Random Shapes is 15 months old. It has gone from 7 members to 70. I’m extremely happy with how it has turned out and where it is heading. But I hate letting it go.

I hate letting it go partly because I’m leaving it extremely unfinished. Random Shapes is all about bringing together awesome teens. In the next version of the site we will be really focusing on that. I’m glad I was able to give my input and help with parts of the site but I won’t be here to see it completed. I hate that.

I have spent thousands of hours working on Random Shapes and in return I’ve made $53.12. Obviously, Random Shapes has never been about the money. It’s about the people and I hope that never changes.

Random Shapes, I’m sorry for leaving you unfinished. I’m sorry I didn’t get to know the people better and I’m sorry I didn’t spend more time on you.

In the next 2 years I have high expectations for Random Shapes. When I get back there will be hundreds of members. What happens as a result of the community has been and will continue to be the most impressive part of the network and I look forward to seeing how the site has progressed.

Random Shapes, thank you and goodbye.

Global Alerts is “the leading Cause Media company since 1991″ and it’s where I’ve been spending a lot of my time the past 6 months. They’re the guys that run earth911.org, pets911.com, and amberalert.com. They have a little over 20 employees (I’m probably guessing too low) and they’re constantly adding more members to the team. All the sites do some really cool stuff (just ask Oprah) and it was an incredible experience working there.

At Global Alerts I worked as a “web developer” meaning I did web design, CSS, and some WordPress stuff. It was nothing like what I was used to. My clients had always been small businesses, bloggers, web design agencies or entrepreneurs who just needed a small site that would get the job done. Every day I knew what needed to be done. I worked on my own and everything was my fault, good or bad.

At Global Alerts I was no longer working on small websites. I wasn’t working on my own and some days I had no idea what I would be working on. I was part of a team and we worked on pretty big sites that try to help save the environment, pets, and kids. I was still just working on a website but it was nice to know that my work was going towards a good cause.

At Global Alerts I learned a lot about business. Currently, it’s a small company and so I got to meet everyone. I got to see how the company worked with other really big companies. I got to see how things were done, how decisions were made, how they worked with the larger companies, how people dealt with problems and how people dealt with other employees. I got to be part of discussions with the CEO and VP (even though they’re both a bit crazy… in a good way ) and I was able to learn a lot from everyone.

At Global Alerts I learned what it’s like to work with a team. I learned that this team is not at all like a sports team (no matter how many baseball analogies you hear). It’s still a team but it’s much different. I’ve seen how a lot of other web teams have worked (although not as an employee) and none of them are the same, not even close. I liked the team I was on and when I get back they’re the first people I’ll look up. In the next 2 years they’re gonna do some amazing stuff and I had an awesome time working with them. The sites haven’t changed much now but they’re gonna be incredible when I get back.

Lastly, at Global Alerts I had an awesome experience. Today I was asked if I had any complaints and truthfully the only thing I could think of was the 30 minute drive to work. It was an awesome place to work and I enjoyed my stay. But at Global Alerts I also learned that I’m a terrible employee. Even though I learned a lot. Even though I got to work with an awesome team. I don’t think it’s what I want to be doing. I like working on my own and when I get back I’d like to start my own business. I’m extremely grateful for the chance I had to work there, but I don’t think it’s for me.

Global Alerts and especially Jason (for hiring me), thanks.

Maybe it’s just me but I think the reboot has lost its excitement. There were a few good redesigns this time around but not like what we’ve seen in the past. I’m afraid its become just another way to get a few extra visitors.

Many of the sites don’t even validate. I understand that’s not the most important thing in the world anymore but isn’t that the point of the reboot?

What do you think? Did you reboot?

WordPress likes getting feedback.

My favorite part of their website is the Kvetch page. They get feedback the right way by asking their users “what really ticks you off,” not how can we be better.

Along with that they also have an active Ideas forum, IRC channel, a support forum and a support contact form. They even have an obvious “Feedback” tab on the admin panel for the nearly 1 million wordpress.com users.

Needless to say I think WordPress gets tons of feedback and they use that feedback to build a better product. A product that they know their users will love. Why will they love it? Because their users told them.

Users who love your website will be more then happy to tell you what they hate about it. Believe it or not, your site isn’t perfect.

Your goal as a web designer or site owner is to give your users an awesome experience. So when a user tells you what they did or did not like about your website, listen!

Ask people what they hate the most about your site, not what they think. You’ll get better feedback. Don’t ask how could it be better, ask what it is they hate and improve that first.

I asked the Random Shapes members what they hated the most about Random Shapes and the feedback was incredible! By far the best feedback I’ve had about the site.

Ask your users what they hate and let me know how it turns out.

Lately I’ve also missed out on blogging. I make excuses like “I’m busy” or “I’ll do it later” and it never happens. I write what’s on my mind, save it for later and then delete it. In reality I’ve written a lot lately I just haven’t shared it. I’ve been holding back, censoring what I post and I don’t know why. After all, this blog is what opened up so many opportunities for me and so it only makes sense that I write more often, for the opportunities.

The opportunities looking for me have had to look harder lately, and many that have found me have been turned down.

Be easy to find. It’s better to turn down a good opportunity then to never have it.