Heh. It’s been awhile hasn’t it. Combination of lack of wireless on top of being very busy has kept me away the past few weeks.

It’s been a great experience being here. I feel so fortunate to not only have the opportunity to have this experience but be able to learn from so many experiences I couldn’t even have imagined having.

This post isn’t about that though. It’s about the realization that in the past year or so I have truly found myself some amazing friends. Sometimes you don’t realize how luck you are immediately. I’ve always known that I have some truly special people in my life but lately it’s really shown through.

Even with technology it’s hard to keep up with friends. I know this because I’ve been there and I’ve been guilty of doing it. Your life just gets busy and if you aren’t reminded you don’t often think to call someone or send them a message.

My friends are awesome though. Especially the past few days. I can’t tell you how much it means to get little emails that someone’s thinking of me, an @ reply on twitter, or a message on facebook asking me how I’m doing; letting me know someone’s anxious for me to come home (and meaning it).

It’s not only my friends back stateside either. Friends that I have made while I’m here have been the same way, and it’s very genuine. It’s the small things that keep me going here… and also make me want to come home. They are what make me bust out laughing for 20 minutes at a time (like I did most of today) and what make me shed bittersweet tears for what I am missing back home. They are what make me realize there are people in my life I should’ve had more contact with while I was back home.. and that I shouldn’t be shy in my love life anymore.. there may be someone I need to ask out when I arrive back safe and sound.

I want to let you know that I truly love and appreciate all of you. Those who have worried about me when I haven’t been around for a few days at a time. Those who have sent me little cards and care packages… you don’t know how much a letter means when you’re here. Those who have even called me or IM’ed me to check on me. Those who help motivate me to do all I can while I’m here and try to make a difference for myself and others.  Those who are okay with me being myself. Those that help give me a sense of normalcy over here. Those who are there when I need someone to vent with…. and those who know that sometimes I need to cry.. and are okay with that.

You know who you are. If you are back in the states, I cannot wait to see you once more. If we met while I’m deployed, I hope we have the chance to keep in touch and meet once again when we are all home safe and sound with our families and friends.

Maintaining long distance friendships can be hard. I’ve moved around a lot so I have friends in several places. Most of my long distance friendships are back in the midwest where I have a 2-3 hour time difference depending on the time of year and one is overseas. They are great friendships. They weren’t ended because I moved to a new location, but they have the chance of becoming lost.

There are a few factors against me that cause issues:

• Time difference
• Busy & hectic schedule
• I typically am not a fan of talking on the phone

I have several ways to update people on what’s going on in my life such as twitter, facebook, and this here super awesome blog of mine. I feel bad though that it’s becoming a replacement for actual communication and conversation. That I’m missing out on what’s going on in everyone’s lives. I don’t want my friendships to be geographically based, but it’s really hard when the only time I have to talk is when the other is in bed and vice versa.

Does anyone else have an issue like this? If so, how do you resolve it. What do you do to make sure that you have normal contact with your friends?

I’m back from Interaction 09. Well, technically I was back on Monday evening, but I am pretty sure my brain is still in customs somewhere in YVR.

I am slowly digesting all the amazing conversations I had and ideas I took in and everything I learned. I will have more detailed posts about those soon, I swear.

Until then, here’s a lighthearted list of things I learned while I was at Interaction:

• I can be away from Twitter for more than a few hours, but it has severe side affects.
• The Surface can do some cool shit!
• Nutella and banana crepes should be served at every establishment in the US.
• I’m more awesome and hotter than expected.
• Denise and I shoe shopping together can be dangerous, especially for Mario.
• Sleep is not necessary. Caffeine solves this issue.
• Seeing girls dressed as gifts (boxes) and grocery bags isn’t so out of the ordinary.
• There are some places where bars close at midnight.
• You are never done learning.
• There are always amazing friendships to be made.
• I’m not the only person that can quote Anchorman and Zoolander.
• I need a smaller laptop for traveling.
• Argyle makes quite the statement.
• Always choose the hotel that has starbucks in your room.
• Sometimes you need to skip a session to power nap, and that’s okay.
• Active participation is encouraged.
• You can never have too many 1974 maps of Vermont.
• Poutine is one of my favorite parts of Canada.

I’ve been spending a lot of time since I have been back from Vancouver thinking about what I could possibly write about Interaction 09 and all that I learned and experienced while I was there. I have realized that it was about so much more than the education on techniques, processes, and deliverables that were shared in workshops, lightning rounds, and keynotes; it was also about friendship.

There is no way for me to completely describe how amazing the experience was from a personal level. Up until Interaction, I had never met any of the people that were attending face to face. Thanks to Crowdvine I was able to begin tracking the people that I wanted to meet. There were people that I had conversed with through volunteering for the IxDA via email and phone. There were some that I had found through the lovely IxD twitter crowd, and there were some I was just plain a fan of. Not only did I end up meeting nearly all the people I had aimed to (Christian, I promise next time we are doing coffee or something), but I met so many more that I admired and those I had never been aware of until the conference started.

I made some great professional connections, but even more than that, made truly mind-blowing friendships; friendships that are truly real and extremely overwhelming, to the point of being emotional. Being around so many talented minds was truly inspirational.

However, as with anything else, I also learned that some relationships end up being one sided. Sometimes these relationships can appear to be fantastic, but when evaluated, it’s learned that you are the one putting all the effort into the relationship and making it work. Not much is being returned to you. While this does have to be done on occasion especially when learning a new craft or skill, I feel that mentors and other role-models should play a more active role in those relationships. It made me start to evaluate who I interact with on a daily basis through mediums such as Facebook, Twitter, and email.

And now, a list of people that I found truly awesome at Interaction, that I hope to continue to learn from and build better friendships with.

If I am following you on twitter (and even if I’m not), chances are very good I want to keep in touch. My account is locked, but please request a follow. My id is @toniambartz

• Mario – I cannot even begin to describe how truly energizing it is to even be around you. You are so inspiring and great to be around. Hell you completely threw me off my rocker and flattered me when you said I was an amazing person. You’re always in a good mood and constantly trying to make sure everyone else is having a good time.
• Denise – Super awesome woman!! We didn’t get to see a lot of each other (and I’m always told I’m the social butterfly), but hopefully that won’t happen again.
• Matt – I enjoyed meeting you. It was great to hear about all the awesome things that Toronto’s IxDA group is doing and to have some good IxD conversations as well.
• Liz – It was so awesome to finally meet you and be able to have discussions about IxDA, the profession in general and just get to hang out. I look forward to helping out more with the organization.
• Dante – What a great and innovative session you led at the conference. Not to mention you are fun to hang out with. And hey, anyone that thinks I’m awesome is a friend of mine. I hope we keep in touch.
• Eric (kink.com guy) – It was determined we are tied for the best business cards right? Rock out.
• Will – It was great to get to hang out with you, and no, not just because you had the kick ass suite. Maybe it was because we stalked each other haha. Hope we keep in touch, and hopefully will be at another conference together at some point!
• Whitney – Any friend of Mario’s has got to be phenomenal. It was nice to meet another down to earth woman around my age that is passionate about her career.
• Nasir – Glad to have had the chance to spend time with you and discuss the organization as well as hear your ideas for local groups. Next time I will be at karaoke for sure!
• Shaun – I cannot believe it took us until the last day of Interaction to meet. Thank you so much for all your help before the conference in regards to local groups and I hope to continue sharing that knowledge in the future.
• Angel – Loved getting to meet you finally. Any friend of Colleen’s is a friend of mine. Thank you for all of your help and support with starting up a local group.

If I left your name out I truly apologize. There was no way I was going to be able to write about everyone tonight – I would never get to sleep. I want to keep the friendships and conversation going.

Pics of my adventure are scattered both on Flickr and Facebook