Remembering Steve

The first time I remember seeing an Apple computer was when I was in high school in the early 90s. They were in the graphic design department at a local university. I remember thinking, "I'll need to learn how to use one of those some day." Little did I know that it would become my every day.

When I was a flight attendant, over 10 years ago, my mom bought an iMac - the one with the round footprint and the monitor that swivels in all directions. She bought it because it looked cool, and, of course, she bought the "floor model" with all the best of everything in it. Since she was older, though, she found it hard to use. She was used to a PC. So, the really cool looking iMac just sat there.

One day, I took a trip home and began playing on this really cool iMac. I didn't think twice about how to use. I loved all of the apps. I loved the photo gallery. I loved that I could make movies and DVDs. My Mom loved that I loved it. So, she asked, "Do you want to take the really cool iMac home with you? Oh, and it came with this thing called an iPod. It's for music." It was an offer I was pleasantly stunned by, but definitely not one which I could refuse.

I began classes for web graphic design at the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. I loaded that year's Adobe Creative Suite for web designers on to the iMac. I found every CD I owned, added the songs to iTunes and then synced them to the first generation iPod. I remember sitting on my jump seat at the back of a 737-400 listening to my music, and other flight attendants would ask me, "What's that?" It's an iPod. Little did they know how something so small would influence their every day.

Ten years later, I woke up this morning, checked Facebook, Twitter, and the weather on my iPhone, grabbed my iPad as I ran out the door, and logged into my .Mac account to write this email to send to rememberingsteve@apple.com.

I have made numerous DVD slideshows and movies with iDVD, edited videos with iMovie, stored thousands of memories with iPhoto, and listened to a thousand or more songs with iTunes. I have also become a strong web graphic designer, and I have the career that I thought I would have when I first remember seeing an Apple computer 20 years ago.

Thank you, Steve, and the family at Apple. There is no technical metric to measure the influence you have had on my life.

Forever Inspired,
~Dianna Williams

Yelp Elite Masquerade Party

I attended the Yelp Elite Masquerade Party at Latitude 41 with my friend, Tabitha, last week. It's always fun to get dressed up!

More photos from the event by GroovyDoodle Photography are on Flickr. Good times!

One of the favorite tables at the party: Tessora. It's an Italian Limone Liqueur made in New Albany. It's like lemon meringue pie with a kick! Check out their locations page, and try it soon!

All the Giving

I feel exceptionally fortunate to have so many friends that volunteer. They don't do it because they've been guilted into a cause. They do it because they sincerely want to help others.

I think most of the people I know I have met through philanthropic events. I first heard of Dress for Success Columbus through the CYP Club. I think it is such a wonderful organization. As much as I have ever fussed and said, "I have nothing to wear," I have never been in the position of the DFS clients. Having a suit can mean the world to a disadvantaged woman who is trying to get a job. Volunteering as a personal shopper at DFS, I saw instant transformations. I was able to witness a glimmer of hope restored, and it was because I took the time to help a stranger.

Dress for Success, Y.E.S! Columbus, the CYP Club, and SNAP! Performance Productions are filled with people who use their talents and their trades to help others.

With that in mind... There are 8765 hours in a year. If you sacrificed one hour a month to volunteer, that 12 hours is not even 1% of your year. That 0.0013% of your time seems pretty insignificant, but it could mean so much to someone in need.

Operation Acapella

A few weeks ago, a friend of my friend Catherine asked her if she could get a group of people to sing an acapella version of Jason Mraz's "I'm Yours."  He wanted to ask his girlfriend to marry him. Catherine was the go-to girl for this part of the plan. She sings with the chorus, and she has a talented group of friends that can sing.

With two weeks to practice and a target date of Thursday, September 8th, the plan was executed at the Polaris Mall.  Liz emerged from JCPenney on a cue that was unbeknownst to her. A small crowd gathered as we began singing and some of our staged audience members took videos.

Suddenly, she realizes that her boyfriend is in the crowd. He takes her hand and walks her toward our acapella group. As we finish singing, he sinks down to one knee and presents a ring. She said, "Yes!"

Please watch the video and enjoy this happy moment!


Arnell - Bass & Beatbox, Kelli - Soprano, Eric - Lead, Catherine - Alto, and me - Tenor. (I'm usually a mezzo-soprano!)

Just Do It Already

What holds most people back isn't the quality of their ideas, but their lack of faith in themselves. - Russell Simmons.

It's true.  So many people say, "I wish I could that!" or "I want to do that!" Well... just do it already and stop whining! You have the same opportunities as I do. The difference is that I take the opportunities rather than talking myself out of them. I believe I can do it, so I go out and try.

I can pinpoint a specific time in my life when I made the decision to not hold myself back. Eighth grade. (That's a long time ago!) That year, I decided I wanted to be a cheerleader for the basketball team. I was extremely shy, so it was totally opposite from anything I would ever do. I knew I could do it though. I just had to try.

I made the cheerleading squad. Then, I subjected myself to sheer terror by entering the monologue competition. I also auditioned for the series of one act plays and inadvertently decked a girl in front of junior high audience. (I was totally in the moment!) It was a busy year! But, it was a year that I made the choice to change my own life.

At thirteen years old, I knew I would never be able to experience life by holding myself back, and this change helped to shape the person I am today.

Hocking Hills Canopy Tour - September 2010