Yes, I know it’s sad, but it’s true. =) I am stepping back as UALUG Coordinator effective 22 June 2008 (which also happens to be my birthday). These have been an interesting and challenging 18 months since UALUG got started. It was great to have the opportunity to start something like this from scratch, and I thoroughly enjoyed doing all the organizing and meeting so many unique (read: crazy) people at the installfests and tutorials. =) I will certainly miss that. But, life goes on, and there are many more things that I would like to do and just do not have the time for at the moment, so something’s gotta go.
I would like to thank Jamus for what he’s done with the website. I’m more of a simplistic and functional person when it comes to web design as many of you could tell when you saw the original website. Jamus has really taken that and made it great. It just looks so much more fetching now. Thank you, Jamus!
I would also like to thank Simon for running our tutorials for absolutely no money at all even though it cost him a fortune in parking fees every time just to be on campus. Simon’s got a knack for explaining what to many of us is second nature to people who don’t even know that there are operating systems other than Windows. Thank you, Simon!
Also a more general thank you goes out to all those who helped with installfests. There have been so many capable and kind people who volunteered their knowledge and time that I cannot possibly remember all your names, so I won’t try, but you know who you are. =) Thank you! It wouldn’t have been possible without you.
Among these helpers I would like to especially thank two helpful and generous gentlemen, Jamie and Tobi. Jamie sorted out the technical details when we held installfests at the university and he managed to give us the best possible setup within university regulations. Tobi was taking care of venue and network setup (and music!) when we moved our installfests to the NatCom offices in the CBD and a number of you will have met him personally when he fixed the odd installation problem for you. Thank you, Jamie and Tobi!
But enough with the thank you’s already, let’s get down to business. =) With me stepping back, there is no one left to run the place. I really really hope that some of you will step forward to take over as it would be a shame to see this disappear into nothingness after all this effort. It’s really quite a lot of fun, the installfests in particular with the donuts and pizza. And did I mention the awesome people that you get to meet? ;) Plus, if you’re running the show it can be anything you want it to be. Installfests, tutorials, talks, demos, it can be any or none of those, it’s really up to you. I will gladly share my wealth of knowledge (and my connections) with you, so if you’re up for it, just reply to the list. And feel free to ask me questions if you need to know what you’re getting yourself into before you sign your life away. =)
All the best to everyone, and I hope to make an appearance at the odd event, so I’ll see you around!
-Sigrid