Jananas

My friend Sean had mentioned that he used to have this orange hat that he wore all the time (to the point were he was known for it). I had a lull in my knitting project to do list, so I decided to make one for him. One of the Akoha missions suggested by the community is to make someone a handmade gift – done, and done. What made this a particularly awesome mission was that I sent it to Sean c/o the Akoha office. Oh, how that makes me giggle (which says more about my sense of humour).

Given that I can’t post pictures of any of my current knitting projects because they are Christmas presents (and ruining those surprises would make the time & effort that’s done into them null & void), I leave you with a picture of me wearing Sean’s hat.

I completed my tenth Akoha mission yesterday and am still stoked. To me that’s a good sign. I took my friend Mathew out for coffee (and lunch). We got caught up on our respective worlds and enjoyed the good food and coffee (well, tea in my case) at the Beaver.

I think one of the reasons why I’ve taken so strongly to Akoha is that it fits into my everyday life. For the most part, the missions are things that I do anyway (go for coffee or drinks, send people random presents, knit people things, etc.).  The ones that aren’t a normal part of my life I want to start doing now because I get to level up (so all you compact fluorescent light bulb producers out there rejoice)! It makes it much easier to adopt and play. Moreover, it makes things I used to do be more fun because now I get to write little anecdotes and post pictures afterward. Much like this…

Akoha defines themselves as “a launchpad for traveling acts of kindness.” To me they are more that. They are also about re-establishing friendships outside of the Internet, i.e. not just stalking statuses on FaceBook or Twitter, but rather taking someone for a coffee or a drink in the real world. They are, to a lesser extent extent, about spending time with friends without having to spend a huge amount of money. They are about enhancing reality using an online experience, not defining your reality as your online experience. To further this I’d like to suggest the following missions, which I believe continue along those lines:

• Sing someone happy birthday (instead of just buying the birthday guy/gal a drink)
• Play a boardgame with friends
• Take someone to a museum or art gallery (in this case, also helps support local institutions)

I saw an ad this week for a special on CTV, called “To hell with it: the decline of civility” in modern society, airing tonight at 7pm. This struck a chord with me, given how close it is being released relative to the launch date for Akoha. Mostly because I believe that “playing it forward” is beginning to bring that level of thoughtfulness and civility back into our direct world and daily existance. One of the mission cards is to say thank you, which is a wonderful sentiment and something that is often forgotten (and something that is sadly lacking in our current political environment).

It may be idealistic, but I do believe that we, as individuals, have the power to change the world around us. By stepping back, taking a moment, smiling at the world, and taking the time to thank people for their help we can reverse the slow slide into rudeness.

I sent a surprise package off to a friend today to complete my first mission (giving someone a surprise gift). I have plans in the work for next week to complete more!

I went on a boat cruise for Rotman students and friends this afternoon, and had the pleasure to meet Sean from Akoha. I was even lucky enough to get my very own VIP Starter Deck of cards, making me a beta tester. I’ve included a couple of pictures of the deck and the cards themselves (excuse the camera phone shots), in the spirit of enGadget unveilings. Given that I didn’t know much about Akoha a few days ago (other than reading details about their recent launch), I have to admit that I’m intrigued and interested in getting cracking on playing it forward. I’m stoked.