Utopian Meetup & Hackathon - Hanging Out With My "Work Family"

Some people are travelers by nature. Just give them a flight ticket and a direction, and they'll happily go. Me?Anyone who knows me will tell you - I do not travel well. Long trips make me ill and so I avoid them like the plague. However, sometimes I make the sacrifice, brace myself and just do it. The last time was London in April, and it was hard but worth it. This time, it's Italy with my fellow Utopians, and as hard as it is on me - it's worth it.

I arrived in Italy with @poet two days early and spent them exploring Rome while poor @poet had to work. The highlight was the one evening we went on a food tour of Rome (much recommended!) and saw some sights while getting stuffed with pizza, pasta, cold cuts and amazing red wine. 

Then, we headed to Lucca, where the Utopian hackathon is happening as I type. The train ride was exhausting, but so very worth it. Meeting the guys here is just as awesome as I hoped it would be. @espoem is one tall God, @amosbastian is one of the handsomest developers I've ever met, @jedigeiss is just as awesome in person as he is on air, and it's just so inspiring to put faces on the names and voices of all the people I've been collaborating for so long.

Of course, there's @elear, my "work husband". The man with the vision and mad code skills we all followed to this little Tuscan town to meet and hack. Being my work husband, he often frustrates me, annoys me and angers me. But more often he inspires me and gives me direction and passion to follow, for which I love him even when I want to choke him. Such is marriage, right?

Being the only one who doesn't code (and the only lady) is a bit awkward, but somehow I am used to it, being the techslut I am, and my work brothers are making me feel like part of the family. I am happy to be here with them, but I would rather just have the same gang hanging out in my living room.

This post came out a bit more of a mess than originally intended, but things are pretty chaotic when I travel. A lot more photos will come later, but in the meantime I just really wanted to share the excitement and love.