620 Project: 2012 Edition

Last year for my birthday, I asked friends and family: "Instead of sending me presents or cards, please take the money you'd spend on those things and donate instead to the 620 Project. My goal is to raise $620 by 6/20 (my birthday)."

I'm happy to report we exceeded that goal, raising $670! My employer also matched the fundrasing, so I think the final ballpark amount Team Rubicon received was $1,200. And it's all thanks to you!

So we're doing it again for 2012. Same goal: $620. All I'm asking for this year, though, is $1 from you. Just a dollar. More than the cost of a piece of gum, but way less than that Venti Mocha Decaf Light Cappucino 2 pumps soy you ordered this morning at Starbucks.

Donate today!

Read more about Team Rubicon and the original 620 Project.

Going Back to the Island: Maui 2012

Okay, Lost hasn't been on the air for over 2 years. Like it or hate it, it was one of the more well-written dramas of late. Mind you, not near Sorkin's West Wing greatness, or Whedon's Buffy gravitas -- but I still admire the showrunners and writers who locked ABC into committing to a series end date so they could plan the ending and the journey there.

How does that fit into this post? The title is a reference to a line by Jack, who toward the tail end of the series exclaims, "We have to back, Kate!" The show shot most of its exterior scenes on the North Shore of Oahu, the stand in for the fictional island their plane crashed on.

Two years ago I vacationed on the North Shore (my pics) and had a blast. Last week, thanks to a trip I won from San Diego Magazine, I headed to another Hawaiian island, Maui, for a nice, relaxing, post-tax season trip to paradise. Here's the photo essay:

The view of Maui on the approach to the airport. Yes, before they
asked us to turn off all portable electronic devices.