Being as how when I get home, it's all I can do to cook dinner (and by "cook dinner" I mean "mix 2/3 cup of water with cheese powder and add to macaroni"), I'm always amazed at how much STUFF other Dittos manage to do in their spare time. This is the first blogpost in a short series about some of their extracurricular activities, from building websites for friends to helping out on campaigns and causes.

Lauren Kranich
Lauren, the newest team member, is a born organizer. In a matter of weeks, she's streamlined our staff meetings, corralled Nicco, AND helped to set my best friend up on a highly successful date (never mind that he lives in Vermont). So I guess I shouldn't be surprised that even her parties have a purpose. Several weeks ago saw a Wal-Mart Watch party, where close to 40 people stopped by her Dupont apartment to drink, play flip-cup, and talk about Wal-Mart's violoations of workers' rights. According to my sources, the party went on well past midnight--and every attendee gave their email at the door.

Justin Pinder
JP won't tell you he's an organizer. He wants you to think he's just a technology robot, building cool applications and standardizing our Drupal. But almost a year ago, JP did some offline organizing. He started a Yahoo Group for his 800-person apartment building, and promoted it with flyers in the laundry room and elevators. Eleven months later, the group is still active. Last week saw a flurry of emails about a possible rat infestation, and group members compared stories on the latest sightings and the owners' response. But my personal favorite was an August email request for help addressing the delicate issue of some neighbors who were "enjoying themselves" too loudly. The responses were worthy of Emily Post. My favorite? "Leave a note on their door asking them to join this Yahoo group--and read the archives".

Next up in the series: Dittos Pro Bono II: No, YOUR mom has a website!