Washington Apple Pi

A Community of Apple iPad, iPhone and Mac Users

December 2006 General Meeting

Washington Apple Pi Holiday Open House

Sunday, December 3, 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Nearly forty loyal Pi members ventured out on this Sunday afternoon to partake in conversation, seasonal treats and camaraderie. The social event was a pleasant end to a year of meetings that focused on Apple computers and such. The club house was adorned with colorful lights and holiday decorations with the mood festive. Our conversations covered many topics, some which didn’t include our Macs! But, let’s hear what some of those attending had to say.

Francis Manion:

“The party was fun, I was able to meet many in the Pi that I only knew by name in the Pi journal. I talked at length with several members, picked up some tricks John Barnes learned in his photography class, met Pat Fauquet and her husband and our treasurer Dick Rucker to mention a few. I missed the Tuesday Night Clinic crew. I considered the party a good place to share ideas as well as the treats.”

Len Adler:

“I brought an outsider, my wonderful wife, Coralie, who felt comfortable when she saw another love of hers, beautiful sweaters, possibly hand knit. (She's a knitter). That enabled conversation to flow for her with new faces. I enjoyed hearing the music on the iPod with 3rd party amplification, the decorations in the room, the spread of food and sweets, the white elephant gift exchange, the group's interaction, the surprises of who opened what present and what they said about them. (Many gifts related to iPods and iTunes, and I was curious if the older individuals were into either, since I am!)

I felt the warmth of the Mac users' community as the month of December got off to its start! We are a group of individuals, very different in many ways, but communing about our enthusiasm for Macs and their change in our lives!”

Jean Wade

“The Holiday party was fun and was nice to see some of the Pi members that I meet in a training class. I enjoyed the company and all  the tasty deserts. The secret gift game was exciting to watch. Happy Holidays!”

Gene Haddon

“The Christmas Party was a great idea.  The first surprise was the room; the Pi's two lost rooms had been turned into one big bright party or conference room.  The Pi's Santa Helpers Decorating Committee had made everything feel festive and Christmasy.  The other big surprise was seeing so many old time faces, folks who came out just to see people and say "Hello" . The food was glorious.  There were two tables laden with food, one table had only desserts, and the other all pre-dessert stuff.  Yum yum.  My thanks to the person who brought the potato chips!  And, there were new people, brave people who ventured out to see what we are all about.  They stayed and stayed, so apparently were having fun too.  As I had to leave before the party was over, I do not know what happened to the packages under the tree. Perhaps I'll find out when I read others' reports.  I'm looking forward to seeing color pictures on the Pi website too.”

Closing Comments and a small Photo Gallery

This event was a nice departure from our usual meeting. The intent was to have some fun, socialize and learn more about other members of the Pi. It was interesting that our conversations migrated back to the Mac and the software we run on it. There were even abbreviated help sessions that occurred when mere words couldn’t get the point across. The Pi’s trusty eMac was then used to better demonstrate the “how to” in question. Everyone appeared to enjoy themselves and we learned there is definitely a set of members that enjoy the Social Pi.

The following photos and those above were taken by Dick Sanderson, Pat or Ron Fauquet. Our thanks to them for documenting the event and also a rousing Thank You! to the other Pi members who came by a day earlier and provided the decorating help. Enjoy!

Photo Gallery

Original party announcement