(photo of Bucket Brigade offices, taken by John December)

Day 9 just ended. 9 days of being at Bucketworks. It has been *wonderful*.

I am working with smart people, talented people, on interesting projects that combine the best in community development, social technologies, and future thinking. I am proud of the work I share with Patrick, Jenn, Dan, Kevin, Sharon, Oleg, George, Tegan, and other members of the Bucket Brigade and the Bucketworks team. And our new space is beautiful!

It gets better. Nearby--also making, building, creating--are the three members of Groupcard, Bob, Matt, and Jonathan--who have their own energy and dynamic, launching and relaunching and growing their 2-year old tech startup. Every time I pass them, running up the stairs to my desk, I hear the snippets of ideation that are music to my ears. And now, Matt Gauger is working alongside them! This group is building connections between commerce, community, and technology, too.

Sunday, we welcomed Meghan Koven of ArtWorks; her personality is as vibrant and strong as her organization's programs demand and I know that her day-to-day presence will add more energy to our community. In a couple of months, her organization's creative programming will expose young people in Milwaukee to the Bucketworks environment, and I look forward to seeing their faces when they meet a Wikibot!

The fourth story is my favorite. The first members of the new Bucketworks (they started in January) are The Hinterlands (download PDF), a performance/learning/community development group who succeeded in bringing science and love together in their recent show, Isaac Newton is our DJ (and brought Love and Love together when Brian and Nora, members of The Hinterlands, became engaged tonight at Milwaukee's Ex Fabula!)

The practice space The Hinterlands use is in the next room, and their warm up exercises change the entire feeling of the building. They start each rehearsal period with quiet time to stretch and reflect--followed by a sudden cacophony of dialogue and sometimes musical instruments.

This is what it's like at Bucketworks on day 9. Can you imagine what day 49, or 409, will be like?

I see connections forming between groups and people as they meet each other, as they pass on the stairs or in the hallways. Each group and person is different, has a different mission, yet shares a common set of values and enthusiasm for their work that is inspiring. This is exactly what Bucketworks is about.

I've been lucky to have 9 days of this.