With the Mostest

Good Monday Winsters!
Last Spring I went to visit my niece and nephew at their elementary school. I thought I'd surprise them by bringing McDonalds to the cafeteria at lunch time when I got into town. My niece was super excited and introduced me to all her 4th grade girlfriends. My 6th grade nephew on the other hand was way too busy to have anything to do with me. He was the lunchroom monitor and took his job VERY seriously.

Geek you say? Outcast? Oh no. My nephew is actually one of the popular kids. And apparently, in this school, it only helps your popularity to don a safety vest and make sure other kids return their trays in an orderly fashion.

At Winster, we're on board with that. Our in-game lunchroom monitors, we call them "Hosts",  are carefully selected individuals who meet a specific criteria while showing a track record of participation and good sportsmanship.

Winster hosts do not wear orange safety vests but will display the letter "H" as a badge. You'll find them randomly placed in rooms, so ask them for help if you need it. And of course just say no if you don't.

If you'd like to become a host, see the requirements link from your "My Stuff" page. It's never too late to be one of the cool kids :)

XO
Winnie

Tradition

Top O' The Mornin' to you Winsters!

Getting ready for another Saint Paddy's Day at our house. The day where I slow cook a corned beef until it becomes an unrecognizable gray color and then blandly boil up some tasteless, watery cabbage and soft potatoes to go with it. Yum!

It sounds awful, I know, and really it kind of is. If it weren't for the horseradish and sour cream that we slather on everything, it probably wouldn't be worth doing. But my mother forced it on me, and when I was a single gal in college I forced it on myself. And now that I have a family, the tradition must endure. 

That's the thing about traditions, they don't always have to be positive experiences. Sometimes you just have to mark a day in a way that makes you remember it. Or drink enough green beer to forget altogether :)

For those of you that won't be following in the tradition, we have a virtual plate of corned beef and cabbage to give as a gift to your friends. And it looks a heck of a lot better than my cooking!

Erin Go Bragh!
Winnie O'Winster

The Trading Post

This week at Winster we've been tackling the issue of trading pieces in our games. Since we pride ourselves on being a collaborative site where helping each other out is our differentiator, we never spent much time on this issue. We just assumed everyone liked to trade.

Our crack research tells us that trading falls into a few categories:
1. Player unselfishly gives up a piece they may need to someone else who needs it more.
2. Player makes an even trade and both players get what they want.
3. One player decides what another players hand will look like and forces them to take pieces.
3. Player harasses another player into trading for something they need.

Although most players fall into categories one and two, which is what we intended when making it collaborative, you'd be surprised at how many times I am traded random things.  I blindly accept, thinking someone sees a pattern in my hand before I do and then realize no, this player is trying to PLAY my hand or TAKE my pieces.

And then of course, there are the really bad apples. The wild card and Winnie thieves who complain when you don't willingly hand them a big win. And in some cases, they get nasty. We put them in the category of "well, it's the internet and there are a lot of crazies out there".

That said, I have been in rooms where someone will announce "Nancy hasn't had a jackpot yet, let's help her get one!" and then everyone gives her wild cards or Winnies until she wins. I like those people. A lot.

So the lesson in today's rambling is one your mother taught you many times, just say NO. If something seems suspicious, trading is an option but not a requirement. Like tipping or wearing shoes.

Have a great weekend Winsters!
Winnie

Youth is wasted...

TGIF Winster Friends!

I have a new internet addiction and it's name is Pinterest. For those of you that don't use it, my explaining it to you would not cause anyone to go out and get the app, but here goes. Pinterest is a site where young women, in their early twenties as far as I can tell, post photographs of things they want in life. Over and over you'll see couture wedding gowns, fancy homes, skinny women with six-pack abs and luxury goods. All with captions like "I will have this" or "I have to remember this for my wedding" or "I want my house to look like this".  That's it. Occasionally there are some recipes for easy meals or a motivational quote, but mainly it's a glimpse in to a weird fantasy world where everyone is a future wealthy super model.

Perhaps my addiction is a tiny bit based on the dreams of a giant conservatory in my backyard that are still left in me, but mainly I just like to see what the young people are thinking. And folks, it's the same as it's always been. White horse, prince charming, 2.5 kids and a white picket fence (around a house with 6 bedrooms and 4500 square feet).

I was looking at a diagram the other day called the happiness curve. It shows that from the time you are born until your mid 30's, your happiness is in free fall. After 35, the curve goes back up and in your seventies you are as happy as a child. They attribute that to acceptance. Accepting that you'll never have six-pack abs and a 3500 square foot house actually makes you happy. And just knowing that I was on the upside of the curve made me happy!

So, more power to the young people but I'll take my muffin top and Vegas elopement and like it. Because that's just the kind of people we are. Am I right, ladies?

XO
Winnie

Freaky Friday

Hey Winsters,

I am looking out the office window at a clear, sunny February day. If I hadn't turned on the news this morning today would be like any other day. Only better, because it's the Friday before a three day weekend. But no. The asteroid is coming, and now that I know that, I can feel it. My whole day is off somehow and my anxiety is even too high to enjoy Pizza Friday at work.

Once I read that women and their cycles and moods were controlled by the moon, no space fact is off limits. All meteorological events effect me and can arbitrarily make me feel physically or emotionally ill. This only happened in my late 30's by the way. Before that I was gleefully unaware that such things existed and chalked everything up to actual life events.

Luckily, I have a cohort in this. My sister and I talk every day and are on google, looking for space events that will justify our feelings whenever we get the least bit irritable. Today, with 143,000 tons of molten rock hurling toward us, we've both gone silent. Bracing ourselves for some kind of inevitable mental explosion that will happen as this monster passes by. It's a bit terrifying, and exciting all at the same time.

I'll let you know how I fare. Stay safe and wear a tin foil hat or something :)

XO
Winnie Weirdo

I Heart You

Before I understood the new normal that exists in schools (at least in California schools), I once sent cupcakes to my daughter's class on her birthday. Saying I may as well have handed the teacher a live grenade is not an understatement. After I pushed them on her, I found out later that they were given to the parents at the end of the day so they could dispose of them at will. I relayed this story to my family back east and they all agreed that "she should be taken out of that hippie school immediately!"

Years later, I'm still trying. Spending my nights researching acceptable ways to make a child feel special without alienating or offending anyone. Last night, I was on a mission to figure out Valentine's Day treats. In this particular school, they don't allow cards or gifts to be given so I thought a "snack" for the class would be acceptable. I settled on a treat bag full of pink yogurt pretzels and dried strawberries. Score one for the "hippies".

Rest assured, when my daughter gets home, she will open the door to a two-pound, heart shaped box of chocolate and a weird stuffed animal with a heart in it's paws. I will not go down without a fight.

And to the rest of you in my life, I hope you all feel special this Valentine's Day as well. I recommend a personal box of chocolates (purchased on the 15th for half off) so that you can have a bite out of each one :)

Make sure to also send our free e-cards and gifts to your Winster friends.

Happy Valentine's Day!
XOXO
Winnie

Groundhog Day

Okay, campers, rise and shine, and don't forget your booties 'cause it's cooooold out there today!

For those of you that don't get that reference, it's from one of my favorite movies, Groundhog Day. And with Groundhog Day just around the corner, we thought it appropriate at Winster to celebrate the mundane, do-it-every-day tasks that we take for granted. Just this morning I was walking my daughter to school. Every day, the same routine. She walks up on this wall that fences in someones yard and I hold her hand and walk below. The we go to the next wall and so on until we get to the corner (where we jump the puddle and cross the street, walk past 5 trees and then piggyback ride the rest of the way...she's slightly OCD :). It's frustrating at times, usually because we're late, but this morning I made a conscious "Groundhog Day" decision to enjoy the little things. I know that the mundane, have to get through it tasks are the ones I will miss the most when she grows up.

Yesterday I received a nice Facebook post from a player commenting on how many great friends she's met through Winster. It came after a particularly bad day of getting beat up with software glitches and Customer service issues. Not complaining about those, it's our job to fix them, but there's something about the software business that sometimes feels like you're holding up a house of cards. One thing fixes, another breaks. Customers unhappy, bosses unhappy. So getting that Facebook post and having it seconded by a few others really brought me back "in the moment" and made me feel great about what we do.

So thank you Winsters. And happy real Groundhog Day, (the one where you find out how much longer you're going to be freezing out there).

XO
Winnie