Dear folks,

Sixteen of March was one of those days. I had a MRI scan in the morning, then the vet was coming to see the cat and in the afternoon we had a goodbye meet-up at the office for one of our colleagues – Anita. Add unruly bus drivers, traffic jams and packed public transport to the mix. I had left the house at 8 am, came back at 14:00 for an hour and was out again until 18:00 pm. When I came back I was hungry, tired and incredibly stressed.

Me and Anita - photo by Sunny

But two weeks have passed and I hardly remember the bad moments. What I do remember is the fantastic good-bye we held for our Fraud Manager and one of the most kind-hearted persons we had a pleasure to work with.

Anita and Zsuzi - photo by Mal

Few days before the meet-up, I have found a wonderful card in a confectionary. It was huge, had a big “Sorry you are leaving” sign and a big white box that was shaped like an envelope to match it. I have brought it to the office and went from department to department so people could sign it. Usually it is tough to get a card signed, less alone A2 format, but believe me this time around the card was nearly filled up in an hour.  Let this fact alone serve as an explanation how praised and liked Anita was among our staff.

Anita, our Fraud Manager - test photo by Malicia

Anita wasn’t just switching jobs. She was leaving the island for good. I have asked her what she wanted for a good bye gift and she remarked that she wanted a photo with the people she worked for over 2 years. So here’s a tip for you photographers out there. It’s relatively easy to command a large group of camera shy people who use computers and other office equipment to hide from you. You simply do not inform them that you will be taking photos.

Anita and Sunny - photo by Malicia

I like to call it a Rambo tactic. You enter the room and shout “May I have your attention please” or “Parish announcements” (that always works for me) and everybody looks up at you. You put the camera in the air and continue “Pictures people. In 5 minutes in X spot”. If somebody tries to run away, you point a finger at them and say “You too”.

Everybody say `cheese` - photo by Malicia

As you can see from uploaded photos crowd control is easy. Once they are grouped you may want to remind them not to do silly faces as it is extremely hard to remove in Photoshop 😉 And then you just press the shutter.

I am looking at the photos now and I see a group of people who try their best at detecting fraud in all shapes and sizes. In the middle of them is Anita, who always was there to answer even most peculiar questions and who knew this business inside out. A certain era has ended with hers and Delphine`s departure. I know nothing last forever but … It is funny how you come day after day for 8-9 hours and you take the people for granted, like they will be always there to work with you. But they are not.

I don’t know about you folks, but I always had troubles with saying good byes. I’m too sentimental.

The crowd under control - photo by Mal

Anyway, there are always the good memories and the photos will remind me of tons of great days I have spent working with some really amazing people like Anita, Delphine and many others. I guess I need to bring my heavy Canon to the office more frequently.

Hey Anita, if you read this, have a great time back home and kick some asses for us. You are missed, but you know that already.

Malicia

Evening good people,

SPCA banner - photo by Malicia

At the beginning of December 2011, I and my office colleagues decided to pay a visit to a local SPCA shelter in Malta and see if there was something we could help with. You know, it is always good to leave your desk and stretch lazy bones. Doing something voluntary is also a bonus. It simply makes you feel good.

SPCA logo

Office decor - photo by Malicia

Shelter opening hours - photo by Malicia

There was a whole bunch of us going that Saturday morning, but those who couldn’t attend pooled in to buy some food for the animals. Thanks to their generosity we got three big bags of cat food. The bags were so heavy to carry that I nearly missed the taxi (by now it became a party classic as apparently I was handling running, shouting at the driver and carrying the bags quite well, dignity aside ^_^).

Office decor - photo by Malicia

Shelter view - photo by Malicia

Once we arrived in Floriana, we were given a briefing by the staff and each of us was assigned a dog (or two depending on your strength) to walk. Believe me, the dogs there were just beyond cute and adorable. I ended up having quite a shy and detail orientated furry beauty named Suzie. She had proved herself to be a dog for a risk analyst. During the walk she stopped a million times to observe, smell and familiarize herself with any given object. She was also quite a strong lady. After some 45 minutes, my hands were aching as Suzie pulled me hard and dictated where we were about to go.

Before the walk - photo by Malicia

My Suzie - photo by Malicia

Lisa and her companion right before the walk - photo by Malicia

Jamie and dogs share a moment - photo by Malicia

Afraid at first, she ended up jumping on me and being extremely friendly. I so wish I could adopt her but it was impossible at that time. Some years ago I have already homed a cat named Sami. But if you are in a need of pet extraordinaire, please consider coming to Floriana to see if you are able to give one of their animals a loving home.

Luke posing - photo by Malicia

Candid shot - photo by Malicia

Born models -photo by Malicia

I think I love you- photo by Malicia

I must say the walk with Suzie was fantastic. Other had as much fun as I did. I had my camera with me, so at the end of the walk I was snapping pictures of everybody. As you can see, some dogs were born models, while some others were more interested in sumo wrestling their new human friends.

New best friends - photo by Malicia

Tired by happy - photo by Malicia

Anita - photo by Malicia

I have also spent a considerable amount of time in the “Cat’s Room” (and ended up with a lot of scratches as the felines decided to play rough with me). During that time, I have been told that SPCA planned to get a heater to keep cats warm during the winter. Immediately, the idea was born. I consulted with my colleagues: Jamie, Anita and Luke and we agreed that we would take SPCA collection box and would try to raise the amount needed in the office. Needles to say, money required for a new heater were raised in a week and a half. Our office folks simply kick ass 🙂

Collection box for the heater - photo by Malicia

The group shot - photo by Malicia

Before we departed, I managed to take few shots of the surrounding area (legendary pot holes in the road!). St some point it began to rain and we all got wet and a bit cold but nobody really paid attention as we were  too occupied telling each other what our dogs did.

Rain, rain go away - photo by Malicia

Floriana legendary potholes - photo by Malicia

All in all, it was an amazing experience and definitely brought some Christmas spirit to the season that people tend to spend in the shopping malls ad in front of the TV.

Office decoration - photo by Malicia

I for one, given the opportunity, would that again.

[Edit: 12/03/2012] Wow, 76 hits in one day. Must be a new blog record^^. I was asked to run through the photos and see if there were some other images that I haven’t shared. Among those that were duplicates or simply bad takes, I have managed to findthree more and I am adding them below as a bonus to the post above.

They document each of us choosing a leash before walking the dogs (a good leash is essential!) and some of us having more fun with the dogs. Sometimes it’s a dog that strikes a funny face in the photo. Also you can see that my two colleagues had a struggle with the animals after the walk (they didn’t know that the dogs were Olympic champions in sumo wresting).

Choosing a leash - photo by Malicia

Dog strikes a funny face - phoot by Malicia

Chaos, panic and disorder - photo by Malicia

Thats all folks, Hope you had fun reading this (and looking at the photos).

Laters,

Malicia

Can I have the attention please? 🙂

Photo by Rita

I was planning to make this post two weeks ago, but life got in between. So since I had a day off today, I decided to make some announcements. As you know, February, besides being the shortest month of the year, is also considered to be the most romantic one. Many people start making plans and somehow the jewellery purchases are on the rise too. Those two facts are linked together as well. You probably know by now, where this entry is going (maybe except for the Couple as they have no clue about this post and will be reading it along with everybody else).

I want you to meet them:

Photo by Malicia

Rita: painter, events organizer, hell raiser and my twin sister. Zodiacal Scorpio and a proud redhead. Avid gamer, Star Wars enthusiast and all round pop-culture specialist. Huge fan of Death and Better than Ezra (among million of other acts).

Photo by Malicia

Matt: comic artist by night and IT specialist by day, archer and enthusiast of RPG`s. Also a nerd and a gamer. He is secretly a metal head enjoying acts such as Machine Head. Relaxed and optimistic chap who is friendly and always eager to help.

Photo by Mal

Photo by Malicia

Those two met years ago on Dead or Alive forums, both being fans of the series, and as they say, the rest is history. This February 14^th, the critters decided to make a big step in their relationship and went official.  They are happily engaged and the whole clan is ecstatic. We can’t wait for the (wedding) party 😉

Last year in April, Matt and Rita were holidaying in Malta and I took some (compromising) photos. I decided that this is a good occasion to share some of them with our readers and hopefully, they will tell you more about the Couple, than I would ever be able.

You see Matt and Rita do a lot of things together.

They go fishing together. They go ballroom dancing together. They are environmentally friendly and feed stray animals, even those really big and scary ones. I have it all on record below:

Photo by Malicia

Photo by Malicia

Photo by Mal

photo by Malicia

They also attend social events together and generally look like a nice couple should look like. Jokes asides, I am proud of them both and wish them all the best, as they are one of the most hard working and genuine folks I have ever encountered. They kick ass (mine for example) too.

Arent they looking good together?

Matt and Rita at a party

So if you two read this (before you will go after my sorry behind), know that I am really, really happy to have you both in my family and you should have done that a while ago anyway  😛

And here is a tune for you both. Congratulations.

Love and kisses
Malicia
(on her way into hiding).

Hey All,

We are in the middle of our Spring break. So updates will resume after April 7^th. But there is something we would like to share with you. We pulled a perfect joke on people we know on 1^st of April. I took Rita to the office and we switched roles. So everybody thought that Rita was Mal and vice versa. It was hilarious to shake hands with colleagues with whom I work for 2 years and see them introduce themselves. Plus everybody thought they were seeing double.  

Just for the record, if you do not believe that we are identical twins here’s a photo taken two days before the event:

Photo by Matt Griffiths

If you can pull a better one on April Fools, I’ll buy you a lunch.

 We got a nice bunch of chocolate eggs for those who got fooled. This is our official April 1^st 2011 Polaroid.

Digital polaroid by Malicia

I am off to bed because tomorrow we are having a picnic and a dinner at Hard Rock Café.

Sleep tight,

 Mal

Hey there,

Five years ago today, the leaves around New Orleans broke and half of the city went under water or was affected by the flood. Hurricane Katrina will definitely be remembered as one of the biggest disasters in the US.

Rita and I spent the days running through Red Cross databases trying to bring together displaced families and passing information to our group leader (the group being called ‘We will find them’) who would then make calls to the different shelters and confirm the identity of a particular person.

Don’t get us wrong. We weren’t in NOLA. We were on the other side of the world in Poland. But we are part American and one thing you have to know about us is that we never give up. Just give us internet access. We have found the databases online ourselves; we joined a yahoo group with other people who wanted to help and we were screening every bit of news there was. A name, date of birth a photo was a vital clue. We have found some people alive; we have found some people to be dead. But at least the family knew.

During that time Rita also made a drawing that went to the Art for Katrina auction. Her character Dalia (a very sensuous cat girl from Brooklyn) was posing in a set of daring lingerie. The artwork was sold for 10$ and went to a lucky buyer in Mobile,  Alabama (we still love you whoever you are!).  You can see the artwork here:

image by Rita

http://realmofzaterra.deviantart.com/gallery/#/ddu3by or 

http://www.resonantfish.com/artforkatrina/art/rdabrowicz01.html

If you are interested in browsing through the Art for Katrina website, please go here: 

http://www.resonantfish.com/artforkatrina/gallery.htm

You can see some of the most memorable images from NOLA in the gallery below:

http://www.thedailybeast.com/galleries/1987/1/

We haven’t been thinking of the Katrina disaster in a while. But it’s always good to remember.

Mal and Rita

Back again

Photo by Mal

We just wanted to update you on the Food Drive front. We have managed to collect over 30 different items. Two full boxes. We cannot thank enough to all the great people that contributed: Peter and his wife, Winnie and Grace, Marco for his help with carrying and logistics, Daniela for coming over to take the goods and spreading the word about the whole situation.

Photo by Mal

After our initial shopping (that was mentioned in our previous entry) Rita decided to get more items on her own. You can’t beat her intuition. She knew that other people will concentrate on the canned food and items that adults can use, so she added two more packs of nappies to what we have already gathered. When Daniela was coming to pick up the items she told us that not many people got nappies. So if you are still thinking to pool in, please get the baby food and nappies. They are still needed and you will be able to help in a serious matter.

Photo by Mal

You may also look at the food database prepared by Food Drive to see what else you can contribute:

Copyright Food Drive

The items were taken today at noon. There are other things in the pipeline, so we will be updating you folks. Please be coming back to the blog and don’t forget to also visit the webpage for Food Drive, for further announcements.

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=137750516253051

Photo by Mal

Best regards,

Mal & Rita

Photo by Mal

It’s been a while since last time we posted. It’s not going to be much about art this time around but sometimes one has to blog about other things.

As you may know, Mal is living on the island of Malta. Currently it had been brought to our attention that there is a group of women living in St. Paul`s Bay, who find themselves in a dire situation. They have no income, they are immigrants and they have kids. It comes down to basically one thing and we will put it here: hunger.  Two women and 7 kids are in the most need of food… You would think that these things won’t happen in the EU.  But they do, unfortunately.

There is a group that collects food for them. Call us rotten feminists but we cannot just leave other females by themselves. We decided to jump in and help a bit.

Mal passed a word at work and her boss (Thank you so much Peter!) contributed 20 EUR. We have doubled it. So we had 40 EUR (that’s how much you get in you are unemployed per week in allowances in Malta). We decided to go and see how much food we would get to feed a whole family. We decided to go to the nearest supermarket and buy the cheapest food in biggest quantities and nappies.  Just like women who have to cater for a large family.

It had been a heartbreaking experience. To put it mildly with just 40 EUR we didn’t buy much. You can see for yourself:

Photo by Mal

A pack of nappies, a bottle of sunflower oil (3 L), 1 KG pack of pasta, 3 packs of sugar (3 kg), 1 pack of tea (300 bags), 2 couscous packs (2 kg),  2 packs of spaghetti, 1 big can of tomatoes pulp and 3 bottles of tomatoes souse . No baby food, no veggies no bread, no cleaning supplies…Just the bare minimum. We have honestly no idea how large families could survive without their relatives with such an allowance…

Photo by Mal

We have gathered all the items in a box and plan to forward it soon to the organizers of the food collection. But as you see the box is still half empty.  Mal would love to hear from you if you could contribute something. Even one item. You can also visit the facebook group if you want to organize something yourself or pass the world:

http://www.facebook.com/?ref=home#!/event.php?eid=137750516253051

We really will be grateful.

Mal &Rita