It's been a while. Sigh. Such the blogging cliché – "it's been a while since my last post" – as if there was some audience out there that was beginning to squirm in their seats during a too-long intermission. Except that it hasn't been a while. I "post" nearly every day, except that it is in the form of a share or a tweet and maybe the occasional photo. But not here. "Blogging is dead!" Right. And video killed the radio star.
I'd reserved this blog as space for the writing of a longer form. Deeper thoughts. But over the last year, two things happened that steered me away from writing here. The first has to do with my ulnar nerve. Through prolonged usage of mice and keyboards, and maybe sitting the wrong way, my ulnar nerve became inflamed, making it difficult to type at length. It is only the holidays and time spent away from a computer which allows me to type this out. Messages limited to 140 characters look more appealing when faced with tingly fingers. Some days are better than others.
The second thing to limit my writing here was that I was writing over there. At work. I had a few deep thoughts, but I shared them with my colleagues. See, I really like my job and where I work. Rather than just opine about something, or describe how it ought to be, I occasionally have the opportunity in my job to put in motion things that will make it so. More often than not the impact is incremental (but still important). But sometimes the impact is pretty big… like, 'make things better for over a billion people' big.
So why now?
Today is the last day of the first decade of the 21st century and I feel compelled to review and comment, if for no other reason than to read this again another decade hence. As I get older (I'm 35 now) the years flip by faster and faster. My theory is that, as the span of a year increasingly becomes a smaller fraction of one's lifespan, it is perceived to be shorter in relation. Or it could be that my memories of recent events are less front-and-center as I age, creating a kind of temporal tunnel vision. Since I like that theory less, I'll assume the former.
At any rate, writing some of it down is a surefire way to evaporate the sense of "boy, that decade went by fast." Chronicling the diversity and breadth of my experience reminds me that a lot has happened and a long time has passed. So, in the order in which they occur to me, here are some things I experienced during this first decade…
I got married. Twice, in fact – once at the beginning of the decade and once at the end. Obviously, I also suffered through a divorce, which happened towards the end of the decade. Maybe "suffered" is too strong a word – it was amicable as divorces go. My first wedding was on the stage of a big theater – nearly a century old – with hundreds in attendance. My second was in a public garden, with close family. So far, so good.
I watched my award-winning comedy club go bankrupt. I call my comedy club experience my "MBA the hard way." I learned a great deal about running a real business – everything except what it's like to be profitable. It died for several reasons, but the nail in the coffin was the burst of the tech bubble in Austin. With that went the discretionary income of a big chunk of our audience. The highs were the highest and the lows were the lowest in my life.
I left Austin, my hometown of ~30 years, and moved to California after getting hired by Google.
I bought, and later sold, a house. My first (and only, so far).
I lived through a really shitty day on September 11, 2001 while in NYC.
I held permanent residency for New Zealand for a short while. If you have the right skills, it is possible to get it without a job offer. They compete with Australia for immigrant labor. Ultimately I chose door #2: California. I'm tempted to try for it again.
I starred in a viral video that has been seen by millions of people. I won't link to it – you can dig into this blog to find the details. I'm pretty sure that was my 15 minutes, but maybe it doesn't count because no one knew it was me.
I visited Australia, Africa, and Europe for the first time.
I rescued a dog from the animal shelter.
I performed the on-site reconnaissance for the eventual site of a simulated Mars exploration hab, situated in the Martian analogue environment of the high desert of southern Utah.
I started the decade with a Nokia 6185 and ended it with a Nexus S.
I traveled in a submarine to over 1,000 feet below the waves.
I got rid of all my CDs.
I bought my first new car (a 2001 Nissa Xterra, which I later sold to a friend).
I made new friends and lost touch with some old ones.
I spoke at SXSW three times (I'm speaking again at the next one).
I learned how to make a good margarita. As usual, simplicity is the key. The ratio is 1:1:1 of lime simple syrup, Cointreau, and Herradura Silver. Put it in a shaker with ice and then strain into a chilled martini glass. Salt optional. I'm drinking one right now.
Was it worth it? Does my decade of deeds stack up? I think so. After all, it is just a handful of things. There is no resolution hidden here. Sure, I have hopes and dreams for the future. I think I could have done some things better and others I'd do all over again just the same. "Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans." I look forward to the next decade in my life.
Happy New Year to you, and Happy New Decade.
