San Francisco

Sitting in a crazy bar area of the Marriott in downtown San Francisco.

This event is about 1800 people coming to learn the latest digital marketing techniques. I am excited to pick up some new skills and put them to use with my clients. I also hope to pick up some new clients and get some schmoozing going. I am not as good at it as I would like.

Have a friend touching down in a couple hours to join me. I'm afraid I won't be getting out much to see the city but we'll see. I did walk around downtown a bit today and snapped this pic:

I am currently writing this post on my new laptop. I went with the Macbook Pro. Its gorgeous. Its powerful. It was expensive so it better be everything and then some.

Apple is an amazing company. No other product has the brand loyalty, the innovation and the flat out beauty and construction as these guys. As a study of how a business should be, Apple is at the top of the pile.

I am paying this off with 18 months of no interest which should not be a problem for me. Opening this thing up today was the closest thing to feeling like a giddy child I have felt in a long time.

In other news I met with a friend tonight after one of his gigs. We talked music mostly. He's going to school for composition and is currently writing pieces for bassoon, piano and violen. All of which he can play personally. He recently posted a video of himself playing Bach on the piano in the UT auditorium. I know of no one else who has that level of mastery and to hear him speak about his own shortcomings is funny to me. He fits the textbook definition of a prodigy but is plagued by his own self doubt. I take selfish solace in that.

He actually played some of his singer songwriter stuff at my bands last gig. He brought up my performance several times. He legitimately likes my songwriting and it really makes me think about my material. Giving up on it entirely would be a mistake and his compliments mean a lot to me. He continually brings up one of my versus as really doing a number on him. I have my moments and I really hope to keep music a part of my life, despite the growing disconnect I feel with it.

January marks the poorest month for me in quite some time. I am down a couple clients.

Good thing someone contacted me today about some work. Hopefully that pans out. Looks like I'm going to have to dip into savings to pull this month off.

I should take this as motivation to really hit the pavement for new clients in 2013.

5 Years and Counting

I started this blog on December 3, 2007. That is pretty mind-blowing to me. Something about blocks of 5 years feels significant. A lot of things in life seem to be based on blocks of 5 years.

In a lot of ways I don't feel very different. The first thing that comes to mind that I can say is different is my clarity with my profession. While I have a long way to go I am infinitely closer to "adulthood" in that regard.

Other things I feel like I have barely moved. I suppose Ill keep those to myself. Maybe if someone was really bored they could scan all 702 posts and figure out what it is for themselves. Thank God practically no one reads this. And honestly there has been a lot of things that went completely undocumented for obvious reasons.

Since I've started this quiet little semi-public journal a lot has happened if I really think about it. Relationships, deaths, illness, a band, babies born into the world, new friends entered, old friends disappeared into the sunset, changing political landscapes, several jobs, goals that went unmet, some goals met and then some.

So basically what most people experience in 5 years of their lives. Still its my little life and I look forward to cathartically sharing bits of my fleeting years with you, dearest reader, for years to come.

Cheers!

One of the most talked about events in a very long time has come and gone. It is December 22. Everyone is still here. Good one Mayans.

I like to make believe we've been miraculously spared somehow. And with this new gift of life comes changes we can make in ourselves for the better.

I want to be more open to casual conversations with people I don't know. I want to stay motivated with my job more. I want deeper and more meaningful relationships. I want peace of mind. I want to live in the moment more. Its like this could be New Years Eve x 1000.

What will you do with your 2nd chance?

Had an awesome short vacation in Denver/Vail. Saw two great bands and hung with great people in a snowy wonderland.

It was a much needed escape from my little world.

I was deeply saddened to hear about the Newtown shooting. Sometimes the acts of humans defy all reasonable comprehension. That's all I will say about that. I was very impressed with the words of our president. He touched on our struggle for the meaning of life which I think I have never heard a political official say so well.

"You know, all the world’s religions, so many of them represented here today, start with a simple question. Why are we here? What gives our life meaning? What gives our acts purpose? We know our time on this Earth is fleeting. We know that we will each have our share of pleasure and pain, that even after we chase after some earthly goal, whether it’s wealth or power or fame or just simple comfort, we will, in some fashion, fall short of what we had hoped. We know that, no matter how good our intentions, we’ll all stumble sometimes in some way. We’ll make mistakes, we’ll experience hardships and even when we’re trying to do the right thing, we know that much of our time will be spent groping through the darkness, so often unable to discern God’s heavenly plans. There’s only one thing we can be sure of, and that is the love that we have for our children, for our families, for each other."

Jeff Tweedy (seen in the pic above) echoed the same concept Saturday night..."Our love is all we have"

Currently at a coffee shop in Denver getting some work done. It feels good to get out of town for awhile and be in a new city with new people, new vibes. Nice chilly weather. Unique architecture. Cute ladies grabbing coffee.

Going to see 2 shows this weekend. One in Vale which I am really looking forward to checking out. Photos to come.