Chad Things

This was another big year for me. Not as life changing as 2006, but still very significant. The 2 biggest things were traveling around the world for 6 months and getting serious with Shayna Cohen. Most everything else could be lumped into 2 groups - working on my 5-year plan and having fun (and how).

Similar to last year, i like to look at flickr pics to give me a recap on what i did. Starts off with a couple events before my Round The World trip - Dinner and Trivial Pursuit at 126 and My sendoff. Then there’s Round The World 2007, My return, Fred and Megan’s Wedding, Burningman, Moving into 116 San Jose with Shayna, Treasure Island Music Festival, halloween and Brasstax Renegade, Birthdays (Shayna, Eumi, Rick, Carrina, Sarah Bates) and Quality time with the Family over Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Besides all the fun with friends and family covered in those pics, I also spent time looking inward. Organizing and Prioritizing my life. Some of the fruits of this led me down paths such as getting an MBA (postponed for now), Understanding Green Business (lots more on that later) as well as starting my own business, among other things. I also got closer to Shayna. I feel so lucky and blessed to have her in my life. Looking forward, she is moving to Chicago in August to attend grad school. So the big question is .. do i go with her?

(Updated list of runs below)

I’ve always craved exercise regularly, whether its been mountain biking, backpacking, or dancing all night. But these days i want easy, cheap, regular exercise that doesn’t take too much time - and running fits the bill perfectly. I find myself doing things “runners” do, like checking out running websites, looking for interesting runs around SF, looking for “good” running shoes, and .. yes .. running races. Thanksgiving day, I’m running the 4th largest Half Marathon in the United States in Atlanta with my sister. Hurray.

I’m actually surprised that i’m able to run these days without the knee problems i used to have. I attribute that to my more disciplined approach of exercising more regularly and ALWAYS stretching after I run - i never stretch before. I also have coffee in the morning, then run before lunch while i’m still got that delishous caffeine in my system. I’m surprised by how much energy i have to run - an hour is over and i’m not even tired. I usually just run for 30-60 mins around the mission, castro, and noe valley, but heres a few of my longer runs:

2008 UPDATE - find my runs on motionbased, super easy with new GPS watch.

Sun, 12/2/07, I ran a DSE 4 mile run along Embarcadero in 30 mins exactly (7.5 min/mile).

Thur, 11/22/07, I ran a Half-marathon in Atlanta (13.1 miles) in 1:55 (115 mins, 8.1 min/mile).

Tues, 11/6/07, I ran from 116 to Ocean and back (11 miles) in about 110 mins (8.2 min/mile).

Tues, 10/24/07, I ran from 116 to Heron’s Head Park and back (7.3 miles - extra mile in park) in about 70 mins.

Also, check out the SF bike map - it shows how steep streets are - good for runners and bikes.

It was a big year for me. I quit yahoo, travelled, had alot of fun, got back together with shayna, and was happy most of the time. That last part is key, being happy. However, the most significant event was quiting yahoo to find myself. I opened that can of worms 9 months ago and have not made much progress, but intend to over the next couple weeks before my travels kick off again.

Looking at my Flickr sets, I’ve been pretty busy. I’ve definitely enjoyed friends and events in San Francisco and the bay area as well travels in the U S and A (borat) and Costa Rica. Travels include many snowboarding trips to tahoe, my cousin’s wedding in Ft. Lauderdale, Dusty in Sarasota, WMC in miami, Coachella, Hikes to Mt. Tam, Mt. Diablo, Kings Canyon, and Yosemite; New Orleans, The Carolinas, Pirate Summercamp, Swimming Priceless, Raindance, Burningman, Road Trip USA, Lusty Wedding in Tahoe, Rick and Zetta wedding in Costa Rica, and Christmas in Atlanta. Other fun stuff includes many amnesias, Checkoway’s bday, Class 6.2 Cycroan, brewery tours, QUITING YAHOO, Bay to Breakers, Many Jason and Monica events, and just being with my friends. My family also had a big year - We had one death (my grandma) and one birth (my sister’s baby katherine) last year, in addition to 3 weddings already mentioned. I even summarized my pics in Flickr Best of 2006.

Those were the broad strokes. Here i am, January 2007, reflecting the past and envisioning the future. What does it mean to quit your job to find yourself? I’ve been asking myself that for a while. Most people don’t really know what that means, implying it’s a rare thing. Do people think about stuff like this or do they just go through the motions of life. Hop in the raft and float on down the river and see where it takes you. Perhaps they have found themselves - floating down the river is what they want. But i’ve tasted things that make it hard to go back. I know what it’s like to really enjoy your job, even though most of the time i didn’t. I know how to put my all into something. I know how to really have fun. REALLY. I know it is possible to change your life significantly for the better, and that makes me question my current life. I feel extremely lucky and blessed. So what do i do with myself? The only thing i conclude is that i have to find myself - be confident in who i am and what i’m doing so i can put my all in it and feel good about it. Put my all into what? Not easy. Could be a careers. Could be a woman or a family. Could be a calling to help others. Could be something i have yet to discover. Could just be doing a bunch of little things the best i can.

2007 will also be a big year for me. Cheers to hoping for a good one.

My back has always been a pain in my ass (heh). Well, a few weeks ago in Atlanta, i got a pain in my shoulder so bad that i couldn’t lay down, take deep breaths, or even eat a full meal without pain. So I went to my mom’s orthospinologist, Dr. Parkerson in Atlanta. He took some x-rays and then told me the good news and bad news: The good news was that he found a problem that prolly caused my pain. The bad news was that my vertebrae were messed up. He told me lots of numbers, like my C1 was tilted 8 degrees to the right, but basically i was twice as bad as his average patient. He couldn’t tell me how long I’ve been that way - could have been since april when i took a bad fall while snowboarding, or as far back as when i was 8 years old and broke my collarbone. He made some adjustments, and i got better, but still far from where i need to be. Once i got back to SF i started seeing an orthospinologist here, Dr. Christina Meakim. They tell their patients they must come in about 1-2 times a week till the adjustments “hold”, usually about a month. The adjustments are very well placed, but light, and can easily be undone by jarring activities (like wrestling, heh). Although not as bad as that first pain in atlanta, i still get backaches when i sleep for just 7 hours - and i wake up tired. I feel like i’m definitely slowing down, so i finally decided i want to focus on fixing this thing once and for all. That means see her 1-2 times a week, take it easy, and not do any traveling for more than a week. Sigh. My summer trip to asia is now postponed till fall .. or longer. If this works, and my back is fixed, i cannot tell you how happy i’ll be. Booyakasha.

Thats right, I quit Yahoo. My last day was Friday, April 14, after 2 years 8 months, i was ready to move on. Why quit you ask? Well, those that know me, know that i’m not one to sit around and do nothing. I always got ants and in my pants. And frankly, my job was getting boring - responsibilty but no fun. My last project, My Web 2, launched in the summer in 2005, and was winding down, so it was a good time to leave. Thats the team plus some other yahoo coworkers at my going away lunch. How nice. But more than that, I had some money saved, and i’m not in a relationship, no house payments, nothing tying me down - so clearly i should quit and travel. Clearly. Indubitably.

What’s next then? Thats the biggest question. Well, as i mentioned, i want to travel, mainly New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, and other parts of Asia. Of course I live in San Francisco and there’s tons of stuff going on here . . . all the time. So it was tough to figure out when to leave, but i did it. I’m going to visit my sister and her family in early july, then i’m off till october, when i have to be back in california for a wedding (plus another wedding in december in costa rica). I still need to work out the details of where i’ll be between July and October, so don’t ask. I’ve traveled a bit already, and i’ve found that without the time pressure, it’s more fun to plan as you go, be spontaneous, just wing it. Afterall, we do have “the information superhighway” and email to keep us all connected. Plans are soooo last century.