Five Things You Don’t Know About Me
Thanks to Rachel for tagging me!
One
I wanted to be a rock star from about 12 years old until around 16 — I even went as far as to record my own 12-song album where I wrote all the songs and played all the instruments.
No, you can’t hear it. I’m not even sure Rachel has heard the entire thing…
Two
I bite my nails like crazy. As a result, I get sore fingers…which totally suck.
Three
I played a lot of sports as a kid / teenager, but stopped when I got really started into business.
I had / have to overcome the “fear” of not having a University degree, and accordingly, I read a ton of business books. I hate the thought police, but am learning to deal with that stuff.
Four
I learn most effectively when starting with advanced concepts and then progressively moving back to simple ones and the fundamentals. I work a lot on instinct, and question (constantly) those with many years of experience when unsure to make sure my instincts are correct.
Five
The large majority of my happiest memories from teenage-hood involve my now Wife, and I couldn’t be happier about that. We’ve been together since I was in grade 12 (when I went through high school in Canada, we went to grade 13), and she was in grade 11.
We met on a school trip to Europe and I absolutely love the way she tells our story. Whenever it comes up, I just look to her and listen — it’s awesome.
TV is Awesome
Even though Rachel and I have been loving the whole TV show on DVD thing only, I think it’s time we look into getting cable back.
We are sitting in our Las Vegas hotel room watching friends re-runs, and it’s awesome. Along with all the flashing lights outside of our hotel room.
OK, sorry - I had to write that. I will get back to doing some more product management blogging soon, I promise.
Come Visit at CES!
Just a quick post to let anyone know that’s going, we’ll be chilling at CES in the Sands — we’re over next to the Slingbox booth. Stop by and say hi if you’re around, and we’ll show you some really cool stuff…
New XBox 360
A great Christmas present!
It’s almost 1am, and I thought I’d get the chance to play it, because Rachel wasn’t “all too interested.” Oh boy, was I wrong.
I’ve already re-configured our ‘net connection so I can jack this bad boy in VIA cat-5 when she’s done. But, I fear that may not be for a while, as I’ve gotten her hooked on Viva Pinata. Ooh — it’s gonna be a long night.
Here’s the games I have so far:
I’d share my gamer profile, but do not yet have one to share (read: see above for time and current xbox 360 usage constraints…I’m joking around of course). Once I do, I know Wendell and I will have some serious Gears of War and Marvel Alliance time to catch up on.
Sore thumbs, hear I come!
2006 Wrap-Up / 2007 Fortune Telling
Well, I guess this is it for 2006. Probably. Unless I have some stroke of inspiration at 11:45pm tomorrow, this might be it. Or, if I can FINALLY get automated e-mail posting working from within Wordpress, than maybe I’ll flip some posts in via Blackberry from the Rosebowl or something. But, I doubt that I’ll get them working. Wordpress rules, but it also sucks sometimes. I miss posting from my Blackberry, which I could do unfettered when I was using Typepad - but they are just so damn expensive. And paying $200 CAD / year to be able to have a site with all of their functionality just isn’t appealing. But, I digress.
I’ve been insanely busy at work trying to get all our 2007 planning not only completed, but in motion. Even at a 12-person company there are still a lot of folks (who are much busier and more important than I) who need to look at all my crazy thoughts and make sure they are sound.
But seriously, it’s a ton of fun.
I keep getting prodded to post stuff that isn’t so dry here (aka less product management). While I don’t find product management boring or dry in the least, I could see how some of those may. Especially when I have my Mom, wife, and friends what actually work with me and have to hear my ranting about products all the time, reading / subscribing.
Do I have a wrap-up for the year? Not really. It’s inevitable to think about the year overall when it’s 1-day before the end. Rachel did it SO much better than I ever could though. She got all of the major personal changes that we made down cold, and wrote about them very eloquently.
There are way too many “this year in technology” posts out there that talking about boring Web 2.0 downfalls and it all seems so contrived. And who am I to do that anyway? I’m no authority on anything, so me saying some company should have x and y to succeed really carries now weight and wastes everyone’s time.
The one thing I can say, at least about our life changes, is that they still don’t feel that major. Picking up and moving to LA? Doesn’t seem all that daunting having done it. Although, I still remember when we made the decision. It didn’t seem all that daunting then either. Maybe it’s because I had to come to LA to actually meet the folks we were coming down here to work with for the first time, and Rachel had to do 99% (ok, 100%) of the work to get us packed, find movers, etc…
So, in this 2006 “wrap-up” post, I’m thinking more about what I want to accomplish in 2007 than anything else. Personally, I’m looking forward to having more great times with my lovely wife, and more great meals here in Pasadena. More TV show marathons on DVD, and more work, really.
I’m also looking forward to the next time we can get back to Toronto together and hang out with friends and family.
I’m terribly excited to help continuing to build a great company and all the challenges that go along with it. I can’t wait to share all the milestones that I know we’ll hit with all the great people that are more than co-workers, but friends as well.
So, 2006, you have been a wrapper for changes that will affect us for the rest of our lives. I will look back and think fondly of you…but not too often.
After all…I’ve got some work to do.
