Month: January 2016

Fatherhood, Uncategorized 7 comments on What are your singing in the car songs?

What are your singing in the car songs?

In high school, my buddies and I (well really just Nora, Shelby, Maria, Gottshall, & Ashley) would obnoxiously sing in the car, no matter the song, windows down, and as loud as we could. And in the vein of being a good father, I’m trying to pass these values – never be embarrassed in public to sing and dance, never be embarrassed to not the know the words to a song, make sure you laugh at yourself as much as possible – onto the kids. So far, the two big ones have their favorites, but I’m trying to expand their repertoire.

Luka’s favorite is – Uptown Funk (Mark Ronson ft. Bruno Mars)

Amelia’s favorite is – All I want for Christmas is You (Mariah Carey)

And I added these two the list, but they’re not picking up just yet…

Walking in Memphis (Marc Cohn)

The Shoop Shoop Song (Cher)

What’s your sing out loud in the car song?

Life Updates, Uncategorized 0 comments on I played hard for the money…

I played hard for the money…

I haven’t written up my CES report yet, but I did want to report that I left Vegas slightly ahead (don’t worry IRS. I’ll lose it at the ponies this year with Luka)

I was down my budget – $20. And I was all in on one last bet. Many a time, it comes out in the house’s favor, and I’m done. But that was not to be that night. 

The fellow hit his point. Went on to hit 3 more points and a ton of numbers in between. He was setting the dice on sixes on top, and so I played the 11 quite a bit. I hit it about 2/3 of the time which really helped explode my bank roll. 

He got me back to halfway. Next guy did nothing. Next one was good for 3 points. One of them was a 10 which helped huge on the odds when he hit it. 

Next two were useless. Then it was my turn. 

I had a great roll. I hit 4 points. A ton of numbers in between, and then seven’ed out. 

And at the the end I was back to being ahead. So I picked up, and went home. 

It was a ton of fun, and it’s why I love craps so much. 

But when that last all-in bet goes the other way…

Life Updates, Uncategorized 0 comments on Viva Las Vegas 

Viva Las Vegas 

 It’s one of my favorite weekends of the year… CES in Las Vegas!

Since… 2003 or 2004… Or maybe earlier… We’ve come yearly. It’s a boys only weekend, and the days of Luka and Theo coming are fast approaching. My only hope is that we get all three generations here together. 

It’s my dad, Aydin, and I. The three amigos. One night is a steak dinner. The next is a show. It’s been an awesome way to say connected even though we’re thousands of miles apart. 

The big items this year seem to be health, cars, drones, and virtual reality. 

I’ll let you know tomorrow how many thousands of steps we take walking around, and what all the cool gadgets were. 

Oh, and how much money I win at the Craps table 🙂

New Year Resolutions, Uncategorized 0 comments on Final weigh-in

Final weigh-in

2015 final weight chart
2015 final weight chart

Today I did my final weigh-in for a weight loss contest I started with Praveen last year. I lost. But here are the highlights and lowlights:

  • I had a great first 90 days. I was exercising 5 days a week for 30 – 45 minutes. It was a combination of strength and cardio. I loved it.
  • Then I got sick for a week, and I massively fell off of that bandwagon. I’ve not been able to get back on, and hopefully the 30 minutes of activity goal for this year will help (so far, it hasn’t)
  • Ramadan really got me this year. I lost a ton of weight, and then piled it back on.
  • Traveling got me a bit too
  • In September, I got a real downer bit of news at work, and that just sent me for a spin. I didn’t really recover from the emotional rollercoaster and stress that caused.
  • I can’t do weight loss by just dieting. I have to have an element of exercise. Even the lowest impact thing (such as Yoga or walking to the grocery store) helps a ton. There just has to be something.

What I’d say if I were to do it again is to not do a contest against someone who can radically change their life pattern in ways you can’t. Praveen killed it in Berlin, and then in Machu Pichu where he had two massive step functions down in weight loss.

The other thing I’d say, even though I didn’t see it for long, is that when I’m below 185 lbs I have way more body confidence than when I’m above 185 lbs. So, having peaked at 199 lbs in 2015, and been as low as 183 lbs at one point I think I can realistically say this year that I’m starting at 188.5 lbs, and that I’ll end the year at 175 lbs.

Here goes nothing 🙂

just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 3 comments on Can a year be 367 days?

Can a year be 367 days?

When I was 16 years old, I went to the DMV to get my license. I had received my permit on November 21, 1999 (one day after my birthday). The law said you had to wait 1 year. 2000 was a leap year, and so I went down to the DMV, and argued with the guy behind the counter that 365 days after November 21, 1999 was in fact November 20, 2000, and that he needed to let me take my driving test that day. His argument was that the computer system wouldn’t let him do that, and so the machines won that day. Damn the machines…

I haven’t really thought about that for years now. Other dumb decisions loom larger (crashing the car 1 month later; not focusing on soccer or school, but focusing too much on girls; etc.)

But on the flight back home Saturday, the family and I took off on January 2, 2016 at 9pm, and landed on January 2, 2016 at 11am. We then proceeded to relive January 2, 2016 for a second time – having another day’s worth of meals; naps; and the rest – before finally seeing January 3, 2016 (and we only saw that 1 time). On the way to Fiji, we never saw December 23. Well, technically we slept through it for a few hours.

So from that point of view, my 2015 was 364 1/3 days. And my 2016 will be 367 days.

Where does all of that time come from & go?

I haven’t been able to figure it out, but if I do, then I’ll definitely let you know 🙂

just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 0 comments on Yes John, there is something worse than Turkish time

Yes John, there is something worse than Turkish time

In high school, it drove my dear friend (and comrade in arms for all things sports) John Gottshall bat shit crazy how late I was to everything. 

Heading to the Ale House? At least 15 minutes late. 

Tailgating at 2pm? Show up at John’s house at 2:15. 

You wanna drive together to skiing senior year of high school? I don’t even remember if I was late or not… I’m just assuming I was.

Well, I’ve been beat. By “Island time” in Fiji. The guy coordinating everything has his watch set 30 minutes behind the actual time. On top of that, everyone is 15-30 minutes behind schedule anyway. 

John would have gone crazy. Luckily, I’m well adjusted 🙂

Pictures will land tomorrow. There are some amazing ones!

just thinking out loud, Uncategorized 1 comment on Heading back from Fiji

Heading back from Fiji

We’re about to board a seaplane back to Nadi from which we’ll fly first to LAX, and then hopefully to SFO later. 

We leave 9:30pm Jan 2 in Fiji, and get home at 4pm Jan 2 in San Francisco. 

That – ladies and gentlemen – is the magic of the international date line. 

It was absolute magic, and a ton of photos and stories will follow in the days to come. But first some things I’ve learned:

  • If you pick up a sea cucumber from under the water, then it spits water at you
  • Don’t touch the coral. It will cut you. You will get infected. 
  • Always ask the questions you’re not sure about because the answers can be fascinating and wonderful. 
  • Get a return plan. It’s a paradise that needs to be revisited. 
  • It’s really, really weird to be a day ahead of everything you know. Especially when you try to send new year’s wishes. 
  • Don’t drink the kava
  • Smile. It fixes everything
  • A ridiculously good looking 6-month old boy will be kissed at least 25 times a day while in Fiji
  • She can be as beautiful five years later as you remember her being the first time you arrived
  • Eat the fish.
  • Grow old. Not for yourself, but for the others who get to enjoy your company. 
  • Be worthy of their company, and make sure they are worthy of yours

The trip was amazing. The friends we made laughed with us, and then made fun of us. I met a prominent US Senator and his family. I was inspired by an old man with a huge soul.

Good-bye Turtle Island. My heart stays with you. 

New Year Resolutions, Uncategorized 0 comments on A year in preview

A year in preview

I mentioned in my last post of 2015 that I think 2016 is going to be a year of big change. That doesn’t mean more babies. It does mean though that I’ll be very upset if I get to next December, and I haven’t made the progress that I’m planning to make. Here are the big ticket items that will get me there:

Fitness goal

I’m going to do 30 minutes of activity everyday. It might just be walking meetings. It might be a DailyBurn class (which I love by the way). It may be Yoga at work. It may be 30 minutes after work where I grab the kids, and we walk to the grocery store and back. But regardless, I’m going to be active for 30 minutes everyday.

Personal goal

I want to write more. I’m going to setup regular meet ups with friends. Spend more time at lunch on myself, and less with business meetings. I want to go to bed by 10:30pm 3 day per week. That’s going to be hard because I don’t really know how to turn off to be honest, but I’ll figure it out.

I want to have my annual french fries fest the first week of January with one of my favorite blog readers.

I’m gonna spend time with my dad this summer. Celebrate Mike turning 80. See my brother and mom at Easter.

I’m going to have a date night once per week with Micky. Even if all that means is that we light a fire, turn off all technology, and just chill out in the living room.

Other

There are a lot of other things I want to do better, but first I want to map out how to make them possible with the ecosystem of folks who will help make it happen. As these become more clear in what they are, I’ll happily share with everyone. But until then, I just want to do a better job of demanding that they happen instead of waiting for them to happen to me.

2016 is going to be an amazing year. I look forward to sharing it with everyone.