Sure, the software might be bad, but maybe the premise is ultimately flawed.

A new site for a new chapter.

It took me until somewhere in my Junior year at college to realize that I was just hyperventilating, that I didn't have a heart condition, and that I could run more than two miles without feeling like death. I peeled those electrocardiogram sensors off of my chest, went outside into the cold, and really haven't stopped running since. The ghosts of that time still linger -the feeling of futility during a cross country race in slushy north-eastern woodlands as a teenager is probably what prevents me from doing anything competitive to this day. I'll tell you that it's because running is for me, an act of meditation, but there's another story under the surface.

It’s June 16, and my grandfather’s funeral just took place on the other side of the continent. He was a kind and loving man. He outlived his siblings, his first wife (my maternal grandmother), and so many of his peers that all went to World War II together, never to be seen again. He was a child of the depression, a voice of frugality and common sense, but was the first to help me chase this weird career I’ve had.

I joined Twitter on July 17, 2006. I’m user #1888. I took a photo of Kevin and Mike as they were trying to keep their servers up on the first day of Instagram’s public launch (note: both have upgraded their wardrobes since). I used it when it was called Burbn. I didn’t go to an Ivy League school so I couldn’t be on the cusp of Facebook’s launch, but I knew about it at the time. I was there.

San Francisco is one of the most amazing places in the world you can live today for tons of reasons, but after eight years here, it’s clear to me that community really isn’t one of them. This is the town where best friends try schedule dinners once a quarter, replying “yes” on an event invite just means you might think about it, and people move so frequently that you’re often better off meeting SF acquaintances in some mutually-agreed-upon destination like NYC or London.

These aren’t the best songs of this year, or the only ones I’ll remember, but this collection of songs are the ones that found me at meaningful points along the way.

I set up a Wifi access point over Fell Street in the panhandle for Bay to Breakers, and left an open SSID for “#SfWifi”, which is used in all San Francisco parks that offer free internet access. I figured it’d be an easy one to measure traffic as people ran / walked / staggered by my house.