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It ended up sounding like Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd, but I do not care. I like it.

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Georgia, this song is for you and your sister!!

iPad/iPhone: http://fabianschonholz.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/for-georgia.mp3

Flash:

I do have a few bright things to report however …

My children, as always, keep on making me very proud. When I think that they can not make me any prouder, they up the anti. What can I say, they are indeed my heros.

My wife … well … she is my pillar. She is my support and, together with my children, my inspiration. I love her. No buts or ifs.

My friends. While this may have been a hard year, I am one lucky guy when it comes to friends. I have some good solid friends. They have been there for me when I needed them. They have provided support, encouragement and growth.

2009 has been a year of terrible disappointments for me in many areas, but, no matter how I dice it or slice it, I have good people around me and reasons to look forward to the future.

In the last couple of weeks, just like in the last weeks of every year,  people around me could not wait for this year to end – partially because they share my disappointments and on their own right their year has been hard. I was of the opinion that I did not want it to end because I was not sure 2010 would be any better. Interestingly, now that I have written this post, I am looking forward to 2010, when before I did not. Sometime putting your fears down on paper (or a file on a computer as in this case) is the best healing.

Happy New Year. May 2010 bring happiness and prosperity.

When I turned 43 all of a sudden I realized my age. It is not as though 43 is really any older than 42. What hit me was the fact that I was over 40. I am officially entering my midlife. I am no longer amongst the youngest in the room, but amongst the oldest. The world does not belong to me, but to the generation biting at my heels.

40’s is the new 30’s – is that a new Mathematics?

The other day I was at a doctor’s office and the nurse was helping a 93 year old gentleman complete his paper work. A male nurse cracked a joke, all in good jest, about the gentleman’s age and how he would like to get to that age. The gentleman interjected:

– Getting old sucks!! In my case nothing hurts, I am healthy and get around mostly on my own; but there isn’t anybody around anymore.

So .. With 43 years, soon to be 44, under my belt, what gives?

When I was young my father kept on saying that the world belonged to the younger generations. His generation had had its chance and now the baton needed to be passed. I never fully understood it. How did the world belong to the younger generations when we did not have any say in ruling the world? He was a little older than I am now when he said that.

Now I am beginning to understand. It has to do with our potential and how we “waste” it. One day we wake up and the potential is all gone. I wake up every day and have begun to check my potential. There is a good amount left, but as opposed to earlier in my adult life, I know now that it is not infinite.

The world does belong to the younger generations. And I am still part of the “younger” generation; but soon – maybe sooner that I want – it will be time to pass the baton to my children. I see them grow and develop. I see them expand their minds and become whatever they desire. I see them correct my facts and expand in details that I have long forgotten – yet updated. I want to scream because I am so proud of them.

I think in my case it is a little of both, getting old and becoming old, but as a function of getting wiser and more intelligent. And also as a function of my children.

The year started well enough with the new job. Zumbox is live so I can discuss it openly. Zumbox is an alternative to the traditional postal service. The best way to explain it is in the following manner: “95%+ of the mail you receive in your mailbox starts life electronically; why print it”. There are a number of efficiencies that are gained by using Zumbox; one of them is the environmental impact. Now, I do not mean to sound too eco-friendly, so I will present the environmental impact from a cost savings point of view: No printing saves not only trees, but money. And postage is a fraction of what the postal service is. To make matters even more attractive, there is no need to have a bunch of warehouses for mail sorting and staging, etc.

We spent the whole year building the product; starting with product definitions, graphic design, technology strategy, software architecture, modules design, systems architecture and design, implementation, so on and so forth. It was not always easy, especially during design changes, but we pulled through and we have an incredible product. The first version of the product was launched on 08/08/2008. It was a private beta from which we learned a great deal. The second and current version was launched on December 10th. And … you ain’t seen nothing yet!!! We have a bunch of product enhancements and features in the pipeline.. We are now on our beta period. Being part of Zumbox is very exciting. We are changing the world. Or a least a part of it. We also have an incredible team.

On July 15th we moved from Torrance to Thousand Oaks. We had been living in the South Bay for the last 12 years. I liked it a lot. I had built a good set of friends and my wife’s family, all of it, lives there as well. Family gatherings were easy. Not only friends  and family where close by, but business associates as well. I was finally rebuilding my consulting practice. Taking the job in Westlake Village meant at least a one and a half hour commute each way. It killed not only my emerging consulting business but time with my kids and wife. Not to say that part of getting the job was predicated on moving. So we moved.

Finding a suitable house was not easy. I must have seen over one hundred different properties. Some of them too crappy. Some of them too expensive, etc. And from the subset I selected, my wife had to choose one. We finally set on a nice property in Wildwood. A nice double cul-de-sac with an awesome back yard and good neighbors. We decided to rent and the renting process was too painful. I am not going to go into details, but let’s just say, it was not a pleasant experience. The actual moving was not so bad. We took a few weeks to pack and then, all in one day, we moved.

Now … the house in Torrance needed to be rented. My wife wanted to sell, but with the financial markets the way they were, selling was not a good idea. Not only that, I wanted to have an income property anyway.  The house needed to be fixed before it was rented; and a job that was supposed to take a week and a few thousand dollars ended up taking over a month and several thousands of dollars. In the process I lost two prospective renters that would have paid well. I guess it was not meant to be. It took us a while to rent the house but we finally did to a very nice couple. All the while until it was rented, we were paying rent and the mortgage. So … the house was finally rented.

There were a series of similar experiences through the rest of the year. I really do not want to go into them. They all, so far, ended well and we are the better for it; but each experience took a little bit out of me. And each taken little bit, I have not gotten back yet. I guess what does not kill you makes you stronger.

On the people side of things, I was disappointed by a few people that I held in high esteem and regard. People that shared most of my values or so I thought. It makes me truly sad. I think about how I felt about these people and the energy I invested in building a friendship and how that was wasted. It is not that I was expecting something in return. My expectations are more about longevity and familiarity. I am sure they are as disappointed in me as I am in them. Still, it does not change how I feel… life goes on.

Not all was doom and gloom … There are a few experiences that transpired this year that are very good …

I had stayed in touch with an ex-boss of mine. We fished together, got drunk together, and went to Mexico together and always had a good time. We always discussed that we needed to work together again. Finally the opportunity arose and I was able to hire him. Pat is not the easiest guy in the world, but he is an awesome person and I am glad he is my right hand. He had a hard time this year as well and I did the best I could to support him and stand by him. Hopefully it helped.

I reconnected with Ron. When Pat and I worked together, Ron reported to Pat and I reported to Ron. Ron and I had also a grand time back then. When I moved to Thousand Oaks, I moved only couple of miles from Ron and of course, we resume our friendship. Ron and Georgia are great; and both my wife and I feel very lucky to count them as our friends. Now … I did not know Ron is a musician. When I was a kid I spent 3 years at a music conservatory. And throughout my life I have been on-again-off-again involved in music. From very involved to not whatsoever. When Ron and I reconnected, he reintroduced me to music and ever since I have spent a great deal of time playing and studying guitar. I focused for a while on blues; now, I have also added classical. Music has always filled my heart with joy. This time is no exception. I am even somewhat teaching my children. I have to thank Ron and Georgia for it. Now … the draw back of my music obsession is that I have spent no time with photography or writing. But … it is still a creative outlet for me and that works.

Kort and Debbie … well … I really enjoy them. We became friends through our daughters.  Our connection is also music. They are great people so I feel that the connection through music is an excuse to hang out and a common point. If that connection did not exist, I still would feel the same way.

The move to Thousand Oaks has not been bad; as a matter of fact, it has been very good. It has changed a great deal of our behavior and daily activities. My wife loves it. We have cultivated great friendships. My workmates are good and intelligent. My boss – Bob – is also very intelligent and we enjoy some good discussions. My kids are flourishing and both are in the school’s honor roll. Not only that, they are really much happier than they were before.

But for as good as the move was, we now do not spend as much time with Dan and Sheryl. I miss them. Both have helped us in ways that I can not begin to thank them or replay them. And not just this last year … ever since we met them. I wish we could see them more often and spend time with them.

On a completely different note .. I do not want to forget to mention Guido. Last, but not least. I am not a faithful person. I do not blindly believe in anybody or anything, except for my wife and Guido. Beyond him being my business partner, he is my FRIEND.

So, in closing … during this year I have experienced a good share of hardship and uncertainties. Financially, it was also a hard year but I began to recover towards the end of the year. And needless to say, the economic downturn did not help. But it was also a year filled with good experiences as well. A year of reconnecting with all friends and fulfilling certain wills. A year of meeting new folks that enrich us daily. A year of hard work with some big wins.

Happy New Year to you all. May 2009 bring only good things.

Fabian E. Schonholz

About 5 years ago I was in Argentina for work and I decide to visit my sister at her farms for the weekend. We had dinner with Don Placido, her father-in-law – he passed on couple of years ago. He smoked cigars for 60 years. He smoked all sort of cigars, from most corners of the world that produced them. So … I go to Don Placido all proud of myself and tell him that I am getting into cigar smoking and I am a “great smoker”. He takes a look at me in a very condescending way and tells me I know absolutely nothing about cigar smoking; I was humbled. Instead of getting all personal about it I asked if he would point me to some good cigars. He suggests I visit a cigar shop in Buenos Aires , Hermes, where he gets his smokes. The sticks are cuban tobacco and leaf but hand wrapped in Argentina. When you go to the shop you can see the ladies wrapping them before your eyes. I go to the shop, of course, and tell them that Don Placido recommended the place and I want a few sticks “like Romeo and Julieta”. They immediately set me up.

Needless to say this cigars are great. According to Don Placido these are the best cigars he had ever smoked bar none. But … what did the old man know, he only smoked for 60 years. I brought a few back for friends and for me to have. I gave one of them to a friend of mine, that although not an expert, he knows a lot more than I about cigars. He thought these were AWESOME cigars. Maybe the old man knew something!! Finally, over a company dinner one night, I gave one of the other executives one of the cuban/argentinian sticks. Now … this guy smokes on a regular basis. He has a room in his house he converted to a smoking room/humidor. When I offered him the unassuming cigar he was a little skeptical. He looked upon my extended arm holding the cigar and was not so sure about it. If I remember correctly, I think he sort of growled at the cigar. He took a step back but finally took the cigar.

As he started to puff on the cigar his face changed, and it went from disgust to surprise in a matter of seconds. He could not stop puffing. He puffed and looked at the cigar in disbelief. After a few puffs he turned and looked at me. He paused … he was going to say something … his mouth moved but no sound came out … and he went back to puffing. A good 45 minutes later, when we finished the cigar he finally turned to me again and expressed how pleased he was with the cigar. Do you have more? He asked. I had couple more sticks on my pocket which I gave to him. And the next day, I brought from my cache a few more sticks for him to age. I remember with great pleasure the night and his expressions.

I continued to smoke the same cuban/argentinian cigars almost exclusively. I took over the supply of Christmas’ party smokes from Boo. And I made sure I had a supply of them at hand at every function I attended where smoking may occur. That is dedication my friends. There were only a few times were I smoked other sticks.

Last year I started expanding my horizons and started smoking other brands and trying other types beyond cuban seed and leaf. I discovered a new world of cigars from other parts of Central America beyond Cuba and I started to educate myself on what that meant. Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Guatemala started to have new found meaning to me. Padron, Ashton, A. Fuentes, Rocky Patel and Gurka became new words in my vocabulary. As I normally do when I want to become well versed in something and decide that anonymous uneducated enjoyment will not do, I read and research as much as I can. Unfortunately I do not have all the time I want on a daily basis, but I have all the time I need over the course of my life. And part of enjoying these type of things for me is taking the time to learn and savor.

I drunk wine from an early age. I always enjoyed it. About 10 years ago I also started to get serious about it. I read and tried and researched and tasted as much as I could. And only after so many years I finally started to developed a palate worth mentioning. I am still not an expert. For example, my sister’s husband knows a great deal more than I. And a buddy of mine who owns a wine/cigar shop is 100 times more an expert than I will ever be. But I am proud of my developing wine connoisseur abilities and the road that took me here. I am taking the same road with cigar smoking. It will take me years before I can say I know even the slightest bit about cigars. And I will enjoy every single one of those years as I smoke one stick at a time one puff at a time.

When I was 11 years old my parents gave me my first camera, a Minolta 201 ST. It came with a 45 mm fixed focal length lens, a wide angle/fish eye screw on lens and a flash. I did not know much about cameras back then, neither did my parents. It was not the best camera for the money, or even the best set up for a beginner, but one way or another I made it work. I experimented and asked a lot of questions of the family photographer, Leo.  He suggested I took a class and in my normal “I will figure it out fashion” that remains one of my traits to this day, I never did. I do not regret it. I took some very interesting and good pictures.

Over the years I have been more or less into photography. It was a little inconvenient and the feedback was relatively disconnected. Since my photographic pursuits were 100% experimental, I was not technically aware of what I was doing. So when I got the pictured developed and back for review, it was hard to me for figure out the technical part of what I was looking at. I consulted a few books and Leo, but there was still no connection between what I was looking at and what had happen at the time of taking the picture. I was lacking that connection and it frustrated me. The higher the frustration, the less I was into photography until I would get a picture back of a subject I had snapped and the results where exactly what I had intended. Yes … there was a little “luck” involved in getting good pictures, however, I had developed some personal techniques to make shooting more predictable and less random. To this day my photography remains experimental.

I kept on shooting. Through my university years my photography declined. Along with photography I also liked to fish. Fishing also declined through the same years. I was too busy. At the beginning not exactly with studying, but in the end, I focused and mathematics took a primary role in my life. At the same time I rediscovered photography. There it was my old Minolta sitting there collecting dust. It had traveled to many places. From Miami where my parents bought it. To Argentina where I spent my formative years. To Santa Barbara where I went to school. And in between stopping in Punta Del Este, the East Sierras, Cordoba, Santa Fe, Mexico and many other places. It is 2008 and I still have it.

When I rediscovered photography in college, part of what I wanted to do was to take photos of naked women. OK … hold on for a minute. Yes, there was certain amount of being a young man with an exceedingly large amount of energy and libido, but you also have to admit that a woman’s body has an aesthetic quality that is hard to ignore. While men have square bodies, women have curves all over. I find the curves fascinating and with countless artistic possibilities. Women have been the muses for centuries for all forms of arts and wars. It was hard to find models. The best I ever did was photographing a friend of mine in a REALLY small bikini. She was a little shy and at the time of taking the bikini off, she felt a little self conscious. The photographs did not turn very well either which did not help with convincing her for a second photo-shoot. It was not the quality of the technique but the composition. I could not figure out how to frame people in a photograph, with our without cloths. I decided to experiment and give it time, but economics got in the way. As a starving student it was hard to afford the needed film, development and printing. I figure out ways to save on film by buying in bulk, but that was not enough. Shooting slowed down … considerably.

I kept on shooting but studying, getting married, getting divorced, moving to Los Angeles, getting a job and developing my career and the fact that cash was not so readily available kept on slowing things down. In 1996 I got married again and Elizabeth was very encouraging. The pace started to pick up again. In October 2000 I joined a company called Pictage; an online photo-lab for professional photographers. I was their VP of Technology for about 6 years. It was purely coincidental. As a matter of fact, I am not sure that I made it known during my interview that one of my hobbies was photography and during my tenure, not too many people knew. I architected, designed and managed the build of the technology that, to this day, runs Pictage.

In 2000 Digital photography was getting very popular. Sites like O’fotos and SnapFish made it possible for consumers to manage and print their digital photographs. But for professionals it was not that simple. Digital pro-cameras had become more accessible in price and a few early adopters had taken the plunge. Professional cameras with digital back ends were becoming more common in the market. But the workflow remained the same. Photographers had to cart their negatives – in this case the digital files – to their lab of choice to be printed. The labs themselves were not exactly ready to accommodate digital shooters. It was obvious that a lack of a digital workflow impeded massive adoption of digital photography at the professional level.

In January 2001 Pictage changed its business model to be more of a lab and provide not only hosting and photo-galleries, but also scanning and printing. Thus, the professional digital workflow was born. In 2001 Pictage was getting 95% film that needed to be scanned; the balance was digital. By 2006 when I left, film constituted less than 5%. The balance was digital. The interesting part of these numbers is that the proportion had been such since 2004. In a short 3 years Pictage enabled digital photography for professionals. Larger labs, like Miller’s for example, also figure out how to serve their customers. Nonetheless, Pictage, very quietly, changed professional photography.

When I first joint Pictage I had somewhat of a disdain for digital photography. I had spend many years figuring out the nuances of film and how to best expose it. I felt that digital could never provide the range and versatility film could. After a weekend in Mexico were I took a few pictures I had the film scanned and printed at work. I was blown away. I could see some of the difficulties that digital cameras were going to experience dealing with the range, but comparing a digital print to an optical print, I liked the digital version so much better. The color and matisse were deeper and even though they lacked in range, the image was more accurate with what I had intended. My conviction for film began to waiver.

At the same time this was going on I had been thinking about buying and experimenting with medium format. I had been eyeing the Mamiya 7. Sweet camera. One of the FujiFilm reps – our scanners and printers were Fuji – loaned me a FujiFilm 645 and gave me more film and development credits than I could ever use. I took the camera for a few weeks and shot to my harts content. First time ever where economics were not a factor. Well … what can I say about that??? As I would get the film developed I would have it scanned and printed. The results were just amazing.

My father-in-law had a Nikon CoolPix 990 and wanted to get the 995. He asked me if I wanted his old camera to which I readily accepted. Not only had I been in film bliss, now I could get into digital photography at no cost. One of the things I figure out immediately is “the more you shoot the more you recover your investment in a digital camera” – consider the cost of buying and developing film and the fact that you can readily choose what to keep and better select what to print. After the CoolPix 990 I upgraded to a CoolPix 5800, which I still have. My photography developed along and kept on getting better. But still, shooting good people pictures escaped me.

I became spoiled. I could shoot and print as much as I wanted. That flexibility allowed me to be very selective in what I printed. I went months without printing anything. I became more self-demanding. Shots needed to show exactly what I wanted. After I left Pictage my shooting went back into remission so-to-speak. I could see the pictures on my computer, but not being able to print them was a little demoralizing. Elizabeth encourage me to shoot again and to possibly buy a digital SRL. Or rather Elizabeth encourage me to shoot and I decided that if I was going to shoot, I was getting a new camera … and a printer. After some research I decided to get a Nikon D80 and an HP Photosmart Pro. I had been recommended the Canon Digital Rebel, which is a fine camera, but I had had such good results with Nikon in the past and the reviews were better than the Canon. My photography took a leap up and got dramatically better almost immediately. Better equipment does not make a better photographer, but it does open up possibilities. After experimenting I settled into using the vari-modes more than the manual modes. After a while I felt stagnated and my shooting decreased.

During the summer I had a chance to play with a Nikon D200. What I realized was that I needed to move off vari-mode and start using the manual and priority modes more. But on the D80 it was too easy to fall back into the vari-mode. In October 2007 I decided to buy a D200 and that is when I realized that the D300 was coming out in December and it was such a better camera. So … I waited for December and as mentioned, I got myself an early birthday present.

For somebody like me the cost-benefit equation of digital photography remains the same. The more I shoot the less expensive it becomes and the more I recover my investment. I am still in the mind-set of film photography. In reality, the cost-benefit equation does not exist anymore. The camera costs what it costs, and instead of film and development, now the cost goes into computers, software and hard drives. It is still less expensive overall with the added benefit of immediate feed-back (or gratification rather). But for my kids, there is no equation. My kids every so often go on photo-shoots with me. They use either one of the point-and-shoot cameras I have (or my wife’s) or the 5800. They do not know anything besides digital photography.

This summer the kids went to sleep-away camp for a month. We furnished them with point-and-shoot throw away film cameras. We showed them how to used and how to crank the roll. I explained to them that there was film inside and they needed to “advance” the film frame. I also explained how film works and the difference and similarities between emulsions and CMOS sensors. They got it, but it was funny to see how archaic they felt the mechanism was. They had the same expression when I told them when I was their age TV was black and white and not color. They did not understand that when my parents were their age, there was no TV. The same goes for other technological advances they take for granted; we on the other hand, have gotten so used to them that we have learnt to take them for granted.

A recent TechCrunch (www.techcrunch.com) blog post discussed not only website down times during 2007 but also infrastructure down time as well. My comment to the post reminded us all about our dependencies in technology and that not only revenue is affected during web site outages, but as consumers, we are also affected since many of us use the Web and the Internet to conduct our daily business. As my kids grow older and join the professional world, they will not be more dependent on the Web and Internet, they will be 100% dependent on them. Technology progress will not slow down, it will keep advancing. Sometimes at a gargantuan pace, other slower. Hardware, services and operating platforms are becoming more integrated. An example is digital cameras, as pictures are taken the camera can FTP them to a server and/or service (Flickr.com).

More and more technology and art blur together. In some cases technology renders a service to art, in others, technology is a part of art. There will be always be some die-hard purists that refuse or minimize the involvement of technology in art; thank goodness for them. Somebody needs to keep the old ways alive for us not to forget where all comes from. However, even they need to understand that technology and art have always been and will always be intertwined.

The first blog post (not page) I wrote in this incantation of my blog was about my kids and my dad. To paraphrase the post, I was asked what got me up and going every day and my answer was my dad and kids; the post went into detail why that is. To this day, my dad and my kids are my heros. Since my dad has been dead since 1997, there is not much that changed since last time I wrote about him; my kids on the other hand are just in the dawn of their lives. They keep on surprising me. They keep on challenging me. They keep on helping me discover who I am every day. They are a source of inspiration – and concern. I can not say enough about my kids. They are, very much, the light in my eyes, the life in my every breath, the sun of my days and the moon of my nights.

My wife … ahhhhhh … my wife. She is the editor of my blog so she gets to read every single post before it gets posted here. No matter how boring the post is, she just sits down, puts pencil to paper and corrects my grammar and suggests changes; in particular when my words are not too clear. This post is no exception. By the time you are reading these words, she has not only already read them and corrected them, but also forgotten them as well.

After she reviewed my first post her comment was: This is great, but what about me. So I wrote a post just for her. It was not as a response to a demand. I truly wrote the post inspired. But it is true, some times I do take her for granted and I fail to not so much recognize her, but to show my appreciation. It is not enough that she knows, and she does know how much I appreciate her. I also must show her. So … Elizabeth, my love … I would be nothing if it was not for your support. And here, in a very public forum I declare my love for you. I LOVE YOU.

As I have gone though the years, one at a time, getting older, many people have come and gone. Some have gone because their lives took them in certain directions and we lost touch. Some have gone because their lives became incompatible with mine. Some have gone because there was nothing left in the friendship. Some, still, have gone because life has turns and twists. Of all my childhood friends Guido Tenenbaum remains. He does not just remain, he is there. A permanent fixture … and I am glad. I have known Guido for 30 years now and in that time, we have shared many adventures. Not too long ago I wrote about my lack of faith; but then I realized that I have faith in Guido. Not blindly and in a religious way, but faith in him. As a person. As a mench.

After 20 months as the CTO of Hoodiny Entertainment Group I moved on to a new job as the CTO for Zumbox. Zumbox as an idea is amazing. What is the most amazing about Zumbox is that it is a simple idea with incredible ramifications. I wish I could discuss it more openly, but I can not, at least not for the time being. Let’s just say that it will revolutionize certain areas of our lives. Hoodiny was a good experience in spite of some of the difference of opinions regarding business strategy and where the company should go I had with the other executives. The folks there are good people. It was nice for a change to work with people that genuinely were looking out for you regardless of the various and deep difference of opinions. It was a big change from Pictage – although I have to admit that some of the folks at Pictage were fantastic, with whom I remain in touch. So .. Demian, Jose, Ariel and the gang at Hoodiny: I know I left at not the best time but it is my best wishes that all goes well.

There are two people I want to recognize as part of this post. On of them is Sue Christensen. She worked for me at Pictage and Hoodiny. She is the best project manager I have ever had the chance to work with. She can keep up with my schizophrenic pace – not an easy feat. She is able to coordinate all projects to stay within my execution parameters, which are normally 3 or 4 times higher output than most other CTO’s. But, as fantastic an employee she is, she is also a great friend. I miss working with her. The second is Mike Polek. He is an incredible system administrator and as a person, a wise man and a great friend. Mike … do not be a stranger, we love you!!

This year I got close to a person local to me. A neighbor so-to-speak. There was a situation that developed and I am afraid it might have driven us a bit apart. It saddens me because he is a great guy, helped me quite a bit and I have a great deal of respect for him. I hope that we can continue our friendship.

One interesting thing that happen was developing this blog. As I posted before this is the second incantation of my posting writing online. The first time around it was a sort of a fiasco and led to some pain. This time around I am not only more careful – from a content point of view – but also more open. I am expanding the topics I post on and I am forcing myself to look at subjects from different perspectives. The rewarding part of writing is the fact that some people read it on a regular basis and email and call me to ask me when the next post will be up. It does drive the pressure up on improving the quality of my writing and subjects I tackle. It is a great experience, however; it is teaching me to be more thorough in the way I present arguments.

Early 2006, as I was looking to leave Pictage, I realized more than ever that you can not do it all on your own. You need people to help you as much as you need to help people. I recognized that my network of people was rather small and limited in the way I contributed to it. As I am maturing and developing my career the old phrase “it is not who you are but who you know” resonates louder with me. I set out to not only increasing my network but improve how I relate to it. I must report that it is a slow process but it is moving ahead and one that I look forward to developing further. Be that as it may, there are a couple of business associates that I rather enjoys, especially when there is some wine that oils our thoughts. Guys, we need to get together more often. Andy has room and plenty of choices for us.

I want to close the post with a few words about my mom. I do not mention her too often and certainly, I do not write about her. My mom was dealt a tough hand with my dad getting sick and dying. At the time that we had all grown up and were out of the house and on our way to building our own futures, they were supposed to start their enjoying each other without “interruptions” time. It did not happen for my mom. I am very sorry that they both did not get to realize some of their dreams. My mom is a special lady. And even though I do not call her as often as I should I love her very much and want her to know that I think about her a lot, every day.

As the year comes to a close my only resolutions are related to continuing to be the best person I can, for my family, as an example to my kids and my friends, for my community and for all the people that I interact in business and outside of business.

Have a fantastic end of 2007 and may 2008 bring all that you want.

Happy New Year.

Last year Jared was all year long in the Honor Roll. It was a goal he set for himself and I am proud he achieved it. He did need some help from Elizabeth, and a little arguing on my part with the school, but he did it. This year, so far, the help has substantially decreased – at the end of the day kids do not like to do homework, what can I say – and I have not had to argue with the school on how Jared should be graded. He set the goal and he achieved it again. I am double proud.

Sidney is not such a different story, however, she takes different paths. Last year she had a little trouble focusing and completing her work. But her reading went from good to EXCELLENT. She devours book after book after book. This year, not only she is getting student awards, but her teacher can’t sing enough praises to her and recommended her for the gifted program. And her devouring of books continues.

Both kids brought all A’s except for one B on the first quarter of the school year.

As proud as their academic achievements make me feel, and as focused as I am on those achievements (without exerting too much pressure on the kids), that is only a small portion of the story. And each kids has a different story, that intertwines with each other. And … to be fair, both kids have their share of issues to deal with. But, who does not have issues. Granted, some more … some less.

Elizabeth and I are often criticized for how lenient we are with TV watching and video game playing times. We often explain that it is not an issue for our kids. For example, the kids really like watching TV, but after a little while they get bored with it, turn the TV off and start playing with each other, acting out what they just watched. An alternative to roll playing is retiring to their rooms to read, or in the case of Sidney, do an art project – she is really good.

Until recently, Sidney was not into video games. However, during the year she started to display a level of interest, so for Hanukkah we decided to get her a Nintendo DS just like Jared – we chose a pink one for her. She instantly loved it. Since then, video game playing has increased a little. Even though they spend a little more time on video games than TV, the pattern is the same. As some point they get tired and roll play or go read or go do art.

The only time the pattern changes is the first week of summer. The kids use that week to completely and totally decompress from the school year. The first couple of days is TV all day. They are glued to the screen; from waking up to going to sleep. They hardly move. They do not want to get up or go anywhere. They only leave the TV to go to the bathroom. You really have to see them, they are totally spent from the  school year and it shows in their faces.  To some extent it is even funny. Two kid zombies NOT walking around the house. You can hardly carry on a conversation with them. By day three it changes. They become more active, are more willing to leave the house and are a little more chatty, lively and start to get in some form of trouble by arguing with each other. Day four is almost back to normal and day five cabin fever hits and they are ready to tear the world apart again. Second week of summer is when we start sending them to camps.

We take our family summer holiday on the third or fourth week of the summer. This year we had to find a new place to go in Bahia De Los Angeles because Camp Gecko had changed how it operated. We went to Villa Bahia, a nice hotel-like place. I consider it hotel-like because the place is unrestricted unlike hotels, but you can get some of the common hotel services. In any case, we loved it. Compared to Camp Gecko, the place is luxury and Elizabeth was delighted. I missed roughing it and drinking with Doc, but Roger and Gene were incredible hosts and I got to drink with Joe and his family and also Roger.

Roger is a retired university professor. One night we invited Roger over for dinner and we talked about our backgrounds. When Jared realized Roger was a professor, albeit retired, he said: “teach me something”. Roger was taken a little aback. He thought for a few seconds and started to discuss the universe, celestial mechanics, the planets and physics. I know how intelligent Jared is and how easily he incorporates ideas, specially abstract ideas, but I was a little upset with Roger. I took it as though he was trying to show my kid up. Yes, I sold Jared a little short. To my surprise, Jared answered back with some astonishing comments and questions. I did not fit in my own body!!

Roger was not trying to show Jared up; he was trying to measure Jared up and adjust what and how he could “teach” Jared “something”. He decided to start high and then lower as needed. He was just as surprised as I was, but never skipped a beat. Sidney never really said a word; she just sat there taking it all in with a smile.

For Thanksgiving we went back to Villa Bahia for the week. As I normally do there I went fishing, caught fish and cleaned the catch back at camp. There was a lady with her kids that asked if I could clean the fish in such a way that their internal organs would be as intact as possible in order to dissect them and show her kids. Doctor Joe was asked to perform the dissections and “educate” the kids. He was only too happy to do it. Sidney was first row and center. We had been discussing what to do for her birthday. She had initially wanted a party with her friends, but after the dissection, she decided that she wanted Dr. Grandpa to dissect a cow’s brain or heart. Forget about a party. Unfortunately, due to health codes, brains or hearts are not sold to the public with all the veins, arteries and parts. Sidney was VERY disappointed. We ended up going to Disneyland and had a great time; but she would have rather had her Dr. Grandpa deliver an anatomy lesson to her for her birthday.

My kids are indeed just amazing!!