Just thought I'd throw up an entry letting people know that I'm still alive here in southern thailand. We're staying on the island of Koh Samui which is on the other side of the mainland from where the tidal wave hit. We have a few friends who were staying on Koh Phi Phi (near Phuket) that I am concerned about. We were all going to meet in Krabi (one of the many scenes of devastation) in a few days. I just saw that the death count has risen to three thousand, and I imagine it will go higher. I feel extremely fortunate.

More google poetry

I Am Everybody

The Way I Am. This may come as shocking news I dont wanna be like you
I'm not afarid of standing out dont belong in a crowd I dont

choose the way I am, No one chooses the way they are-are, This is my fellow man
You've get to love everybody, I did not choose the way I am, Everybody was born

I ran the Roman Empire. I was a lavatory attendant in Hull. I am everybody and
everybody is me. Spirit. Who put the spirit in matter? Love.

I couldn't feel anybody's love, so everybody's love was not enough But I know one
day, it's going to fill me up And that's why I am everybody's girl That's why

got seven thousand dollars Dontcha mess with me Because I am Yeah, everybody knows
I am Said I’ma hoochie coochie man And everybody knows I am Everybody knows

I am pressed, printed, stomped And strategically removed I am everybody Insane without
innocence I am trapped, tricked, packaged And shipped out I am produced

away I push it back to get through each day and all I feel is black and white and
I'm wound up small and tight and I don't know who I am Everybody loves you

Yesterday was my last day as an employee of the company I co-founded nearly five years ago. It was quite a ride, as is typical of startups. We grew it from the three co-founders to a profitable company with twenty-some employees through two rounds of funding, good times and hard times. We practically created a new market with our innovative software and the previously established chemical informatics companies are scrambling to catch up.

Some people would think I'm leaving early, as we have neither gone public nor been acquired, but five years is a long time and I've come to understand that the sweet spot in my abilities lies more in the early stages of a startup than the latter stages. Our venture wouldn't have lasted two years without some of the decisions and efforts I made in the early days, knowing that gives me pride and confidence to move on to a new venture. I am also confident that I leave the company in capable hands.

I did get a nice plaque:

So what next? That's the exciting part.

The only things that are certain in my future are two upcoming plane trips and Mie. I go to Viet Nam, Thailand and hopefully Cambodia Dec 12 - Jan 11 for a vacation. On January 31 I fly to Rio de Janeiro (just in time for Carnaval) and then I plan to stay in Brazil for up to six months where I will attempt to split my time evenly between surfing warm Brasilian waves and exploring new possible software ventures. I have a few ideas already, but hopefully having the time to follow wherever curiosity and creativity take me will lead to even more.

Today is the first day of the rest of my life.