Entries Tagged 'Life' ↓

Like many others, I’m a bit wary of “New Year’s Resolutions” — but that doesn’t mean I don’t have goals for myself this year. Here are a few that made the cut:

• Spend more time just having fun with my wife and daughters
• Read the New Testament
• Read one book per month
• Reach 170 lbs. or less
• Successfully ride a century on my road bike
• Help Chattarati continue growing its audience and influence
• Grow my freelance client base or start a new business
• Travel somewhere new outside the USA
• Learn more about photography
• Learn more about wine

What are your goals for 2009? How can we help each other?

I’m slowly reacclimating myself to the so-called real world after an amazing weekend on Prince Edward Island. My journey to the unconference known as Zap Your PRAM took me through Atlanta, Toronto, Halifax and Charlottetown before I settled in at the charming Dalvay-by-the-Sea Hotel. By now, the weekend has been summarized, memorialized and philosophized across the zaposphere, but here are a few of my broad impressions.

Food
There’s something deep about sharing meals with friends, and our hosts (of silverorange and reinvented fame) were well-attuned to this fact. We had two hours allotted for lunch and another two for dinner, allowing us to linger and enjoy great conversations long after the delicious, artfully-presented meals had been devoured.

Focus
…or the lack thereof. This is one of Zap’s biggest strengths, that it was not merely a “tech” or “design” event. It was simply–and broadly–about interesting people talking to one another. Stephen DesRoches has a comprehensive recap, but to say my mind was expanded would be an understatement. In a truly head-spinning moment, I spoke on a “design matters” panel alongside Paul Kim (Mozilla), Peter Sikking (openUsability), Jes Sherborne (ZS Associates) and Matthew Domurat (Dow Jones). I have a feeling the near-overdose levels of intelligence and insight I encountered at Zap will be working their way through my brain for some time.

Friends
What I think (hope?) will last longer than the interesting tales are the new friendships which began over this long weekend. While I didn’t get a chance to talk with everyone, I made an effort to step outside my painfully shy nature and get to know as many of the amazingly cool people as possible. And what’s been interesting in the last couple days is that rather than rushing to connect on LinkedIn, we’ve been busy finding each other on Twitter, Facebook and Last.fm. Scotch tastings (Ian, you rock!) and fireside chats over live music have a way of encouraging that, I suppose.

One More Thing
A couple of choice quotes related to my standing as the southernmost attendee and the associated cultural assumptions:

• Dan James: “So, I’ve had a few people ask me this — since you’re from the south, are you a Republican? We’re hoping to have a token Republican.”
• Alan McLeod: “The sound of your voice makes me hungry for barbeque.”
• Keith Burgoyne: “Okay, I have to know — Sarah Palin, hot or not?”

Y’all are welcome down south anytime, y’hear?

I spent all of last week in San Jose for the annual Search Engine Strategies conference. I learned a lot, met some very cool people, visited San Francisco and Carmel and even played Rock Band for the first time. (Photos coming to Flickr soon, I promise. Besides, don’t you follow me on Twitter?) And just as with my trip to New York in April, I came back to Chattanooga with a lot of ideas (and questions) about life and work.

I’ve been putting a lot of time and energy into my hyperlocal Chattanooga blog, Chattarati. Last week excluded, I typically spend a couple hours each night looking for story ideas, writing or pondering tactics to help spread the word beyond our (wonderful and loyal) audience of the “connected” crowd. I’ve also got a few other web/social media project ideas swirling around, and every new web site sparks another idea. My book list– which includes everything from Surprised by Hope to Made to Stick to How the Soldier Repairs the Gramophone to The 4-Hour Work Week –grows longer by the day. And tonight, for the second time in recent weeks, I had to declare RSS bankruptcy and just mark everything as “read.”

At this point, I believe I’m suffering from “inspiration overload.” Anyone researching a cure for that?

This was the quote on my Starbucks cup today:

By the time executives get married, take on a mortgage, raise kids, cope with the crabgrass, climb the corporate ladder, do their best to manage career pressures, build their net worth and get into their 40s, they’ve lost touch with what they believe in and care about most deeply. -Allan Cox, CEO coach and author

I refuse to believe that it has to be this way, that you can’t have it all and be true to yourself. Then again, I’m not interested in most people’s definition of having it all. Do I want a satisfying career? Yes, but my goal is not to reach the top of the corporate ladder. I want to build my own ladder, chart my own course, and enjoy the journey with my family by my side.

My Dad would have turned 67 years old today. He didn’t quite make it, as he passed away last Sunday after an 18 month battle with mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive yet rare form of lymphoma. The picture above, taken a couple years ago with my older daughter Bailey, is one of my favorites.

Dad was diagnosed in February 2007 and began treatments immediately. After several months of chemotherapy, it appeared that he was in remission and his oncologist recommended he undergo an autologous stem cell transplant. This type of treatment is very aggressive and rare for someone at his age, but it was believed to be his best chance at an extended life. He underwent the nearly three month process at Vanderbilt and returned home around Thanksgiving, officially in remission.

He had remained upbeat and optimistic throughout all his treatments, but was positively joyful to return home. In some ways, he was a different person. He was doing things he’d always wanted to do but never had before. He and my sister took a trip to his hometown of Paw Paw, Illinois (population 800). Later, he drove to Florida (in his new car, which was a shocking purchase as his old car had not yet died on the side of the road somewhere) to see the Dodgers play in Spring Training. In retrospect, perhaps he knew better than we did how little time he had left. The month of May brought news that his cancer had returned with a vengeance. In less than six weeks, it was decided that the potential benefits of further chemotherapy treatments did not outweigh the risks.

This past Wednesday he was buried at the National Cemetery here in Chattanooga. Sunday, we held a memorial service at his church of more than 15 years, St. Mark UMC in Anniston, AL. My younger brother, who is writing a book about Dad’s life, gave a very nice prepared eulogy, sharing a brief version of Dad’s life story and some of the things that made him such a great man. I spoke briefly, off the cuff, about a great gift he gave me. My remarks went something like this:

Dad was always funny about birthday gifts. Joel, Julie and Genia and April could tell you that to Dad, a birthday gift wasn’t about how much money he could spend, but rather about finding something that would really represent us. As a result, he was often a bit late with those gifts.

Another thing we remember about Dad was his stubbornness. Once he got an idea in his head, once he decided to do something, he rarely–if ever–changed his mind. When he was diagnosed with cancer, we decided as a family that he should be treated in Chattanooga instead of in Anniston. As a result, we also decided he should move to Chattanooga to be closer to his doctors. And so Dad began searching for an apartment. He found one–across the street from Genia and myself. The problem was that it wasn’t yet available, and we didn’t know when the tenants would be moving out. This was of no concern to Dad. He wanted it, and to our occasional frustration, he was going to wait for it.

Six or seven months later, he got it. And little did I know at the time, but this may have been the greatest gift he ever gave to me. I was able to spend more time with him during the year he spent staying with us and then living across the street than I would have in five years of him living in Anniston. My favorite memories of Dad are of him with my two girls.

Hot WWDC News via SMS
Hopefully you already know that tomorrow is practically a holiday. That’s right, it’s the first day of the Apple Worldwide Developer’s Conference, where Steve Jobs is expected to announce the new version of iPhone. Expect 3G, GPS, iChat, Solar Power and premium espresso. For those of you as brand-addicted as I am, theilife.com is providing an SMS update service for hot news during the keynote.

Cycling Photography
The changes are slim that I’ll be posting photos of myself in cycling attire, but thanks to the Fat Cyclist, I know now the art of hiding your gut while being photographed in a skin-tight cycling jersey.

Pop Phone
Seth Godin posted a YouTube video of cell phones cooking popcorn. The video’s authenticity is in question, but it’s entertaining and thought-provoking since the brain cancer/cell phone link has been back in the news.

…Finally
Last but not least, Hillary’s Fond Farewell. Senator Obama, if you’re listening, do not name Hillary your running mate unless your goal is to completely undermine the powerful brand you’ve built.

My younger brother is a history buff. The kind with bookshelves full of obscure titles about Russian history and his other personal favorite, Napoleon (they’re both short and aggressive). Now he’s tackling a subject a little closer to home — a biography about our father.

They were sitting at my kitchen table yesterday afternoon, going over a rough timeline of my father’s 20 years in the military. My dad loves to tell a story, so there were a lot of interesting and funny anecdotes shared. He’s never talked that much about his military service, but he fought in Vietnam and served tours in Germany and Korea. One of the stories he shared really struck me as a great example of his restraint and convictions.

For a while he taught a rifle course at a college in Pittsburgh and had his uniform spit on by a student in an elevator. The young woman said something to the effect of “if we didn’t have to pay for all you people, we could go to college for free like they do in Russia.” I can imagine many people would’ve told her to catch the next flight over. Not Dad. He stayed silent and let the woman go on her way, probably feeling smug about her personal protest. Dad’s perspective was different, believing that anything he might have said or done in response would have only reflected poorly on himself or his country.

We Interrupt This Program…
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800

Genia and I are in New York City through Monday to celebrate her 30th birthday. So, to keep up with our travels, check out my Twitter feed or check my photos on Flickr or Facebook (links at right).

I have some cool post ideas in the works, but regularly scheduled FNR content is on hold until late next week.

Fun and Educational
Originally uploaded by JHawbaker1800

Bailey has been spending a lot of time at www.starfall.com

Do you remember the scene in Spider-Man 2, the morning after Peter Parker decides he is Spider-Man no more? He’s strolling through the city, a bit clumsy but nevertheless quite pleased with himself…

That’s me, walking to the office on the days I manage to hit the gym.