A Sack of Seattle

What 3 things would you tell your teen self?

If you could travel back in time and meet yourself as a teenager, what three things would you tell yourself?
Submitted by Digital Scrapbooking.

 This is another "question of the day" from Typepad....and I've left the opening sentence that Typepad submits automatically on your behalf so you all can see it -- simple, smart, and effective!

My answer....I'd tell my teen self the following:

1. Have more sex....but that likely goes without saying. Most everyone will write that answer.  More specifically, be sure to follow through on potential relationships or opportunities to kiss Diane MacDonald, Judith Goldman, Justin Hodiak, Alice Tasman and probably 20 or more others.  If anyone reads this and wonders why they're not listed in name-- please email me and I'll add you :-)
2. Finish your computer science degree -- I entered Brown Univ as a CS major and came out a religious studies major. I never finished my cs studies....and then I went to MIT and had a second opportunity to compele the degree and decided just to do an MBA. I would have liked to have finished the degree. 
3. Buy lots of domain names -- In 1994, there's going to be this thing called the internet -- buy lots of domains. It still blows me away that I started an internet company in 1994 and don't own 1000 or more domains!

My 20th reunion from Brown University

Just got back to the office after a long memorial day weekend in Providence. I started Brown University in 1989 as a computer science major. I finished Brown in January 1990 with a BA in religious studies -- affectionately known as an 89.5er. It's trite to say, but those four and a half years were some of the best in my life. 
Returning to that place and period of time -- as a 42 year old -- was very emotional. I cried or teared up at least 4 times.  The people that were there helped me define me -- and were present as I defined me.  Sometimes that was beautiful -- and sometimes that wasn't so pretty.
Some take aways from the weekend:

• People I thought I'd be in touch with forever -- I'm not. I'm surprised at the flow of relationships. Who has been in my life and who is likely to continue to be in my life is not as I expected.
• It's not about the money.  So much of success in America is driven and measured by money. Money is not and should not be the measure of success -- or happiness.  One of the best conversations I had this weekend was with someone who has been unemployed for 2 years and spent 9 months meditating. He quit his 90K per year job to elect for unemployment because he felt the job was killing the life in him. Pretty fascinating guy. He was amongst the happiest -- if not the "wealthiest" people I met.
• Life happens to all of us -- parents die, people get sick, people get married and divorced. There is no stopping time.
• The guys (myself included) were fatter
• Going back to college is a bit like visiting family for the holidays -- everyone regresses.

Precious parent moment

My daughter woke up and came downstairs last night. She was scared and started to cry. I asked her what was wrong and she told me that she was scared of death. What if I (dad) died? What if mom died? She was reckoning with mortality for the first time. It was a truly precious moment. I was glad I could be there. I couldn't say much to take away the fact but I gave her a big hug and told her I loved her. I told her that I didn't think I was going to die that night and nor was she ....and death was part of life and that's why you have to live each day as if its your last.

monday morning lessons from my son

Had a rough morning today. My son didn't want to go out with pants that have a zipper or button because he is unable to go to the bathroom on his own. He strongly prefers pants that he can just pull down and then up without adult assistance. Perfectly logical request for a four year old. The manner in which he communicated this request left something to be desired....even if it was effective. It made accepting the request a real challenge. I've witnessed myself and others make this same mistake over the past week. 

Death

I had an acquaintance friend pass away over the weekend.  She was 26 years young and was on a vacation with her husband in Palm Springs. She was involved in a bike accident and died. I went to the vigil last night.
Life is friggin weird and fragile. You just never know what lies around the corner.  Live hard now. Tell your family and friends you love them today...you may not be able to tomorrow.

Jude's first night puking

Last night was one of those nights. Jude threw up for the first time. Junks of pasta and olives. The aroma of acid wafting in the air. In a twisted way -- I loved being dad last night. The clarity of my role was overwhelming as I cleaned him, held him, and coaxed him through the night.

My daughter's first race

Today was my daughters first true cross-country race. The sun was shining, Woodland park was green, and parents were smiling. There were about 2000 people in the park for cross country run day. It was great! Coco ran 1/2 mile with about 50 other kindergarten girls. As the starter said "on your marks" -- Alexa and I yelled "Go Coco". She threw a look back that said "stop it". The starter said "set" and the beep sounded to start the race. Coco was off and for about 10 seconds she looked like she was in the lead. Then, she realized (as did I) that the person she was running with -- a younger girl named Andrea -- was lagging behind. So Coco slowed down, waited for Andrea to catch up and ran. Next thing I knew, the kindergarten girls were coming round to the finish line. I watched with my son Jude on my shoulders -- waiting for a glimpse of Coco to come round the corner. And there she was -- she came around the bend, smiling, running, and I yelled again. "Go Coco". She saw me and ran on to the finish line. It was exciting!

It may not sound like much to all of you -- but it was a big deal to Coco, to me, and to all the other parents watching their kids run.