September 2010

Zinch and Friends

This is from a month or so ago, before I went to China. Chris Michel took the picture. He’s an amazing photographer (not to mention super successful entrepreneur). Starting from left to right: Anne Dwane our CEO; Ed Zschau, successful entrepreneur/investor and currently teaching at Princeton; Me; Jonathan Assayag, recent Harvard Business School grad and now Zinch product manager; John Danner, faculty at Berkeley.

I love living in the Bay Area because I get to meet and mingle with amazing people all the time.

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Day to Day/Startups & Business/Zinch View Comments

Went over to Chaoyang District again tonight. That place just has more going on. Stopped by to pick up my tailored suits (had them measured/fitted a few weeks ago) at YaShow. Went do dinner at Let’s Burgers (best in Beijing) with Cache and Chip (he lives here in Beijing). Then we went and got some Chinese Massages by Chip’s place. Cost just over $20 USD for 60 minutes of full body massage. It was great. The lady (she looked 12) on me was rough and strong. I was basically getting beaten up. Cache even mentioned that every time he would glance over, it looked like my lady was really working hard, digging and grinding her hands into my back. It certainly felt that way. There were parts that simply hurt. I kept trying to tell her to soften up, but she had no idea what I was saying and instead would push harder. Ha. Quite the experience. Overall, I still loved it and would totally do it again. Best $20 i’ve spent in Beijing. Fun night with the fellas. Sorry for the grainy pic. Oh and they gave us Peter Pan outfits to wear. Either that or I totally felt like an “Other” from Lost.

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Day to Day/Me/Snapshot View Comments

Belly Dancing

I tweeted about this last night. Photographic evidence has popped up on our company yammer page so now I have to just share them with everyone.

We went out to dinner with our Zinch crew to a really nice Middle Eastern place in Chaoyang District. Delicious food. Super fine dining. Anyway, every so often they’d bring out a belly dancer to do a quick performance. During one of these performances, she tried pulling up people to dance with her. My Chinese colleagues were all too scared to go up. They denied her invitations. She approached me and I just said what the heck, i’ll do it. I didn’t do anything that would have embarrassed my wife (had she been there). I just had fun. I did a little Harlem Shake…a little Carlton…the works. It was a good night overall. BodyHype (my Princeton dance crew) would’ve been proud.

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Dance/Day to Day/Me View Comments

Rachel is 25

Today Rachel is 25 years old. Quarter of a century. That’s sounding scary. :)

I just wanted to wish her a happy b-day. She is the best. RachBday1.jpgAnyone who knows us and is honest will tell me privately that I “married up.” In other words, she’s above me on all levels. And it’s true. She’s my greatest accomplishment and always will be. I have no idea how I tricked her into marrying me. I have to work hard to keep up with her. I usually fall well short of her on most things that matter. She’s so patient and kind. She keeps me on track when I mess up…which I often do.

For almost four years now i’ve recognized and appreciated how supportive and loving she is as a wife. She’s stood by me through thick and thin. She believes in me. She encourages me. She inspires me. She is the one who deserves all the credit for any “success” we seem to be blessed with. She leads. She influences. She has a good heart. A huge heart. She cares. She believes in miracles. I always wanted to marry someone who believes in miracles. Found her. She is beautiful, inside and out. She is the foundation of my life. She is the rock of our growing, young family.

Just recently with the addition of little Sam, i’ve come to see how amazing a mother she is. She loves Sam in the special way that great mothers do. She loves to take care of him. She doesn’t do it because it’s duty. She does it because she loves it. She teaches him. She reads to him. She sings with(to) him. She plays with him endlessly. She wakes up in the middle of the night to feed him and care for him. She rocks him to sleep and is patient with him, even when it takes hours upon hours. She puts his needs well ahead of her own. She is so selfless. She does everything and anything for him. Four months into parenthood, I know she is and will continue to be such a great mother of our children.

I have full confidence that as I go out every day for work, she will hold the fort down at home. She will teach Sam and our future children what they need to be taught…so that they can be good human beings and disciples of Christ.

So just as I have recently discovered a new type of love for Sam, I have felt this new type of love for Rachel. I always wanted to marry someone whose highest priority would be to raise a good family. I found her. She’s super mom.

Bottom line is that i’m lucky to have Rachel. I learn from her everyday. She is a catch. I couldn’t have dreamt up a better wife to have. I look forward to the wonderful experiences and adventures we will share together. Hopefully I can keep up. :)

Rachel, Happy Birthday! I love you.

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Better Half View Comments

Updates from Beijing

My wife and son left today. They spent a little over 2 weeks here with me. I already feel a little bit empty without them. I loved coming home from work to hug them and hear how about their daily explorations of Beijing. I loved having them here and I already miss them. I know Rachel was nervous about doing the long flight with Sam. Hopefully it worked out fine.

I won’t see them for 2.5 weeks. I leave China in a week and once in the states I have more traveling. Rachel is going directly to Utah because she has some interior design engagements for a few weeks. So I’m gonna miss them dearly. I love them so much.

Below are a few pics from the Great Wall on Saturday. I tweeted a few of these. All from the iPhone. These two are the joy of my life.

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Rachel looking hot. The clouds would quickly come and go.
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When we first got there, it was really cold. So we kept Sam warm. He looks like ET.
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It warmed up quickly so we took the layers off Sam. Here he is just chilling. Someday he’ll brag about how cool this was.
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Rachel sitting in a corner in one of the towers…nursing the little guy. Both are such troopers.
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Better Half/Day to Day/Family/Me/Sammy View Comments

I miss this cool cat. He and Rachel left today from China. We’d cuddle together and watch movies (and Baby Einstein) on the computer. I miss my cuddle bug.

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Sammy/Snapshot View Comments

China

I’m in China most of this month for work. This time I brought my family. So far it’s been great. I love working so closely with the team here. They are talented. As for what my wife and son are doing while i’m at work…I think they are just exploring the wonderful city of Beijing. And spending money on knock-off stuff. :) I’m super happy that my family can be here with me.

I wish I had more time to post updates like last time here. But it’s go go go and any free moments we have we’re exploring the city…

Here’s the music playlist i’ve been listening to lately. This has absolutely nothing to do with anything but I figured i’d share.

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Me/Music View Comments