Todd's Annual Newsletter December 2003
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Greetings! I hope this letter finds you well. Once again it's been another very different year. This year the sunset at Ocean Beach told me this was to be my "Year of Good Habits". I'd like to say I slacked off on the bad habits and picked up on the good ones. But by the end of my letter, I'm sure you'll let you be a good judge.

Work: They say "All good things must come to an end". I also lost my job at KANA. Yes, the same swine who laid me off two years ago made the same call again. So I had another relaxing 7 months off this summer. I must say it was awesome. This November I picked up a job just before my Unemployment Insurance ran out. I'm programming the reports at a small software company called Movaris. I really like the people, the product and the opportunity. The only down side is that the job is 50 miles down in Silicon Valley. No, I'm thinking of moving from SF...

Travel: Once again January brought the yearly Pilgrimage to Whistler, BC for a trip with Da Boyz, organized courtesy of those crazy Johnson Brothers. Let's just say the damage deposit on our classy condo didn't even last the first night. Bringing my good buddy Josh up there and taking him to the hospital for a party injury was definitely a highlight.
In April, I went with Brian to see his home town Toronto. We hooked up with his Toronto crew and saw the town. I was sad to miss the Hockey Hall of Fame, but I'm sure I'll make it there next time.

I had one stellar trip when I took 4 days to ride my motorcycle from San Francisco, up the coast to Vancouver BC. I camped one night in each state. I met my old pal Chris in Vancouver to take his new sailboat out for a 9 day trip from Vancouver up to Desolation Sound. We had perfect weather, just enough sailing, more than enough drinking and lots of beautiful scenery everywhere (including the girls). Aside from one "Ruprect the MonkeyBoy" moment, we displayed excellent seamanship. To get home, I rode a quick 1000 miles in two days down I-5. Crazy!

My brother, Mark (who's also unemployed too), and I took a 3 day motorcycle trip to the Sierra. We had a great time riding up in the high mountain passes and camping at Lake Tahoe and then deep in Yosemite Valley.

Social Life: The social life has been pretty low key these days. I've been cutting back on some of those bad habits and not going out so late. So the social life, has slowed a bit. But like I wrote in my last letter, the friendships that I have maintained have appreciably deepened.

In regards to women, it's been a long dry year for dates until October when I met Stephanie at a sailing BBQ. And so starts another good habit. We've been dating for two months+ and having a fantastic time with each other. We're still in the honeymoon phase of the relationship, and something tells me it's gonna go on for a while...

Sports: It's been a mostly hockeyless year, and I've missed that habit terribly. Luckily enough, I recently started playing on a new team in Oakland. It's a great bunch of guys (mostly Canadians) and we enjoy beers in the parking lot after the game. I got my first two goals last game, so it's been fun. Also, since my new roommate has a dish, I purchased the NHL Center Ice Package so I could watch the Vancouver Canucks (and 40 other games a week). It's a lot of fun, especially with the TiVo, and it's making me a smarter hockey player.

A good habit that I decided to start was getting back on a crew. Once again, lucky for me, my friend and landlord Nicholas (from Quebec City) invited me to join the crew he sails with on a Santana 35. It's a great bunch of people and I think I've already started to fit in well.

School: I managed to finish my Java classes and it has surely made me a much better coder. It was a long hard slog, but it's turning out to be well worth it. Having these new skills got me my current position. Who'd have guessed?

Political Activism: I was excited to take part in on the Anti-War protesting in SF. It was great to see so many people out there expressing their dissent. I never hung out with those jerk-face anarchists and radical communists who ruined it for everyone with their trouble making. Regardless, it saddens me that the US went to war in the way it did.

Writing: I had been getting back into the habit of writing. I started a web log (known as a "blog") called "Crazy, Drunk and Unemployed" and it has been very enjoyable to write so much. I try to keep it interesting and write as much as I can. I'm down to once a week these days, but it comes in waves. If you're interested, go to http://easyt.blogspot.com.

Living Situation: For once, I did not move this year. I finally found a place so nice, I've stayed put. I did get a new roommate as my old one (John) sought a place closer to his work in San Mateo. Erik, my new roommate is turning out to be a great addition. Not only does he have great stuff (Satellite dish, TiVo and so on) but he's a great guy and very easy to live with. His girlfriend, Nina, is very cool too.

Has it been a Year of Good Habits? Well, a new job, new girlfriend, new roommate, new hockey team, new crew to sail with are all starts on good habits. The Good Lord has been very kind to me with all these new and exciting opportunities. It seemed like every time I needed something new and good, it came to me.

Until next year, Happy Holidays and Increase the Peace.