So my computer decided to mysteriously restart in the middle of my previous attempt at this post....  very frustrating.  I'll try not to make any sudden movements this time around.   I think the worst thing you can do when you're retyping something like this is to attempt to recreate what you just did.  It will never come out flowing as nice as it did the first time, because you're bound to leave out one clause  that sets the whole paragraph off.  Better to just start all over again.

So, last night I went to the Union Square Ventures "Holiday" party.  It was really interesting to be surrounded by so many people tied to the New York venture scene.  The tone of the conversations was very different than those I've had in California.  People in New York are much more directly focused on the deal at hand.  There's definitively less smalltalk and people always have a deal on their mind.  Conversations tend to stray a lot more on the West Coast.

I have this bad habit of asking people where they're from at these things and expecting a certain type of answer.  At GP meetings or ILPA, you're always "from" somewhere... representing an institution like Case Western or the Alaska State Pension Fund.  Last night, my, "So where are you from?" questions got answers like, "Westchester"...  or...  "I know Brad."  Not everyone there was so "institutional."  No one seemed to care where I was from either, which is nice, because anytime I go to the Private Equity Analyst conference, whenever I answer General Motors, I might as well paint a big bullseye on my face.  "Hey everyone... look... its a big LP that puts out lots of money.  Get him!!" 

The funny thing at this party was that I'm sure that a good number of the people there were probably writing blogs that I read.  I got into a conversation with Matt, the CEO of Return Path, who is a really personable guy, and I couldn't remember whether or not I read his blog.  Turns out that I did... he writes OnlyOnce.  It was also great to meet the GothamGal (Fred's Wife) although she chose to show up as her alter ego, Joanne, so there was no cape involved.  I think that anytime a significant number of people in a room are invited by Fred, they should be required to wear, "Hello, My blog is..." nametags, so we can match the person to the postings.  I'm sure they do that kind of thing at BloggerCon.

I support the interesting.  I also support the thoughtful, and those who challenge others as much as they challenge themselves.  I couldn't really care less what color, shape, gender, sexual persuasion, etc., etc., etc. that they come in.  Therefore, I'm tracking back and linking to this post.  I could have just left a comment, but I feel like if you're really going to be supportive of someone, you'll publicly identify with someone.  So, this post is my really boring straight guy attempt at support for this really fascinating woman.

Link: woot_detail.

You know... when I was young, we had to pedal our own Big Wheels!   No motor!  I had to pedal six miles uphill down my street and then six miles uphill back...  and we didn't have wheels either...   just two frisbees and a brick.

So now I get to find out how few people are reading my site... or how few of those people are are technically savvy enough to be reading it through an RSS reader.  :)   The little orange button on the left is my new feedburner feed.  Or, if you don't read the site through an RSS reader, you can always subscribe by e-mail on the right.

So, the date of my Learning Annex class is March 16th.  Don't worry...  you will all be getting advanced warning as soon as it goes live on their website.  I'm anxious to see how many people show up and I think it will be a larger group than they expect.

By March 16th, my life may be entirely different.  I may be working in a different place (Greenwich or somewhere else).  I will know whether I've made Stanford or not.  Hopefully, I will have closed on an apartment to buy.  Softball will be starting soon... but not GM Softball, which I haven't decided if I'm playing yet, but Fordham Alumni softball.   I will have played a season of dodgeball.  By March, I might have a deal for a book...  just not the one I originally intended to write.  By March, I will be more than halfway through my 25th year... without feeling a day over 17.  Somewhere along the line I used to think that I'd be married at 28.  That seems awfully close, with marriage seeming awfully far away. 

Everyday I feel closer to what I should be doing, without knowing quite what that is yet...  from interning to writing the paper to teaching a class to mentoring, and seperately from interning to being an analyst to working on business development and perhaps to getting closer to markets and companies right in the thick of it.  This is all leading somewhere...


"In the soft darkness that hides the future from the over-curious, I
content myself with this; that where I will be will not be where I
am."- Jeanette Winterson