I haven’t been successful in getting this newsletter over the finish line the last couple of weeks, due to travel and work. I really enjoy (and depend upon) getting my head back on my should so that I can deliver this as part of my Sunday afternoon. This weekly negotiation represents the line I walk between living and being online each week. I purposely flirt with being consumed by the machine each week, but I rely on this newsletter to be my lifeline back to the real world. It grounds me. It reminds me what living actually means.

My two favorite quotes in this moment…

"The only clue to what man can do is what man has done" -  R.G. Collingwood (1889–1943) 

"The purpose of a system is what it does" - Stafford Beers (1926 - 2002)

I went to Paris last week. I never imagined I’d spend so much of my career in Paris. I’ve spend probably a couple months there over my time as the API Evangelist, and the city has become an unexpected backdrop to who I am as the API Evangelist. It’s a beautiful backdrop. It is a city I get along with. It feels right. I am getting to know it. I have a relationship with the night time and the streets there. I love the food. I still very much enjoy the wine, even though I don’t drink as much as I used to.

Working in Paris is natural for me. Walking around Paris is natural for me. The Paris subway is familiar to me. I feel like I’ve ridden it for years. I judge a city based upon it’s transit system. Paris is right up with NYC as a place I feel aligned with. The people. The infrastructure. The politics. The food. I don’t like traveling as much as I used to, but flying into Charles de Gaulle, and spending time in Paris works for me in this moment, and it is an acceptable trade to continue developing my career in this moment.

I spent the week working with my partner at Naftiko, Jerome Louvel. Jerome is from the Normandy region of France, but has lived in the United States for a significant portion of his adult life. Naftiko is Jerome’s vision, and I am finding a way to contribute and work within that vision. He is very French in his approach to business, but also has a solid awareness of the US startup ecosystem. We are both negotiating a balance between this French and US view of building a tech startup in this AI moment.

While in Paris I spent time getting to know my team. Thomas, Jeremie, and Farah. They represent the extent of the engineering function for Naftiko. The team has hit the ground running this quarter, and I am impressed with their dynamics. I don’t quite feel like I am part of the core team because of the language and cultural differences, but it is something that will evolve as I spend more time with them in the office. They are there every week, and I am an ocean and country away.

When away from home I miss my girls so very much. This makes the pictures that I get from Audrey essential for me to make it through my time away. We have such an amazing and tight knit family unit. It is hard to explain the connection the three of us have. It is hard to be away. It makes the pictures very emotional for me. I sure do love my girls. I sure do love coming back to them. I am so very thankful for Audrey and Poppy, and the family I have at home in New York City.

The one good thing about leaving to travel places is being able to come home. I love coming home to NYC. Even more than I enjoyed coming home to Hermosa Beach back in the day. Coming home, walking in the door and seeing Poppy and Audrey just lights up my heart. It makes the travel worth it. And to be able to come home to our shared view of NYC, our walk through Central Park each morning, as well as up the West Side Parkway—everything. Everything. Everything.

One of my favorite artists is Saul Steinberg, a former New Yorker cartoonist. Saul did one of my favorite covers from 1976, that we have hanging on our wall. But this week’s piece I stumbled across was one of his pieces of self-examination. I’ve seen a lot of his work, and I love the way that he saw the world. The way he thinks about things, and sees the world overlaps with mine. I like the crudeness and simplicity of his art. I particularly like the way he sees himself in the world that he observes. 

My kiddo came to town to see her local Seattle women’s hockey team the Torrents play the New York Sirens. Kaia has been spending more time at games in Seattle with friends and coworkers and I saw the opportunity to connect by inviting her to the game here at Madison Square Garden. It was a blast. I love the energy of the fans. The event was near capacity. It makes me happy to see the support of the players and fans, and thankful for the opportunity to connect with my kiddo.

One of the perks of my week at home in NYC is that Poppy and I get to walk and pick up Audrey after her ballet class at the Alvin Ailey Dance Center. Poppy and make our way there 30 to 45 minutes before she is done, and if we are lucky they have the shades pulled up and we get to watch her dance. She is getting really graceful and confident in the way she moves. I love sitting out on the bench with Poppy watching Audrey dance as Hell’s Kitchen bustles all around us.

As I pick my head up to look at the world around us, acknowledging the war in Iran, our President, and the trip we are making around the moon…I just have to say that I wish we would just take care of each other. I really do. I wish we could prioritize each other. I can’t believe how much money get’s spent on war and going to the moon. I wish that we would prioritize healthcare, education, and ensuring that everyone at least has a home and food on their table, no matter what.

Audrey, Poppy, and I did a 5K walk the day after I got back from Paris. Two loops around the southern half of Central Park. It was a dog centered 5K and most of the dogs were small dogs, but Poppy rocked it. Other than the occasional desire to go into the park to hunt squirrels I managed to finish. Poppy too. I am not really a fan of a 5k, but I am a fan of walking in the park with my girls, and it helped make slide me back into my NYC state of mind.

Poppy and I managed to get in a couple of rides this week, even with work, and getting sick, with one particularly magical ride on a particularly sunny day in the park with the cherry and magnolia blossom beginning to break. Even my old buddy Norm by the bridge is beginning to wake up. Spring has definitely sprung, and the blossoms are just getting started in the park, and I look forward to easing back into the heat from this very cold winter we’ve just experienced.