I worked at the UCI Bookstore during the last 3 years I was at UCI. It was probably the best job on campus job you could have. Your job was on campus so that made it super convenient. And they were understanding of your life as a college student so they would do anything to accommodate your schedule. While most of the times I had with my coworkers was fun and enjoyable, there was one shift I’ll never forget.

I was working a closing shift with one of my coworkers. It was pretty slow so we were just goofing around waiting for our shift to end. He goes into the back to grab his cellphone and is gone for a couple minutes. He comes back and he is visibly shaken. He tells me that someone close to him was suddenly taken away. His friend was in a motorcycle accident and he didn’t survive. I didn’t know what to say. I’d never been around anyone who has received news like that. After awhile, we started talking about his friend. I don’t remember much of the conversation but I do remember talking about the car club he was in. It turns out that I knew someone in that same car club but in San Diego. I talked about my high school friend and the car that he had. We talked about the picnics they would throw in the summer. We talked about how funny it was that we were able to make that connection. By the end of our shift, I felt that somehow I was able to make him feel a little bit better. I reflected on what happened that day and was moved enough to write a post on how people come into and out of your life.

Last March, I was out with my friends having dinner at the Gyu Kaku in Tustin. Towards the end of dinner, I check my phone and notice an old friend of mine checking in at a bar in my neighborhood. Surprised that she was in my neighborhood since she lived up north, I asked how long she would be there and she invited me to meet up. The rest, as they say, is history. Today, Mary is my girlfriend and I’ve never been happier than any other point in my life.

At the stage in our relationship where we went from flirty text messages and IM chats to late night phone conversations, we talked about that night in March. She was at The Copper Door to celebrate her younger sister’s birthday. She was also in town because it was her brother’s birthday as well. I knew that she had a brother and that he was no longer with us. We started talking about his passing and how it affected a lot of people. She started telling me about how one of our mutual friends even went to the viewing.

Light bulb.

My heart was beating out of its chest while I was trying to send her the link to a post I’d written ten years earlier. She read my post. We were both speechless. I’d written the post late at night, on December 18, 2001; the day after her brother had passed.

I’ve been meaning to write my annual year in review post for over a month now but didn’t know where to start. I decided to share these two stories to show that everything happens for a reason. Little insignificant decisions you make in your everyday life, may have an significant impact in your future, who knows how many years in advance. After our first date, I knew that Mary and I had something special. I connect with her on so many different levels; music, food, movies, sense of humor. I could go on. The one thing I couldn’t relate to with her was with her brother. I’d never met Clyde and I hope to never know what it’s like to lose a sibling so suddenly. When I wrote that post, I had no idea that this was the one way I would be able to connect to Clyde. I had no idea he had a younger sister that I would meet for the first time at a bar in Fullerton 5 years later. I had no idea that I would run into her again 5 years after that and fall head over heels for her.

It’s funny the way life works sometimes. Here’s to 2012.

As of yesterday, I became an employee of DMG. DES, the company I’ve been working for since 2009, was bought and most of the employees joined DMG as part of the merger. My position has changed. I won’t be in outside sales and working from home anymore. In this role, I’ll be supporting two outside sales people and be commuting 5 days a week to the office. I’m not disappointed at all with the change. Working from home definitely has its pros but it also has its cons. The main disadvantage to working from home are the distractions. I’d often work from coffee shops just to get away from my apartment just to give me a sense of going somewhere to do something. I’m actually looking forward to working in an office with actual coworkers. At home, all I had was Dexter. While I’ll miss being able to run errands during the day and working remotely (sometimes very remotely), I’m excited to start work.

I started working on the Dos Chinos food truck in September of 2010 and while I thought of it as something I would do for fun on the side for extra money, I almost turned it into my career. The truck turned from an unwrapped, roach coach to one of the most popular food trucks in Orange County. The truck was featured in the New York Times, Good Day LA and Eat Street on The Cooking Channel. The truck was doing so well that in October, Dos Chinos opened the doors to its brick and mortar location. With rumors of DES being acquired and the success of the food truck, I seriously contemplated switching careers to manage the Downtown LA location. I told my managers at both DES and Dos Chinos where I was and that after a much needed vacation to Hawaii, that I would make my decision of where I wanted to work. Once I got back, I made my decision to work at Dos Chinos full time. I called Hop ready to work and got the cold shoulder. While we had verbally agreed on how much I would be paid, he back tracked and couldn’t afford to pay me. I had already told DES that I was working the restaurant full time but held off telling DMG. I thank the powers that be for everything working out the way it did.

While I’m sad the Dos Chinos thing didn’t work out the way I wanted, it led me to my current side gig. I met the guys from The Lime Truck back in September 2010. We all hung out at their house in Irvine after a long shift and had a great time. They eventually became one of, if not the most, popular trucks in Orange County. They recently won season 2 of The Great Food Truck race and Chef Jason is using the money to open his own restaurant. A couple months back when Dos Chinos and The Lime Truck put together a pop up restaurant event, I asked him about working at his new restaurant. I called him the closer the restaurant was to being done and while I was expecting to go through some interview process, he ended up bringing me along as part of his staff. My side gig is now a server and stage at Playground in Downtown Santa Ana.

In Steve Jobs’ commencement speech to Stanford, he spoke about connecting the dots.

You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something — your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

I know that all the events of the past year have led me to where I am today. Without meeting Hop, I would’ve never met Jason and I wouldn’t have my awesome side gig I have today. If one of my old managers didn’t refer me to Joe, I would’ve never been hired by DES and then later acquired by DMG. I know that the dots I’ve connected this year are only a small part of a bigger picture. I won’t know how the picture will end up looking like, but I trust that it will all work out in the end.

I take pride in being able to say that I was once an Apple employee. I worked at a retail store in San Diego right out of college. I have only one Steve Jobs story that I can share. I was an Apple employee when he sent that first company wide email announcing that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He said that there were two kinds: the more common one which is, in over 90% of its cases, terminal and a rare form that is actually treatable. He had the latter type. He went on to say that patients with his type of cancer are able to live healthy lives for years. Steve also said that he would take a six month medical leave to deal with his cancer and that Tim Cook would be leading the company in the meantime. This was in 2004.

It’s amazing that he only stepped down as CEO six weeks ago. He truly lived and breathed Apple. Every time I use the Maps application to avoid traffic, every time I FaceTime with my girlfriend and every time I use my iPhone to casually pass the time, I’ll be thankful for the man and his company that made these things possible.

Thanks Steve. You’ll be missed.

As of June, I am now a technology writer for TechZulu.com. I’m always on the look out for something that I enjoy and I can make some extra money from. I know what I’m doing now is not what I’m going to do for the rest of my life so I’ve been a little more active in trying to find out what it is I ENJOY doing. I noticed that a local tech site that I follow was looking for a writer to post reviews, interviews and articles on local startups. I’ve been blogging for almost 10 years and have been posting tech related posts to my site for about 7 years so I figured, why not? I was a little surprised when the CEO responded to me via Twitter and wanted to contact me. After a phone interview and an in person meeting, I was welcomed aboard as the newest writer for TechZulu. I’m about two months in and while I feel like I’m still getting a feel for actually writing for a site other than my own, I like the fact that my articles will be read by a wider audience than my own personal blog. You can read what I’ve written for TechZulu here.

I’m a little late to the iPad 2 bandwagon but last week I won one for a contest at work. I relented on buying an iPad 2 when they were released because I didn’t feel that there were enough features to get me to upgrade. Once this contest was announced at work, it was a no brainer. All I had to do was do what I normally get paid for, AND get an iPad 2? Sure, why not?! At first, the contest said we were going to be allotted a 32GB WiFi only model but for accounting reasons that I’m not complaining about, our manufacturer sent us enough money for a 64GB 3G+WiFi and a Smart Cover. I’ve had it for almost two weeks and while a full blown review would be a little outdated, I’ll write down some quick thoughts about it in a future post.

The previous side gig on the Dos Chinos truck has slowly grown into something that, if I really wanted to, could replace my main source of income. Since I last posted, our truck has been featured in a New York Times article, on KTLA and on The Cooking Channel’s Eat St. And now, the owners are close to opening up a brick and mortar location in Downtown Los Angeles. Hop, one of the co-owners of the truck, has been really pushing me to jump on with him full time and help him launch the restaurant. It’s a bit humbling that he’s tapped me as one of the chosen to help launch the restaurant, but it could also open doors to something that I’ve always wanted to do on my own.

And on a final note, while I don’t like to get too personal, too often on this site, I’ve found myself in probably the last relationship I’ll ever get into. She’s turned me from cynical and jaded to hopeful and extremely happy. I’m thankful everyday that our paths crossed again and she’s back in my life.

If people still follow posts on this site, please know that I’m more interesting, and post a lot more on Twitter.

What’s even scarier than the actual panic attack is that I don’t know what caused it. I’ve gone through bad breakups, grandparents passing away and being laid off and none of those have triggered anything close to a panic attack. Even as I look at my life now, there’s nothing that I can complain about. I have a decent paying job that lets me work from home, a side job with awesome perks, a great circle of close friends and I recently found someone that I really care about, that I can’t stop thinking about and makes me happy. Regardless, I’m going to get a professional opinion to find out where is all stemming from. Until then…

“We’re so old we’re talking about the 90′s like it’s the 80′s.”

“I love Joe Hill’s birthday. I look forward to it every year.”

“The last time I saw Joe like that was on his wedding day.”

“Bros before hoes except if you’re getting ass.”

“The name of my car is Truck Norris.”

“Cool story bro.”

This morning, Neil tweeted out a link to Warmfuzzy. This was the first of his mixtapes I was introduced to and he appropriately tweeted out a link to it since today is Valentine’s Day. It’s billed as the perfect mix to give to someone you’re with or currently into. It was released in 2005 which was an ETERNITY ago if you think about it. This was before Twitter, MySpace was still relevant, Facebook was barely a year old and before Neil became a relative household name as Jay-Z’s tour DJ. As a courtesy, he has reposted the link to all the late comers who may have missed it back in 2005. It’s kind of amazing that something almost 6 years old is just as listenable now as it was back then.

Hawaii

For my annual trip this year, I went with Marissa to celebrate her 28th birthday in Hawaii. This being my fourth time and it being her first, I didn’t mind playing tour guide. We did all the typical tourist-y things there are to do on Oahu. Diamond Head, Hanauma Bay, Haleiwa, Waimea Bay and Lanikai were spots we visited and we ate at all the local spots; Zippy’s, Leonard’s, Boots and Kimo’s, Giovanni’s and the massive food court at Ala Moana Mall.

Los Angeles Rock N Roll Half Marathon

Last Sunday, I ran the inaugural LA Rock N Roll Half marathon. This was my second major event after the San Diego Rock N Roll Full. I ran this a week after returning from Hawaii so I was a little worried I wasn’t going to be in top running shape. I set myself a goal of finishing in 2:30. I surprised myself by finishing in 2:15. The course was much easier than San Diego in terms of elevation changes but I did start to feel my quads tighten towards the end of the course. I know with proper training I can break the 2 hour mark. I now have a little over a month and a half to train for the Las Vegas Rock N Roll Full.

Dos Chinos

Finally, a little over a month a ago, my favorite food truck tweeted that they needed some extra help during some of their food runs. I replied back and met them downstairs while they were in the area. I was only expecting to talk to them about how often they would need help and how I would be compensated. Next thing you know, I’m taking orders and handing out food to customers.

What started out as a cool thing to do two days out of the week is starting to turn into part time gig. At first I was kind of ashamed to say that I started working on a food truck. But gourmet food trucks are all the rage and once I started mentioning it to people they always responded with something positive. It really is kind of a neat gig. I get to eat not only our own truck’s food, but I’ve sampled a lot of Orange County’s other food trucks including The Lime Truck, Calbi BBQ, Trop Shave Ice and Dogzilla just to name a few. It’s really cool to see what goes on inside a food truck and within the entire gourmet food truck industry. I’ve met a lot of interesting people and loyal customers. I’ve even been recognized outside of our truck.

If you see Dos Chinos visiting a spot near you, try to stop by and say hi to the person taking your order.

Since I participated with Team in Training all of our accommodations in San Diego were taken care of. If you have a chance, I HIGHLY recommend at least doing one event with TNT. The experience is a very rewarding one and you are doing it all for a great cause. I met a lot of great people along the way. My only regret is that I wished I participated in more practices. My knee kept me from running the majority of this spring season.

The morning of the marathon started when some people are calling it a night. We met at the lobby of our hotel at 3:45 AM. I’ve had nights end later than that. From the hotel they shuttled us over to the starting area where we waited for about 2 hours before the race started. Once we lined up, it seemed like forever before our corral was let loose. Once we were let go it was on! The first 3-5 miles I was worried about my knee. I could feel it tighten up ever so slightly but once I got the jitters out of me and got warmed up, it felt fine. From miles 6 to about 9 or 10, Nolan and I hit a pretty good groove. We had a nice steady pace going and we spaced out a couple of walking breaks. Once the course took us on to the 163 freeway, trouble started. Part of the course took us from downtown San Diego to Mission Valley along the 163. If you’re familiar with this stretch of freeway it is all uphill for about 4 miles and goes downhill from Washington St. all the way to Friars Rd. Not only that but the freeway is banked so you’re also trying to compensate for the slope of the freeway. This, along with weather that was hotter and more humid than usual, contributed to severe cramping in my legs. I’ve never felt cramping like that since my days of playing high school basketball. So from about mile 11 until the end of the marathon, I had to alternate between running, walking and stretching out my cramping legs.

Once we crossed 20 miles, I totally felt like I wanted to chop off my legs because they were hurting so bad. No amount of sports drink, water, GU or salt could take the pain away so we just had to finish. Once we made the final turn toward the finish line, the sound of the crowd made me forget all about the pain in my legs. I knew I had friends and family waiting for me at the finish line and I couldn’t wait to see them. I still don’t think it’s fully hit me that I’ve completed a full marathon.

After running my first marathon, I can definitely say I will remember the experience the rest of my life, especially with my involvement with Team In Training. I thanked everyone in a previous post but I’ll do it again because I don’t think I was able to do it with all of your support. I’m already thinking about doing my next event, the inaugural LA Rock N Roll Half Marathon. I brought my camera along with me and you can check out the pictures here.