Today I am 43 years old. That's fucked up. When we started Hubski I was 34. So much has changed. I had no kids then. I have 3 now. I have founded a company, bought three houses, traveled to many countries, I went through the Y Combinator program, lost my grandparents, started meditating twice a day, started playing tennis, stopped playing tennis, ran a half marathon, got a hernia, bought a lot of guitars. made a TON of music. and made some podcasts too. In my 43 years I've been in love a few times, I went to college, dropped out of college, went back to college and graduated. I have released two albums and have played on a bunch of stages. I have given talks, raised millions of dollars, I've been near bankruptcy and worth millions, but mostly I've been somewhere in between. I've kissed pretty girls, I've been in car crashes, I've done a lot of drugs, I've fasted, I've been in jail, I've been bit by a dog, I've rescued a dog, I put two dogs to sleep while their heads rested in my lap. I've taught two kids to ride a bike, to swim and to ollie. I've walked to school and ridden the bus. I've saved up and lived in a state, by myself with no family and I've known the feeling of having to move home with my parents for lack of funds. I've been hungry and I've gotten food from a community food pantry, I've donated time and money to a community food pantry. I worked as a lathe operator, a meter reader, a cashier, a line cook, a dishwasher, a salesman, a team leader, a startup founder, a pre-school teacher, a janitor and a CEO. I've stepped on a nail, I've had hot oil poured on my hand, I've sprained both ankles twice, I've scored the winning run, I've struck out in the bottom of the 9th, I've cried in movies, I've dined in the nicest restaurants in Paris and I've eaten meals over a trash can. I've written poetry, I've been close to wanting to die, I've found comfort in music, I've been fortunate in my friends and family. I've built a lot of things in my 43 years. I'm a lucky guy. I'm in the middle of a battle right now, professionally. I'm confident we'll pull through all of this. I'm fortunate to have ecib and mk at my side. It's been a good run. I'm looking forward to the next 43 years. I love ya, Hubski. Onward!
I just came into the possession of several hundred pounds of Black Locust logs in various shapes and sizes. I almost destroyed the suspension, brakes and transmission of my car in the process but I managed it. Note to self, Chevy hatchbacks are not made for logs, even with a tow kit. I have a few carving discs coming in the mail for my angle grinder, so soon I can start making log art. I'll make sure to post my work. Michigan is slowly warming up. The more hours outside the better.
Recommend one of these murder machines. And lots of safety gear
We got our PPP. We got our EIDL. I'm getting my unemployment stimulus boost and surprise! we overpaid the tax man by $13k so we're likely to survive this thing. I have rejected 282 resumes in order to hire a half-irish, half-Taiwanese, all-queer activist named Saoirse. I have a working washing machine in a closet with no extraneous holes. Turns out bike shops are considered an essential part of the transportation infrastructure of Washington State so the kid upgraded from a tiny bike to a little bike and has been ripping around without training wheels. Best part is she upgraded to a used one so I'm like $100 out of pocket. Yoga is f'n murder, I was afraid to go running and my shoulders hurt from not using a push mower for two weeks. This time of year? never let it go two weeks.
Is there a way to get more than $10k from the SBA for the EIDL loan? Not complaining, 10k is 10k, just wondering as I am CERTAIN you've done your research. Congrats on the successes. Onward!
EIDL grant is $1k per employee as calculated by the SBA. We have seven employees; they decided we meant "five" because fuck you, that's why. EIDL loan is a whole 'nuther critter. There are also random-ass grants out there, but my experience is that they are subject to a great deal more scrutiny. The EIDL and PPP money are pallets of cash in the Arabian desert.
I got picked up from the airport by a vet once. Had one leg. I generally talk to my Lyft drivers if they're talkative; it's been a marvelously illuminating view into the lives of others. This guy lost his leg in Iraq because of course he did. That didn't really haunt him, though. We ended up talking about the night that he and his squad guarded a pallet of hundos. They all knew they could take some. They all didn't. And he's driving Lyft, and fifteen years later the life decision he still replayed was "what do you do with a gun and a pallet full of hundos?"
How do we make sure we don't lose Iowa how do we make sure we don't lose Iowa how do we make sure we don't lose Iowa also how do we hurt blue states how do we hurt blue states how do we hurt blue state.The SBA has been so overwhelmed by demand that it is now allowing only agricultural interests to submit applications, as it works through an enormous backlog. Key Republican senators had been pushing hard for farmers and agriculture companies to be able to tap the program, and they are now being prioritized over other prospective borrowers.
I spent the morning delivering breakfast burritos to a dozen or so members of my team at work. It was so nice for several reasons: - even at a reasonable social distance, it's great to see people you care about. - it feels good to do nice things for people. - it feels good to express gratitude. - I got to spend three hours with my wife (and no kids). - HELLO THERE IS NO TRAFFIC. I just zigzagged all over the Denver Metropolitan area... on a normal day... it would have taken me all day. . . also... the fast is going surprisingly well. about 60 hours in. It's a very weird mental/physical state. My body is cool with no food. My brain is essentially yelling at full volume "GIVE ME ALL THE CHEESEBURGER AND YES ADD BACON AND YES LARGE FRIES AND YES PIZZA ON THE SIDE". Delivering my favorite burritos was easier and harder than expected... just weird.
Fasting is fascinating to watch yourself go through. I've done the Master Cleanse a number of times, and enjoyed it every single time. So interesting to push your body's systems and see what they do when stressed... and how it changes your mentality about... food... eating... yourself... life... supply chain management...
You go to nature for an experience of the sacred...to re-establish your contact with the core of things, where it’s really at, in order to enable you to come back to the world of people and operate more effectively. Seek ye first the kingdom of nature, that the kingdom of man might be realized. Why don’t you stay in the wilderness? Because that isn’t where it is at; it’s back in the city, back in downtown St. Louis, back in Los Angeles. The final test is whether your experience of the sacred in nature enables you to cope more effectively with the problems of people. If it does not enable you to cope more effectively with the problems – and sometimes it doesn’t, it sometimes sucks you right out into the wilderness and you stay there the rest of your Life – then when that happens, by my scale of value; it’s failed.
- Willi Unsoeld
Things are still uncertain at work, but it's looking up. We're very busy and have a lot of things lined up that should position us well, but one concern we have is the time between creating our deliverables and getting paid. In other news, I also started making waffles as my girlfriend got me a waffle maker. I haven't had much chance to try it out, but the results are good so far. Just when my pants were getting loose, but hey, them's the breaks.
I'm a day late and a pubski short, but... ... the depression is still lurking in the background, but it's letting the panic attacks take over this week. So I'll be sitting there playing Solitaire, or whatever, and will feel my heart start to race, and the tension in my body build up, and hear the fight-or-flight machinery spinning up in my brain... ... and I'll go, "Oh hey. That's an oncoming panic attack. Fortunately, I don't have to let it take over, and I'll just sit here and watch it burn itself out..." And so far that has been working. Narrated one for about an hour to my wife, who was sitting on the other end of the couch - probably playing Solitaire as well - and talking through what my body and mind were doing, while also letting them do those things, and not pushing back against them. It seemed like giving them energy was going to make them last longer or spin up higher, so I just impassively watched this shit storm rage, and let it subside. Then I went and played guitar for 3 hours in the garden. Life is fucking weird, my friends.
Made a video for fundraiser of the visor-making efforts we've started at the makerspace: gf.me/u/xz58h4 (It's in french, but most of the video is just images) Breaking isolation for a day to go do something useful was fun. And it's nice to gift my skills to a good cause too. Shows my years travel vlogging and making little videos had a purpose. Might go again this weekend, not to film but just make more visors. Finally finished re-painting the staircase outside, but now i need to do the wooden steps. Got some chairs to re-upholser too, and I can't wait to plant things in the outside garden box I made. Already put in some radishes, but they haven't popped out yet. Worried my first year gardening might be a bust. We have lots of squirrels and cats around that might eat my stuff. But fingers crossed it goes well anyway. It will be a learning experience either way. Can't wait for the weather to turn, I feel outside hangout with friends at a distance will be a big thing. But it motherfucking snowed this morning. WE WANT SUMMER.