AMS Day 3 – Here We Go

make your life a worthy one

Not having a laptop has forced me to slow down and actually enjoy the day as it unfolded. It still sucked not to have a laptop for the code labs but you know what, it was awesome on its own way.

I didn't get the answers to my Polymer coding questions but was able to work in a group and get someone else started in Polymer and get them started on their own adventure.



i walked to the venue which was an adventure in and of itself. i wasn't afraid as I thought I'd be. but i was exhilarating. everything was a new experience and everything was new again. I felt like an explorer and, for once, i was ok with it. it may have helped that the walk wasn't a long one but it was a fruitful one

AMS – Day 2 – Busted laptop.

Wonderful, coming to a tech conference and the laptop gets busted on the first day here. It has its good side... I got a good long walk this morning and was able to find the apple store without major issues, the opened and I was able to get an appointment for the same day.

The news about the laptop wasn't so good. Apparently the logic board fried. They have a quality program for them but it'll take 3 to 5 days. Le big sigh, now I only have to hope I'll get it back before I have to leave.

On the way back I walked past the street of my hotel and got to see a lot more of this part of Amsterdam than I would have otherwise. Again the idea of being a beginner and how much it changes your perception of things, people and yourself

SFO to AMS — Day 1 (B – 13)

I'm writing this on an airplane (a KLM 747) on my way to Amsterdam, one of the first spur of the moment trips I've taken as an adult, and it's just dawning on me... There is no reason why I can't enjoy more of this and do it on my terms.

I was watching Armin Only's Intense roadmovies (recorded while Armin was on his year long tour. The ones that caught my attention, and that I hadn't seen before, were the Brussels and the closing Amsterdam shows. They made me realize something: Why not?

Why not explore the world? It's out there and you're not getting any younger... it's never to late to start but it may be too late not to.

Why not do it on my terms? I like NTT but it's not what I see myself ding for the next 3 to 5 years.... I want to be able to work from wherever I want. I want to have the flexibility to travel and be in places and be able to do.

I've mentioned before that my work at NTT was not the start of a new stage but a continuation of the exploration I started when I left FireEye. Who are you? What do you want to do?

I'm far from home yet I feel alive, I feel in control of... me.


One of the advantages of flying in a Dutch airline is that they assume their DJs and even the national airline has DJ music and Armin Only videos... One of the songs in the Armada Deep Night music selection was this little gem. It has made me think and it has made me reflect.

Schipol Airport

All I can say is wow! It's a city in and of itself...

Pictures can't really do justice to the vibe I got from Schipol

Pictures can't really do justice to the vibe I got from Schipol

It certainly gives you perspective, doesn't it?


Once you have clarity, do not neglect a single day. Wholeheartedly practice for the sake of the way and speak for the sake of the way. We know that buddha ancestors of old did not neglect each day’s endeavor. You should reflect on this every day. Sit near a bright window and reflect on this, on mellow and flower-filled days. Sit in a plain building and remember it on a solitary rainy evening. Why do the moments of time steal your endeavor? They not only steal one day but steal the merit of many kalpas. What kind of enemy is the passage of time? How regrettable! Your loss of time would be all because of your negligence of practice. If you were not intimate with yourself, you would resent yourself.

Enlightenment Unfolds: The Essential Teachings of Zen Master Dōgen, edited by Kazuaki Tanahashi


Ralph Waldo Emerson


Zenkei Blanche