weekend away? lend out your room

The startup life is an insular one. Friends, loved ones (fortunately, we have very understanding ones), and even guildmates* begin to wonder why they never hear from you anymore. Sometimes it’s quite hard to explain why getting a few pixels to align is so frustrating, or why the seemingly innocuous acronym “CSS” causes so much aggravation. Nevertheless, every chance to reconnect and recharge is invaluable (and savored). This weekend I flew back home to be with my mother and father, take in some football, and forget about aligning pixels for a couple days.

By mid-summer our trips home were always received with comments like, “What are you eating?,” “You’ve lost weight,” or “I am sending you back with food.” (The last one was from my mom). I can proudly say that more recently, these comments have ceased -- presumably because we’ve added a few extra things to our diet, like protein and vegetables.

A trip back home guaranteed not only a full weekend’s worth of great eating, but also a vacancy in our apartment, which Steve was quick to take advantage of. Some Winter Founders Program applicants had their lodging plans screwed up and we had a room to spare, so I returned to an apartment full of hackers. Sights like this are encouraging signs of the startup renaissance that folks are talking about (another sign is the abundance of metaphors and buzzwords [like “startup renaissance”] surrounding it). Hosting some guys who were in the exact same position that we were in April was the least we could do; besides, we can use all the good karma we can get.

Something struck me today as I sat down to write this: many people take books into the bathroom, we take our Powerbooks.

Wouldn't want it any other way.

*A World of Warcraft reference, mom, I’ll explain it to you later.