2001 -2002 Christmas Card − 3 June, 2002

Dear Friends,

So this is my Christmas card. I know that it’s June. Truth be told, my motivation for sending this out was really my birthday, which got me kind of sentimental, and that was only in May, but this is still my Christmas card.

I turned 26 this year – I thought about first quarter down in life and such, but what really got me was all the moving I’ve done. I’ve left a lot of family and friends around the country, and I haven’t always done the best job keeping in touch. Not that many of ya’ll are great at it either, just that I was thinking about all of the wonderful people I know and it made me grateful. Here I am, feeling sappy, letting you all know what’s happening in my life.

I moved from NY to LA in April of 2001 – to start a new company with the same crew as PBJ (minus one). It took a bit to get acclimated, but I’m starting to get this city. I took up surfing, and though I’ve been slacking recently, I’m pretty sure it’s a new life long hobby. I just got a new place that I’m very excited about. A downtown loft that is as clichéd as it is exactly what I’ve always wanted out of urban living.

Right before I left New York I met a girl from Minnesota who agreed to move to LA to see what we could make of a relationship. It’s gone very well. We’ve had many adventures and a few big fights, each helping us to grow and understand one another. At some point along the line, there’s a running disagreement as to exactly when, this understanding blossomed into full-fledged, butter-your-toast-with-it, love. It’s giddy still, and we’re not yet over being all over each other in front of everyone. Her name is Kari; she’s lovely and lively. She has a dog too, who is lovely if you’re into that sort of thing and certainly lively, more so than I’d prefer most of the time.

This year’s lessons have been on equal parts how the world works and how I work. I’m coming closer to understanding business – by that I just mean getting a group of people to do something sustainable. Userplane (the new company) has been a terrific exercise in personality alchemy. Though sometimes volatile, generally the sum is more than it’s parts.

I recently became an Uncle. It’s hard to overstate how happy I am for my sister. Being a mother has been her dream for a very long time. The fulfillment of this dream is a beautiful baby girl named Emaelia. I got to a hold her and feed her, plus some other things that were less pleasant. If it’s been more than a few years since you’ve been around a very tiny baby you should seek one out and talk with them a bit. The perspective change is profound and instantaneous.

On my own, I’m continuing the process of trying to discern in my head between what matters and what does not, in the hopes that it will be easier, once I’m clear on this, to plan my weekends. I’ve been reading a lot and still hold on to the possibly naïve hope of someday tying it all together in a cohesive philosophical stance. In the meantime, I’m trying to be as honest as I can be.

I put together a little movie for you, because I thought it would be neat to give you some visual reference for the people and places in my life. I also thought some of you might have forgotten who I was, exactly - so seeing my face might jog something.

You can find it at http://kevinphotos.userplane.com - Click on the Christmas card link. I apologize to all of you using modems, it will take a while to download. On this same site are a bunch of pictures from the last two years, feel free to check them out too.

I hope this finds you well, stay in touch.

All my best,

Kevin