Alex's 2004 Recap

Another winter signals the end of another year. Another year of my adventure and a chance to document the highlights. And what a year it has been.

We're getting married! In March, I surprised Jordan with a weekend getaway to the wine country of Woodinville and a diamond ring. During a walk in the woods, I read her a poem I had written before going down on one knee to pop the question. She was surprised! After a few agonizing moments down there, she said yes and we kissed and held each other and laughed through tears of joy. Our wedding is this coming August. Check out our wedding website at edelhay.com.

But wait, there's more! Not to be outdone by a simple engagement, this summer I ended my Amazon career, one which lasted a stunning 7 years and 1 month. Not bad for my first job out of college. My goodbye email rippled across the internet in bits and bytes, reaching many of my friends and colleagues around the world. I was touched by the outpouring of support for my decision to move on, and faced with many questions of "what next?"

What would come next has also been a challenge and a thrill. I joined my friend Greg Linden at Findory.com, a teeny tiny startup with a big audacious goal: we want to change the way you read news. Our personalization technology adapts the website to show you interesting and relevant news based on your reading habits. There is too much news out there for anybody to keep up. We're here to help. I'm learning a ton and having great fun building up the business. It may be a little risky, but the time was nigh for me to leave the Amazon nest, and this couldn't have been a better opportunity for me to do so.

Jordan continues to grow her career at Amazon. She now works on the software which helps small business owners sell things through Amazon. It makes me so proud to see her handle all the new responsibility the management heaps on her shoulders. For more details, read her holiday card.

We had a few travel adventures this year. In January -- gosh, that was a year ago -- we went to the Yucatan Peninsula for a couple weeks of sun, food, and exploring ancient Mayan pyramids. In spring, just after we got engaged, we spent a long weekend visiting mom and Terry in Los Angeles. This summer we were busy attending two east coast weddings (we're at that age), first the wedding of Jordan's cousin Kevin to Rachel, then our friend Paul to Cat. Though tiring, it was great to catch up with family and friends. Paul and Cat's wedding brought us to Philadelphia, home of both of our alma maters. We spent a couple days touring each other around the campuses and eating authentic cheesesteaks. In between all this we managed to re-landscape the front and side of our house on the hill. I also did a few gigs photographing rock stars.

Last but certainly not least, I have restarted my fencing career. A friend wheedled me into going to a local tournament, which ended up being quite competitive but still fun. I squeezed into my college uniform and sauntered into the club a total stranger, and I left as "the new (good) lefty in Seattle". After a 7 year hiatus, I have rediscovered my love for the sport. Now I train regularly, which has helped me shed excess weight and stress. In fact, the lateness of this year's recap is partly due to fencing: I spent the week between Christmas and New Years at a fantastic training camp down in Oregon at the Northwest Fencing Center. So far this season, my best result was making the finals in a tournament alongside 2 of the 3 members of the US Athens Olympic Epee team. What happened when I fenced them? Well, you'll just have to read my fencing diary to find out.

In my 2003 recap, I wrote: "Hopefully 2004 will result in some answers, or at least fewer new questions." I can definitely say that I answered many inner questions in 2004. For 2005, I seek not more questions, but commitment to and clarity from the answers which I have found. Hm, that sounds overly deep, so instead I'll end with a joke: Two antennas meet on a roof, fall in love, and get married. The ceremony wasn't much, but the reception was excellent. Ha ha ha.

Cheers and welcome to 2005! We're officially a week into the future. What happens next is up to you and me. So what are you waiting for? Hop in to your spaceship and go build something amazing!