I enjoyed looking back on last year’s post “R.I.P. 2008″ so much that I thought I’d try recapping this year again using the same format.

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Sigh. That’s about all I can do when I look back at this past year: sigh. Unlike 2008, I can’t say it was all fun. While the accomplishments and good times were indeed more momentous, there was also a lot of sadness and self-doubt. Death seemed to be a big part of 2009- and I’m not talking about Michael Jackson or the other half dozen celebrity deaths, which are all of course tragedies in their own right. But the passage of a close family friend, Jack Nekano, and my grandmother were both very tough on my family. Even my dog Sally died! They’re all still sorely missed but we’re comforted in knowing that they led fulfilling lives and touched many people along the way. It’s cliche to say “They’ll live forever in our memory” but it’s true.

Other unsettling events were my two motorcycle accidents, one involving getting hit by a car on PCH while going 45 mph. It sounds worse than it was. Luckily I walked away with only minor injuries and I know I can avoid those situations now that I’m more seasoned. They say you’re guaranteed to drop your bike the first year you start riding but for some reason I thought that statistic wouldn’t apply to me. Go figure.

But being a glass-half-full type of dude, I can say without a doubt that I continued to grow a lot these past 12 months. Everything has it’s ups and downs, and at least I can definitely say that I never stopped getting high (hehe). So here it goes, Jesse’s big moments of 2009.

Carnegie Mellon Class of 2009

Ah, yes. I graduated and got my bachelor’s. What can I say that hasn’t been said on here? I started this blog my sophomore year and tried hard to update it with all that was going on during my time as an undergrad. Looking back on the past four years, I can honestly say that there couldn’t have been a better fit. Sure, I complained a lot while I was there- about the course load, the social life, and the city. But as of right now, I can’t think of a single bad thing to say. It was the type of place that let you make it your own. That is to say, it’s not a place that’s prepackaged and presented to you with a bow on top. It took me all four years to realize that.

It taught me that you’re the master of your own experience. If there’s something you don’t like, change it anyway you can. But that doesn’t mean you slack off. Actually, it’s quite the opposite. If you want more out of something, you’re gonna have to put more in. Bored of classes? Create a project that you’re passionate about. No good parties on campus? Host your own. Hate the crowd? Bring so many people that no matter where you go it’s a blast.

Obviously there was so much more in between and so many little memories, but I think that’s one of the biggest lessons. I’m forever grateful to CMU for not only teaching it to me, but also providing me the tools, space, and freedom to exercise it.

Sneakerology 101

What didn’t happen in Sneakerology?! Man, we came back the second time around even harder than the first. There was more campus involvement, more guest speakers, and of course more national attention. We not only met the author of our class text, the one and only Bobbito Garcia, but fostered a lasting relationship. I mean, Elliott shoots hoops with the guy regularily and played on his charity team at Madison Square Garden. We stopped counting how much press the course was getting online and in print. I even got to be on MTV…via webcam…for 30 seconds! But alas, all this somewhat pales in comparison to our biggest achievement: we came out with a f*cking shoe!

We collaborated with Reebok on what would be a 9 month long project to produce a limited edition sneaker dedicated to education. The shoes sold out instantly and we were able to donate all the proceeds to a fantastic after school program called The Hill House Association located in Pittsburgh. To me the Sneakerology Reverse Jam is the culmination of the course and all our hard work. It’s something that Elliott and I only joked about in the early stages, when we were first designing the curriculum. And in 2009, our dream came true.

Art

My last semester at CMU, I basically dedicated my entire schedule to art classes. Being that I was done with my degree requirements, I thought it’d be the perfect opportunity to build my portfolio and gain some skills. While I still have a long way to go before I’d start calling myself an artist, I can at least say I made up my mind to pursue that part of me more aggressively in 2010. I made videos, sculptures, mechanisms, installations, and some things I don’t even know what you’d categorize as. I also finished my online portfolio which might be the best way to get a sense of what I’m talking about. Though I have to say that there’s probably more stuff on this blog if you click ‘art’ located in the righthand sidebar.

New Places

I was blessed again with the opportunity to visit new places I’d never been to. I went to Mexico for the first time, which is weird for a Californian I know, and chilled at Playa del Carmen. There was a huge music festival in Miami that I got to attend with Drew, Michelle, and Femi. I drove cross country with Seth and Paul where we visited Chicago, Minneapolis, and Yellowstone to name a few. Elliott showed me how they do it over in Boston. And last but not least, Jessie basically turned into a Berliner by the time I got to visit her in Germany. Obviously you can’t learn much about a place by only visiting it once, so I will definitely be going back to each of those places again. Well, maybe not Miami.

Getting Paid

This didn’t really happen to me, but it happened to such close friends that it might as well have. Drew and Amit’s business Miraphonic blasted off. From a nod in the iTunes App store to getting bought out by Ngmoco:), these guys are still going at it full force. They threw an epic mansion party in SF during the summer and for some reason I think the party is just getting started. When the people around you hit this type of success you can’t help but feel some pride as well.

All My Friends

Every year the people you hang out with shifts and changes. You’re bound to lose touch with some in order to get to know others, especially at this age. Of course there are always the friends that have been there all along. Well, this is to all my friends- new, old, and rediscovered – I just want to acknowledge the precious time we spent together in 2009. Whether we were talking or dancing or something which I have since forgotten (because let’s face it, at times it was hard enough to just stay conscious let alone dedicate brain cells to store stuff), I appreciate every minute we spent together. We were in Pittsburgh, Durham, San Francisco, New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and countless other cities across America. A lot of the time we were in my garage! The fact is that we made it a great time where ever we were. I’ll end with a quote from my brother which I think defines our ethos pretty well:

Seizing the Day
Only to kill its Night