StraussBlog

I’m mostly writing this post just to get back in the act of blogging. If for no other reason than I’m working on some stuff that requires me to remember how to blog. It’s never a good sign when you’re updating your blogging software more than you’re writing posts, which has been the case for me of late.

Since I declared my return to the Interwebs nearly a month ago, I’ve found my todo list may have been a bit ambitious for someone whose mind was still readjusting from a 3.5 month sabbatical. Don’t get me wrong, I’ve done a bunch of stuff: updated my resume and interviewed with a bunch of companies in both LA and SF; reconnected with many friends and former colleagues in Hollywood and Silicon Valley; web2.0-ized my friend Happy Joel’s online presence (seriously, go check him out — he’s fricken’ hilarious!); helped my buddy Tom with some of his attempts to break into Hollywood; went on an awesome river float near Sacramento and a party at the Playboy Mansion *in the same (really costly/painful) weekend*; started research (i.e. ordered a bunch of books and read 1.5 of them) for one of the screenplays I’ve been wanting to write; and cultivated a mustache that invariably shocks everyone who already knew me and must really creep-out anyone who has recently met me (pictures forthcoming…maybe). What I haven’t done is pretty much all the stuff I ended my last post saying I would do: digging out from a backlog of email/FB messages; uploading what’s now 1 year of travel photos to Flickr (yes, Mom that includes Croatia too ); and writing those blog posts about what I was up to when I was MIA (I really do have some great tips on Buenos Aires…if I can remember them anymore). I’ve also added new backlogs, like so many open browser tabs that my MacBook is chugging away like a fat kid and its battery life is down to 2 hrs from 4 (it’s getting to the point that I’m seriously considering trying Sam’s PushPopURL – but, I’d see that as an admission of defeat ).

But, it’s all good in the ‘hood. Over the last month, I’ve come a long way in figuring out what I’d like to try next careerwise. Going through the whole interview process, even with companies that turned out not to be the best fit, was an exercise I found very helpful in defining my criteria for an exciting and compelling next job. So, the bad news is my todo list has gotten seriously longer. But, the good news is I’m more psyched than ever to tackle it .

I’ve been a bit MIA of late, and it hasn’t just been limited to this blog — I’ve been slacking on replying to emails and other forms of electronic communications as well. To be honest, I kinda checked out the last few months since leaving Yahoo!. And it’s been great! I got in some awesome skiing in Colorado, my first trip to South America, and a couple visits to Europe, as well as a much needed chance to clear my mind and decompress a bit.

And now, I’m back. Clearing my mind was only the first step, of course. Now comes the fun part of figuring out what I want to do next. I’ve updated my resume (html, pdf), and have started exploring various opportunities. I have pretty diverse interests, so I find it hard to conjure up the ideal job description in the abstract. But, the most important things to me are finding a project about which I can be passionate and people with whom I’m excited to work. After spending nearly 4 years at a large corporation, I think I’d like to check out the start-up world a bit (the smaller, the better). But, I’m keeping a very open mind at this point. So if you come across anything cool you think might be a good fit for me, please drop me line (jonathan[at]jonathanhstrauss[dot] com). In addition, I have a couple interesting ideas of my own I’m exploring. So who knows, I might end up looking for employees instead of a job.

I’m also planning to take this time to catch up on my various backlogs that have accumulated over these past few months, including responding to emails, uploading photos to Flickr, and blogging about some of my trips. So, look forward to hearing more from me soon

A couple of days before Christmas ‘07, my boy Ian sent me an SMS that said “…anyone that rolls into 2008 with 360 as their blog is a sucka!” And so, I started the process of setting up a new WP blog where my old site used to be. While I haven’t quite finished getting everything exactly the way I want it yet, I’ll be posting here going forward and maybe migrating some content from my old 360 blog. And since my first post of ‘08 is on the new blog, I’m saying I met Ian’s deadline and am thus not a sucka (at least not for this reason).

For those (few) who may care, the new addresses are:

• Blog: http://jonathanhstrauss.com/blog
• Feed: http://jonathanhstrauss.com/blog/?feed=rss2

Adios 360. Word is bond.