It’s been a while since I wrote regularly on this blog, and people have been asking, with decreasing regularity, why my blog posts sputtered out.
At first, I wanted to take a break to shake off the “I can’t wait to blog about this” impulse that was starting to spring up in the middle of almost everything I was doing, and was threatening the in-the-moment joy of life’s little adventures by making them into a kind of low-grade performance literature.
Then, in early 2007, I moved to Munich and got busy learning about another culture. Moving to a new place has a way of disrupting all your old habits, so I stopped going to yoga and I stopped posting here, but I started programming a lot again (yay!), and running a few times a week.
And then twitter erupted into my social group like an invasive species and I found that my public-writing energy nibbled away bit by bit, never building past whatever critical threshold is required for something to be (dare I say) bloggable.
And then, unexpectedly, at a conference in Paris, I met the most dazzling girl. Smart and kind-hearted, and with an incredible appetite for life, she lived in Munich. When I moved here, she helped me find an apartment and get settled. Somewhere in there, she completely stole my heart. And so, earlier this year, on a hill in San Francisco, I asked her to be my wife, and she said “why the hell not” (I’m paraphrasing here).
We both love to travel, and she’s amused by my sense of whimsy. Over the last year we’ve had a lot of fun running around Europe. (More on that later.) And so I’ve found someone I want to share life’s adventures with, and you guys have recently taken second priority. Sorry about that, but I’m sure you can understand 
.
We do plan to have an actual wedding sometime next year, though we’re not sure exactly when or where. So, stay tuned for future episodes, now featuring Stephanie (introductory glam shot below).
Posted on 7 September 2008
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Congrats !
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Ha, I was close to posting something similar. Congratulations on finding or being found by Stephanie!
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Grats dude!
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Congrats! And she is beautiful
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Neither my wife nor I ever actually proposed, but somehow we managed to get married anyway–by eloping to San Francisco. There’s something about that city that’s just magic.
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Congratulations to both of you! I thought I’d heard this had turned to engagement and it’s great to have that confirmed.
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Congratulations! I was beginning to wonder what happened to you… I may have sent you a note to that effect a little while ago.
I seem to keep running into former coworkers of yours; Alex was camping with us at Burning Man this year, and Aaron is a friend of our neighbor who just moved…
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Congrats, she looks absolutely gorgeous and you two absolutely happy!
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I met you on IRC when I was 15. We met in person at a trade show a few years later. We became friends after I moved to Boston to work for your company, when I was 20. We stayed in touch while I traveled in my early 20s, and after I moved to San Francisco 4 years ago.
I hope that we will share in eachother’s lives forever.
But it is hard not to notice the trend towards greater asynchronity and lessened investment in our interchanges together and with the outside world as time goes on. I see this with our other life-long friends as well.
We humans seem to eventually choose the confidence of ourselves and our family over confiding in a larger whole of shared experience.
Is this a necessary consequence of age, responsibility, locality, and noise?
If even we, the aging technocrats, can’t find a way to stay deeply connected throughout all the travails of life and modernity (if only a little more than our parent’s generation) then I fear our technology culture has failed us in some fundamental way.
Funny how the builder in me always asks “How can we fix it?”
-Alex
P.S. My love and fondest wishes go to you and Stephanie, as you traipse around the world. You’ve always seeming tied to eachother beyond its crude limits.
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Thanks to everyone for all the congratulations! It’s so nice to hear from so many people!
Jeff – Agreed, there is something really special about that SF place.
Jered – Huh, I thought I’d answered that email! Sorry about that. We should get together next time I’m in Boston!
Alex – My friendship with you is one of the most important things in my life, and I hope it endures and grows far into the future! Nine timezones is a hurdle, but you’re right that we can probably do better at talking regularly… let’s give it a shot!
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Seriously, you two are so adorable together! (You and Stephanie, I mean — though I’m sure you and Alex are adorable together as well.)
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Nat -
I haven’t really talked to you in quite a few years. Once I faded away from the Gaim/Pidgin scene I sort of dropped off the planet for a bit.
It’s good to see that you’ve found someone. I am quite happy for you two and I wish you much joy in the years to come.
Also, I am jealous of your trip to Croatia.
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Congratulations, Nat! Nice photos too.
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Congrats !
PS : I was @ Marketing Dep in Paris for Novell.
Now I am out -
Congrats!
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Hah, now that explains a lot of stuff that wasn’t mentioned in the last IRC conversation.
Congrats, and enjoy! -
You sure found yourself a beautiful wife. Congratulations!
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Congratulations! I’m so glad you’re so happy!
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Nat -
I couldn’t be happier for you, and could probably only be slightly happier for Stephanie.
In all seriousness, and as I’m sure you know, my marriage to Tyla is by far the most incredible thing that has happened in a life that is truly charmed. I am incredibly happy that you’ve found someone with whom to share a similar journey. (Aside: marriage needs more better metaphors.)
Congratulations to both of you, and all our love.
Mike
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Congratulations Nat and Stephanie!
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Wow! Congratulations Nat. Great news. I guess it really has been a while since we’ve kept up.
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Nat,
We haven’t met ever but I’ve been reading your blog for a while and been using software written/influenced by you for years !
Am happy for you and Stephanie. Wishing you many many years of happiness together.
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Congrats and the Best of Luck too the both of you
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Nat -
No worries; I’ve taken to telling people lately that if they send me mail I will respond to them within 24 hours of reading it or not at all, and in the latter case it shouldn’t be taken personally.
Anyway, yes, let me know next time you grace our fair shores!
–Jered
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Nat, I’ve been following the blog since 03….You kind of got me interested and helped me learn a bit about Linux and I’ve enjoyed your photos. Best to Yo and Stephanie!
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Hi Nat -
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve checked here to see what you’re up to — and you’ve been up to a lot! Congratulations to you both. You’re one of the most interesting people I’ve ever “known”, so I’m sure Stephanie is equally special.
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I know I’ve already congratulated you, but I can’t help but do it again.
You’re one of the main reasons I really got into Linux. I found you and your blog extremely interesting, followed it for ages, and I think I owe it to you for being the one who truly inspired me. In fact, you still do inspire me.
Congratulations, Nat. You deserve it. -
WOah..!
I’ve been following this blog since 2003 too, because of Gnome, Mono, and your programmer life.
After all, always is nice to read posts like this.Congratulations!!
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Congrats, you got yourself a beautiful girl there!
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Pingback from Nat Friedman: The Case for Mars | Full-Linux.com on 21 July 2009 at 11:03 am
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