Denial River

Hey!  How have you been?
I’ll make this quick see, cuz you’ve been so busy,
That you haven’t had any chance to talk with me.
You even forgot to return my calls,
Or maybe you just haven’t heard them all.
I wrote you a few times; it was just a few lines;
I’m sure that you meant to respond in due time.
I know in my heart you would never ignore me,
It’s just like you said to me, let’s take it slowly.
And we’re doing great — we haven’t spoken in four years.
That’s slower than blocked freeways, instant replays,
And dumb, blonde MuchMusic vee-jays.
I was wondering something:
My best friend started talking to you,
They say they saw him with you,
At a party in June,
They say you’re hot for this dude,
They say you meet with him at parties,
They say you leave with him from parties,
They say you sleep with him after parties,
They say you’ve been showing your girls the new ring on your finger.
But I’m not even sweating things,
Because you told me that you weren’t ready for wedding rings.
So I’m not believing this business, about you making commitments.
When it comes to making promises, women are different:
Men are terrible people, but a woman is truly a gift from God,
And a woman never gives her bod, if she won’t give her heart, right?
Look, I’ve noticed things aren’t exactly the same between us two,
You should know I still trust you, I just don’t wanna bug you,
So what’s new?  I’ve got a funny story you’d love, too:
Have you heard the one about the dumb guy in denial,
Who doesn’t realize his girlfriend’s been gone for awhile,
Last month, she and his best friend went down the aisle,
But he doesn’t believe it, he sits there and smiles.
She gets all his letters but she doesn’t respond,
And that should be the proof that she’s fully moved on.
He keeps telling people she just needs time,
And that they’ll get back together when she feels fine.
What a story, huh?
Lately I’ve been feeling really scared,
I’ve lost most of the friends we shared,
Because they remind me of you,
And see, the truth,
Is that you still convey your thoughts about me,
Is that your way of talking to me?
I’m happy that I could give you the freedom that you craved,
And even though we almost never communicate,
I’m sure God wouldn’t let me go through this much pain,
Without giving you back to me,
Afterall, you’re the only person I’ve ever wanted to be with.
Lately, my dreams turn to nightmares,
I see you right there, with your nice hair,
It strikes fear, I fight tears.
But I still think you and I are like:
Ross and Rachel, Zack and Kelly,
Dylan and Brenda, Dawson and Joey,
Eric and Donna, Jesse and Becky,
Steve and Laura, Cory and Topanga,
In Hollywood, everything’s always good,
This is just the part in the movie,
Where it looks like the prince and princess won’t marry,
Every fairy tale movie has a happy ending,
And the way you used to kiss me,
Is my only proof that you miss me.
They say I’m hurt but my self-esteem has been crippled,
They say I’m lying to cover up for the pain I feel inside,
They say I’m ashamed to let go of what we had,
They say I’m hiding from the truth,
They say I’ve never resolved issues with our end,
They say I’m dismissing reality as a defense mechanism. I say:
There is no honor in walking away,
There is no dignity in leaving for good,
There is no respect in accepting defeat,
There is no pride in giving up hope,
I’m more than willing to deal with the tears every night,
The involuntary kicking on my mattress,
The nightmares of you biting on another man’s tongue,
The loneliness and rejection,
The bitterness and confusion,
And the late nights staring at my cell phone.
Because I’m sure we’ll talk soon,
And just in case you aren’t sure,
My cell phone number hasn’t changed,
My home phone number stayed the same,
I still constantly check my email,
I still work the job in retail,
It’s free for me to receive a text message,
And I’m sure we’ll talk when you get this,
God willing.
Love, Milan.

Why Startups Should Support Grassroots Movements

There’s only 21 people following us here on Google+.  You know why that is awesome?  Because it means that I can say whatever the f*** I want on the “corporate” page without censoring myself (pause for irony).

With that in mind, here’s one of the many things I spent my Christmas thinking about.  Most of our client leads thus far have been for mobile app projects that I would classify as “last year’s cool ideas”.  As a result, I’ve started to worry about the state of innovation in Canada.  Why don’t we spend more of our time preaching ways to harness the newest technologies that our devices have to offer?  Why are we still emulating success of last year’s mobile marketing campaigns?  Why are so many companies crazy about QR codes but not NFC, daily deals but not mobile-commerce, and store finders but not augmented reality?

The answer is likely some combination of our economics, our history, our climate and our population density.  But as with most negative things in life, I blame Rogers and Bell.  Their greedy, unethical and unfair practices have turned back the clock on innovation time and again.  Their oligopolistic tendencies (3-year contracts, bandwidth throttling, usage limits, influence over CRTC regulation) create an environment where Canadians can’t feel passionate about the latest mobile technologies.

This is why there needs to be a direct link, not just between Milan and his friends, but between for-profit entities like Zeus River, who fight for more innovative ideas in technology, and non-profit organizations like Open Media, who fight for better consumer protection and fair markets for telecommunications in Canada. 

What do you think?  Am I crazy for drawing a link between the two?  Or for trying to promote partisan causes as a corporate entity?

Anonymous asked: Your post on the 601 was amazing. I referred to it in my feedback (phase 4 is on Dec. 12 - almost there) and told them to call me if they take the feedback seriously. The program is terrible and I feel cheated that I actually had to PAY to take it. I'll keep you posted if anything actually comes of it!

Thanks for the praise, and sorry to hear about your experience.  I hear there is a growing movement to change the format of the 601 (but who knows what that means).  I’m interested in hearing how it goes, and I’m happy to offer the blog to act as a voice for anything that comes out of it.  Definitely keep me posted.  Good luck the rest of the way!

For My Mom, Mira Gokhale

I’ve copy/pasted this from something I found on the Internet, and re-phrased it, but it still holds value to me:

My mom carried me in her stomach for nine months. She felt sick for months with nausea, then she watched her feet swell & her skin stretch & tear; she struggled to climb stairs, she got breathless quick; she suffered many sleepless nights. She then went through excruciating pain to bring me into this world. Then, she became my nurse, my chef, my maid, my chauffeur, my biggest fan, my teacher, & my best friend. She’s struggled for me, cried over me, hoped the best for me,& prayed for me. Most of us take our mom for granted but there are people who have lost or never even seen theirs.  So I am posting this because I love my mom and appreciate her.

When Your Heart Says Jump

When I was seven years old, my parents put me in swimming lessons at the nearest community recreation center.  I spent the next four years learning all of the fundamentals of swimming - breathing techniques, stroke types, muscle relaxation functions and more.  In the last session of my fourth year, our swimming instructor took us to the deep end of the pool and told us that we could jump off the diving board.

I was terrified.  Not at the thought of jumping, though.  I was terrified at the thought of walking away from a challenge that I knew in my heart I could accomplish.  And even though my instructor gave me the option of not diving, I knew it would be much harder to live with if I didn’t do it.  So when my time came to jump, I jumped.  And I’ve made decisions this way ever since.

With that in mind, I’ve made the difficult decision to resign my position at Navantis, effective today.  I’m going to focus my efforts full-time on a new business opportunity in the mobile space.  I’m calling the project Zeus River, and I intend to take it as far as life allows me.  I’ve been planning on starting my own business for the last ten years, going as far back as my freshman year in undergraduate university.  Over the course of my stay at Navantis, it began to dawn on me that if I didn’t jump now, I wouldn’t get another chance.

I’d like to take a minute to thank a few people at Navantis who have helped me along the way:

To Amber Lalone and Lyle Ralph:  Thank you for believing enough in me to bring me in for an interview.  I can’t tell you how grateful I am that you took a chance on me.  Like I said to you before, it’s hard to say no to Amber (and Lyle!). 

To Kevin Oakes and John Kvasnic:  Thank you for giving me the opportunity to develop my skills on the business end of technology at Navantis.  I appreciate the faith you showed in my skills, and all of the time and resources you poured into me so that I could learn about CRM, social media and Microsoft technologies.

To Patricia Holder: Thanks for always supporting me on projects.  I’ve often said you have the hardest job in the company, but you handle it with an incredible dose of grace and elegance.

To Jason Shuker, my bodyguard and fantastic project manager: I want you to know how appreciative I am of the work you did to protect and support my efforts.  I’m sorry I couldn’t stick around for the whole project, but I’m here to help anytime you need me.  Keep me informed on how the kids are progressing with their studies!

To Charles Jewell and Eric Landry: Thank you for showing me the ropes at various client sites.  Going into various companies and analyzing their business requirements is exhilarating, challenging and frustrating all at once; you guys made it look easy.  Charles, I would have never left our final project unless I was 100% sure that I could leave the project in your capable hands.

To Amanda Chan:  Thank you for your sincerity, your honesty and your friendship.  I hope we’ll be friends long after Navantis (hell, I still live down the street!).  Don’t let them undervalue you at Navantis, you have a ton of skills that you should get paid for!  :)

To Ken Wong: Thanks for the many laughs on the road in Calgary.  I will definitely be buying some warm, USB-powered boots next winter.

To Ahmed Al-Samady, Dennis Furtado and all the other soccer superstars I played with… enjoy your time in the sun, and thanks for letting me do some running with you.

To Olayinka Soetan, Yong Hu, Alvin Jiang, Julian Cardarelli and Dan Ditomaso: Thanks for putting up with me these last few months.  It has been a pleasure to get to know you and work alongside delivery professionals of your skill and stature.  Good luck on your current project and all of your other client work in the future.

To all other members of the Navantis family:  Thank you for all of the laughs and all of the learnings that I take away.  Navantis has an incredible, unique work culture that I’m grateful to have been a part of.

If you’d like to follow my journey, I intend to document every step through my mailing list.  I’d love it if you’d sign up and receive updates on how I’m doing.  I’ll also offer special discounts to anyone who is on the list, so if you’ve ever had an idea for a personal or professional project related to mobile, you may want to consider the sign-up to be an investment in your future.  :)

I’ve decided to follow a dream that I feel passionately about.  That is a humbling and powerful feeling that very few people get a chance to experience.  I owe this opportunity to many people who have helped me along the way.  Succeed or fail, I feel strongly that I will be a better person for it.  To all my friends, family and colleagues, your strength, courage, wisdom and hope means everything to me.  Thank you so very much.

-Milan