It’s here. Hitchsters 2.0 -- new, improved and just in time for your Thanksgiving travels.
Exactly two years after our debut in New York City, we are excited to announce the launch of Hitchsters in San Francisco. Why San Francisco? Because you are there. Because we heard it’s a cool place where people like to try new things. And because saving the environment is even better when having fun.
For those of you who haven’t made it to the Big Apple, Hitchsters is a free web-based service that conveniently connects travelers going to and from airports so they can share a ride and split the cost.
What’s new? Lots. We’ve included Facebook’s social graph in our match algorithm, created users accounts, implemented Google Maps to increase match rates, and partnered with sedan companies to provide rides. Here’s the best part: unbeatable rates. From San Francisco, a Hitchsters user will save an average of$21/trip and 30 lbs CO2 emission each way to and from the airport.
The site goes live on November 11, 2008. The first 100 registered users will receive a free nifty Hitchsters luggage tag, so hurry and sign up now for yours: www.hitchsters.com.
So, pass the word along. Send this to anyone in San Francisco who wouldn’t mind saving a few bucks on the way to the airport. We cannot guarantee that good fortune will come your way if you do, but we can guarantee that the more people who use Hitchsters, the better your chances of being matched.
It's hard to believe that another season of my
life is quickly coming to an end. It really doesn't seem so long ago
that I writing a similar 'farewell' note from Beijing, and then again
from Los Angeles. My time in New York City has been filled with --
well, work -- but beyond that, deep lessons, fresh challenges, random
reunions, and most notably, new friendships that I hope to cultivate in
the years to come. They say that a farewell is necessary before you can meet
again, and meeting again is certain for those who are friends. I guess
I am lucky to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.
At my farewell dinner the other week, the outpouring of affection was enough to make me shed a few tears. Goodbyes are always so hard, but this one especially -- I am so thankful that God has surrounded me with such phenomenal friends who are so fun, so affectionate, and so encouraging.
A friend once said to me that in the momentous decision of life, there is a beckoning joy in God’s gateways. As I leave New York and head to China for the summer and business school in the fall, I am going to miss you guys so much. My parents
used to stress to me the importance of choosing the right friends,
because they will determine in large part what direction you head in
life. I don't think I could have chosen better ones.
OMF Pre-Field Training
OMF pre-field training was this past weekend in Colorado. To be honest, I went into the weekend quite unsettled -- on my last day in NYC, I was still busy trying to catch people one last time, enjoying music at a piano bar, moving furniture with trucks and up stairs, and scrubbing my apartment down. (On top of everything, I got pooped on by a bird at Bryant Park -- nothing like getting pooped on to commemorate your last day in New York). In the rush of everything, at the end, I still didn't feel entirely ready to leave. After training one evening this weekend, as I was sitting in the lobby at night catching up on e-mail correspondence, I noticed that the clock on my laptop was still set to EST. But as I went to go change it, it just didn't feel right -- because I felt it would put finality to a closure I was not yet prepared to accept.
Even still, what a weekend -- and more than that, what a God. OMF training was refreshing and invigorating, and I was stirred (again) to heed God's calling for workers in Asia. I was reading James Fraser's biogrpahy on the plane ride home, and this passage jumped out at me --
"If our Master returned today to find millions of people unevangelized, and looked to us for an explanation, I cannot imagine what explanation we should have to give. Of one thing, however, I am certain -- that most of the excuses we are accustomed to make with such good conscience now, we shall be wholly ashamed of them."
Who Should Give Nothing to Missions?(Taken from UneJam's site)
The
potential value of blogging this list far outweighs the risk of seeming
self-serving. I found this scribbled on the cover of my used copy of
"The Greatness of the Kingdom" that I received as a gift years ago.
Who should give nothing to missions?
1)Those who think Jesus made a mistake when he said, “go ye therefore and preach the gospel to ALL the nations.”
2)Those who don’t believe that the gospel is the power of God to save EVERYONE who believeth.
3)Those who wish that NO missionary had ever come to our forefathers and would prefer to be heathen.
4)Those who believe that everyone in the world should care only for themselves and ask with Cain, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
5)Those who do not care to have part in Christ’s final victory.
6)Those who do not believe that God will call them to account because of the way they have spent their money.
7)Those who are willing to have Jesus say to them:In as much as ye did not to one of the least of these, ye did it not unto me.Matt 25:45
Summer Updates (New Email / Xanga)
As I will be in China this summer, please send all e-mail correspondence to: jasoninxian@gmail.com -- thanks!
“None of us has gotten where we are solely by pulling ourselves up from our own bootstraps. We got here because somebody bent down and helped us.” (Thurgood Marshall)
Update
Though it is much too soon for my once-every-two-month posts, I feel obligated to inform the four people who read this site of the latest update in my life -- in sum, that (1) I quit my job; and/because (2) I got into business school! After hearing back from most of the schools, I decided that I wanted to take some (much-needed) time off. I think I've put in the proverbial time whereby aspirants in the corporate rat race have to "pay their dues." Plus, I was just tired of working so much and sleeping so little -- so I decided to throw in the towel. Hearing back from business schools and knowing that I had a place to go in the fall made the decision that much easier. I haven't made a decision yet, but I'm thankful that I have options:
Supposedly, b-school app volumes are crazy high this year -- the highest since its decline in 2001-2002. At Darden, admission officers said they received 86% (!) more apps this year, and at Ross, volume was up 50% from last year -- I can't believe I got into either. Well, I haven't decided on a school as of yet, but I'm definitely open to suggestions -- any thoughts? I'm actually quite taken by the joint MA/MBA program at Ross, though I hear the winters in Ann Arbor are quite nippy. And they are the top-ranked school in the nation, according to the WSJ -- well, I'll leave those thoughts for another post ...
In the meantime, I am enjoying the R&R -- and catching up on not only sleep and exercise, but on great shows like "The Office", "Lost", "The Sopranos", and "Arrested Development" -- I love Blockbuster Online :) I definitely plan on taking some fun classes, reading some good books, and traveling a bit before starting school again -- South America, Europe, China ... Japan? And I think I'm gonna have to brush up on my statistics, accounting, and finance. What does CAPM stand for again?
New Toy!
I got the latest IBM/Lenovo T60 -- tricked out. And expensive. But not as much as it could have been -- thanks Christina! Waste of Time
I just got the notification that my Xanga Premium has expired, and I decided that this is as good a time as any to bid farewell to my blog. Well, I'm thinking about maybe starting one for the business school chapter of my life, or one for my travels this summer -- in which case, maybe I'll just sign for Premium again. (Who reads these posts, anyway? :P)
Since it's past midnight, and I am still at work, I'm going to procrastinate and post some pics from the holiday break. Warning -- this is going to be a picture puh-looza. Christmas & New Year's in the Big Apple
My brothers decided to spend Christmas and New Year's in NYC, so we hit the town. First stop -- museums. And just for the record, it seems that no matter how hard I stare at modern art, I will never get it. Maybe someone can help enlighten me. Or maybe I am just missing part of my brain.
Since Justin is a die-hard "Friends" fanatic, how could we not visit the famed bulding in the Village?
And then, some sights --
Some food --
And some fun!
Then -- Adler, Ted, and Andrew flew in for more of the same :) They celebrated New Year's with us, and despite a fiasco in Time's Square, it was still a NYE to remember. Ted even made it onto national television!
The rest of the time, was spent playing Tommy Tourist around the city. The best part was walking down Memory Lane, and just remembering what it was like to pursue God with careless abandon -- and have like-minded brothers running right alongside. How the banality, dross, and harsh realities of the real world can make it all grey. I think I used to laugh a lot more.
Anyways, here's the picture trail -- museums, food, shows, and all the tourist traps ... I even learned how to play Texas Hold 'Em! :) Good times, good times.
