Jonathan Block

Saturday, I get up at the crack of dawn to drive to Linda Mar Beach in Pacifica. I had registered for the surfing classes earlier in the week, and have the general location of where my surfing for beginners class will begin on a printed set of directions. I arrive and spend a while trying to find the actual spot that the class will start. After signing a waiver promising not to sue if I get hurt, I pick up a smokin’ hot wet suit and booties and I’m off to the bathroom to change.

When I return, we each grab a surf board and head out to the beach. There are about 15 students and 4 instructors. For about 45 minutes, we learn about the absolute basics of surfing including timing waves, how to pop up, how surfers choose who gets what waves, how to paddle around. We spend a lot of time on the beach just practicing the pop-up maneuver required to stand quickly on your feet. Soon after, we’re ready to jump in and try out what we learned.

The ocean water is freezing. There’s no way in hell anybody would swim in that water with just a bathing suit. I’m nervous at what its going to feel like when I actually enter the water with my board. As I enter, I mentally brace for the worst. It’s cold, but not so cold that I am freezing. I’m amazed at how well the wet suit repels the freezing water temperature . It’s just at that comfort point where I can *almost* not pay attention to the temperature of the water, although it does make my hands hurt.

I spend the next 2 hours in the water paddling around on my surfboard and practicing what I’ve learned on 2-4 foot waves. Suprisingly, I am able to stand up almost 5 times (depending on what you call standing up). Most of the times I got up, I was really totally out of control but standing nonetheless. Noontime arrives, and the class ends. We return all of the gear, and I’m off to my weekly volleyball game.

Sunday, same deal. I’m out at the beach this time again by 9AM, only this week, my friend Josh is there to meet me and take the class. He’s got some experience surfing so he’s impatient during the instructional portion of the morning. When we get into the ocean, the water seems colder than yesterday, and we’re in a more difficult area where the waves are a little bigger. I have a lot of trouble getting out because I don’t do a good job of padding out where the waves are small. Instead, I seem to spend most, if not all, of my energy trying to paddle out into waves that only toss me back to shore.

After 45 minutes, our instructors move the whole “class” of students down the beach to an area where it will be easier for us. With my energy drained arms, I’m able to continue paddling and making wave attempts for another half hour. Finally, I give out from exhaustion and have to take a rest.

As the class ends, I take note of where the local place is to rent gear for the next time I decide to come back and just surf. Board rentals are only $15 for the day if you can get them back by 5PM. I thought this one would be easier since I snowboard, but I underestimated surfing’s difficulty. I’ll definitely do it again especially if I’m in warmer waters.

Surf’s up, baby! Surfing is popular out here. Even before I moved to Cali, a former roommate would go to the Cape every weekend to surf. He’d even to go Costa Rica each year with his friend to hit the waves down there. Now I figure that my snowboarding skills will get me through a surfing experience, but only time will tell. This challenge is to ride a wave on a surfboard by next Tuesday.

I decide to sign up for a motorcycles training course. I find one in South San Francisco that teaches all of the skills, required by the State of California, in order to be qualified for a motorcycle license. It’s a 15 hour course. 5 hours of classroom, and 10 hours of riding “on the range.”

Thursday, I jump out of work a little early around 4:30PM to get into South San Francisco for the 5 hour class which starts at 5:30 sharp. I roll up to an old campus with a building that has a sign on it which reads “South San Francisco Adult Education.” This could be one of the most deserted loneliest looking educational campuses I’ve ever seen. I hope it doesn’t always look so empty - like a ghost town. I’m looking for room #48.

When I go through the door, I see about 8 rows of chairs each with a simple table in front of them all facing a man who sits at the head of the classroom facing the students. I sign in and choose a partner at his direction. We are handed our reading material and the class begins. I snap a quick photo looking straight ahead when nobody is looking. The format is one in which each group is given a few questions from a chapter and after the questions are assigned, you and your parter must answer them within a few minutes. After a few minutes, we go through each of the questions and each pair of students reads their answer aloud from the reading materials. After that, we go to a DVD segment in which professional motorcycle instructors review the questions from that chapter by showing us how something works such as motorcycle controls or traffic rules. After 5 hours of classroom and 4 breaks, we’re dismissed and told not to be late for Saturday’s range training.

Saturday, the course beings at 12:45. I arrive at the range exactly on time to sign in. I sign in with the range instructors and choose a helmet to borrow from the ones that are available. Eventually, we are asked to each pick a motorcycle. There are a dozen to choose from. Most are black. I pick the only red motorcycle from the bunch and use a dry erase marker to write my name on a white white board attached to the front so the instructors may call us by name while riding. We start with the absolute basics. We cover an array of concepts including basic operation, getting into gear, shifting, braking, turning, swerving, u-turning, and more. By the end of the first day, I’m exhausted. The weather is cold and the winds are at least 30 MPH which means even if I’m standing on my feet, I’m tripping over myself.

Sunday, I’m there on time again and we begin more advanced concepts. We cover stuff like riding over obstacles such as speed bumps and debris, advanced cornering, coming to a controlled stop in a hurry, changing lanes and more. After another 5 hours, we are finally at the conclusion of the training. Then we go into the final test. We must show we’ve mastered each of 4 basic skills in order to get our certificate of completion. I score flawlessly in my tight u-turn, and flawlessly in my 15 MPH right swerve. I do okay in my emergency breaking test, and okay in my cornering test.

In the end, I pass the test and am awarded a certificate of completion. I may now use this card at the California Registry of Motor Vehicles in order to upgrade my license to include motorcycle operation. When I go, I will not need to take a driving test. I will only need to pass the written test. I think I’ll do it during lunch this week in Redwood City!

For the last 8 months, I have been working to help build out the MyPrivacy product at ReputationDefender.com. We’ve had more coverage than I’ve ever heard of any small company getting. It’s been incredible. Since joining, we’ve been the lead story on the front page of Yahoo, MSN, and Wired.com. We’ve even been on both of my two favorite shows: 20/20 on ABC as well as The Today Show on NBC. The list is much longer than this - you can check out our press coverage page for a longer list. Some time last week, a photographer was in and took a photo of our CEO and I while I was explaining something to him about the project and now the picture is in The Silicon Valley Business Journal. Here’s the front page, and the story page with my photo. Here’s the link directly to the online version fo the story.

As a side note, MyPrivacy will check for your personal information in what is currently a list of 30 different online databases. We’ll show you all of the information that is being listed about you. In the results, you’ll find some combination of your name, all of the places you’ve ever lived, all of the phone numbers you’ve ever had including your current cell number, and the names and locations of all of your family members. Next to each of the results is a “remove” button which submits a removal request through our automated process.

If any of my friends or family would like to try MyPrivacy for free, you can get 1 month of free service with my friends and family code “JBROCKS”.

Can’t wait till we see the Red Sox together!

This mission is all about learning to ride a motorcycle. I’ve NEVER driven a motorcycle before, but it can’t be that hard. I did ride a moped when I was a kid, but that’s child’s play! This mission is all about getting registered as a licensed motorcycle driver, but to do that, I’ll need to get training. I’m not sure when I can actually hit the DMV to upgrade my license, but the minimum goal for this week is for me to have my ass on a motorcycle and be completely trained on how to ride it by next Tuesday. That’s right mom - watch out. Next time you come to California, I’m picking you up on one of these!

The goal? To find some type of non-denominational church to go to on Sunday. Sunday, I get up at 8:00 AM. Shower? Check. I put on one of my nicer shirts then drive into San Francisco to meet a friend for 9:30 AM. Together, we walk to St. John’s Presbyterian Church which is only a 15 minute walk through Inner Richmond and are on time for the 10AM service. A man named John meets us at the gate - very friendly. I tell him my name is also Jon. We enter and see a wall filled with name tags - names of people who are most likely members of the church. There is a small area setup with coffee and a young woman hands us a pamphlet containing what must be the itinerary and some other information. We choose a place to sit somewhere in the middle of the church. The church is half full at best. I look up and notice the interesting architecture of the roof. The columns support huge curving beams that support the roof. In the front of the church there is a platform where the pastor will speak, and behind that there is a small area raised up where a giant organ is built into the church. There are several choir members waiting for the service to begin.

The Pastor begins the service first by welcoming guests and pointing out that he is appreciative of our presence and hopes to have the opportunity to see us again. He reminds all of the members that they are welcome, if not encouraged, to bring friends or family to the church. I feel welcomed.

The service begins. During the hour I spend there, the Pastor speaks about God. Another church member reads prayers. The choir sings. The members of the church stand and sing as well. There’s a point during the service that all of the members stop and tell each other good morning and shake hands. Towards the end, the choir comes down and sits in the pews with the rest of us. A piano is played during the singing of one of the last songs. Throughout it all, I read along to the lyrics and read through the Bible versus being read by the speaker. Before the service ends, the Pastor reads about upcoming events and reminds the members a new slide show is available online. He pulls down a white screen and starts a projector and we all watch the slides with music. As we leave, John the pastor greets us one last time on the steps of the entrance.

I reflect on the experience later on in the day. I like that I was not put in a position where I was emotionally manipulated. The people were friendly and the service was nice. I walk away from this mission not feeling any better or worse. I suppose I thought that a visit to church might invigorate me or give me a slightly new perspective. Too his credit, Pastor John did provide me a little bit of motivation while speaking about human behavior - there was a little inspiration to be had. All things considered, I’d do it again, but I’m just not the religious type. It doesn’t really resonate with me…. I don’t feel anything and so it doesn’t mean anything to me. It’s cool though - I think people should do the things in life that make them feel good. And so I do!