I've been an Apple fan for a long time now, since before I moved to California. And before moving here, the idea of seeing Steve Jobs wasn't something that really seemed possible. But once you move to the Bay Area, that changes.

I saw him a few times. With his family going to a movie in Mountain View. On the street in Palo Alto. Eating lunch at the Apple Campus. And up close, at the 2006 Macworld Expo in San Francisco:

Steve Jobs, Paul Otellini, and Tim Cook on the floor at MWSF 2006.

I think now, looking back, somewhere in the back of my mind I always thought that some day I'd have a chance to speak with him. Either he'd respond to one of my emails, or I'd see him on the street. And while that's never going to happen now, I do know what I would have said:

\"Thank you.\"

It's because of Steve, and all of the talented and hard-working people at Apple, that I get to use a computer every day that I love, instead of merely tolerate. It has been this way ever since I switched to the Macintosh in late 2001. And I plan to be enjoying the fruits of Steve's labor for many, many years to come.

-Andy.