nov 4, 2011 - Santa Cruz. Cindy and I attended a weird al concert. during the song “wanna be ur lovr” weird al, came into the audience, climbed onto cindys chair, and lap danced above her. this was her view….

I’m trying to remember when I actually met Cindy…and I can’t. I think when I started hanging out with web folks in London around 2006, I just stepped into a world that was already fully-populated, which meant Cindy was a part of it. We’d certainly met by then end of SXSW 07, which is where this was taken.

Back in 2008, a bunch of people most of whom didn’t know each other very well got together on Alderney and built (the now sadly long-departed) Wildlife Near You. A month or so later, Matt & Cindy came to London, and a few of us went to London Zoo. This is the most fun photo I have from that trip (I have no idea why they had a crazy mirror at the zoo!

In our industry you meet a lot of nice people, but sometimes you meet the ones who are truly exceptional with a heart to match. At a memorable SXSW in 2005, I first met Glenda Sims, Jennifer Hanen and… Cindy Li. It was like meeting was light and life together. A great example of this exceptional heart which I’ve never forgotten, was when I couldn’t attend SXSW in 2007. Cindy and Glenda created ‘Flat Hicks’, and I was able to attend in proxy, being passed around attendees, but spending most of ‘my’ time tucked into Cindy’s fabulous top hat.

Adding another fun Cindy moment that I will always remember. Not long after we had our first child Cindy came to visit with her fancy DSLR camera and took amazing pictures of my wife and I and our new son, but the one picture that always stood out in my memory was the one picture I took with her camera, not so much the camera skill (cause I had no clue what I was doing and got the framing off) but the joy and smiles it captured in my son’s face looking at Cindy’s incredible smile.

I’ve been thinking about when I first moved to San Francisco ten years ago. Cindy was one of the small handful of people I already knew upon arrival. She made me so welcome, took me on tours and scavenger hunts around the city, drove me to IKEA et al. I was 24 and had never made up a new home from scratch before. Besides how helpful she was and how delightful and energetic she made those first weeks in the city, I have this absolute burned in memory of her visiting my new apartment and insisting I needed a doormat.

Jeremy found this last night. Angle brackets. If there was a <title> tag it would be <love> cindy 4ever.

march 3, 2007. my trip to DC where cindy shows me the sights. first time she (and i) had ever seen the reflecting pool empty. in hindsight probably our first date that we didn’t know was a date.

Found a few good pictures in my Flickr Photostream 📷

Hi Cindy Li, sweet as can be. I’m very sad to hear about your cancer. I just wanted to let you know I’m thinking about you and that I’ve often thought about you over the years. I still remember when we first met and someone showed me photos of one of the costumes you made (I think the Tron one) and I was like, “She MADE that!?” and then you just kept making other amaze stuff and being great at work and being the kind of sweet and wonderful person you are.

Hi Cindy! This is Manny! I heard that you and your family are going through a trying time right now and I want you to know that I’m wishing the best thoughts that I can muster all the way from the west coast. You have always been a cheerful shining positive ray of light when we worked together back in the Flickr days and I always appreciated that. Thinking of you.

Cindy is such a great woman. I’ve loved watching her photos from afar on Facebook of all the cakes and dressing up and parties. She’s s force of nature and was since the first day she started at Flickr. I’m honored to know her and just wish that things weren’t working out this way. Sending so much love her way and to the whole family. Cathryn

Cindy, I have been hoping to share this with you for a long time. It’s hard to know exactly how to thank somebody for this sort of thing. When I met you at Flickr, you confronted me about the culture of dirty jokes and frat boy pranks I was a part of encouraging on the team. For a variety of reasons, I could not appreciate the courage and wisdom it took to confront me about that.

I first met Cindy when we were both young and in our 20’s. We both lived in Northern VA, and we both worked for AOL. Cindy was the cool girl who roller skated down corridors of AOL in her sneaker-skates (Heelys?). I loved that when I was a newbie at the company, Cindy was quick to include me in her circle of friends. When I started hanging out with Cindy, one thing about her stood out.

I can’t remember when I met Cindy. It just feels like I always knew her. I grew up in Jacksonville too, but I left many years prior to her years. I was at SXSW starting around 2006, so it could have been there. I had my own business back then, and Cindy did a lot of my client’s design work (designing doesn’t suit me since I’m a tweakaholic and never satisfied).