Holiday Letter
For those of you who are interested, I've posted my annual 'holiday letter' here to livejournal...
Holiday 2008
Happy Holidays! I'm determined to get my letter out before Christmas this year, since last year I flaked and didn't get it out at all - seems like the older I get, the faster time flies. Used to be forever between Halloween and Christmas; now it's the blink of an eye. It doesn't help that the Christmas ornaments go on display the before Labor Day, either! Kind of desensitizes a person, you know?
Still, it's the time of year you think of friends and family who live far away, and wish they were a little nearer. Without further ado, here's the update for the last two years…
I think the most joyful event of 2008 was Tim Miller's marriage to his fiancée, Kayte. We had not met her prior to our whirlwind trip to Indiana for the wedding, and, after meeting her, all I can say is that they are a perfect couple. The wedding and reception went off without a hitch (not the least because no alcohol was served at the reception - therefore no 'stupid pet tricks' on the part of over-imbibers). The wedding was at the church, while the reception was in a beautiful Tudor-style ballroom hung with 15th-century tapestries that reminded one of Hogwarts. It was perfect!
While in Bloomington, we managed to have a birthday lunch with Robyn and Shannon, two of our friends from the Stargate Atlantis fandom. We had seen them earlier in the year at Comic-con, but any chance to see friends, even for a few minutes, should be grabbed with both hands. We had a great lunch together, and really appreciated them driving all the way to Bloomington to see us.
On a sadder note, Bob Gray died unexpectedly this October, apparently of peritonitis and multi-system organ failure. It's hard to wrap my brain around the idea that I'll never see him again. I can't even imagine what his wife and children are going through. I just wish there were something I could do to help. I always feel so useless when this sort of thing happens. Even though I haven't seen him in years, I'll miss him.
A high point of 2007 was Richard's Mom's 25th wedding anniversary party in New Jersey. We hadn't been back to the Trenton area to visit his family for far too long, so this was definitely a 'Do Not Miss' situation. While there we got to spend time with his Mom and her husband Charlie, his brother Jim, his nephews John and Jeff, his Aunt Susie and her son Adam, and his Grandmother. We also got to visit with Ramy and Cindy Mahmoud and their three children Alex, Daniel, and Sarah, who live nearby. It was great fun catching up, and the kids were a blast! We also went to New York City one night and saw 'Spamalot' with Richard's Mom and Charlie, then went into the City again during the day with Jim, John, and Jeff - got to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which I'd never seen before. One day I'll get to see the Statue of Liberty, although I'm told that's a full day trip unto itself. Maybe next time!
We went on several short vacations. In March 2007 and April 2008 we attended a Stargate Convention in Vancouver, Canada, where we got to tour Bridge Studios, where it is filmed, and tromp around the sets. Wesley Branstiter came up for a day each trip and we drove up to Whistler, where they're getting ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics - boy, that's gonna be a circus if they don't get some serious mass transit set up in advance! On the second trip we took a gondola up to a ski chalet with a nice overview of the mountain, and it was actually snowing!
We ate at a marvelous restaurant both times and wandered around the ritzy hotels before driving back to the city.
Memorial Day weekend both years found us in Lansing, Michigan once more, at Mediawest Con, with all our fanfic and FOE friends. In 2007, Richard had improved the electronics on our working 'Stargate' ring, so we went with that again for the door decorating contest. Since it had been done just a few years previously, it only won 'Best Crossover' for the door awards, although I think it was one of the coolest doors at the Con! People came by day and night to take pictures in front of it, at any rate. For 2008, we went with an "Indiana Jones/Stargate SG-1" crossover, with a crystal skull (plastic) and snakes (also plastic) and everything. Richard had the MP3 player scrolling through Indiana Jones and Stargate theme songs, and the skull's pedestal actually lit up! Got "Best Overall" for that door.
In early June 2007 we met Chris Robshaw and his family in Yosemite for a few days; he'd rented a house in the south end of the park, out of the crush that is the Valley floor that time of year. It was Chris, his daughters Rhiannon and Ariana, both Grandmas, his sister Susan and her husband David, and Richard and myself. We had a kitchen, so we didn't have to pay the outrageous prices of eating out in that area (a cup of normal coffee can cost over $2). Vacation home rental is definitely the way to go for large groups! Did a lot of hiking, toured the redwood groves nearby, but had to tailor activities to the grandmothers and the little girls. Still, there's lots to do in Yosemite for everyone!
In fact, we went back to Yosemite this year. Richard decided at some point that he wanted to climb/hike up Half Dome, and spent all year getting into shape for it. Deb Hendricks, one of our ICU nurses, had done the trip several times in the past and offered to guide him. Another male nurse and one of our RT techs volunteered to go as well, and I went on the trip as moral support (although I had no inclination to try and haul myself up the back of Half Dome on those little cables). I did hike up as high as the top of Nevada Falls before turning around and going back to the valley. After the hike, I'd booked a reservation for Richard and myself to recuperate at the Ahwahnee Hotel; I'd always wanted to spend the night there, and Richard appreciated the nice, hot shower. Needless to say, he made it to the top!!!
Went with the usual group (Sean, Jan, Becky, Raven, Diane, and Doug) to Ashland around the 4th of July 2007 for the Shakespeare Festival - saw 'As You Like It', 'The Tempest', 'Taming of the Shrew', 'Romeo and Juliet', and an original play called 'Tracy's Tiger', which I liked best of all. 'Romeo and Juliet' dressed all the teenagers in school uniforms reminiscent of Hogwarts, while the 'adults' were in Elizabethan garb; rather a strange juxtaposition…There was nothing we really wanted to see on the 2008 schedule, so we skipped this year, but we'll probably go back in 2009.
End of July 2007 we went to San Diego for 5 days to Comic-Con for the first time, and loved it so much we went back in 2008. I knew it was big, but holy cow!!!! They book out the entire Convention Center for four solid days (125,000 attendees, not counting guests and dealers!!!!). About 20% of the attendees were Cosplaying, so there were some incredible costumes to be seen! I personally dressed as Edward Elric, from Fullmetal Alchemist, and actually had people yell from a passing car "Hey, Edward!" as we walked on the street back to our hotel. It was awfully hot, though - I don't know how the people in the full-leather outfits managed not to pass out. Richard dressed as a Jedi, and had some great conversations with other lightsaber-wielding attendees. Got to spend time with Robyn and Shannon both years and attended several of the Stargate Atlantis panels together. Robyn had a great "Dark Phoenix" outfit that she modeled this year, and even had pictures taken by "Hustler" magazine (although I have no idea if they used them or not). We also managed to meet a lot of our favorite sci-fi authors, to include Dean Koontz, Orson Scott Card, and Ray Bradbury! I got lucky enough to be one of 100 people to get Ray Bradbury's autograph - one item only, so I got him to sign a book for my sister, Monica.
While obtaining another autograph for my sister (of the Fantasy artist, Rowena), I noticed a big sign on an adjacent table for Peter S. Beagle. Now, The Last Unicorn was my absolute favorite book in seventh grade - I kept it perpetually checked out from our school library, and almost had a coronary when I found a copy of A Fine and Private Place in a local bookstore a few years later. With the author's writing style, I had always assumed that he was a contemporary of James M. Barrie, and long since dead. Yet here was a poster proclaiming "Peter S Beagle" with a photo of the man who was sitting at the table signing books! Heck, turns out that he's not only alive, he's still writing. After picking my tongue off the floor, I managed to purchase a copy of both the aforementioned books and get him to autograph them. Since there wasn't a line, I even got the chance to tell him what his work had meant to me growing up. I don't think many authors get to hear that very often. Everywhere you turned there was another "OMG" moment (the original cover art painting for Robert Heinlein's last novel Job just hanging among a bunch of other paintings in a booth, for example).
The highlight of the 2008 convention was attending the screening of "Stargate Continuum" on the deck of the aircraft carrier Midway! They were giving out tickets at the Stargate booth in the dealers' hall (the 'dealer's hall' is actually the entire first floor of the convention center), and Richard and I were lucky enough to get two. We went straight there from the convention, so I was still wearing my Fullmetal Alchemist outfit while we stood in line to board the ship. The woman behind us said, "Hey, nice Edward outfit," so we got to talking. Turns out, she does the English voice-overs for Izumi, Edward's teacher in the show. Too cool! (I got her autograph, too.) All the Stargate SG-1 actors attended the premier, including Richard Dean Anderson. Fortunately, everyone was respectful and no one bothered the stars too much before the show.
The 2007 convention was over far too quickly; I wasn't ready for real life to resume on Monday! Also, the trip home was miserable; the line to check in at the airport stretched outside the building for two blocks, and the line to get through security was even longer! Thank goodness we'd allowed extra time. In 2008 we learned from our mistake, and stayed until Tuesday. That way we got to see the tear-down, and putter about San Diego a little bit (the zoo, the Japanese garden, the Air and Space Museum - it had a Star Trek exhibit!). An added benefit was a lack of crowds at the airport on Tuesday, as opposed to the 3 hour wait to check in and get through security the year before. We just zipped right in.
You don't even have to travel for an "Ah-ha!" moment. An amazing thing happened in our little neck of the woods this week. When I was an intern (21 years ago) I heard an interview with a folk singer named Christine Lavin on the local public radio station, and fell in love with her songs. I've wanted to see her in concert forever, but she always seems to be east of the Mississippi. (She mostly plays in New York City.) I have occasionally played with the idea of planning a trip just to go see her, but never found the time. So imagine my amazement when I walked into a local store and spotted the flyer in the window that advertised her in concert. Looking at it more closely, I expected to see that she was playing in Santa Rosa at the big concert hall there. Instead, she was playing that night in Point Arena, just an hour south of town! Miraculously enough, I wasn't on call, so I purchased two tickets, then called Richard and let him know that we had plans. The concert was surprisingly poorly attended, so we got front-row seats. It was so much fun; Ms. Lavin was quite personable and I actually got to talk to her after the concert! It was nice to be able to tell her personally how much I love her music, and how clever I think her songs are. I wonder if she'll ever be back? They apparently lost money on the concert (which I can't believe happened).
Anyway, I hope this letter finds everyone happy and healthy, and my wish for the New Year is that your life be filled with amazing "Aha!" moments as well.
Holiday 2008
Happy Holidays! I'm determined to get my letter out before Christmas this year, since last year I flaked and didn't get it out at all - seems like the older I get, the faster time flies. Used to be forever between Halloween and Christmas; now it's the blink of an eye. It doesn't help that the Christmas ornaments go on display the before Labor Day, either! Kind of desensitizes a person, you know?
Still, it's the time of year you think of friends and family who live far away, and wish they were a little nearer. Without further ado, here's the update for the last two years…
I think the most joyful event of 2008 was Tim Miller's marriage to his fiancée, Kayte. We had not met her prior to our whirlwind trip to Indiana for the wedding, and, after meeting her, all I can say is that they are a perfect couple. The wedding and reception went off without a hitch (not the least because no alcohol was served at the reception - therefore no 'stupid pet tricks' on the part of over-imbibers). The wedding was at the church, while the reception was in a beautiful Tudor-style ballroom hung with 15th-century tapestries that reminded one of Hogwarts. It was perfect!
While in Bloomington, we managed to have a birthday lunch with Robyn and Shannon, two of our friends from the Stargate Atlantis fandom. We had seen them earlier in the year at Comic-con, but any chance to see friends, even for a few minutes, should be grabbed with both hands. We had a great lunch together, and really appreciated them driving all the way to Bloomington to see us.
On a sadder note, Bob Gray died unexpectedly this October, apparently of peritonitis and multi-system organ failure. It's hard to wrap my brain around the idea that I'll never see him again. I can't even imagine what his wife and children are going through. I just wish there were something I could do to help. I always feel so useless when this sort of thing happens. Even though I haven't seen him in years, I'll miss him.
A high point of 2007 was Richard's Mom's 25th wedding anniversary party in New Jersey. We hadn't been back to the Trenton area to visit his family for far too long, so this was definitely a 'Do Not Miss' situation. While there we got to spend time with his Mom and her husband Charlie, his brother Jim, his nephews John and Jeff, his Aunt Susie and her son Adam, and his Grandmother. We also got to visit with Ramy and Cindy Mahmoud and their three children Alex, Daniel, and Sarah, who live nearby. It was great fun catching up, and the kids were a blast! We also went to New York City one night and saw 'Spamalot' with Richard's Mom and Charlie, then went into the City again during the day with Jim, John, and Jeff - got to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which I'd never seen before. One day I'll get to see the Statue of Liberty, although I'm told that's a full day trip unto itself. Maybe next time!
We went on several short vacations. In March 2007 and April 2008 we attended a Stargate Convention in Vancouver, Canada, where we got to tour Bridge Studios, where it is filmed, and tromp around the sets. Wesley Branstiter came up for a day each trip and we drove up to Whistler, where they're getting ready for the 2010 Winter Olympics - boy, that's gonna be a circus if they don't get some serious mass transit set up in advance! On the second trip we took a gondola up to a ski chalet with a nice overview of the mountain, and it was actually snowing!
We ate at a marvelous restaurant both times and wandered around the ritzy hotels before driving back to the city.
Memorial Day weekend both years found us in Lansing, Michigan once more, at Mediawest Con, with all our fanfic and FOE friends. In 2007, Richard had improved the electronics on our working 'Stargate' ring, so we went with that again for the door decorating contest. Since it had been done just a few years previously, it only won 'Best Crossover' for the door awards, although I think it was one of the coolest doors at the Con! People came by day and night to take pictures in front of it, at any rate. For 2008, we went with an "Indiana Jones/Stargate SG-1" crossover, with a crystal skull (plastic) and snakes (also plastic) and everything. Richard had the MP3 player scrolling through Indiana Jones and Stargate theme songs, and the skull's pedestal actually lit up! Got "Best Overall" for that door.
In early June 2007 we met Chris Robshaw and his family in Yosemite for a few days; he'd rented a house in the south end of the park, out of the crush that is the Valley floor that time of year. It was Chris, his daughters Rhiannon and Ariana, both Grandmas, his sister Susan and her husband David, and Richard and myself. We had a kitchen, so we didn't have to pay the outrageous prices of eating out in that area (a cup of normal coffee can cost over $2). Vacation home rental is definitely the way to go for large groups! Did a lot of hiking, toured the redwood groves nearby, but had to tailor activities to the grandmothers and the little girls. Still, there's lots to do in Yosemite for everyone!
In fact, we went back to Yosemite this year. Richard decided at some point that he wanted to climb/hike up Half Dome, and spent all year getting into shape for it. Deb Hendricks, one of our ICU nurses, had done the trip several times in the past and offered to guide him. Another male nurse and one of our RT techs volunteered to go as well, and I went on the trip as moral support (although I had no inclination to try and haul myself up the back of Half Dome on those little cables). I did hike up as high as the top of Nevada Falls before turning around and going back to the valley. After the hike, I'd booked a reservation for Richard and myself to recuperate at the Ahwahnee Hotel; I'd always wanted to spend the night there, and Richard appreciated the nice, hot shower. Needless to say, he made it to the top!!!
Went with the usual group (Sean, Jan, Becky, Raven, Diane, and Doug) to Ashland around the 4th of July 2007 for the Shakespeare Festival - saw 'As You Like It', 'The Tempest', 'Taming of the Shrew', 'Romeo and Juliet', and an original play called 'Tracy's Tiger', which I liked best of all. 'Romeo and Juliet' dressed all the teenagers in school uniforms reminiscent of Hogwarts, while the 'adults' were in Elizabethan garb; rather a strange juxtaposition…There was nothing we really wanted to see on the 2008 schedule, so we skipped this year, but we'll probably go back in 2009.
End of July 2007 we went to San Diego for 5 days to Comic-Con for the first time, and loved it so much we went back in 2008. I knew it was big, but holy cow!!!! They book out the entire Convention Center for four solid days (125,000 attendees, not counting guests and dealers!!!!). About 20% of the attendees were Cosplaying, so there were some incredible costumes to be seen! I personally dressed as Edward Elric, from Fullmetal Alchemist, and actually had people yell from a passing car "Hey, Edward!" as we walked on the street back to our hotel. It was awfully hot, though - I don't know how the people in the full-leather outfits managed not to pass out. Richard dressed as a Jedi, and had some great conversations with other lightsaber-wielding attendees. Got to spend time with Robyn and Shannon both years and attended several of the Stargate Atlantis panels together. Robyn had a great "Dark Phoenix" outfit that she modeled this year, and even had pictures taken by "Hustler" magazine (although I have no idea if they used them or not). We also managed to meet a lot of our favorite sci-fi authors, to include Dean Koontz, Orson Scott Card, and Ray Bradbury! I got lucky enough to be one of 100 people to get Ray Bradbury's autograph - one item only, so I got him to sign a book for my sister, Monica.
While obtaining another autograph for my sister (of the Fantasy artist, Rowena), I noticed a big sign on an adjacent table for Peter S. Beagle. Now, The Last Unicorn was my absolute favorite book in seventh grade - I kept it perpetually checked out from our school library, and almost had a coronary when I found a copy of A Fine and Private Place in a local bookstore a few years later. With the author's writing style, I had always assumed that he was a contemporary of James M. Barrie, and long since dead. Yet here was a poster proclaiming "Peter S Beagle" with a photo of the man who was sitting at the table signing books! Heck, turns out that he's not only alive, he's still writing. After picking my tongue off the floor, I managed to purchase a copy of both the aforementioned books and get him to autograph them. Since there wasn't a line, I even got the chance to tell him what his work had meant to me growing up. I don't think many authors get to hear that very often. Everywhere you turned there was another "OMG" moment (the original cover art painting for Robert Heinlein's last novel Job just hanging among a bunch of other paintings in a booth, for example).
The highlight of the 2008 convention was attending the screening of "Stargate Continuum" on the deck of the aircraft carrier Midway! They were giving out tickets at the Stargate booth in the dealers' hall (the 'dealer's hall' is actually the entire first floor of the convention center), and Richard and I were lucky enough to get two. We went straight there from the convention, so I was still wearing my Fullmetal Alchemist outfit while we stood in line to board the ship. The woman behind us said, "Hey, nice Edward outfit," so we got to talking. Turns out, she does the English voice-overs for Izumi, Edward's teacher in the show. Too cool! (I got her autograph, too.) All the Stargate SG-1 actors attended the premier, including Richard Dean Anderson. Fortunately, everyone was respectful and no one bothered the stars too much before the show.
The 2007 convention was over far too quickly; I wasn't ready for real life to resume on Monday! Also, the trip home was miserable; the line to check in at the airport stretched outside the building for two blocks, and the line to get through security was even longer! Thank goodness we'd allowed extra time. In 2008 we learned from our mistake, and stayed until Tuesday. That way we got to see the tear-down, and putter about San Diego a little bit (the zoo, the Japanese garden, the Air and Space Museum - it had a Star Trek exhibit!). An added benefit was a lack of crowds at the airport on Tuesday, as opposed to the 3 hour wait to check in and get through security the year before. We just zipped right in.
You don't even have to travel for an "Ah-ha!" moment. An amazing thing happened in our little neck of the woods this week. When I was an intern (21 years ago) I heard an interview with a folk singer named Christine Lavin on the local public radio station, and fell in love with her songs. I've wanted to see her in concert forever, but she always seems to be east of the Mississippi. (She mostly plays in New York City.) I have occasionally played with the idea of planning a trip just to go see her, but never found the time. So imagine my amazement when I walked into a local store and spotted the flyer in the window that advertised her in concert. Looking at it more closely, I expected to see that she was playing in Santa Rosa at the big concert hall there. Instead, she was playing that night in Point Arena, just an hour south of town! Miraculously enough, I wasn't on call, so I purchased two tickets, then called Richard and let him know that we had plans. The concert was surprisingly poorly attended, so we got front-row seats. It was so much fun; Ms. Lavin was quite personable and I actually got to talk to her after the concert! It was nice to be able to tell her personally how much I love her music, and how clever I think her songs are. I wonder if she'll ever be back? They apparently lost money on the concert (which I can't believe happened).
Anyway, I hope this letter finds everyone happy and healthy, and my wish for the New Year is that your life be filled with amazing "Aha!" moments as well.