(no subject)
So I was sitting at home yesterday writing the annual Christmas letter, before attacking the Christmas cards, and I suddenly saw how domestic the scene was: Richard was making mince pies, Carols from York Minster were belting out of the stereo, we were both drinking a glass of Harveys Bristol Cream and I had one of the cats asleep on my lap. Domestic bliss??
Anyway here is the letter for those curious.
Merry Christmas! We hope that this Christmas note finds you happy and well. Yet again I get to report on another year that has flown by. This one has seen some major milestones achieved in addition to the normal mix, just to add to the fun and excitement. We are both very well and extremely happy if not a little over-committed sometimes.
Our Wedding: On May 26th Richard and I finally tied the knot (literally!) after 13½ years of being together. Our “Civil Ceremony” was held at the Lanesborough hotel in London and was indeed the highlight of our year (ok, life). It quite simply was the best day of both of our lives. Many very close and wonderful friends and family were in attendance which just made the day even more special. We could not have wanted a more perfect day, and everything went off without a drama in sight (primarily due to our fabulous wedding planners), and was exactly as we had planned and hoped for. We got to spend the week in London prior to our big day catching up with friends and hosting 2 other receptions. May in London is a fantastic time of year, and it once again did us proud. Our “honeymoon” was spent on the island of Iscia (off the coast of Naples) for two weeks. We were joined for the first week by Andy’s best man John, and his partner David; for the second week by Richard’s best man Dan and girlfriend Shema. A delightful little villa on a cliff bluff overlooking a village was the setting for some serious sunbathing and R&R. It was the perfect round-out to a glorious 3 weeks.
Citizenship: After having our Green Cards for 5 years, it became time for Richard and I to apply for our American citizenship. We started the process off in March, and we both finally completed the Oath Ceremony in October, getting our American passports in a record 2 weeks after. Don’t worry we still hold our British passports as well (we will never give these up!), so have just become dual nationals. Hopefully now we can vote and help replace that village idiot in the Whitehouse. America really has lost its way we feel, but is still a fun place to live. We became citizens primarily to help us keep our options open for whatever may unfold later on.
House: It finally came time to find a second home to help out on the major commute issues that I am facing (1½ hrs each way at best). We are currently under offer on a house, having missed out on one and pulled out of another. This would be a second home for us and would serve as a commute house for me to spend 2-3 nights a week at. It would also provide a chance for Richard to actually see the sun during the San Francisco foggy summers during the weekends. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will close the deal and be able to move in early in the New Year. The house is in Santa Clara and only a few miles from my current work, and centrally located to any other jobs if the need arises. Unfortunately without a change in career all of my jobs will be down in southern Silicon Valley. At least I’ll be able to bicycle to work, and hopefully gain a little bit of semblance of order in my life.
Car: It came time to replace the car after another 3years of lease flew by. The old Audi A4 was replaced by an Audi A3 3.2l. LOTS of fun to drive, and packed with lots of toys to play with. Most importantly Sat-Nav so Richard can now never become lost again.
Richard is still with FTI Ringtail and by all accounts doing very well and loving the job. It certainly seems to be a fun company to work for. We’re not sure if this is just because of the large number of Australians!
I’m still with the startup and enjoying it immensely. Their first silicon arrived at the beginning of September and although there are some teething problems it is looking very good. Customers are eagerly waiting for the product as well, which hopefully bodes well for the future. This is a new chip for the next generation of internet transport - 10Gbit over Ethernet (which is an amazingly difficult task to accomplish!).
I’ve again been involved with the street fairs in San Francisco, carrying on the Presidential duties of Folsom Street fair and returning a record $350,000 back to local and national charities this year. I was also the beverages manager for SF Pride. Richard did his usual fantastic job of behind the scenes support services.
The cats, Tanga and Mac, continue to rule the house and are in fine form.
The year in a photo diary is as always available at www.copperhall.com. Other than that we are both very well and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and wonderful New Year.
Anyway here is the letter for those curious.
Merry Christmas! We hope that this Christmas note finds you happy and well. Yet again I get to report on another year that has flown by. This one has seen some major milestones achieved in addition to the normal mix, just to add to the fun and excitement. We are both very well and extremely happy if not a little over-committed sometimes.
Our Wedding: On May 26th Richard and I finally tied the knot (literally!) after 13½ years of being together. Our “Civil Ceremony” was held at the Lanesborough hotel in London and was indeed the highlight of our year (ok, life). It quite simply was the best day of both of our lives. Many very close and wonderful friends and family were in attendance which just made the day even more special. We could not have wanted a more perfect day, and everything went off without a drama in sight (primarily due to our fabulous wedding planners), and was exactly as we had planned and hoped for. We got to spend the week in London prior to our big day catching up with friends and hosting 2 other receptions. May in London is a fantastic time of year, and it once again did us proud. Our “honeymoon” was spent on the island of Iscia (off the coast of Naples) for two weeks. We were joined for the first week by Andy’s best man John, and his partner David; for the second week by Richard’s best man Dan and girlfriend Shema. A delightful little villa on a cliff bluff overlooking a village was the setting for some serious sunbathing and R&R. It was the perfect round-out to a glorious 3 weeks.
Citizenship: After having our Green Cards for 5 years, it became time for Richard and I to apply for our American citizenship. We started the process off in March, and we both finally completed the Oath Ceremony in October, getting our American passports in a record 2 weeks after. Don’t worry we still hold our British passports as well (we will never give these up!), so have just become dual nationals. Hopefully now we can vote and help replace that village idiot in the Whitehouse. America really has lost its way we feel, but is still a fun place to live. We became citizens primarily to help us keep our options open for whatever may unfold later on.
House: It finally came time to find a second home to help out on the major commute issues that I am facing (1½ hrs each way at best). We are currently under offer on a house, having missed out on one and pulled out of another. This would be a second home for us and would serve as a commute house for me to spend 2-3 nights a week at. It would also provide a chance for Richard to actually see the sun during the San Francisco foggy summers during the weekends. Hopefully in the next few weeks we will close the deal and be able to move in early in the New Year. The house is in Santa Clara and only a few miles from my current work, and centrally located to any other jobs if the need arises. Unfortunately without a change in career all of my jobs will be down in southern Silicon Valley. At least I’ll be able to bicycle to work, and hopefully gain a little bit of semblance of order in my life.
Car: It came time to replace the car after another 3years of lease flew by. The old Audi A4 was replaced by an Audi A3 3.2l. LOTS of fun to drive, and packed with lots of toys to play with. Most importantly Sat-Nav so Richard can now never become lost again.
Richard is still with FTI Ringtail and by all accounts doing very well and loving the job. It certainly seems to be a fun company to work for. We’re not sure if this is just because of the large number of Australians!
I’m still with the startup and enjoying it immensely. Their first silicon arrived at the beginning of September and although there are some teething problems it is looking very good. Customers are eagerly waiting for the product as well, which hopefully bodes well for the future. This is a new chip for the next generation of internet transport - 10Gbit over Ethernet (which is an amazingly difficult task to accomplish!).
I’ve again been involved with the street fairs in San Francisco, carrying on the Presidential duties of Folsom Street fair and returning a record $350,000 back to local and national charities this year. I was also the beverages manager for SF Pride. Richard did his usual fantastic job of behind the scenes support services.
The cats, Tanga and Mac, continue to rule the house and are in fine form.
The year in a photo diary is as always available at www.copperhall.com. Other than that we are both very well and wish you all a very Merry Christmas, and wonderful New Year.