Christmas letter 2011

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

The nativity outside the Macau Cathedral

I would like to begin this year's Christmas letter by admitting to an omission from last year's letter.  I failed to mention two very important friends of mine, who in retrospect probably should have been listed first in recognition of the part they played in maintaining my sanity.  If it were not for the dark humor and camaraderie of Drs. Severson and Farboud (aka Aaron and Bobby, or as my mom calls them, Honey and Bunches) I probably would not have lasted six years in the Meyer Lab.  For this, I greatly owe them something, although I'm not sure what.  Here they are, with my apologies for the extreme lateness of my acknowledgement.  (Hopefully this will finally get them off my case.)

Dr. Farboud/Bobby/Bunches

Dr. Severson/Aaron/Honey

All right, now on to the recap of my year. 

The year started off in memorable fashion - on New Year's Day, in the middle of a blizzard that shut down most of Fargo, Rachel and Becky and I got matching tattoos.  Awesome idea Rachy, I still totally love mine.

 Jared's work in progress

Finished product

The very next day I became a godmother again, to my darling nephew Oscar.

I also had the pleasure of celebrating my goddaughter's 5th birthday with a sleepover, as is our custom.  Alaina is a very fabulous child, and so I was only mildly surprised when she announced that she wanted to go out for dinner in her giraffe costume.  It was great.  She's pictured here at an Italian restaurant in Berkeley that makes custom breads.  We had a fun time, as always.

The latter part of January was less fun though, because I was extremely discouraged about my job prospects in the Bay Area.  After an especially dismal visit to the NorCal Community College job fair, I decided to start looking online for work overseas.  I found the position at the University of Macau and the wheels started turning from there. 

I was working hard most of February, trying to finish my thesis and find a job while continuing to work at the Meyer Lab.  I did find time for a few fun things though, and when my friend Lisa put the call out for a Prince concert I jumped at the chance.  Amazing.  Words can't describe.  Who knew that a 52 year old man in high heels could be so attractive?  Thanks Lisa!

In March, I got the opportunity to travel to New Orleans for a TESOL conference because my thesis handbook won an award that paid for my registration and airfare.  It's a beautiful city and I wish I could have stayed longer.  As it was, I spent a couple of days sightseeing and eating a ton of delicious food.  I would love the chance to go back.

In April, I attended the California TESOL conference with Lisa, and while I was there I got the news that I had been accepted for the position in Macau.  It was exciting and scary and made it really difficult to focus on the conference.  We were in Long Beach and went out to 555 East, an expensive steakhouse, to celebrate with drinks and dinner.

I also got the chance to celebrate Easter with some of my favorite kids (and their parents).  Pictured L to R are Marco, Katia, Maia, Robert, Alaina, and Tulio.  The girls are Alison's, and the boys are their friends.  We hid eggs and candy in Golden Gate park for them and had a delicious meal.  This was the do-whatever-you-want shot.

Finally, graduation came in May.  Here I'm pictured with my thesis chair, Dr. Heidimarie Rambo, and Lisa.

The ceremony was nice and a few of my besties (Alison, Cat and Jay) came to celebrate with me.

At the end of the month my six years with the Meyer Lab came to an end and I put away my crown for good.  (Bobby made this to mock my organizational system.)

I spent all of June and the first half of July in MN with my family.  It was great and long enough that I got the chance for some quality time with each person.

 Fishing with Dad off the end of the dock.  Missed a big one.

 Mom and I spent many hours working on crossword puzzles and tanning.  She can take way more than I can though, and I inadvertently got the worst burn I've had in years and consequently spent a couple of weeks in my sweatpants and softest shirts until I was done peeling.

I spent a week in Moorhead with Rachel and her family.  It was nice to hang out there and we got an evening to go out kid-free and wander in the warm summer evening together.

 

I spent a week with Becky too, in Minnetonka, and we had a number of great adventures.  One was a Segway tour all over Minneapolis.  It was really fun! 

 I also had fun with my fabulous niece, Elloise.  One highlight was a treasure hunt at the lake!  (I used to make these for Rach and Becky when we were kids, so it was really great to have another opportunity to put on the mustache and bandana.)

 We went on an outing alone too - to a make-your-own-craft place for kids.  I always have a great time with this girl.  Right after she finished painting this helicopter she painted both our fingernails with glaze.  :)

I got to enjoy some alone time with Oscar too, at least as much as he could stand.  He's still kind of a Momma's boy, but who can blame him?  We're pictured here trying to have fun in the lake while avoiding the sun.  He's very fair complected, and I'm still burned.

Toward the end of my visit, Rachel and I went down to stay with Becky and we did some fun stuff - just the three of us.  We went to a Twin's game, enjoyed Lake Calhoun, and went to our first Eddie Vedder concert all together.  It was awesome.

 It was also nice to just relax at my parents' house and hang out.  They have a beautiful home on the lake and it's like going to a retreat.  A retreat where I get to bake pies.

It was a great long visit and something I hope to make a regular part of my summers.

I went back to California mid-July to finish packing, take care of business, and spend time with all my friends before leaving for Macau.

 I managed one last sleepover with Alaina while I was dogsitting for Cat.  Here is Lains taking her doggie soul-mate, Magic, for a walk.  (Isn't her shirt great?  Alison got it for me as a joke and I passed it on.)

 I also spent a day with Jay and Cat at the California Academy of Sciences.  We had a really nice time together enjoying all the plants and animals.

I also went on a camping trip with the Luke girls and their mother to Del Valle park.  We rented a pontoon one day and had a great time exploring the lake and swimming.

The three little queens of performance: Alaina, Maia, and Katia.

 And the source of it all, their mother, Alison.

At the very end of July I had a sendoff party at The Mallard and a lot of my friends came, including these two who I rarely get to see because they're so busy - Lisa and Anne.  It was great to see everyone, but hard to say goodbye.

On August 2nd I left for Macau and thus began my adventures here, as many of you have already read about on this site.  A few highlights have been:

My surprise birthday party

 UMAC's 30th anniversary gala dinner

 Thanksgiving dinner

 Baking Christmas cookies

Getting to know my students: This is Ray, one of the ones who asked to take a photo with me on the last day of class. He later forwarded it to me with regrets that he was not able to take my class again next semester.  So sweet!

Hotpot dinner with Angie's family in Hong Kong

Christmas Eve mass with Beth

It's been a great year and I'm excited to see what 2012 will bring.  

Chinese New Year will begin "my" year in the Chinese zodiac - the year of the dragon!  

Should be good luck.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite Christmas carols - Ave Maria sung by Chris Cornell.
I found this video on YouTube where someone has combined his version with this footage from The Nativity Story.  It's quite lovely if you have six minutes to spare.

Merry Christmas and best wishes for the coming year.  Love to you all.  - Jess