highlights of 2013
this is just a quick review of the year. to see the full details, keep reading after the Highlights, including many many pictures!
january
spent new years eve at home. Mama went through some health issues, so we were most attentive, keeping her comfortable and upbeat. watched football, and golf, and did mending while spending time with her. saw the movies The Last Stand, Lincoln and the new Les Miserables on the big screen. a friend of ours from Temple passed away, and I attended his military funeral service with several congregants. Joyce and I continued our tradition of going to the annual car show downtown. all the playoff games were quite thrilling and that super game would become known as the Har-bowl. Joyce and I signed on to co-produce a terrifically funny musical together this season at our home theatre. saw friends in I Left My Heart.
february
worked as a narrator on bus tours of the sili-valley. saw friends in productions of Promises, Promises, and Looking Over the President's Shoulder. watched the Super Game at our friend Pasha's and even made chicken ettoufee for the potluck. sadly our team lost to the other brother. before I knew anything about the show, I volunteered to costume Sunday in the Park with George. my director friend was two weeks from opening his high school production and had no one to help, so I quickly reached out to all my costume resources and managed to borrow and make everything we needed, including making a gentleman's ascot! helped make green chair slipcovers for our junior Wizard of Oz, and watched the opening night later in the week.
march
in the middle of costume cleaning/returning my Bug died and I had to borrow Mama's to finish my errands. took it to a new mechanic who didn't gouge like the dealers do. Joyce and I started planning for Zombie Prom, our fall musical co-production. saw the kids and friends in productions of Wizard of Oz, Harvey, and Sugar (the musical version of Some Like It Hot). job interviews at HP didn't net me any job luck.
april
spent the high holy days at Temple and at a new church down the street - for Easter Sunday. Had a wonderful Passover Seder with our favorite caterer feeding us well. Joyce and I saw the Blue Man Group - discount tix - at our downtown performing arts center. got another discount ticket to see friends in Brigadoon. our friend Angel was in town between deployments so he came to karaoke and sang with me. Joyce and I got much of our Zombie staff in place. my Sunday director asked me to costume his kids again, this time in comedia dell'arte Mandragola. Joyce and I finished out the month by enjoying draft party activities for our team, since we're season ticket holders.
may
read and sang several times at Temple. also attended some Sunday services at the church down the street. Joyce and I worked on her invitations to her upcoming college graduation - where did the time go?! Janet lost her beloved horse Willie that Joyce had grown up with. saw many friends in a production of Babes in Hollywood, and ushered and watched Little Women. had a couple opportunities to sing karaoke. Mandragola rehearsals, performances, and costuming cleaning and returns took up a lot of my waking hours.
june
spent a week living with Mama while "someone" was out of town. that gave us lots of time to go to Temple, go to Elisha's grad party in Santa Cruz, and watch Janet play in her String Ensemble and the community band. Joyce was busy with finals and I was busy with Zombie meetings. our friend Woody joined all of us for Joyce's graduation ceremonies, both indoors and outside. saw friends performing in Funny Girl and Boeing, Boeing, and sang karaoke a few times. did some more bus tour narration as well. Joyce and I got discount tickets to the amazing Green Day's American Idiot. got to wish Daddy happy day for his 75th! Joyce is moving to her dad's for a few months ... I'll miss being able to see her regularly. wrapped up my two-year term as president on our theatre's board ... whew!
two amazing things happened toward the end of the month. after a marathon afternoon interviewing with 15 people for over two hours at Intel, they made me an offer 8 days later and I would start working there the following month! AND... I auditioned for an all-female production of 1776 - up against 80 of our theatre community's best female performers - and I was cast as one of the 26 performers!!
july
wrapped up my final narration bus tour duties. got to be "the best usher ever" at a sing-along Sound of Music. had some really nice readings and singing opportunities at Temple, and lovely services at the church down the street. went to another audition, this one for Noises Off, but didn't make the cut. since it was in Pacifica, and the drive may have been the death of the Bug, perhaps it was for the best. saw a cute junior production called Wonderland; ushered for an outdoor production of Twelfth Night; also ushered and saw friends in 9 to 5; saw friends - the entire cast - in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown. Joyce visited a couple times when she was transporting stuff back and forth to/from her dad's. working at Intel feels just like working at HP - so far that is.
august
at work, my managers have discovered my abilities to clearly instruct, and to learn processes quickly, so they have already tasked me with training our team on a new process! saw friends in The World Goes 'Round, and ushered several times for Pippin. Joyce made more trips back as she helps her dad pack for a move to Arizona. we also went shopping in preparation for football season. sang and read at Temple, and enjoyed Sunday services down the street.
september
Zombie Prom kept us busy much of the month, with meetings, auditions, rehearsals. but we're doing it together and that's the best! sang at Temple for the Yom Kippur service. went to SF to see the touring company of 1776.
october
for our birthday, Joyce and I went to a Sunday night home football game and we won! we spent "the day" starting at Dennys - free breakfast - then went to SF to Pier 39 and the Hard Rock, and then to all seven floors of Macys Union Square. we had another birthday dinner night at Black Angus. ushered and watched several friends perform in Les Miserables. Joyce joined me at work for a "tailgate" in our corporate auditorium, catered by our favorite BBQ restaurant.
november
Zombie Prom played all month to small but enthusiastic crowds. rehearsals began for our groundbreaking production of 1776. saw friends in Making God Laugh.
december
went to see two holiday productions with friends, Decembrance and Duke Ellington's Nutcracker Suite. at work, I helped organize the holiday party, and even volunteered to be "referee" of the gift exchange, which apparently gets quite competitive! watched our football team doing really well. saw Saving Mr. Banks, Frozen, and Grudge Match on the big screen.
read about the whole year in greater detail below and in the Older Posts.
d e c e m b e r . 2 0 1 4
day to day our lives are going well - - busy with work, but we have good health, and people who love us. our football team is doing ... ah-maz-ing! we are hoping for another super bowl run [cross fingers or whatever other stupid-sticion football fans have ;-) ] Ana commandeered the remote again at her favorite Israeli restaurant with her dear friend, and they watched yet another '9er victory on Monday night TV! She also finally got back to karaoke, to sing a couple Christmas songs before the end of the year. And she went to see three movies, a couple with that same dear friend visiting for the holidays - Saving Mr. Banks, Frozen (again) and Grudge Match - all excellent and/or fun movies.at work, Ana played a significant role in organizing the holiday party ... including being the "ref" at the party game, a variation on the usual elephant gift exchange game!
we hope you enjoyed / survived the holidays and will let us know what you're up to too!
