2016 Holiday Letter
Dear family and friends:
It’s December 10th and late in the process as I try to get motivated to share our past years’ happenings. Inspiration is fickle, like a preteen’s decision for their Facebook status. But when inspiration hits, it can be as powerful as a smell that evokes childhood memories. You know what else is powerful? Fear! Fear of angering the wife who questions, when are you going to write the holiday letter not to mention the ten other things you said you’d do? I seem have a few honey-do items pending. And with that “inspiration”, I give you the annual SD Korn’s dreaded letter.
For our intelligent and perceptive family and friends, this obviously rules out all my poker playing compadres, you probably detect that my braggadocio ranting letters attempt to mask the insecurities of the author. For 2017 I’m coming clean (not my mouth) to state that maybe not everything in our life and certainly not in 2016 is always wonderful. My wishes in last year’s letter for example. Not that anyone paid attention! I won’t rehash what they were as I know you can rush back to the copy you no doubt saved, but l can assure you none of them came true. However, except for maybe a few health-related issues and most everyone in the house is losing their hearing, including the dog, we really have no complaints and you wouldn’t want to read about them if we did.
Now on to what you really want to know about ... all the awesomeness of our family and highlights of our 2016 year.
It has been a long tough recovery for Marge following her mishap last December. She was frustrated with how long her injuries were taking to heal and then became angry when I hid all her skateboards. Add to that I also sold her car, because a man can’t live with only six surfboards. Really, we sold the car because due to her skateboard withdrawals mom was sneaking out for late night drag races with her Buick. We now keep her locked in her room to watch cooking shows, read People magazine, talk to the dog and similar activities so she won’t hurt herself or others.
After obtaining his AA degree, Austin applied to a handful of Universities that interested him. He was accepted at two schools in Washington State and two in New York City. Thank you to NYU as it’s your loss our bank account’s gain. Besides I’m sure USC and UCLA are proud to say they rejected Steven Spielberg. In April, we made two extended weekend family college visits. The first trip was to Olympia and then Bellingham, Washington. Each respective campus was beautiful and in a rural setting surrounded by woods, trails, waterways and in general everything imaginable outdoors related. Bellingham is about an hour south of the Canadian border, so we decided to take a train ride to Vancouver. We couldn’t spend a lot of time there and walked around the seaport, downtown and Chinatown areas for a few hours. We noticed a bit more homeless and “interesting” people than most downtown areas. My curiosity sent me online where I queried something like ‘what’s with all the homeless in Vancouver?’ The consensus is weather related where during colder months’ the street folk of Canada migrate to Vancouver because it is warmer. But then I found what I believe to be the most accurate theory, “Weird goes west until they run out of west.” Californians can relate.
Next was a visit to the figuratively opposite of Washington, New York City. The Big Apple has grown on me as my first visit could well have been my last and I would have been fine with that. Kathleen loves the city and has traveled there with her girlfriend Beverly a couple of times with another trip scheduled for spring 2017. We visited The New School and made our way through most of Manhattan with almost a full day exploring Central Park. We had rooftop cocktails in Brooklyn looking back on Manhattan at sunset one night and the next day took the train to Coney Island for a taste of Nathan’s hotdogs. For my taste, Pink’s beats out Nathan’s.
If I owned a farm I would have bet it all on Austin choosing to go to school in Greenwich Village. It may have been a half an hour after arriving home from NYC that Austin enrolled at Western Washington University in Bellingham. It seems the prospect of being eaten by a bear in Bellingham was less daunting than being devoured by the vicious humans of Manhattan.
Since I think Kathleen deserves cutting back her work hours (but probably won’t because why start listening to me now?) and since I don’t want to work until I’m 70, we continue to try to reduce our utility bills. We installed solar a few years ago, and this past year we tore out our poor excuse for a lawn, because watering the San Diego desert costs a small fortune. Now we have a kennel load of bark (get it?), some succulents and a ground cover named Kurapia, no not Crapia. Next on the list will probably be addressing the legalized racket known as cable TV. It looks so enticing on the introductory offer and then a year later wham the monthly bill skyrockets. I’m going to have to start hacking into our neighbor’s signals. This will be especially tough since they all get this letter. I’ll probably have to rotate around the block to keep suspicions low. At least we already benefit from their Internet connections. No, I’m just kidding. Or am I?
This fall Kathleen and I travelled to Copenhagen for four days/nights and then joined a tour group in Croatia. This was our biennial meeting with Koot and Iloma Marais, our good friends and travel partners from South Africa. I like pointing this out to emphasize how worldly and multicultural we are. It’s possible that on past trips I may have exuded an unpleasant attitude when things haven’t gone in my favor. Of course, it is never my fault but most likely due to others not understanding I’m typically right. Nonetheless in last year’s letter (already acknowledged - no one cares) I made a promise to behave for this trip. Shockingly, I kept my word. Let’s hear it for good company, beautiful sites, ample food and the right balance of alcohol and narcotics to keep me in check.
Copenhagen is surrounded by water, quite flat and is overrun with bicycles. Cycling is probably the most practical way to get around this city, but it is not any safer for pedestrians. Dodging bikes from all different directions is more challenging that dealing with cars. At least you need to pass a test to drive a car, but anyone can ride a bike. The city is very clean with friendly people and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are some cool sites to visit such as Tivoli Gardens. This is where Walt Disney obviously ripped off a few ideas for Disneyland. Freetown Christiana is a hippie community that although part of Copenhagen, they can set their own rules such as legally use recreational drugs (no hard stuff) and there is quite a cast of eccentric residents. We spent just enough time there to get a take in the distinct aromas, culture and vibe there. For some reason, soon after leaving we became extremely hungry. The food in Denmark was mostly very good and we had one authentic Danish dinner. The tasty food exception was the pickled herring. This was almost as terrible as the herring my parents tried to poison me with as a child. Although I am Russian and Polish not Danish, apparently, the Danes have similar torture tactics to keep their youth in line.
Croatia was really an awesome destination! What made us determine to go there? First, it was a match on both the Korn and Marais countries to visit list and secondly it is visually spectacular. Please look at the pictures at http://www.sdsharkbait.net/copenhagen--croatia-2016.html for what I hope captures how fabulous this country is. Since this region has been ruled by the Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Austrians etc. and is across the Adriatic from Italy, the food and culture is comprised of all these influences. We started our tour in the capital city of Zagreb. Then we headed toward the coast and slowly travelled southward as we visited various cities and islands along the way. We also had day-trips in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is amazing to see how quickly this region has rebuilt and developed. It was only 25-30 years ago, that the former Yugoslavia experienced horrible acts of war and turmoil which included the bombing of the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. On a much lighter note, for you Game of Thrones fans, Dubrovnik is where much of the filming takes place. I have enjoyed watching the series, but I can’t say I am so into it that I know all the locations. I captured pictures of areas known in the show as Kings Landing and the Walk of Shame. I was extremely disappointed to not encounter any battles, nudity, beheadings or dragons. As for the Walk of Shame, I am typically required to take such a trek at least monthly.
What will 2017 hold for us? We have already made travel arrangements for October to go on a River Cruise in Russia with our friends Dennis and Beverly. Like most everyone we are cautiously optimistic about the direction our country’s new administration guides us. One of the reasons we decided to go to Russia is to hang with Vladi P. and share some Vodka while we work a few things out. The temperatures in fall there are about 35 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m a bit concerned how we’ll keep warm and am hope frostbite doesn’t claim a couple body parts that I would prefer to keep.
Mostly for this coming year, our wish is that our family and friends, which is everyone receiving this letter, cherish the time you spend with loved ones, take advantage of every opportunity for fun and enjoy every moment to the fullest.
All our love and best wishes for a joyous holiday season and wonderful 2017!
Curt, Kathleen, Austin, Marjorie and Roxy
It’s December 10th and late in the process as I try to get motivated to share our past years’ happenings. Inspiration is fickle, like a preteen’s decision for their Facebook status. But when inspiration hits, it can be as powerful as a smell that evokes childhood memories. You know what else is powerful? Fear! Fear of angering the wife who questions, when are you going to write the holiday letter not to mention the ten other things you said you’d do? I seem have a few honey-do items pending. And with that “inspiration”, I give you the annual SD Korn’s dreaded letter.
For our intelligent and perceptive family and friends, this obviously rules out all my poker playing compadres, you probably detect that my braggadocio ranting letters attempt to mask the insecurities of the author. For 2017 I’m coming clean (not my mouth) to state that maybe not everything in our life and certainly not in 2016 is always wonderful. My wishes in last year’s letter for example. Not that anyone paid attention! I won’t rehash what they were as I know you can rush back to the copy you no doubt saved, but l can assure you none of them came true. However, except for maybe a few health-related issues and most everyone in the house is losing their hearing, including the dog, we really have no complaints and you wouldn’t want to read about them if we did.
Now on to what you really want to know about ... all the awesomeness of our family and highlights of our 2016 year.
It has been a long tough recovery for Marge following her mishap last December. She was frustrated with how long her injuries were taking to heal and then became angry when I hid all her skateboards. Add to that I also sold her car, because a man can’t live with only six surfboards. Really, we sold the car because due to her skateboard withdrawals mom was sneaking out for late night drag races with her Buick. We now keep her locked in her room to watch cooking shows, read People magazine, talk to the dog and similar activities so she won’t hurt herself or others.
After obtaining his AA degree, Austin applied to a handful of Universities that interested him. He was accepted at two schools in Washington State and two in New York City. Thank you to NYU as it’s your loss our bank account’s gain. Besides I’m sure USC and UCLA are proud to say they rejected Steven Spielberg. In April, we made two extended weekend family college visits. The first trip was to Olympia and then Bellingham, Washington. Each respective campus was beautiful and in a rural setting surrounded by woods, trails, waterways and in general everything imaginable outdoors related. Bellingham is about an hour south of the Canadian border, so we decided to take a train ride to Vancouver. We couldn’t spend a lot of time there and walked around the seaport, downtown and Chinatown areas for a few hours. We noticed a bit more homeless and “interesting” people than most downtown areas. My curiosity sent me online where I queried something like ‘what’s with all the homeless in Vancouver?’ The consensus is weather related where during colder months’ the street folk of Canada migrate to Vancouver because it is warmer. But then I found what I believe to be the most accurate theory, “Weird goes west until they run out of west.” Californians can relate.
Next was a visit to the figuratively opposite of Washington, New York City. The Big Apple has grown on me as my first visit could well have been my last and I would have been fine with that. Kathleen loves the city and has traveled there with her girlfriend Beverly a couple of times with another trip scheduled for spring 2017. We visited The New School and made our way through most of Manhattan with almost a full day exploring Central Park. We had rooftop cocktails in Brooklyn looking back on Manhattan at sunset one night and the next day took the train to Coney Island for a taste of Nathan’s hotdogs. For my taste, Pink’s beats out Nathan’s.
If I owned a farm I would have bet it all on Austin choosing to go to school in Greenwich Village. It may have been a half an hour after arriving home from NYC that Austin enrolled at Western Washington University in Bellingham. It seems the prospect of being eaten by a bear in Bellingham was less daunting than being devoured by the vicious humans of Manhattan.
Since I think Kathleen deserves cutting back her work hours (but probably won’t because why start listening to me now?) and since I don’t want to work until I’m 70, we continue to try to reduce our utility bills. We installed solar a few years ago, and this past year we tore out our poor excuse for a lawn, because watering the San Diego desert costs a small fortune. Now we have a kennel load of bark (get it?), some succulents and a ground cover named Kurapia, no not Crapia. Next on the list will probably be addressing the legalized racket known as cable TV. It looks so enticing on the introductory offer and then a year later wham the monthly bill skyrockets. I’m going to have to start hacking into our neighbor’s signals. This will be especially tough since they all get this letter. I’ll probably have to rotate around the block to keep suspicions low. At least we already benefit from their Internet connections. No, I’m just kidding. Or am I?
This fall Kathleen and I travelled to Copenhagen for four days/nights and then joined a tour group in Croatia. This was our biennial meeting with Koot and Iloma Marais, our good friends and travel partners from South Africa. I like pointing this out to emphasize how worldly and multicultural we are. It’s possible that on past trips I may have exuded an unpleasant attitude when things haven’t gone in my favor. Of course, it is never my fault but most likely due to others not understanding I’m typically right. Nonetheless in last year’s letter (already acknowledged - no one cares) I made a promise to behave for this trip. Shockingly, I kept my word. Let’s hear it for good company, beautiful sites, ample food and the right balance of alcohol and narcotics to keep me in check.
Copenhagen is surrounded by water, quite flat and is overrun with bicycles. Cycling is probably the most practical way to get around this city, but it is not any safer for pedestrians. Dodging bikes from all different directions is more challenging that dealing with cars. At least you need to pass a test to drive a car, but anyone can ride a bike. The city is very clean with friendly people and a cosmopolitan atmosphere. There are some cool sites to visit such as Tivoli Gardens. This is where Walt Disney obviously ripped off a few ideas for Disneyland. Freetown Christiana is a hippie community that although part of Copenhagen, they can set their own rules such as legally use recreational drugs (no hard stuff) and there is quite a cast of eccentric residents. We spent just enough time there to get a take in the distinct aromas, culture and vibe there. For some reason, soon after leaving we became extremely hungry. The food in Denmark was mostly very good and we had one authentic Danish dinner. The tasty food exception was the pickled herring. This was almost as terrible as the herring my parents tried to poison me with as a child. Although I am Russian and Polish not Danish, apparently, the Danes have similar torture tactics to keep their youth in line.
Croatia was really an awesome destination! What made us determine to go there? First, it was a match on both the Korn and Marais countries to visit list and secondly it is visually spectacular. Please look at the pictures at http://www.sdsharkbait.net/copenhagen--croatia-2016.html for what I hope captures how fabulous this country is. Since this region has been ruled by the Greeks, Romans, Venetians, Austrians etc. and is across the Adriatic from Italy, the food and culture is comprised of all these influences. We started our tour in the capital city of Zagreb. Then we headed toward the coast and slowly travelled southward as we visited various cities and islands along the way. We also had day-trips in Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro. It is amazing to see how quickly this region has rebuilt and developed. It was only 25-30 years ago, that the former Yugoslavia experienced horrible acts of war and turmoil which included the bombing of the beautiful city of Dubrovnik. On a much lighter note, for you Game of Thrones fans, Dubrovnik is where much of the filming takes place. I have enjoyed watching the series, but I can’t say I am so into it that I know all the locations. I captured pictures of areas known in the show as Kings Landing and the Walk of Shame. I was extremely disappointed to not encounter any battles, nudity, beheadings or dragons. As for the Walk of Shame, I am typically required to take such a trek at least monthly.
What will 2017 hold for us? We have already made travel arrangements for October to go on a River Cruise in Russia with our friends Dennis and Beverly. Like most everyone we are cautiously optimistic about the direction our country’s new administration guides us. One of the reasons we decided to go to Russia is to hang with Vladi P. and share some Vodka while we work a few things out. The temperatures in fall there are about 35 – 50 degrees Fahrenheit. I’m a bit concerned how we’ll keep warm and am hope frostbite doesn’t claim a couple body parts that I would prefer to keep.
Mostly for this coming year, our wish is that our family and friends, which is everyone receiving this letter, cherish the time you spend with loved ones, take advantage of every opportunity for fun and enjoy every moment to the fullest.
All our love and best wishes for a joyous holiday season and wonderful 2017!
Curt, Kathleen, Austin, Marjorie and Roxy