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Christmas Letter 2000
December 2000
Ho Ho Ho.... ‘tis that time of year
again.... and once again I’m carrying out our yearly tradition for a Christmas
Letter for the year 2000. This has been a very exciting year! It was the year
of the Dragon which is supposed to be very good for business. Many things have happened, many changes took place, and met some interesting
people. I’ll try to get this in chronological order but if I didn’t, at least
it was during the same year. Here’s the recap that was going on in 2000 to
family and friends:
To start off... We had a party on
New Year’s eve with a lot of our friends. At midnight
the power went off.... well, maybe 5 minutes too soon... as a joke, Craig
had pulled the power switch in the basement. The Y2K scare soon diminished
after that. Hahaha....
I have gotten myself into a creative state
that hasn’t gone away (this is a GOOD thing!). I’ve been making crafts,
knitting and sewing projects and clothes like crazy. One incentive was that
since I had lost 30 pounds, I needed new clothes. One thing led to another and
next thing you know I couldn’t stop. I’m still making stuff, included gifts
I’ve given over the year. I’m so glad they like them. (BTW- I gained it all
back later in the year)
Well, after taking a year off from daytime
work to pursue my endeavors in my business (Bell-Mar Publishing), I decided to
go back to work full-time. I had gone through a temp agency in London and
landed a position at the Ivey School of Business at the University of Western Ontario.
This was the best thing I could have done! It offered the challenges that I
needed and a chance to delve into projects that no one else wanted to do. It
has now led into a full-time permanent position since May. I work in the
Program Services department where I process applications of potential students
into the MBA program. This also includes: creating/running reports, scheduling
classes, entering assignments on the ‘net’, dealing with students, going to
information sessions, registration of courses, and so much more! The lists never stops! This is an environment that actually
appreciates the work that’s done. I’m very happy there and will most likely
stay until I retire!
We finally did it! After planning for almost
10 years, the ‘Girl’s Night Out’ gang went to JAMAICA! This was all possible
for our budgets because Veronica made the arrangements for us. Veronica,
Pat, Robyne, Joanne (newest member), and myself
went on this trip. We stayed mostly in Montego Bay
but went traveling to different parts of the island. We definitely had an
adventure and stories to tell! Mid-week we spent some
time in a million dollar beach house (belonging to Cathy’s Uncle-in-law
‘Donny’). Made it to the Casino (won $80US), some climbed the Dunn’s
River Falls in Ocho Rios, saw a spectacular sunset in
Negril, seen the Botanical gardens, went to Margaritaville, the ‘Doctor’s Cave’ beach, night life at
the Trelany Resort, ate lots of food, and did mega
shopping! On the last day, Bob Marley’s birthday, we sprinkled Troy’s
lock of hair into the ocean so that she was still with us in Jamaica in spirit!
In February, I had tried, once again, to
quit smoking using Zyban. Unfortunately, I started
again. I even tried a second time in October to quit but again I had started.
Maybe someday it will happen but not this year. Mason’s front tooth got
chipped and we got it fixed right away. Lennon turned 19. My brother, Michel,
finally finished his CGA courses.... FOREVER!!!! Congratulations Michel!
He went to his graduation in Toronto at the Harbour
Front Hotel later on this year. He’s also moved out, from living with Aaron,
and into a nice apartment, bought really nice furniture, and found himself a
nice girlfriend, Martine, from Montreal.
On a sad note, a friend - Fred Kugel - had passed away this year. Some of you might
remember him at Craig & my wedding. Fred and I worked together at
Lilly Industries. I worked in the computer room and he worked in shipping.
Everyday, he would come up to see me and tell me all kinds of wonderful stories
about his past and the adventures he had. It was better than reading a book or
watching a movie. It was real life but I could use my imagination to see all
the wonders of his stories. When I’d go to visit him (after he retired), his
wife, Monica,
would also have stories to tell. He’s in our hearts and we will
miss him.
To liven things up
a bit, here’s a story to tell... It was a dark and stormy night.... hehehe... not really.... it WAS at night when a pizza
delivery guy came to our door with pizzas. He couldn’t speak English very well
and had a Russian accent. He was persistent on getting paid for those pizzas
even though we never ordered them. We were about to call the restaurant to
straighten this mess out and without getting this guy in trouble. Just then,
from the shadows, a BIG dark figure emerged from a nearby car, slapping a long
metal rod in his hand. With a menacing look, he yelled
out, “Hey, is there a problem here!?!” Before Craig had a chance to
knock this scary looking guy out, this guy had his arms around me and I was
screaming..... with joy that it was my cousin Guy
from Montreal! Ha! Had ya going didn’t I? Hehehehe... Anyways, the pizza guy happened to be his
friend Vlad and they decided to have a
surprise visit in London to see us! It was definitely a surprise! And it’s
always so nice to see him again! Thanks, Guy, for a great weekend!
Craig has been working at Diamond Aircraft for a
few years now. They had some major layoffs. About 150 people got their pink
slips. Fortunately for us, Craig was one of the few that were asked to
stay and keep working. He’s the one that builds the engines for the planes and
they still needed him for that. Thank goodness!
