Elaine’s Christmas Letter 2003

Dec. 12, 2003

Dear friends and family,

Merry Christmas! This year, I’d like to share with you some of the highlights of my life in the past year. I shall call it my Christmas letter although it’s not much of a letter. Please think of it as my way of keeping in touch and letting you know what I’ve been up to. Feel free to share what you’ve been up to if you haven’t done so already!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

--Elaine

Highlights of 2003:

1. Bought a bike.
I bought a bike in January and rode it a few times. I wouldn’t mind riding it some more. Anybody want to go biking with me?

2. Started hanging out with people from the church I go to now.
In January, I started hanging out with people from church the church I go to now. With them, I started exercising regularly (not so regularly now). I received and continue to receive a lot of encouragement from them.

3. Started reading Tolkien.
After watching Two Towers and reading one or two pages of Tolkien, I was inspired to read The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings trilogy. I finished The Hobbit and The Fellowship of The Ring. I just started reading The Two Towers.

4. Went to Southern California twice.
I went to LA and Newport Beach to see my parents. They were there for two separate conferences. I also saw my relatives and places I’ve never been before (or don’t remember): Rodeo Drive, Fashion Island, Newport Beach, and Balboa Island, for example. Before the end of the year, I will be visiting Southern California once again for two weddings.

5. Saw my parents four times.
In addition to seeing my parents two times in Southern California, I saw them in Monterey (an hour south from where I am) and Minnesota. My parents were in Monterey for a conference in July. I stayed with them there for a day and received many freebies from the exhibits from my dad’s conference. In November, I went home for Thanksgiving. I’m also going back for Christmas. :)

6. Volunteered a few times.
In 2003, I volunteered for various organizations. I helped stuff backpacks with school supplies for an organization that would give them to kids who needed them; I helped pick up trash after a community event in San Francisco; and I helped carry boxes of food for an organization that would give those boxes to people who needed food around the Thanksgiving holiday. If all goes well, I’ll be volunteering one more time before the year is up. I’ll be sorting gifts for children who otherwise wouldn’t be receiving gifts.

Other Random Things:

1. Got new classes and cut my hair.
In September, I got new glasses, and in October, I got my hair cut short. What’s funny is the last time I got new glasses (four years ago), I also cut my hair short. I haven’t had short hair since. A picture of me can be found at: Pictures of Elaine 2003.

2. Joined Friendster.
In November, I joined Friendster. What’s funny is that it took me a few months after receiving my first invitation to join. I wasn’t interested at first, but after hearing that it’s a good way to find people you haven’t heard from in a long time such as high school classmates, I thought I’d join. Sure enough, I’ve contacted some people whom I haven’t heard from in a while, and some people have contacted me.

Well, 2003 isn’t over yet, but it will be soon! I hope you have a pleasant rest of the year filled with lots of joy and time spent with the ones you love. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

--Elaine

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