2010 Holiday Letter

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

Hi All!

Travel this year

The biggest foreign trip this year was to Taiwan. I was there for a JEDEC meeting March. I had not been to Taiwan since I lived in Japan, which was 1997. I spent a couple of extras days sightseeing and geocaching. The highlights of the trip were going to the top of the 101 building and seeing the festival of lights.

The second trip was to Toronto Canada. Since Niagara Falls only about 1.5 hours away, I took a day and spent it there. I took a couple of my JEDEC friends from Germany with me. They were planning on taking a tour bus and I suggested renting a car, as it would be much cheaper and just as much fun. We all had a great time and saved about $300!

My most fun trip was to Colorado Springs. I had a chance to visit my college buddy, Fred and his wife Debbie. He and I spent a weekend working on various projects around his house. I had good time and it was fun to catch up with them.

Airplane Construction Project Update

Not much news on the progress of the building the plane. I finished installing the rudder pedals, the brakes and the nose wheel. I also started on the nose of the plane and installed the pitot and static tubes. Despite all these accomplishments, I only completed 1 chapter of 26 this year. At this rate, it'll take me a long time to finish. For those interested in seeing pictures of the plane and my progress, visit my web page at: http://cozy.caf.org.

Another Airplane

This year, I became anxious to start flying again. Last Spring I decided to take some flight instruction, renew my medical and get a biannual flight review. I started looking around for inexpensive ways to do this. One day, while I was at the airport, I spotted an advertisement for a Piper Cherokee 180. The plane had 12 partners and one was selling his share. I talked to each of the 12 partners and discovered only two of them were actively flying and of the active fliers, was the one selling his share. In June, I took the plunge and bought a share of the plane. Oh this was soooo exciting. Since then, I have put about 30 hours on the plane. In October, the other active flier moved to Sacramento, which is about 2-hours driving time from here. He was also the maintenance officer for the plane. Since I was the only other person flying the plane, it made since for me to take over his job. This is a great deal as I'm the only one that regularly flys the plane, yet I have 11 other people helping to pay the costs of ownership! Life is good!

My Parents

My parents had a good year. I visited with them in June and again in August. I plan to visit them again in February. They are still living in their home, so, when I visit, my Dad has a list of projects for me to take care of. It keeps me busy while I'm there.

Community Theater

This year, I was involved with two of the three shows we put on. I missed a show, the first in about 5-years as I was visiting my parents at the time. The two shows I worked were the Broadway hit "Kismet" and a combination of "Babes in Toyland" and "Cox & Box". For these shows I was working behind the scenes, leading the run crew. The run crew is responsible for running the show. Theater is so much fun. I really enjoy being responsible for all of the action behind the scenes!

I hope your year was as eventful and as exciting as mine and...

I wish you a merry holiday season and a happy New Year!

Love,

Charles