Cynthia Chin-Lee, Author and Speaker: Holiday greetings for 2014

Holiday Greetings 2014!

Joshua, Peter, and I are doing well (sort of, if you don't count Joshua's back injury and walking pneumonia and Peter's shoulder injury and and their sleep apnea.) So what's perfect?

Joshua's now a 6th grader at Summit Denali charter school in Sunnyvale where each kid gets a personalized learning plan and a Chromebook. I continue as a publications manager at Oracle (my 11th year at Sun and Oracle). Peter's managing a home remodel, which has temporarily stopped to work on long-overlooked health issues. Vanessa skypes with me weekly from Kunming, China and has had adventures in Thailand and Laos as well as in southwest China.

Earlier in the year, I hosted a lunch in memory of my mother, Nancy Wong Chin-Lee, who passed away in October 2013.

Cyndi and Aunt Doris at my mom's memorial in Palo Alto

Friends, Faith and Hayden Lee

Second cousin Debbie Larkin, Aunt Frances Chan, Cyndi, Uncle Peter Lee, cousins Mike Chin, Lydia Bartlett

Miriam Rhew, Cyndi, Brian Lee, Joshua

Samantha Chin-Lee, Vanessa who as back in the US for two weeks (she's usually in China)

Although we decided not to join the cohousing group in Mountain View, we build community in other ways. I'm active at First Presbyterian Church in Palo Alto where we get together often with other families. Here are some of the families and the kids from middle school to college.

Kids from the church covenant group send another one to college. Yes, that is Joshua on the far right.

The parents don't get old; only the kids.

This year, I had several trips back East to see my dad and for a family reunion on his side of the family. I also got a quick trip while recruiting for Oracle at Carnegie Mellon University.

My second cousin Heather and me on the way to the Chin Family Reunion in southern Maryland.

Joshua, Peter and I made our bi-annual trip to Family Vacation Center in Santa Barbara.

Whoa, that's a big one.

First time surfing lesson for Joshua

Joshua made some friends from Taiwan.

Joshua, Peter, and me at the beach at Santa Barbara.

Partying with other parents at the Family Vacation Center, Santa Barbara

This was the year of the movie of Operation Marriage. Quentin Lee, director, and Alan Reade, producer drove up to Palo Alto in the spring to create a promotional video. Thanks to many of you we raised the money by August and filming took place at the end of August. The director has submitted the short (it's about 10 minutes) to the Academy Awards and to film festivals. The movie will be made public and free in June of next year.

Kathy Merkle-Raymond, whose family was the basis of the story, is being interviewed for promo video with Alan Reade in blue and Quentin Lee aiming the camera