Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from the Asmundson family! This year has been another wonderful whirlwind of friends, travel, and events.
Ruth has been re-elected to the City Council for a second term; she is now Mayor Pro Tem again and will be Mayor in two years. She traveled to the Philippines twice this year: once in March to visit her alma mater Adamson University, and again in November with Vigdis and a delegation led by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom. Ruth received the Pamana Ng Pilipino award for outstanding contributions by a Filipina overseas from President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. She also charmed other heads of state such as the Tahitian President, Filipino Governors, the Danish Prime Minister, as well as our friends from the sister cities of Inuyama in Japan, Wuxi in China, and Los Baños Philippines.
Alinia and Omen traveled to Alaska this summer to Omen's younger sister Marlie's wedding in Juneau and Omen's Lord family reunion in Elfin Cove. Omen returned to Alaska in August for his grandparent's 60th wedding anniversary while Alinia spent a week in St. Petersburg, Russia and two weeks in Swindon, UK for a work project, during which she managed to squeeze in some sightseeing and a visit with the Devenish family. Omen has had an interesting year work-wise. After finishing his project at CACE Technologies last March, he spent several months working on a couple of personal projects, and then joined a bootstrap startup FireBright this fall. While the people and work are interesting, the pay is nil, so he is currently looking for a job that has a better chance of a salary. Alinia is still employed at Intel despite all the layoffs which have strangely made her project more valuable. Alinia has also managed to infect Omen with the soccer bug. After watching the World Cup he cheered most of her and Vigdis' Davis Adult Recreational Soccer League's games with Futbol Club Sudwerk. However, she hasn't quite convinced him to join her while refereeing AYSO soccer.
Irena recently switched departments within the International Monetary Fund changing her plush assignment on Brunei for an equally exciting assignment on Moldova. She has enjoyed traveling to Thailand, buying new furniture, visits from her Uncles Rod and Michael (no, the rest of us have not seen her new house), and throwing parties. She has lately been extremely thankful that her kitchen came completed, as repainting Mom's kitchen has been a bigger project than forecasted.
Wil has returned to work for Apple, now working in the Corte Madera retail store as a Mac Genius Technical Administrator and finishing up his training in San Francisco. Renovating his house continues to consume much of his time, but he has also managed to improve his golf game by spending time on the links around the Bay Area. In fact, he broke 100 strokes for the first time in mid-October and spent his 30th birthday playing golf with his friends.
Vigdis is in her second year teaching sixth grade at Saint James Elementary in Davis. While she is constantly entertained by her students, she deeply appreciated the chance to rejuvenate over the summer holidays. She spent three weeks in the Dominican Republic visiting a friend from high school, taking Spanish classes and traveling around the Caribbean. The other part of the summer was spent visiting another high school friend in Wyoming, helping to build his house, attending a demolition derby and rodeo, and going rock climbing. She and Alinia coached the Funky Monkeys, a lively and very fun group of under-12 girls, during the AYSO Fall season. Vigdis continues to enjoy attending the opera in San Francisco and has just bought the house next door to mom's, cementing her status as a lifelong Davis resident.
Jonas has had a big year switching from his job with Jazz at Lincoln Center to freelance administration work with companies like the New York Philharmonic and Opera America. He still maintains a busy singing schedule and even got a taste of California in a performance with the San Francisco Symphony at Carnegie Hall. He still enjoys living in the most vibrant of cities, New York City.
Sigrid and Tyler got married! Sigrid (and Tyler) spent the majority of the year planning their wedding which took place on August 5th at a state park on the shore of Lake Tahoe. After months of taking dance lessons, trying on wedding dresses, tasting cakes, and Sigrid beginning her first full year of billable hours as an attorney at Best, Best, & Krieger law firm in Sacramento, it was a relief to get away after the wedding with a ten day cruise in the Western Mediterranean Sea. Tyler also officially became an Asmundson both in name and in spirit (ask to see his driver's license). In their free time, Sigrid wrote and published her first legal article in the California Public Law Journal and Tyler continues to trade stocks and run errands for the family.
We look forward to a New Year spending time with friends and family, new and old. We wish you and your loved ones a safe and joyous holiday season!
Love and Hugs,
The Asmundson Family
This file last modified Wednesday, May 6, 2015.