Hello,

The past year has been very, very good to me. I'm hoping that your past year was, and perhaps more importantly, your next year will be, filled with love and good experiences.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Here's what I've been up to in 2000:

• If you haven't already checked out my web site recently, you really ought to. There is a great deal of content, pictures, original thought, etc. Please check it out in detail and give me some feedback: http://www.geocities.com/altruistguy.geo
• Vacations: I road my bicycle across the country, from San Diego to Florida. It took 61 days and covered 3,375 miles. After 18 years as a camper at a favorite summer camp, I worked there this past summer, teaching sailing.
• Athletics: I bicycled more than I had in many, many years, totaling 3600 miles over 59 rides. Of course, the highlight was my cross-country bike trip, from San Diego CA to St. Augustine FL, which took 61 days and covered 3375 miles. I swam only a few times this year. Preparations for my bike trip, combined with other general busy-ness, conspired to prevent much weightlifting this year. I'll be changing that in 2001!
• Charity: I didn't have much time for platelet donations this year, so didn't add much to my nineteen gallons of lifetime donations.
• Sports: My Michigan Wolverines football team won a share of the Big Ten championship for the third time in four years. They also won nine games, including their bowl game (the fourth year in a row for each). My Duke basketball team won the ACC regular season championship for a record fourth year in a row and narrowly lost in the NCAA tournament to eventual national runners-up Florida. They are again favored by many to win the national championship.
• Navy: I was promoted to the rank of Commander. My (first) two weeks of active duty took me to Tennessee for some boring administrative duty. My second two weeks had me attending a two week school in California.
• Romance: The "excellent candidate for spousehood" I reported in last year's Christmas card demoted herself to a good friend this spring. In August, I met Melissa (a.k.a., the Love of my Life), whom I started dating in September. We are planning to marry imminently.
• Good first run movies seen: American Beauty, Seven Years in Tibet
• Good books read: Follow the Ball (Dudley), Common Sense on Mutual Funds (Bogle), Investment Strategies for the 21st Century (Armstrong), Parenting with Love and Logic: Teaching Children Responsibility (Fay/Cline), Tuesdays with Morrie (Albom), A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court (Twain)
• Genealogy: I made a breakthrough tracing the ancestry of my mother's maternal grandfather's parents (i.e., my great, great grandparents). I located their graves in Fox Lake, WI and then located his parents' graves in Commerce, MI. I learned a great deal of information previously unknown to the family.
• Employment: I basically have spent much of the time since leaving PricewaterhouseCoopers in Oct 99 on sabbatical. I am intending to start a third career as a financial planner. I am imminently starting a company to do so.
• Home: I've moved from the Washington DC area to Holland Michigan to be with the Love of my Life. It is a beautiful home in a very rural community. We are about a half mile walk (through the woods) from Lake Michigan. There is a flock of thirteen wild turkeys who visit us often. Deer are also frequent visitors.

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This page last updated 08/06/02

© 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 Eric E. Haas