2019 Holiday Greetings
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Arielle's UC Santa Barbara June 2019 Graduation! One done and one to go in 2020.
Arielle's Message
2019 was a huge year for me! I completed my degree in Aquatic Biology at
UCSB and took some classes that I'd been eyeing for a while (Beer 101
and Science Fiction). I loved living in Santa Barbara and am sad to see
that chapter of my life come to a close, but I'm thankful that I was
able to hike and dive to explore the mountains and coasts before moving
away.
After graduation, three of my best friends from college (shoutout to
Jehan Megan and Abhilasha!) joined my parents and I for a sailing trip
in the Seychelles which we followed by a safari in Kenya. My personal
favorite safari animals were the spunky, bright-eyed warthogs.
In August, I left for the Florida Keys for an internship with the
Mote
Marine Laboratory's International Center for Coral Reef Research and
Restoration. For three months, I worked in the Ocean Acidification lab
where I helped run the lab's experimental system, set up and run
experiments, process carbonate chemistry samples, and a variety of other
odd jobs- gluing corals to plugs, abducting sponges, etc. I got a great
glimpse into what life would be like as a marine researcher... and
revisited some of my motivations for wanting to go into a career of
research. I'm not entirely sure what 2020 and beyond hold for me, but
for now I'm working on applications to teacher credentialing programs!
Post-Mote, I visited some high school friends (shoutout to Rachael and
Chelsea!) in DC and Philadelphia before swinging by Wisconsin to spend
Thanksgiving with my family there, where I thoroughly enjoyed
reconnecting with relatives and spending time with my oatmeal-loving,
Slovenian-singing grandma.
As Taylor Swift puts it: It was the end of a decade, but the start of an
age
Happy Holidays to all and I hope this age treats you well!
Peter's Message
Peter is in his final year at Berkeley and will graduate with a degree in Architecture in May. He has also been working for a firm in the city, S.O.M. and has found abundant challenging and creative projects. He still enjoys backpacking and soccer in his recreational hours.
Dorian's Message
A year
with a major hurricane with my name. A year bountiful with little challenges
and bigger ones to take on. Riding with Joe on steep, rutted and rocky dirt
roads in Tanzania, I realized that confidence and core strength would ultimately
decide my successful navigations.
I spent four hours climbing up the
6K foot high side
of a Tanzanian volcano at midnight to see a promised sunrise. Racked with fear
as the igneous matter disintegrated with each step, I wasn’t sure that I’d ever
make the descent to experience the next day. Finally, defeated, 2/3 of the way up,
I spent a few dark hours shivering on the “Mountain of God” as I clung on to a
ledge with a fellow climber and shared stories of rising to challenges as we
waited for a dawn descent. I made it down.
Intellectual challenges: At jazz improv classes and camps, I listen for my cue to come in on the right measure, and end on one too.
I create improv on the spot
to songs I’ve never heard before, by just making it up and making it through. I’m pretty much beyond embarrassment,
so mistakes are easy learning steps. . I’m a fan of Miles Davis and
his statement that you are always only just a half step from a suitable pitch
and consequently have learned to slide my fingers along the strings pretty quickly. As I become
older, and wiser, I realize that fudging things with a confident air and
demeanor, works pretty well.
Each year, and the next is about starting little habits and making them bigger ones. I’m a late rising star, but I’m not overly worried about falling. Consequently, I’m both biking and living farther a field.
( photos: Mountain of God, Busking for Dorian, with Arielle helping the WI Martinkas stack hay)
Joe's Message
This is the 2nd full year of my retirement, and I cannot imagine it any other
way. I continue to develop my skills at woodturning using
professional guidance and many successful wood pieces. I've elaborated on
different ways of finishing the work using high voltage burning, dyes, and
lacquers. Even more interesting is the drawing and newly discovered
passion for watercolor painting. I have undertaken this year
to learn and appreciate how color composition can enhance my work. I have
a gallery at http://martinka.org/art.
I qualified for Scuba certs prompted by my daughter, and dived in California,
Florida and Indian Ocean.
We have enjoyed the 17th Life is Grand (LIG) sailing trip in 2019 to the
Seychelles in the Indian Ocean. Accompanied by my newly graduated
daughter, her friends, and four others, we had a fine time in the only granite
based island chain in the world.
There, and later in the Tanzania
Serengeti, I had a lot of fun with cameras snaring beasts normally seen only on TV.
The hike Dorian described above was the most challenging I've ever taken, but
sunrise on the top was glorious.
I continue enjoying regular biking trips around the SF Bay Area, California and in Africa in 2019. My 56 rides totaled over 1800 miles horizontal, and 41 miles vertical (215,000 feet climbing). That includes 10,000 vertical along rough dirt roads in Tanzania. A new personal record descent in the Eastern Sierra mountains this year at 52 mph.
A dozen of these bike trips are my my favorite ride: Montebello Road, the top of which is viewable from our house. I've gone up that hill almost 300 times in the past decade. Should you be curious why I love that 2500 foot climb so much, share the vicarious video experience of the on the spectacular descent. (http://martinka.org/biking). Besides, our favorite Ridge winery has its world-renowned wine grown and aged up at the top of hill, and it is a place for monthly wine tasting.
Coming up in 2020 is another Life is Grand (LIG) Sailing trip. We will be back to Greece with endless cocktails and Greek salads. (martinka.org/sail/greece2020). Just afterward, we travel north on a 2 week Viking River Cruises from St. Petersburg to Moscow. We heartily recommend the Viking river trips.
Come to the mountains with us? How about a Lake Tahoe trip in California this year? Let us know, and we would love to host you at our mountain cabin at on the West Shore.
Past Holiday Letter Archives
2018 -- 2017 -- 2016 -- 2015 -- 2010 -- 2009 -- 2008 -- 2007 -- 2006 -- 2005 -- 2004 -- 2003 -- 2001 -- 2000 -- 1994 --
(Get a "gratitude" gift card if you have kept any past letter between 2011 and 2014 and send it. We would appreciate a copy of it. )
Joe's 2019 watercolor from mailed holiday card. (click for enlargement)
