Kwan Christmas

2008Season’sGreetings

Meilleurs voeuxFelices fiestasFrohe festtage

Buone feste

Maligayang PaskoManigong bagong taon

¡Feliz Navidad

y próspero año nuevo!

圣诞快乐 新年快乐

メリークリスマス 明けましておめでとうございます

Salzburg - June 2008

What a turbulent 2008 it has been, debunking the cantonese sounding notion of "ease of prosperity" 2(yee)…8(fatt). It’s reminiscent of the Great Depression. Good thing Shirley is

ahead of the line in FDR Park, Washington DC….

The year was off to a spring start visiting Ed's brother Tim in Springfield, VA,

catching the end of cherry blossom season,

and connecting up with Bryan (Shirley's nephew) finishing his Master's in International Relations from John Hopkins in Washington DC.

Bryan (dressed in bankers’ suit, then interning at World Bank, DC) now works in Hong Kong with Morgan Stanley.

In May,  Shirley took off to Greenville, South Carolina for a mini reunion with the Howard family

who had welcomed her upon arrival to USA back in 1974 before she started at Agnes Scott College. 

Here are the Howard gals - May 2008 Maryanne, Marcia and Debbie

For the summer, the Kwan family made a road trip in Europe - we flew into Munich and covered ~2500km traversingAustria, Italy (Dolomites), Slovenia and the Czech Republic.

Well, Joshua parted ways in Vienna to meet with his buddies in Berlin.  They

reveled their way to Prague and Istanbul while the old foggies winded-down their

trip and soothed aching muscles in Karlovy Vary before heading home.

Feisty pair takes bull

by the horns at Feistung Castle in

Salzburg, Austria

Pizzeria in Mondsee, Austriahome of Sound of Music wedding shoot

Karlovy Vary, Czech Republica charming hotsprings spa town

And the WINNER – the REAL WIENERschnitzel in Vienna

Hallstatt, Austria – UN world heritage site

Dolomites

Gorgoyles of St Vitus

Prague

Thanks to Garmin GPS, we were able to go places with no stress!

Lake Bled, Slovenia

We entered Fall with a trip to Edmonton to visit

Shirley’s mother (she just turned 84!).

So the silver lining to a black October was we got to appreciate family, friends, nature and good eats in Vancouver.

Thereafter we drove to Jasper, Banff and Lake Louise to soak in the beauty and wonder of the Canadian Rockies.

Came July 4th, we hosted our neighborhood block party.

Beach end of Lake Louise

On the way back from the

Rockies, we flew to

Vancouver to spend a few

days with Ed's sister,

Alice (middle).

2008 was a year of losses beyond

economic

our dear neighbor, John Newman who passed away doing what he

loved – biking.

and Shirley's "American mother", Maryanne Howard  who welcomed her into their home in South Carolina when she first set foot on American soil. Maryanne went to eternal rest on Thanksgiving day.

We waved goodbye to a dear Clark Gable look-alike friend, 91-year old Maure Solt who was an avid aviator and his claim to fame was Maure trained Chuck Yeager, class of 1942

• Swee Heang, (Shirley’s highschool buddy) from Rome was in town which called for a Malaysian hawker food “makan” celebration, a déjà vu of our gourmet meal get-togethers in Italy, France, Hong Kong and Singapore.

• Shirley sat for an arduous 4-part exam to be a CIA (Certified Internal Auditor) and she aced it Thanksgiving week in November. 

• And we gained from a loss – weight loss. Ed has been working out at the YMCA and playing tennis twice a week, sadly with the unemployed. Shirley is lap swimming regularly.  No sweat, no weight loss.

Lots of positive events happened amid the economic gloom and doom

And saving best for last: Josh graduated from Berkeley with class of 2008 this December, one semester early and with a job waiting

for him at VMware in Palo Alto. 

The proud parents celebrated the joyous occasion with Shirley’s brother Chuck, Gaik Meng and Cal bears Matt and Angeline.

Before starting work, Josh will indulge in a fling travelling to Singapore, Malaysia, Philippines and Hong Kong for Christmas and New Year.

Ed, Shirley and Joshua wish you

a happy, healthy and bountiful 2009

Yeni yılınızı kutlar, sağlık ve başarılar dileriz

Picture taken October 2005 of uncovered mosaic in Hagia Sophia, IstanbulMusic courtesy http://music.download.com/christmascelebration/3600-10612_32-100382458.html