Slavko and Nada

Best wishes for a happy, fulfilling, fabulous life together! Congratulations from John, Julia, Eliot and Kyra (and Spencer).

Ermis Writes from Turkey

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

It's cold here in Izmir now, it was about time for winter to show its
true face. But it's still very nice, clear and sunny, and I'd rather
spend all day outside with Senada, then stay at home and work.

Work is fine, although demanding. I can surely say that I learned
nothing at school (well, maybe just the basics of basics) that I can
put to full use in my work.  :)  I don't think I ever explained anything
- my job's title is systems administrator. The company I work for has hundreds of servers (database, video, web pages,
e-mail) that need to be constantly monitored and kept alive.

I work up to 12 hours a day. Although I work from home, it's not very
fun sitting at the computer for 5 straight hours. But I like what I
do, and I'm learning so much, so time passes by fairly quickly. My
boss expects me to participate as much as possible, since I need to
pick things up as fast as I can. Some of the guys that I work with,
who have been working together for over 5-6 years, stay online and
work for up to 15 hours. Don't want to ask about their social life.  :) 

Anyway, things are going pretty good. Me and my girlfriend Senada are
moving to a place of our own (still renting, but apartment should be
much nicer) right after New Year's. We're really looking forward to
it.

Snowman!

Vanity Photos: Artist, Studio, Snow (Bellingham Art)

Got a white-out happening here, near Bellingham . . . 12" of snow so far . . .

First snow

Slavko says "Zadar in December!"

Hi John

I'm so sorry for not answering in a while, but have a good excuse -
I'm getting married soon!!!

We have decided to do it on Dec 27th in Zadar, small ceremony in local
church, and dinner in restaurant.

So I've been running back and forth to Zadar making all the
preparations, and trying to finish work in Milna for this year.

Nada's quitting her job next week so I' ll have to spend more time
with her.

My brother told me how I'm acting like someone else but hey! I'm
getting married. . .

Fantastic! Sam's NEA Honor

Sam Green - our Washington State Poet Laureate, as you will recall - was just awarded a National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Literature Fellowship for 2009!!

The NEA says "Literature Fellowships are the Arts Endowment's most direct investment in American creativity, encouraging the production of new work and allowing writers the time and means to write." This is a grant of $25,000.

Sam says," No strings attached. . . we are dreaming of how to use it . . ."

A solstice toast to Sam and Sally and their lifelong commitment to poetry and the literary life.