Christmas 2000...
Sorry this letter is a little late, but we just crawled out of our Y2K bomb shelter. After scanning the year’s headlines, it looks like the only thing we missed was that some woman named Darva went to a deserted tropical island in search of a millionaire husband. There she met a fat nudist named Richard, who had just been elected to win a million dollars by the Tribal Council on a TV game show called Who Wants to Be a Survivor. But because of a faulty ballot, there was a recount and Richard was voted off the island by the Supreme Court and he fled to Florida with a dimpled guy named Chad. Darva apparently stayed on the island for Playboy shoot and hasn’t been heard from since.
But of course we jest. The Millers actually threw caution to the wind and headed to Bruges, Belgium with 12 other adventurous friends to celebrate the end of the Millenium. The trip was wonderful from start to finish with great hospitality (a large flat above a local pub), fantastic food (Mussels and Pomme Frites!), beautiful scenery, and of course the best beer in the world! Words can’t quite describe the feeling of standing in a 700 year-old market square singing “Hey Jude” with 5,000 Belgians as the ancient clock tower stuck midnight. Y2K what?
This year’s annual trip to Charleston for the 10k Bridge Run had a good turn out, including newcomers Cindy and Chris. Eric once again lost to the Kenyans, and more embarrassingly – to Erin Murphy’s dad (which he did not hesitate to recount many times during the weekend). Michelle, still recovering from her knee surgery, did not run and opted to do the shopping marathon instead. Again, Eric lost.
In May, “Miller Travel” organized another Windjammer Cruise. This time around the ship was the slightly smaller (60 person) and faster Yankee Clipper and we sailed the Grenadines, small sleepy islands in the Southern Caribbean. We were fortunate enough to get the same bawdy captain as our first Windjammer Cruise and our 12-person group was a mix of old faces and some new, including sister Sue and the Van Meters. We snorkeled in the crystal clear waters, sailed, relaxed on the palm covered beaches, danced on the deck of the ship, ate fresh fish, swam in the moonlight, and hiked to tropical waterfalls. On the second day we tried some of the locally brewed rum and we woke up six days later in Miami.
Two big family birthdays hit this year. Mom Miller turned 60 in August and we celebrated in Philadelphia at a historic colonial inn. For Dad Noonan’s 60th in September we converged on Myrtle Beach along with sister Suzanne and her three children. While we have no kids of our own just yet (Michelle claims she DOES have one named Eric), it was an opportunity to practice with our nephew Greyson (4) and twin nieces, Madison and Kelsie (2), who in our unbiased opinion are the Cutest Things on the Planet.
In other family news, sister Sue Miller got engaged while in Disney World (seems to be a Miller tradition now) this past October. Her future husband is a great guy named Chris, with whom she has been dating for the last several years. The wedding is scheduled for next October and if they continue with the Disney theme, I’ve got dibs on the Goofy costume.
Probably the biggest news of the year was that we had a new house built in Leesburg, VA, about 30 miles northwest of Washington DC. We spent many free weekends picking out options, visiting the construction site, shopping for furniture, and . We finally moved in in October and have been very happy with the results. The old house in Annandale sold a month later but only after a new roof, new chimney, new electrical box, and Radon remediation system were installed. Just our luck - turns out the buyer was a real estate lawyer!
Cats Oliver and Charlie have finally adjusted to the new digs but they did spend the first week on top of our dressers or under the bed thoroughly confused and wondering where their old planet went. Shiko on the other hand quickly adapted and was so happy with the new house that he left us a few “presents” in one of the upstairs bed rooms (we won’t tell you which one) as gratitude. If any of you plan on stopping by to visit, please refrain from giving us any similar housewarming gifts.
In employment news both Eric and Michelle stayed at their respective companies for yet another year, which is a rarity in the Musical Chairs job market of Northern Virginia. Eric is Director of Engineering for Teligent, a telecom company that offers voice and data service to small companies. Michelle is Director of Sales Operations for UUNet, an internet firm. Both travel occasionally, with a strange juxtaposition in November where Michelle was in Australia and Eric in Germany during the same week. Erin graciously offered to house sit and take care of the “kids.”
That’s all folks. Have a very happy holiday season and an even better 2001. Come visit us at our new abode if you get the chance.
Love,
Eric and Michelle