At one time or another, we have all known the paradox where after a hard day at work, we look back and feel not tired, but invigorated. That feeling describes our year perfectly; full of chaos and craziness but also enriching and satisfying.
First, the craziness. Ashish became Technical Advisor at Twitter after finishing his sabbatical there. He had an incredible experience and architected many of their algorithmic and monetization products, while maintaining his research program at Stanford. He also won the Rajeev Motwani mentorship award. Ruchi got promoted, and had her busiest professional year, launching a $2B product for her employer, Netapp. This involved non-stop work and many trips to Europe. It felt like we had four jobs between the two of us.
Now, the parts that made this year rewarding. Swati is growing by leaps and bounds. Last year she won first prize in a playwriting contest organized by the local Children’s Theatre. She was chosen into the local swim club for pre-competitive swimming and learned to ski comfortably on blue slopes. She also got adventurous and tried black a couple of times with her dad.
Agastya has become a little man with his own set of fixed ideas. He has fallen in love with tractors, tools of all types, and speaking. He likes to emulate Swati, so he has also started swimming and ice- skating lessons. He competes with Swati ferociously for every small thing; at the same time when he needs comfort he just cuddles upto her like a puppy.
Ashish's parents were visiting us this summer. Their trip was all too short, but the grandkids had a great time, learning harmonium from Dadi, listening to stories, and bonding.
We traveled to Costa Rica for our winter vacation, which was the most pristine place we have been to. The beaches were overflowing with small hermit crabs, there were iguanas everywhere, we saw dozens of different species of colorful humming birds in their wild habitat, saw lava flow from an active volcano, and walked high among the foliage of the cloud forest where moisture creates another layer of vegetation on the tree-tops. During the summer, we spent a week camping and hiking in Yellowstone and Glacier national Park; this was Agastya's first camping trip and he loved it.
Please accept our best wishes for a prosperous and healthy new year.
First, the craziness. Ashish became Technical Advisor at Twitter after finishing his sabbatical there. He had an incredible experience and architected many of their algorithmic and monetization products, while maintaining his research program at Stanford. He also won the Rajeev Motwani mentorship award. Ruchi got promoted, and had her busiest professional year, launching a $2B product for her employer, Netapp. This involved non-stop work and many trips to Europe. It felt like we had four jobs between the two of us.
Now, the parts that made this year rewarding. Swati is growing by leaps and bounds. Last year she won first prize in a playwriting contest organized by the local Children’s Theatre. She was chosen into the local swim club for pre-competitive swimming and learned to ski comfortably on blue slopes. She also got adventurous and tried black a couple of times with her dad.
Agastya has become a little man with his own set of fixed ideas. He has fallen in love with tractors, tools of all types, and speaking. He likes to emulate Swati, so he has also started swimming and ice- skating lessons. He competes with Swati ferociously for every small thing; at the same time when he needs comfort he just cuddles upto her like a puppy.
Ashish's parents were visiting us this summer. Their trip was all too short, but the grandkids had a great time, learning harmonium from Dadi, listening to stories, and bonding.
We traveled to Costa Rica for our winter vacation, which was the most pristine place we have been to. The beaches were overflowing with small hermit crabs, there were iguanas everywhere, we saw dozens of different species of colorful humming birds in their wild habitat, saw lava flow from an active volcano, and walked high among the foliage of the cloud forest where moisture creates another layer of vegetation on the tree-tops. During the summer, we spent a week camping and hiking in Yellowstone and Glacier national Park; this was Agastya's first camping trip and he loved it.
Please accept our best wishes for a prosperous and healthy new year.
