Top Ten 2004

Hi Everyone:

Another fabulous year wrapped up!  My sixth year writing these Top 10 lists and each year I reflect on how fortunate I am that I live in this time and place with all of you in my life.  It is always worth sifting through my contacts and recalling a fond memory for each of the 253 names on the list!  I hope that this correspondence keeps us in closer contact than the distance, time and our other obligations allow.  Best wishes for a great 2005!!!

Top Ten List for 2004

10.  Baseball.  This year I joined MLB.com's game because Yahoo really chintzed on the prize.  While the technical aspects of the game wasn't as good as Yahoo's, the level of play was far more competitive since we were all going for cold hard cash.  I came very close to winning and did win $25 for second place!  For all my Boston friends - you couldn't have scripted it any better to get back to all of us evil empire Yankees fans.

9.   Weddings.  Renee and Jesper, Mark and Marcy, Peter and Wu-Lan.  Each wedding was specatular in it's own right.  I filmed Renee and Jesper's magical wedding in the medieval town of Ambois near Tours, France.  With Thierry, Renee pulled off an amazing event - down to the final specatular fireworks show at the end.  Mark and Marcy, I wish I had filmed your wedding.  Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery and your wedding with the Indian/Western theme is one I will shamelessly copy (should I get married).  Peter and Wu-Lan congrats on your Scottish - Chinese wedding - I must say that the film (my 5th wedding film!) does a great job capturing the fun, playful and joyous atmosphere of your wedding!!!

8.   Road Trip to South of France.  Following Renee and Jesper's wedding I drove my sporty blue Renault Megane on the picturesque National roads from Tours to Nice Airport.  I deliberately avoided the superfast multi-lane Autoroutes because I wanted the scenic route (and they were free!).  I was not disappointed - imagine a two lane road through rolling country and then up a plateau before descending along a gorge and then cutting through the Alps onward to the Mediterranean Sea.  I only took the Autoroute on the last part to be on-time to pick up Andy.  We spent the rest of the week taking in the Cannes Film Festival, Cote d'Azur beaches and also catching the scene of the Monaco Gran Prix.  I would also be remiss in not including my one day stroll through just one boulevard in Paris.  

7.  Lush Camp.  Our beloved ski house, like all good things has come to an end, but not before we partied!  Gumbo Dave and Lisa you guys are the definitive Mardi Gras hosts - that was the BEST party.  We  came darn close with the Playboy Pajama party.  Congrats Gordon and Ceanne on the sale of the house and with the conception!!!  I will always be grateful for your sharing the house with us!

6.  Trip to Hawaii with family.  Early in the year my parents bought a time share that we got to use for a week long trip to the Big Island in Hawaii.  My mom's friend Bharti mami joined us as we drove over 700 miles while exploring the island.  Highlights included piloting a plane, snorkeling with turtles, walking on lava fields, going down a pitch black cave, and just enjoying the beaches.  

5.  Weekend Trips.  Being self-employed has given me more opportunities to take advantage of cheap fares.  Two trips - one to Las Vegas and one to New York fit the bill.  With Cliff and Ed we celebrated Mark's upcoming wedding in Vegas - a mini-college reunion.  A summer trip to New York allowed me to see many relatives at Upen mama's house.  It is good to stay in touch!!!

4.  Intro to Chinese Culture 101.  I suppose it is inevitable after all these years of living in the Bay Area, but this year I learned so much about Chinese culture, cuisine and customs.  Many thanks to Wu-Lan, Zoe and Yu-Fen for leading the education.  A trip to the Orient has to be on the list...

3.  Sandalstone Group, LLC.   With Steve, we survived our first year in business.  They say you make money in real estate when you buy property.  Well that's a good thing - because that is what enabled us to make money on our first two properties - many thanks to the East Bay's best agents Sarah and Megan.  Besides learning a ton about the business we both found that we really enjoy this as a career.  We plan on expanding the business in the upcoming year, after all when you achieve 50% and 80% returns that is something you want to scale.  Many thanks to our early investors (Aunt Edye, Beth and my Parents) and our partner and designer extraordinaire - Yu-Fen.  

2.  Moving in to 600 Santa Ray.  Before the start of this year it was a personal goal to own a house.  Fortunately our second property, located in a great part of Oakland, up a hill, close to Piedmont, provided the ideal opportunity as I purchased the property from Sandalstone.  For those of you in the Bay Area on January 9th, we are having an Open House - from 2 to 8PM or just come on by anytime, for those of you who know me, this is my first time living alone so I welcome the company - please visit!  It was great to have people over for Thanksgiving and Christmas!

1.  Finally, as always the people (each of one of you) who inspire me to write, dream and do the things that make life worth living.

Happy New Year Everyone!

Cheers,

Biren