1998 Holiday Letter

"At Christmas, play and make good cheer; For Christmas comes but once a year."
-Thomas Tusser (and Jolene)

"Christmas is over, and business is business."
-Franklin Pierce Adams (and Tony)

This is the year that Tony became an unrepentant capitalist. Not that he ever avoided making money, but quite frankly he spent much more time worrying about the Green Bay Packers' offensive line than he did about his career prospects. Until now. A year and a half in the University of Chicago's MBA program has turned Tony into a Mercedes-loving, Brooks Brothers-wearing, Chardonnay-sipping, "only the finest" kind of guy. Now, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration. Tony still doesn't know a Chardonnay from a charred steak, even after he went to a wine tasting workshop. And we're not exactly in a position to replace the '95 Corolla just yet. In any case, being around future CEOs and investment bankers has definitely changed Tony's career outlook. While professional basketball player seems to be out, either finance or management consulting will put bread on the table and provide some degree of satisfaction. At least until Tony decides he wants to be a brussel sprouts farmer instead.

Tony got to do a lot of traveling this year. Besides the annual pilgrimage to Vegas during the NCAA Basketball tournament in March (Tony probably would've skipped getting his MBA if Jolene had given her permission to try professional gambling as a career), he spent his summer traveling as a Summer Associate with Booz Allen & Hamilton, a management consulting firm. Among the numerous fun intern activities was a cruise in the Bahamas, where both Tony and Jolene realized how old they were getting when they'd wake up just as most of Tony's co-workers were going to bed.

We celebrated our first wedding anniversary with a highly romantic weekend in Door County, Wisconsin, along with Jolene's Grandma, Tony's mom, four of Jolene's siblings, a niece and two nephews. The weather and company were great, but the fishing wasn't as good. In fact, the only thing Tony hooked was Jolene's cheek with an errant cast. Actually, the hood didn't go into her cheek, but it sure looked that way for one panicked moment when he saw the worm sitting there on the side of her face!

Jolene found a museum job in June. She's now the Program Coordinator with the Ernest Hemingway Foundation in Oak Park. The Foundation operates a Hemingway museum and Hemingway's birthplace home. Her office is somewhat dusty and noisy as the Foundation completes a restoration of the birthplace. The trickiest part is finding a working bathroom with a door. For awhile, the "throne" was in the basement surrounded by a makeshift drop cloth curtain. She has a bit more privacy now. In any case, Jolene is busy planning for the Foundation's centennial celebration of Ernie's birth next July. The celebration will consist of a literary conference, a couple of galas, arts programming and much more. This year she got to meet Michael Palin, of Monty Python fame, who was filming a documentary on Hemingway's travels. Perhaps more celebrities (Jolene is hoping for Sammy Sosa) will happen by in 1999?

We also spent time with Jolene's family this year. Jolene's brother, Jake, spent much of the summer with us as he started a full-time job with a tree care firm in Chicago. He was a great help with dishes and leftovers and wrestling with Tony on weekends. Jolene's brother and sister-in-law, John and Katie, moved to Michigan City, Indiana to be closer to us, too - although they'll tell you it was for a new job with the Indiana Dept. of Fisheries. They'll also be bringing us a new niece or nephew soon. We are very excited!

Mirroring national events, Jolene briefly started her own impeachment hearings this winter as she attempted to remove Tony from his self-identified role as "King of the Household." In a highly partisan vote, Jolene found Tony guilty of the first three counts - unrelenting laziness with regard to housework, too much ESPN and squandering their hard-earned savings on a Nintendo 64 system - but she relented on the fourth count of procrastinating on homework once she realized how dull financial accounting really can be. In the end, Tony and Jolene agreed that Tony would have his title reduced to "Archduke of the Spare Bedroom." This is now on his business card.

If all goes well, we should get our very first dog and first home in 1999. So this may be your last chance to visit us in Chicago. Please feel free to visit us at any time; Tony spends about half an hour a week on homework, so we have lots of free time. Otherwise, email us at mawatkin@gsbpop.uchicago.edu or call us at 773-643-0961.

We hope that your 1998 was at least as exciting (how can't it be?) and rewarding as ours'. And we wish you all a great holiday season and the very best for 1999!