Happy 4th of July!  [OK, so that was a month ago.  I had the best of intentions to get this done then...]  I missed sending you all a Christmas letter last year so for some of you the purpose of this letter may be a little out of the blue.  The main reason I'm writing everyone is that

 

I have left Microsoft!

 

It's true.  Friday, August 23 will be my last day there. 

 

What comes next, you ask?  Extensive traveling in September and October:  driving to California for a college friend's wedding reception [seeing other friends and family along the way,] plus a 4 night stay at the Disney Grand Californian hotel, days spent at Disney Land, California Adventure, and Universal Studios, Hollywood.  Then I'll drive out to Arizona.  On Sept. 16 Dad and I will take off in his car for a 3 week driving tour of the South & Civil War Battlefields, with more visits to friends across the country, sites of DC, possibly Colonial Williamsburg, 4 days in Orlando to check out Disney World and Epcott Center, Pensacola, New Orleans, Houston, and back to Arizona.  Next I will load up a trailer with all my old stuff from Mom's house and drive back via the Grand Canyon, possibly visiting friends in Utah, Idaho, and Eastern Washington. 

 

In November I will be working on my house, then traveling again for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  A bit undecided as to what all I will do between January and July of next year:  I may set up a tutoring/training office for Math & Basic Computer Skills, I may come back to Microsoft as a temporary employee, I may work a couple part time jobs at bookstores or some such, or I may just try to make a living day trading stocks over the internet.

 

In February I'll journey to AZ for a big SCA event (Estrella War for those in the know), in March or April I will visit my pen-pal's mom in France [plus stop into Paris to see her and her husband and baby boy,] and in August there may be an Alaskan cruise with my dad, brothers, and mom.

 

Then, yes it's really true, I'm finally getting around to going

 

back to school!

 

My long-term goal has always been to teach Mathematics.  I used to think I wanted to teach high school, but in recent years I've begun leaning toward community college.  To that end I need to get my Masters degree, either in Pure Mathematics or Math Education.  In the Fall/Winter/Spring quarters of 2003/2004 I plan to take or re-take some undergraduate classes I either got poor grades in or simply never took as an undergrad.  That should prepare me for taking the Math subject GRE in December of 2003, so that I can then apply to graduate schools in January 2004 to enter a Master's program in the 2004 Fall quarter.

 

Where do I hope to actually attend graduate school for my Master's degree and then teach?

 

Sunny California!