Happy 2006




December 2005


Dear Friends, 





With the end of another year, we are back to share with you some special moments in our lives during 2005.
Mauricio e Lucia na Bahia
Lucia em Natal

Lucia and Mauricio in Salvador (Bahia),  Brazil
Lucia reading in  Natal, Brazil



Sasha em Fernando de Noronha
Alec no Brasil em 2005
Mauricio em cima da Praia do Sancho em FN
Sasha at the beach in  Fernando de Noronha, Brazil
Alec back in Rio in July
Mauricio at  Sancho Beach, F. de Noronha, Brazil



Sasha and Alec are constantly changing.  If you saw them one year ago and see them now, you will surely see the changes.  Sasha will be 18 on December 31st and Alec turned 14 on August 3rd. 

Sasha Yearbook Photo Alec antes da formatura

Sasha's 2006 yearbook photo
Alec on day of 8th grade graduation



Sasha antes do Prom
Alec no torneio
Sasha antes do prom
Sasha on Junior Prom day
Alec at soccer tournament in La Grange, NY in May
Sasha on Junior Prom day



This was an important year for Sasha.  It was the year that she chose where she could potentially live during the next four years.  Sasha will start college next September. Her current plan is to major in political sciences and then go on to law school.  She took an SAT prep course from September of last year to March of this year and took the SAT in March and June.  The prep course was very helpful!  Sasha made several trips  during 2005 to get to know potential colleges.  In February, she traveled with Mauricio to Massachusetts, where she visited the  University of Massachusetts  in Amherst (where Mauricio's dad got his Ph.D.) and Boston University and Northeastern University  in Boston. Sasha em Amherst
Sasha em Harvard

Sasha in Amherst in February
Sasha in Harvard in February



Sasha na BU
Sasha com Kim em Orlando Sasha em Harvard
Sasha at Boston University in February
Sasha with Kim in Orlando in March
Sasha in Harvard in February



Sasha na U. da Florida
In March, Sasha traveled with Mauricio to the University of Florida and in April, again with Mauricio to California, where they spent one week visting UC Berkeley (where Lucia and Mauricio got their PhDs), UC Santa Barbara, UCLA, UC Irvine, and UC San DiegoIn Florida, Mauricio and Sasha spent a day with George, Linda, and their kids Kevin and Kim in Orlando. In California, they were with Mark and with Silvia and Joana in Berkeley and  Renata and  Mafé in Silicon Valley. Sasha em Berkeley
Sasha at the U. of Florida in March

Sasha at Berkeley in April



Sasha e Mauricio em Santa Cruz, California
Sasha com Joana em Berkeley
Sasha em Santa Barbara, California
Sasha and Mauricio in Santa Cruz, California in April
Sasha with Joana in Berkeley in April
Sasha talking with Lucia from Santa Barbara



Sasha em Venice Beach, California
Sasha na UCLA Sasha em La Jolla
Sasha in Venice Beach, California in April
Sasha in Westwood, Los Angeles in April
Sasha in La Jolla, California in April



Sasha na UC San Diego Mauricoi em La Jolla, California Sasha em La Jolla
Sasha at UC San Diego in April
Mauricio in La Jollla, California in April
Sasha in La Jolla, California in April



Lucia com Alec e Sasha na U. da Maryland
Maurico com Sasha e Alec na U da Maryland In September, Mauricio and Sasha visited the University of Delaware, and in October, they visited the University of Connecticut and once again the University of  Massachusetts in Amherst.  Finally, in November, the whole famiily accompanied Sasha to the University of Maryland in College Park and Georgetown University in Washington D.C.  We spent a day with friends Telba and Ilan in Maryland.  Sasha also applied to Rutgers University, the University of Texas in Austin, and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor without visiting them.
Lucia, Alec, and Sasha at the U. of Maryland
Alec, Mauricio, and  Sasha at the U. of Maryland




Alec e Sasha em Maryland Lucia, Sasha, e Alec em Georgetown. Alec e Sasha em Georgetown
Sasha and  Alec at  U. of  Maryland
Lucia, Alec, and  Sasha at  Georgetown University
Alec and  Sasha at  Georgetown University



This year Sasha got her driver's license and now drives all around. Since August she has been working two or three days a week as a waiteress.  We've been to her restaurant and can attest that she is indeed a good server. In May Sasha had her junior prom.  She was beautiful. Of the seven courses she is taking as a senior, three are AP (advanced placement) level and may count towards college credit.  Even with the heavy school load and work, she still finds time to go out with friends during the weekends.  She usually gets home minutes before midnight, when the driving curfew  for under-18s starts. Sasha dirigindo Sasha dirigindo

Sasha driving ...
Danger!



Sasha dirigindo Sasha yearbook photo Alec started High School in September.  He is witnessing through Sasha's college application process how good grades in high school matter.  He takes three honors-level courses, a pretty heavy load for a high school freshman.  His 8th grade graduation in June was followed by a big dance. In May, his 8th grade class took their class trip to  Washington D.C.  Alec continues playing guitar and even joined a band this year. He took to Lucia when it comes to music.  Like his mom, he plays very well by ear but wants no formal musical education.
 
Just kidding.  Sasha is a good driver.
Sasha ready for high school graduation in 2006




Alec Formatura do Alec Alec no baile de formatura
Alec on vacation in Brazil in July
Alec graduate in June
Alec at graduation dance in June



 In travel soccer, Alec continues playing for the Torpedoes, where Mauricio is an assistant coach.  This year the team traveled to La Grange, NY to play an elite-level tournament during two days in May. The boys had a lot of fun and ended up in third place  (we took a last minute goal in the last game and let the second place spot slip away).  In the Fall, the Torpedoes lost five players and did not do so well. The team lost all but once match and was lowered from Primier to the National 1 division.  Alec also likes to skateboard and doesn't seem to mind the cold NJ winter temperatures.

Alec com Maria e Lou na formatura Torpedos no torneio de elite

Alec with Lou and  Maria at June graduation
Alec and the Torpedoes in May



Alec com a skate em Itaipava Último jogo da temporada dos Torpedos

Mauricio turned 50 on July 27th of this year. To celebrate, we decided to travel to place we had always wanted to go to: Fernando de Noronha, an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off of the northeast coast of Brazil.  We took the opportunity to take along Holmdel friends Linda and Boaz with their son Adam, Alec's long-time friend. They had never been to Brazil. We spent four days at Pipa Beach in Rio Grande do Norte, five days in Fernando de Noronha, and four days in Salvador, Bahia. We also spent a morning in Recife and  Olinda.  In Rio, we once again stayed at the  Logoa apartment of friend Silvia from California. We also spent a few days in Itaipava at Mauricio's mom's place, where we were with nephews and nieces Thomas, Dominique, Alexia, and Gabriel, as well as friends Jayme and  Andrea, Patrícia and Gustavo, Betty and Johnny, and of course, the host Renalva.


Alec skateboarding in Itaipava (Brazil) in July
Mauricio and Alec with the Torpedoes in November




Lucia lendo em Itaipava Café da manhã em Itaipava Cores de Itaipava
Lucia reading poolside in  Itaipava, Brazil
Breakfast in  Itaipava
Colors of  Itaipava



Pousada Sombra e água fresca - Pipa Mauricio e Boaz em Pipa A turma em Pipa, RN
Sombra e Água Fresca Inn, Pipa, Brazil
Mauricio with Boaz in Pipa, Brazil
All of us in Pipa, Brazil



Lucia em Pipa, RN Alec e Adam na divisa RN/PB Noronha
Lucia enjoying the Pipa sunshine
Alec and Adam after a mudbath near Pipa, Brazil
Off to see turtles hatch in  Noronha in July



The vacation was perfect. Pipa and Fernando de Noronha are places you need to go to. Praia do Sancho, FN Fernando de Noronha

Fernando de Noronha in July
Fernando de Noronha in July



Feranndo de Noronha Mauricio aos 50 anos Alec e Sasha em Noronha
Fernando de Noronha in July
Mauricio turning 50 on July 27th in Noronha
Sasha and  Alec in Fernando de Noronha in July



Alec faendo snorkeling

Lucia continued  beading strong in 2005. She took part in two street fairs and broke all sales records. She made her first online sale to someone who independently found her site on the internet. From mid-year on, Lucia turned into an architect, designing several remodeling projects for our home. The first project was a new front entrance and walkway. The second, still underway, is the remodeling of the master bedroom bathroom. And next year, there'll  be more!

Entrada da casa.
Alec snorkeling in Fernando de Noronha in July

The new entrance at  27 Dimisa Drive



Caminho até a entrada. Mauricio em Santorini, Grécia Santorini, Grécia
Our new walkway
Mauricio as an archeologist in Santorini, Greece
Santorini, Greece



Lucia and Mauricio survived another year of cuts at  AT&T.   In less than five years, AT&T cut  its  workforce from over 150 thousand to under 40 thousand.  In November, AT&T was finally acquired by SBC, another telecommunications company.  With this, we expect that the cuts will end. The  new company will continue to be called AT&T and has over 150 thousand employees.   Lucia can still  work from home and, once again this year, she was able to work from Brazil after our vacation and the return of Mauricio and the kids to New Jersey.  Besides the trip to Brazil in July, Lucia visited her parents in January and traveled to Rio in May to be with her dad during surgery.
Mauricio em Santorini, Grécia Mauricio em Santorini, Grécia

Mauricio over mouth of volcano in Santorini
Mauricio in Santorini, Greece



Santorini, Grécia Santorini, Grécia

Mauricio had a lot of work-related travel in 2005.  Besides the trips within the US (a conference in Maryland and two visits to the University of Florida to work with Panos Pardalos), he took part in PhD  thesis defenses in Montevideo, Uruguay (February) and Belo Horizonte, Brazil (December), and international conferences in Santorini (Greece), Maceió (Brazil), Vienna, and Camerino (Italy).  Mauricio took advantage of these trips to reunite with old friends:  Leininha, Roberto, and  Lili in Maceió, Tuffy and Tânia in Gainesville, Celso, Angela, Paola, Leonidas, and  Simone in Santorini, too many people to enumerate at  MIC2005 in Vienna, Márcio and Mara (friends from the Berkeley era), Luciana, and cousins Marco Aurélio, Eliana and Mariana in Belo Horizonte, and Patrícia and Isabella, Jayme and Andrea, Christine, Geraldo, Gilberto, and Angela, João Lauro, Adriana, and Lélio, Abílio and Anna, Adílson, ... in Rio.

Mauricio saw the sunset from this café in Santorini
Santorni, Greece




Mauricio in Viena Viena Viena
Mauricio in Vienna in August
Vienna in August
Vienna in August



Camerino, Itália

Camerino, Itália

For Thanksgiving, we made dinner for over 25 friends. We ate Maria's crab casquinha, Valeria's turkey, Maria Luiza's leg of pork, Patrícia's ham, and a shrimp bobó, also made by Maria, not to mention all the desserts.  We don't know how much weight we gained that night.
Camerino, Italy in September
Camerino, Italy in September




 
This year we had several visitors.  Carlos from Oklahoma and Paola from Italy in January, Lélio and João Lauro from Rio in February, Renata from California in September, Lélio again in November, and Lucia's cousins Maria Luiza from nearby in New Jersey and Alexandre from São Paulo for Christmas.
Natal 2005
This year, our Christmas tree received the magic touch of Lucia's cousin, Maria Luiza.  During the Thanksgiving weekend, she designed the new tree and helped Lucia set it up.

A snowless 2005 Christmas




Árvore de Natal Finally, in 2005, Mauricio completed another long project: the book  Handbook of Optimization in Telecommunications, edited by him and colleague  Panos Pardalos.  The book has over 1100 pages, in 37 chapters written by 79 authors. The project took over three years and the book will be published in February of 2006 by the German publisher Springer. Handbook of Optimization in Telecommunications
Christmas tree

Cover art of  Mauricio's new book



We truely hope you have a happy and healthy  year's end and that 2006 be a year full of accomplishments.  And, most important, that Brazil once again wins the FIFA World Cup in Germany!

 

Kisses and hugs,