New Year's 2012

Happy New Year ~ 2012		português
		Previous years [ 2002 \| 2003 \| 2004 \| 2005 \| 2006 \| 2007 \| 2008 \| 2009 \| 2010 \| 2011 ]


MAKE SPACE Dear Friends, Welcome to our yearly family review. The purpose of this page is to share with you what we have been up to this past year. Here is a quick summary: Renalva celebrated her 80th birthday with us; Lucia spent almost the entire first semester recovering from a fractured foot; Sasha lives in Brooklyn and works at Teach for America in New York City; Alec is half way through his junior (3rd) year at Carnegie Mellon; we survived Huricane Irene; Lucia spent almost all of her free time in the second semester dancing tango; Lucia and Mauricio traveled to Brazil twice, the first time together, the second apart; Lucia and Mauricio celebrated 30 years of marriage and spent time together in Italy; Mauricio traveled to many places for work; and we had lots of friends visiting us in New Jersey. MAKSPACE
Our home in Holmdel
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Our backyard on a snowy winter morning	A herd of deer seen from our front door	January 2011 was cold
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	We continue lving in Holmdel, New Jersey, about 50 miles (80 km) south of New York City. Our home is located by car about 10 minutes from Lucia's work, about 50 minutes from Mauricio's work, about one hour from Sasha's apartment in Brooklyn, and about six hours from Alec's dorm in Pittsburgh. We had a lot of snow during the 2010-2011 winter and a wierd October snow storm. In addition, Hurricane Irene came right over Holmdel in August. It was later downgraed to a tropical storm. Fortunately, unlike come of our neighbors, our home survived with no damage.
Spring in our front yard		Lucia and her rhododendron
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Sod farm in Holmdel, New Jersey		Lucia and the spruce we planted in 1998
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Our home in April	Our home in July	Holmdel Park in November
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Sasha
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Sasha and Lucia at home in April	Sasha and Jason at Jason's sister's wedding in March	Sasha and Lucia in Brooklyn in June
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	Sasha has been working at Teach for America in New York City since August of 2010. She lives in the Williamsburg area of Brooklyn and commutes to work on the subway. This year she moved to a new room in her apartment. Her previous room did not have its own bathroom like the new one does. Sasha vacationed in Chicago with Jason in July. There, they attended the Pitchfork Musical Festival. Sasha follows U. of Michigan football closely and even traveled to Ann Arbor with Jason in September to watch Michigan's win over Notre Dame and the first ever night match at Michigan Stadium. Sasha regularly comes to Holmdel to spend the weekend. She spent ten days there during Christmas. On December 31st she celebrated her 24th birthday. Sasha's plans for the near future include attending grad school starting 2014.
Sasha and Lucia at home on 4th of July		Mauricio helping Sasha make a hem on a new curtain for her room
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		Sasha with Lucia & Mauricio at Marina's NYC apartment in March
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Sasha and Lucia at Sasha's Brooklyn apartment in June	Sasha and Lucia going to Long Branch (New Jersey) beach in August	Sasha and her new curtain in October
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Sasha at a concert in Chicago in July	Sasha in Chicago in July
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Sasha & Alec
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Sasha and Alec with Mauricio at home in May	Sasha and Alec at home in May
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	Sasha and Alec get along very well together. Though Alec lives in Pittsburgh and Sasha in Brooklyn, they managed to see each other many times during 2011.
Sasha and Alec with Mauricio at home on Father's Day in June		Sasha and Alec at home on Thanksgiving
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	Sasha and Alec at home on Christmas	Sasha and Alec at NYC sushi restaurante in December
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Alec
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Alec with Lucia at home for Alec's spring break in February	Alec with Mauricio at home for Alec's spring break in February	Alec leaving Carnegie Mellon for summer break in May
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Alec with Lucia in Newark on their way to a Brazilian churrascaria	Alec with Lucia at Pamela's breakfast place in Pittsburgh in August
A		Alec celebrated his 20th birthday on August 3rd with friends at home while his parents were away in Europe. In August he started his junior (3rd) year of college at the School of Computer Science at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh. Graduation is planned for May 2013. At CMU, he lives in an large dorm room. During his sophomore (2nd) year, he shared a one-bedroom apartment with a colleague. He and the colleague moved to a large two-bedroom apartment which they share with another student. Mauricio drove Alec to and from CMU during the year. Lucia came along in August and since Alec had brought so much stuff home for the summer, he had to fly back to school to meet his parents who drove. Besides summer break and the end of year holidays, Alec came home for spring break with a friend from CMU and for Thanksgiving (by plane). During his summer break from school (mid-May to mid-August) Alec interned at uReach Technologies in Holmdel, where he wrote software. In addition, Alec and a couple of friends produced an EP titled Second Head by their band "Korea in the Space". In March the magazine Crawdaddy (apparently the first rock and roll magazine in the U.S.) covered a couple of songs he and friend Justin wrote last year. Since then they have had a lot written about them on the web.

Alec with Lucia about to travel back to Pittsburgh for the Fall 2011 semester
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Alec with Lucia in Pittsburgh in August	Alec's residence building at Carnegie Mellon
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Alec with Lucia at Carnegie Mellon in August	Alec with Mauricio for an early start back home for winter break in December	Alec with Bianca at Houllihan's in Holmdel in December
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Lucia
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		$Lucia healing fractured foot in Rio$
Lucia with her mom Maria Ignez and sister Regina in Rio in March	Lucia with Bruno Paula in Rio in March	Lucia healing a fractured foot in Rio in March during carnival
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	Lucia did not start the year well. In January she started feeling pain on her right foot. An incorrect diagnosis by a radiologist and by her podiatrist led her to do physical therapy (stretching, bending, massaging her foot). This caused an existing micro-fracture in her foot to grow. Only in May was she able to walk again without crutches. Lucia had been dancing a lot of tango with dance partner Mark Genco and had to stop completely. She had a tango trip to Buenos Aires already paid for and had to cancel. Instead she traveled to Rio for two weeks of recovering at her mother's home during Carnival. Mauricio had already planned to travel to Brazil while Lucia would be in Buenos Aires. Despite traveling outside of Rio, Mauricio spent some time with Lucia in Rio, including her birthday on March 8th.
Lucia's brother Lucio and mom Maria Ignez helping Lucia walk in Rio in March		Lucia with her mom Maria Ignez, sister Regina, and brother Lucio in Rio on her birthday on March 8th
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Lucia blows out a birthday candle at her mom's place in Rio on March 8th		Sushi man prepares feast for Lucia to enjoy at Bruno's new apartment in Rio in March
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		$Lucia in April recovering from foot fracture at home$
Lucia with sisters, nrothers-in-law, and niece in Rio in March		Lucia at home in April
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Lucia sunbathing at home in April	Lucia at home in October	Lucia at home in April
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	Lucia still works at AT&T as a director. Early in the year she was director of network engineering. In the second semester she was assigned to be director of systems integration. After healing her foot, Lucia restarted her dancing. She usually dances at least three times a week and sometimes five or even six. She and Mark continue their dance partnership. Even when she traveled with Mauricio in Florence and Venice, Lucia asked Mauricio to take her to tango milongas. Mauricio doesn't dance tango but was glad to accompany her and shoot some photos.
Lucia at Birdland in NYC in May		Lucia dancing tango in Florence (Italy) in July
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	Lucia's tango dance partner Mark Genco
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Lucia having a late pizza in Florence (Italy) in July		Lucia in Florence (Italy) in July
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Lucia shopping in Florence (Italy) in July	Lucia dancing tango in Venice (Italy) in August	Lucia in Murano (Italy) in August
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	Lucia traveled to Italy in late July where she met Mauricio. During two long weekends they visited Florence, Siena, Murano, and Venice. In Italy Lucia had only been to Rome and Naples before, so she saw a lot of new sights.
Lucia in Florence (Italy) in August		Thirsty Lucia in Venice (Italy) in August
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Lucia enjoying octopus salad in Murano (Italy) in August		Lucia near hotel St. Maurizio in Venice (Italy) in August
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Lucia dancing tango in Venice (Italy) in August		Lucia at Campo St. Maurizio in Venice (Italy) in August
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Lucia again traveled to Brazil in October, this time to attend her high school (Colégio Teresiano) class reunion in Rio and visit her mom who had not been feeling very well. To be able to stay in Rio for three weeks, Lucia had to work remotely part of the time that she was there. Fortunately, with a good internet conection and her Vonage VOIP phone everything went smoothly. Lucia stayed at the home of her cousin Angela while she was working and at her mom's the rest of the time.
	Lucia at Glass Museum in Murano (Italy) in August
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Lucia at her Colégio Terseriano class reunion in Rio in October with former classmates Lucia Helena, Claudia, and Marcia	Lucia with mother Maria Ignez and brother Lucio at Lucio's birthday celebration in Rio in October	Lucia with brother Lucio and sister Regina at Lucio's birthday celebration in Rio in October
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Lucia & Mauricio
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	Lucia with Mauricio at home in May	Lucia with Mauricio at home in May
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Lucia with Mauricio at home celebrating his birthday in July		Lucia with Mauricio in NYC in July
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Lucia with Mauricio in Siena (Italy) in August		Lucia with Mauricio in Siena (Italy) in August
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Lucia with Mauricio in Florence (Italy) in August	Lucia with Mauricio at home in October	Lucia with Mauricio in Murano (Italy) in August
A	Lucia with Mauricio celebrated their 30th wedding anniversary on August 16th. They commemorated by being together for a week in Italy and with a nice dinner at Raven and the Peach in Fair Haven, New Jersey.

Lucia with Mauricio in Venice (Italy) in August		Lucia with Mauricio at The Blue Note in NYC in October watching Pat Metheny
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Lucia with Mauricio at home in April	Lucia pretending to dance with Mauricio at home in December	Lucia and Mauricio with Lucia's mom and brother in Rio in March
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Mauricio
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Mauricio at the U. of Florida in January	Mauricio in front of the football stadium at the U. of Florida in January	Mauricio's car the EWR airport after his return from the U. of Florida in January
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	Mauricio still works at the Algorithms & Optimization Research Department of AT&T Labs Research. He works in the same department, with the same boss, since joining AT&T in 1988. Rodrigo Toso (Computer Science Ph.D student from Rutgers University) was Mauricio's summer intern. As customary, Mauricio traveled a lot in 2011. Mostly for work, but a few trips strictly for fun.
Rodrigo Toso at Shannon Lab in February		Mauricio with Ricardo and Flávia Silva in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in February
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		In February, Mauricio traveled to Brazil for work and fun. He spent time with his mom in Itaipava, worked in Belo Horizonte, worked and spent time with Lucia in Rio, and visted Christine Guimarães in Pirenópolis. In Belo Horizonte, he sat on three thesis boards at UFMG. Back in Rio, he worked with Celso Ribeiro and spent Lucia's birthday with her.
	Mauricio having chicken with okra at Maria das Tranças restaurant in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in February
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Mauricio with Martin Ravetti at UFMG in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in February	Mauricio with Geraldo Robson Mateus at UFMG in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in February	Mauricio with Geraldo Robson Mateus, Eduardo Rios Neto, and Thiago Noronha at UFMG in Belo Horizonte (Brazil) in February
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Christine Guimarães in March at Brasília Cathedral after picking Mauricio up at the Brasília airport	Mauricio on suspension bridge near Pirenópolis (GO, Brazil) in March	Mauricio at waterfall near Pirenópolis (GO, Brazil) in March
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	Mauricio had not seen Christine Guimarães since she moved to Goiás five years ago. After many invitations these years to come visit, Mauricio finally decided to go. And it was great! Christine was waiting for Mauricio at the Brasília airport, gave him a quick tour of the capital (Mauricio had not been in Brasília since 1981), and the two drove the three-hour route to Pirenópolis, where she lives. In Pirenópolis, the two caught up on their lives, and visted a bunch of places, including several waterfalls.
Christine Guimarães at home in Pirenópolis (GO, Brazil) in March		Christine Guimarães on suspension bridge near Pirenópolis (GO, Brazil) in March
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	Before returning to New Jersey, Mauricio and Lucia had lunch at the Rio Brasa steakhouse with Roberto and Maureen's "children": nephew Thomas and nieces Dominique and Alexia.
Mauricio in Pirenópolis (GO, Brazil) in March		Lucia and Mauricio with nieces Dominique and Alexia and nephew Thomas in Rio in March
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Mauricio with José Gonçalves in Porto (Portugal) in March	Mauricio enjoying grilled shrimps at Restaurante Grelha in Espinho, near Porto (Portugal) in March	Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March
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	In March, Mauricio traveled to Porto (Portugal) to work with José Gonçalves. Mauricio and José have known each other since they were Ph.D students at UC Berkeley in the 1980s.
Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March		Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March
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Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March		Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March
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	Mauricio with Ana Viana in Matosinhos, near Porto (Portugal), in March
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	As has been customary during Mauricio's yearly trips to Porto, Ana Viana usually takes him to visit interesting places in northern Portugal. This year could not be any different.
Mauricio in Porto (Portugal) in March		Mauricio dining with friends at Restaurante Ferrugem in Vila Nova de Famalicão, near Porto (Portugal) in March. Mauricio had slow-cooked beef cheek for the first time.
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Mauricio with Ana Viana in Lamego (Portugal) in March		Mauricio with friends at dinner party at João Pedro and Mami's home in Porto (Portugal) in March
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Mauricio on the fortified bridge in Ucanha (Portugal) in March	Mauricio dining at Dalila Fontes' home in Porto (Portugal) in March	Mauricio having lunch at Restaurante "O Tubarão" in Matosinhos, near Porto (Portugal) in March
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Mauricio with Valery Kalygin at the Pechersky Ascension Monastery in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) on May Day	Children playing in Nizhny Novgorod (Russia) on May Day	Mauricio at Museum of Wooden Architecture in Suzdal (Russia) in May
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	In May, Mauricio traveled to Russia for the first time. He was invited to lecture at the Spring School on Advances in Operations Research at The Higher School of Economics in Nizhny Novgorod. Having arrived on Saturday night and Monday being May Day, a national holiday in Russia, Mauricio had two days to do some sightseeing. His hosts, Boris Goldengorin and Valery Kalyagin, showed him Nizhny and the beautiful cities of Suzdal and Vladimir. Mauricio had dinner at the home of Valery Kalyagin and his wife.
St. Euthymius monastery in Suzdal (Russia)		St. Euthymius monastery in Suzdal (Russia)
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Mauricio with Boris Goldengorin and Valery Kalyagin at Spring School on Advances in Operations Research in Nizhny Novgorod in May	Mauricio lecturing at Spring School on Advances in Operations Research in Nizhny Novgorod in May	View of Volga River from Nizhny Novgorod
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Mauricio in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011	Mauricio with Panos Pardalos in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011	Mauricio in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011
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	From Nizhny, Mauricio traveled by train to Moscow, where he caught a subway and then another train to Domodedovo Airport. Mauricio flew to Athens, Greece, via Frankfurt, spent the night in a hotel at the Athens Airport, and then took a 5 AM flight to Chania, Crete, where he was due to give a talk at SEA 2011 in the morning.
Mauricio in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011		Agia Triada (Holy Trinity) monastery near Chania (Crete, Greece)
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Mauricio in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011		Mauricio with Flavia Loschi in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011
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Mauricio with Paola Festa in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011	Mauricio with Panos Pardalos in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011	Mauricio with Ricardo Silva in Chania (Crete, Greece) at SEA 2011
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Mauricio in his room at the Meliã at Aldeia dos Capuchos, near Lisbon, in July	Mauricio with Joaquim Júdice at celebration of Joaquim's 60th birthday, near Lisbon, in July	Mauricio getting off ferry after crossing the Tagus in Lisbon
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	In late July, Mauricio traveled to Lisbon (Portugal) to give a plenary talk at Optimization 2011. At this meeting, Joaquim Júdice (long time co-author of Mauricio) celebrated his 60th birthday. Mauricio said a few words about Joaquim at the banquet.
Mauricio with Luciana Pessoa and Helena Ramalhinho in Lisbon during Optimization 2011		Mauricio's name on a billboard in Lisbon
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	Mauricio celebrated his birthday in two countries in 2011. He woke up in Portugal and flew from Lisbon to Venice (Italy) with Luciana Pessoa. From the Venice airport, they drove to Udine where MIC 2011 was under way. Mauricio gave his talk the following day. Mauricio's birthday dinner at Ristorante Atlantide in Udine was really nice. Nine friends were there: José Gonçalves (Porto, Portugal), Luciana Buriol (Porto Alegre, Brazil), Celso Ribeiro (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), Eric Taillard (Yverdon, Switzerland), Ricardo SIlva (Recife, Brazil), Luciana Pessoa (Paris, France), Ana Viana (Porto, Portgal), Adriana Alvim (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil), and last, but not least, Paola Festa (Avellino, Italy).
Mauricio in Udine (Italy) with Paola Festa and Luciana Buriol on his birthday in July		Mauricio celebrating his birthday in Udine (Italy) with nine good friends
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Mauricio in Udine (Italy) after MIC 2011
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Mauricio having lunch in Udine (Italy) with Luciana Buriol, Ricardo Silva, and Andréa Cynthia Santos during MIC 2011	Mauricio at post-conference dinner at Trattoria Al Chianti in Udine (Italy)	Mauricio relaxing in Udine (Italy) with Luciana Pessoa, Ricardo Silva, Andréa Cynthia Santos, and Thiago Noronha after MIC 2011
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Mauricio in Siena (Italy) in August	Mauricio in Siena (Italy) in August
A		After MIC 2011, Mauricio spent two long weekends with Lucia in Florence, Siena, Venice, and Murano.

Mauricio in Florence (Italy) in August	Mauricio in Venice (Italy) in August
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		In September, Mauricio's new Ph.D student, Luis Morán, from Tecnológico de Monterrey in Mexico, arrived at Shannon Lab to work with him for a year. Luis is a student of José Luiz Gonzalez Velarde.
	Luis Morán in September after arriving to work with Mauricio for a year
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Mauricio's niece Alexia in Itaipava in September	Mauricio's niece Alexia in Itaipava in September	Mauricio's niece Dominique in Itaipava in September
A		Mauricio traveled to Brazil in September with the objective of teaching a short course on "Analysis of Social Networks" at the Computer Science Department of U. Federal Fluminense in Niterói, work with Celso Ribeiro on a book project, and take two weeks off on vacation. In addition, he would spend five weekends with his mom, Renalva, in Itaipava.

Mauricio with nieces Alexia & Dominique in Itaipava in September	Mauricio's mother Renalva at her home in Itaipava in September
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Mauricio with Renalva and the Veigas in Itaipava in September	Mauricio in Itaipava in September
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In Itaipava, besides seeing his mom, Mauricio also spent time with his nieces Dominique and Alexia, nephew Thomas (and girlfriend Vanessa), The Veigas (Ecila, Geraldo, Gilberto, and Angela), Beth and João Phillips, as well as Ricardo Silva, who came to Itaipava to work with Mauricio.
	October 1st sunset in Itaipava
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Renalva with nephew Thomas in Itaipava in September	Renalva with nephew Thomas and Vanessa in Itaipava in September	Toucan at Itaipava
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	Mauricio working with Ricardo Silva in Itaipava in October
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	Back in Rio, Mauricio stayed at João Lauro Facó's place at praia do Pepê. He also saw Lelio Facó, Abílio Lucena and family, Patrícia Antunes, Tony and Gabriel Antunes and Marisa Borges, Renato, Mariana, and Julia Carneiro, Adriana Alvim and Geraldo Veiga, Jayme Guimarães and family, and Lucia's mom and siblings Lucio and Regina. During his four weeks in Brazil, Mauricio drove Ricardo Paula's Citroën C4 which Ricardo lent to Mauricio while he and Angela traveled in Europe on vacation.
Mauricio with Lucia's siblings Lucio & Regina in Rio in September		Ricardo Paula's Citroen C4 that Mauricio drove while in Rio
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Mauricio with Abilio Lucena, Pedro, and Anna in Rio in September	Mauricio's home office at João Lauro Facó's place in Rio in September
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	Mauricio's lecturing on "Analysis of Social Networks" in Niterói in September	Mauricio with students of his short course on "Analysis of Social Networks" in Niterói in September
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Mauricio in Rio with Tony, Mariana, and her daughter Julia in September	Mauricio in September with Tony and Renato at Renato's penthouse in Rio
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Mauricio with Christine Guimarães in Pirenópolis in September	Mauricio with Christine at her home in Pirenópolis	Mauricio with Christine taking a water break in Pirenópolis
A	After two weeks of work in Rio, Mauricio was ready for some vacation time. He first traveled once again to Pirenópolis to visit Christine and see more of the sights he had missed in March. Once again, Christine was a great hostess. Mauricio got a chance to see the home she is building in Abaniânia, about 70 km from Pirenópolis.

Mauricio on a bridge in Pirenópolis		Mauricio on another bridge near Pirenópolis
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Lázaro waterfall near Pirenópolis		Mauricio and Christine having a picnic at Lázaro waterfall near Pirenópolis
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Mauricio at sunset near Pirenópolis	Mauricio on his way to another waterfall near Pirenópolis	Seed of a plant from the Goiás savanna near Pirenópolis
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	Mauricio on a termite hill near Pirenópolis
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Mauricio in Curitiba with Vilma, Luciana, Ana, and Paulo	Mauricio in Curitiba with Bianca, Ana, and Paulo
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	After spending a weekend in Itaipava with his mom and Ricardo Silva, Mauricio traveled to Curitiba to spend time with his sister Vilma and her family. He was met at the Curitiba airport by Vilma and Lucia's sister Ana with husband Paulo. Vilma is a appelate court judge (desembargadora) in the court of the state of Paraná. Besides being with Vilma, Mauricio was shown many of Curitiba's sights, visited the Oscar Niemeyer Musuem, met many of Vilma's friends who are judges, celebrated Lucia's sister Ana's birthday with a dinner at Vilma's, and got to go to a comedy show of Diego Portugal and meet the artist after the show.
Mauricio in Curitiba with sister Vilma at her court office		Mauricio at a Diego Portugal comedy show at John Bull Music Hall in Curitba.
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Mauricio having coffee in Curitiba with his sister Vilma
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	Mauricio at the Oscar Niemeyer Museum in Curitiba	Mauricio in Curitiba with sister Vilma on top of a city tour bus
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	With Lucia in Brazil in October, Sasha living in Brooklyn, and Alec at school in Pittsburgh, Mauricio spent about a month living alone in Holmdel. He definitely prefers having people around.
Mauricio walking in Holmdel Park in October
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Mauricio's last work-related trip in 2011 was to Charlotte, North Carolina, to attend INFORMS 2011 and give a talk. Since Mauricio's employer had cancelled all travel from October 15th to the end of the year, Mauricio had to pay his own way to the meeting. Instead of flying Mauricio drove. On the way down he took the long route, stopping for a night in Pittsburgh, where he and Alec had dinner. On they way back, Mauricio drove the 1000 km (620 miles) in 12 hours averaging over 40 miles a gallon on his Honda Civic Hybrid.
	Mauricio in Charlotte during INFORMS 2011	Mauricio with Sergiy Butenko and Panos Pardalos in Charlotte during INFORMS 2011
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Visitors
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Lucia and Renalva playing with an iPad	Renalva on the phone in Holmdel	Sasha with her grandmother Renalva at home
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	Many friends and family members visited us in 2011. Mauricio's mom spend over two month with us to celebrate her 80th birthday on February 2nd. She traveled back to Brazil on the same flight as Lucia. Since Lucia had a fractured foot, both she and Renalva used wheel chairs to move around the airports they traveled through.
Renalva in January looking out at the snow in Holmdel
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Mauricio with Renalva at Marina's place in NYC	Mauricio with Renalva and Marina in NYC
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	Alec celebrating his grandmother's 80th birthday at The Melting Pot in Red Bank, NJ	Maria (Sasha and Alec's former nanny) and Renalva looking at the snow outside
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		In February, José Gonçalves, from Porto (Portugal) came to New Jersey to work with Mauricio.
Lucia and José Gonçalves at home in February	Mauricio & Lucia with Marina & José in NYC
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In April, Paola Festa, from Avellino (Italy) came to New Jersey to work with Mauricio.
	Lucia and Paola at home in April	Mauricio & Lucia with Paola in front of Middletown Art Center
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	Mauricio & Paola went out for a night out at Blue Note in NYC and to see the sights on another day. Paola was very excited about the adoption she and husband Gianni were planning. In November they adopted three beautiful 3-year old girls (triplets) in Brazil.
		Mauricio & Paola Festa at Caffe Reggio in NYC
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Mauricio with Sasha and Paola Festa outside Trattoria Dell'Arte in NYC	Paola Festa and Rodrigo Toso in Mauricio's office at Shannon Lab	Mauricio & Paola in Times Square in NYC
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		Later in April, Renato Carneiro and his daughter Nana stayed with us in Holmdel. Mauricio had the opportunity to go with them to a place many Brazilians flock to: Woodbury Common Premium Outlets
Mauricio & Lucia havng breakfast with Nana & Renato in April	Mauricio & Lucia havng dinner at home with Nana & Renato in April
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Mauricio & Nana at Woodbury Outlet in April	Mauricio & Lucia saying goodbyes to Nana & Renato in April
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		In May, Lucia's high school classmate Marina and her husband Roberto came to New York to attend the graduation of their daughter and son-in-law at Columbia Business School. Mauricio and Lucia dined with them at Trattoria Dell'Arte in NYC.
	Mauricio & Lucia dining with Marina & Roberto at Trattoria Dell'Arte in May
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In July, Victor Pujadas and Helena Ramalhinho (from Barcelona) with kids Vera and Bruno came over for a 4th of July barbeque. Mauricio inaugurated the new Weber grill Lucia gave him for his birthday. Also present were Alec, Marina Roesler, Mario Vergara, and Lucia's cousin Marilú Torres.
	4th of July BBQ with friends from NYC and Barcelona	Victor and Helena chatting with Marina while Lucia chats with Marilú and Sasha with Alec at 4th of July BBQ
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		Since Mauricio would be in Italy for his birthday, he invited friends to celebrate a bit earlier in July.
Mauricio & friends celebrating Mauricio's 56th birthday	Mauricio with his goddaughter Joana Goic
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A special guest at Mauricio's birthday BBQ was his goddaughter Joana Goic. Joana is the daughter of our friends Silvia Barandier and George Goic. She just finished veterinary school at UC Davis and is spending the 2011-2012 academic year doing a small-animal internship at the Mathew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.
	Joana becoming Dr. Goic at UC Davis
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	Sasha, Joana, and Jason at Mauricio's birthday celebration	Sergio and Ricardo at Mauricio's birthday celebration
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		In July, Ricardo Silva, from Recife (Brazil) came to New Jersey to work with Mauricio.
Lucia, Mauricio, and Alec dining with Ricardo at home in July	Ricardo Silva at Mauricio's office at Shannon Lab
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Mauricio working with Ricardo at home in July
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In November, Luciana Pessoa, from Paris came to New Jersey to work with Mauricio.
	Mauricio with Luciana Pessoa and Rafael Cruz at Blue Note in NYC in November	Luciana Pessoa at Holmdel Park
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Luciana working with Mauricio in Holmdel in November	Mauricio & Luciana in Holmdel	Luciana Pessoa at AT&T Shannon Lab in Florham Park, New Jersey
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Letícia Cataldi with son Gabriel during Thanksgiving in Holmdel	Lucia and Lewis Norwood during Thanksgiving in Holmdel	Linda Rhodes with son Adam, Sasha, and Alec during Thanksgiving at our place
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	For Thanksgiving we invited some friends to join us. Alec and Sasha also made it to Holmdel.
		Diogo Andrade and Carlos Oliveira with sons Tomás and Lucas during Thanksgiving at our place
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	In early December, Celso Ribeiro spent 10 days with Mauricio working on their book project.
Mauricio and Celso working on their book in December
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Lucia & Mauricio with Andrea & Jayme at home in December	Mauricio with Jayme Guimarães at the Apple Store on 5th Avenue in NYC	Mauricio and Vilma at Rockerfeller Center in NYC in December
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	Mauricio took vacation from December 13th to the end of the year. Lucia had fewer days and only took vacation between Christmas and New Year's Day.
Vilma on 5th Avenue in NYC		Mauricio & Lucia having breakfast with Jayme, Andrea, Breno, & Renan at home
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	We had a number of guests for the winter holidays. Mauricio's sister Vilma arrived on December 15th. Mauricio traveled to Pittsburgh on the 16th to pick up Alec at CMU. They returned on the 17th, having to leave at 5 AM to be able to make it to Newark airport by noon to meet Jayme Guimarães, his wife Andrea, and boys Breno (Mauricio's godson) and Renan. Mauricio and Jayme have been friends since the 6th grade at Escola Americana do Rio de Janeiro.
Dinner with friends at home in December		Jayme and Andrea helping Lucia prepare the bacalhau for Christmas Day
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	On December 23rd, Mauricio's niece Luciana Carone (Vilma's youngest daughter) arrived, just in time for Christmas Eve dinner.
Mauricio's sister Vilma and niece Luciana in Holmdel		Mauricio with Vilma at home on Christmas Eve
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	Our 2011 Christmas Tree
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	Lu Carone with Luis Morán and Javier on Christmas Day in Holmdel
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	On Christmas Day, Mauricio's student Luis Morán with his sister Cristina and brother-in-law Javier spent the afternnon with us in Holmdel.	.
Lucia with guests ready to savor bacalhau for Christmas		Alec & Sasha with their cousin Luciana on Christmas Day
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Lucia's sister Ana with husband Paulo and stepdaughter Bianca in Holmdel	Bianca and her hair	Lucia and Bianca in December at home
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	On December 26th, Lucia's sister Ana with husband Paulo and stepdaughter Bianca from Curitiba arrived in Holmdel to spend two weeks with us. We celebrated the new year at home. As usual we made two toasts: one at 9 PM to celebrate the new year in Rio and another at midnight to celebrate the New Jersey new year.
		Lucia with Mauricio & Mark Genco on New Year's Eve at home
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Ana and Paulo dancing the night away	Celebrating the end of 2011 at home	Celebrating the end of 2011 at home
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We wish you all the best for 2012. Hope to see you soon. Hugs, kisses, cheers!

Happy New Year ~ 2012

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MAKSPACE