As I drew in my head, and was turning around

 Greetings All,

I hope this holiday letter finds you well. I’d like to thank Chat GPT for replacing my interns this year and composing this instance of the annual holiday letter. In my prompt engineering I stressed I wanted this year's letter to be witty, warm, engaging, and brief. I think they are still working the kinks out. See for yourselves:

2024 was a great year. I am still enjoying living in Philadelphia and the whole city is enjoying The BirdsTM  having a good* season. (*As of the time of this letter’s generation. Of course, as Philly fans we all expect it to come crashing down spectacularly in an agonizing way. See also: Philadelphia 76ers.)

Me and my friend Jalen at the Rocky Steps (PMoA)

I was so fortunate this year to have lots of visits in Philly from dear friends and family like Lynn & Robbie, Hal & Lindy, Avi & Claire, Julie, Xian, and Jenny & Pesto! Avi and Claire and I saw some art and tried some cocktails. Julie ran a race. (I sat out due to a swollen knee.) Jenny and Pesto and I ate some food and took some walks. Xian and I saw the Pixies and Cat Power and Modest Mouse. 

Fangirling at the Pixies with Xian!

It was a big year for concerts from bands from 2006: I also saw the Decemberists, and Neko Case and Les Savy Fav. I also got to see Kate’s fiance Matt play when Big Something came to town. (Stay tuned for wedding pics next year of baby Kate all grown up.)

Courtney, Tim (LSF), Natalie

When my sister Lynn and Robbie visited me in Philly we went to the Philadelphia Museum of Art  and a 76ers game with Shelley and Keri. Speaking of the 76ers, I got to meet 76ers podcaster Spike Eskin at a live recording of one of my favorite podcasts (The Rights to Ricky Sanchez):

Spike and two Ricky Fans

I will reiterate that in my place in Philly there is a guest room with your own bathroom and you are welcome to stay for as long as you like. Come Through! 

In May, I took an absolutely amazing trip to San Francisco to visit my friend Ingrid. We biked all over the beautiful city and saw amazing parks and art and laughed for 3 days straight. I also took the ferry to Oakland and Miki showed me around there. It was a lovely time.

Me engaging with the Art

Ingrid and Me

More cool art in Oakland

In July, I went to New York City with my nieces to celebrate that they were both starting new degree programs this fall. Lindy is a 1L at Wake Forest University Law School and I think learned a lot this semester about exactly how fun “Bluebooking” is. (Actually, Chat GPT really should end the tyranny of Bluebooking in law school but that is a whole ‘nother TED talk.) Kate is in her first semester to earn a MFA in Choreography and also a Certificate in Nonprofit Management at the University of Greensborough. (Apparently a certificate in for-profit management is too far fetched for modern dance. 😉)

While visiting NYC with my nieces we went to restaurants and bars from when I lived there 20 years ago and saw some shows on and off Broadway. We went to the Whitney Biennial and the Met Cloisters. It was a blast. They are so much fun to hang out with.

Kate, Auntie me, Lindy - Obligatory Subway Selfie

 Lindy and Kate before The Six

I started a new job this year and now work for Altera Digital Health in their data interoperability business unit, dbMotion. dbMotion has large clients in Israel, Melbourne, Australia, Canada, and the US so I look forward to meeting clinicians working to improve health outcomes with data-based decision making in all those locations.

Shark Tooth GangTM all spent a good amount of time at Oak Island as usual:

​​

Robbie, Lindy, Lynn, Me

I went to see Illinoise and loved it!

 Me before the show

Here’s my observation to share that borders on advice: You never know how much paying it forward will pay it forward. I am still in awe at how much joy I still get from the year I spent working with students at ASYV in Rwanda (2013). This year, I received a holiday letter much like this one from one of the students I had the privilege of working with way back then. He’s graduated from several universities in the US and is now back in Rwanda working on renewable energy solutions to improve his home. What an inspiration!

I’m also still working with Julien to fundraise for Rwema Football Academy in Rwanda and am so inspired by how devoted he and his team are to creating a sense of team and belonging for the kids he’s coaching. Look for the good in the world and see how you can join in and be a part of the change.

Peace on Earth,

Courtney

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Novemories & Rwanda

November was busy and went by in no time. (Hence it being Mid-December before I even get to my November write up.)

For Thanksgiving, I went up to my Mom's in Myersville. She is selling that house and packing up for a new home in North Carolina. We spent a lot of the time packing and taking trips to the dump and Goodwill. It was fun to see the nieces (Kate and Lindy) and say goodbye to that house.

The previous weekend I had my first house guests in the south. (It only took me 10 months...) It was great to see the Stouts who swung through C-ville for an evening. We had a fun dinner and mini-pub crawl as well as a trip to my favorite diner for brunch the next day. Jen & Brian continue to be a shining example of people making a difference and doing meaningful work (for the Gates Foundation & US AID). I am hopeful that one of them will need an intern at some point. Check out the view at a nearby apple orchard:

Earlier in the month, I had a chance to get up to NYC for a weekend and went to a fun birthday dinner in Brooklyn:

Happy 30th Erica!

I also got the chance to go for a run on a glorious fall day in Prospect Park:
I miss the park. I haven't found anywhere that beautiful down in Virginia yet.

Thanks to everyone in NYC who swung by the bar in Brooklyn where I watched NFL all day. It was great to catch up with everyone during my 'office hours' and you almost cheered me up from another dismal Eagles loss.

My big news at this point is that after Christmas, I am going on a trip to Rwanda! I am flying in to Kigali and heading to the Agahozo-Shalom Youth Village. I'll be volunteering there to teach English to high-school aged kids in the orphanage. I am looking forward to the trip because I know I'll learn a lot and hopefully improve conversational English for some kids who could be future leaders of Rwanda. The village is an amazing response to the orphans left after the 1994 Genocides. Check out more details on the charity here. I'm honored to volunteer for them.

I've never been to Rwanda, and it takes a fair amount of preparation. I've been getting shots for Yellow Fever, Polio, Hep A, Hep B, Typhoid and the Flu, all of which makes me cranky and sore (more evan than usual.) While I'm there, I'll take anti-malarial pills. I'm taking art supplies to donate to kids who paint in the village as art therapy.

I always enjoy travel, so I'm sure this trip will be interesting but a few points in my preparation manual stand out and make me particularly enthusiastic:

"Non-biodegradable plastic bags have been banned in Rwanda, and any found on you at the airport may be confiscated and replaced with reusable cloth bags for a small fee."

Rwanda is aware of the environmental impact of plastic bags and is taking this strong stand to get in front of the problem. I love it!

The only thing I love more is this programming announcement:

"There is one television station, Television Rwandaise (TVR), which is state-run. It airs English news at 2:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. There’s a chimpanzee show at 10:00 a.m. and an African soccer feature at noon."

My only concern at this point is how to sneak out of teaching every day at 10:00 AM. I'll let you know how that works out.

Coming soon will be the 2011 Holiday letter. To get you in the mood/up to speed here's a refresher of from last year: 2010 Happy Holidays: With a Little Old Driver So Lively and Quick...

Compensation

I have been thinking about meaningful work and jobs and salaries (and their apparent inverse correlation) a lot lately. It seems clear to me that the more actual value you deliver, the less one is compensated. Why has our society developed in this way? Why is there no financial incentive to do anything good, or even worthwhile?


I think meaningful work exclusively exists below $80K/year. Let me know if you can think of an exception.

I have been thinking about quitting my job to go clean up oil in the gulf. I don't love the idea of being poor though... I need tickets to sporting events and sneakers.