2014
2014 (MMXIV) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar (dominical letter E), the 2014th year of the Common Era (CE) and Anno Domini (AD) designations, the 14th year of the 3rd mil‐ lennium, the 14th year of the 21st century, and the 5th year of the 2010s decade, the Chinese year of the Horse, and the year of the melting ice cap and coming of ISIS.
RIP Squeaker, Nov 17, 2014
A COMMON YEAR? Culture? The word of the year... that’s my kind of word (old anthropologists never die, they just quit calling themselves anthropologists!). But even that premium word did not help me write about 2014. I have been pondering about what to write since July. This year has offered only a few very happy events intertwined with encroaching mundane old age, among other personal anxieties. Thanks to Facebook, many of you already know what my year was like. But here’s hoping some of this will be news to most of you. My Life. I am still working full time (more or less) as an information broker, aka writereditor, at a high-tech company called Digium, which specializes in internet protocol PBX systems, and that is probably all you want to know. Headquarters are in Huntsville, AL, and my boss is located in Atlanta, GA. Communications are almost always via the internet, even within the local office. I work in a “cave-like” cubicle isolated from almost everything (1). It is very quiet, and I like it; I like it a lot! My 2014 Highlights. • Arrival May 20th of my number four granddaughter: Kim Jovanovic (2). • Getting a new Honda FIT in March (3). • Attending great-nephew Andy Nelson’s wedding in the Adirondacks in June with number one granddaughter, Jackie Randall (4). • Catalina excursion with daughter-in-law Ariann’s father Bill Russ and his wife Annie in October (5). • Spending time with the grandkids.
Celebration of Mitrovdan, Misha’s family saint’s day, November 8, 2014
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MISHA’S TURN Misha had a pretty good year, primarily because he could once again play soccer after an 18month absence. He runs, but not as fast, and he, thank God, doesn’t run with the kids anymore. It’s the Huff ‘n’ Puff league for him now. Travel Business. Well, Firstworld Travel/Misha Tours still exists after 30 some years, and thanks to mobile phones and the internet, the business is different, but still necessary. That phone (including its auxiliary lines) seems to ring 24/7, which is good, and Misha handily handles an array of clients no matter who they are or where he is. He’s also gotten active on Facebook, posting all sorts of travel-related pictures, as well as “historic” pictures from his younger years. Misha’s 2014 Highlights.
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• Arrival of granddaughter Kim Jovanovic! • Familiarization and business trips to Chicago, LA, Portland, and Northern California. • New Honda Odyssey (see vehicle on the right in 3). • Meeting the director of an Oscar-nominated foreign film, Srdjan Golubović, at a special showing/ discussion of the film in San Diego. • Celebrating Slava for the family saint, Sv. Dimitrije (top), which was prepared by sister Svetlana Jovanovic.
2014 Sampler.
Top... Misha & Sasha with baby Kim & Cora (age 3). Misha with Serbian film director Srdjan Golubović. One of Misha’s cactus flowers. Middle...Matthew (age 11) with his surf board and at the World Odyssey of the Mind competition in Iowa City. Christina, Jackie, & Matthew, with Maralee in Hawaii. Jackie’s 19th birthday with Christina and Auntie Barbara. Christina, the ballerina (age 14). Jackie with the bride & groom in New York. Relatives from the groom’s side who attended the wedding. Bottom... Sasha & Ariann with kids in a playground. Kim & Cora with “Giant Squareski.” Cora playing archaeologist. Misha’s sister Svetlana (“Baba Seka”) with great-nieces Kim & Cora and greatniece Sarah (age 3) and great-nephew Solomon (age 8), children of our nephew, Mladen Bozickovic and his wife Julie.