December 2013
Dear Family and Friends,
It has indeed been a year of change for our family.
After 10 years at Brighton, Sheryl has returned to teaching. Her plan was to substitute three days a week by walking to a school that is next door to our home. She hadn’t even gotten home from submitting her district paperwork when she got the call (while driving) that her old school was in need of a long term substitute. Though the job involves countless hours with all the extra duties teachers perform, Sheryl accepted the 2nd grade assignment because she empathized with the parents whose children were in a bind. After months on the job, she is so glad she did because she loves teaching and loves her students. She often recruits her husband for computer help and hanging things at the very tops of bulletin boards.
After 4 years of service involving trips to Cuba, parts of Asia, and Afghanistan, Steven was honorably discharged from the Marines. Though legally deaf in one ear, we feel blessed that he is home in one piece. The families of six of his fellow Marines paid the ultimate price. Steven has recently gotten into boxing as a way to stay in shape. Living in Tempe, he works as a bartender/server at Grayhawk Country Club in Scottsdale (his employer while in high school) as he prepares to start classes at ASU in January. Sometimes it pays to have a dad who is a Todd Rundgren fan. One night a couple (also fans) came into the bar, and when Steven showed them Todd songs on his iPhone, they left a $20 tip on a $30 bill. Score!
Stephanie continues to work in PR for Hyatt Hotels in Chicago. This is an apt job for her as she has the travel bug. Though her job takes her to places domestically, she used her vacation time and employee discount to stay in London and Paris. It must be the Boudreaux/Broussard genes in her. Stephanie recently completed a special project for company leadership and received an expensive bottle of French Champagne (how appropriate) and wine for her extra effort. She loves her new apartment and had many friends visit this year, particularly for Chicago's famed St. Patrick's Day celebration. Stephanie still bleeds maroon and gold, so when Steven attends ASU, they can cheer together.
As the program manager for Autodesk Labs, I am still blogging away. Since our team is part of the Office of the CTO, I also worked on Autodesk University (AU), our trade show in Las Vegas where 10,000 customers attend to take classes on Autodesk software. Penn & Teller were part of AU, so I got to watch them rehearse. One of our customers, Orphanage Guitars, used our software to create a custom electric guitar for our CEO. I helped shepherd that along and got to travel home with the guitar in hand. Alas I was not mobbed by girls. Other than looks and talent, what do the Beatles have that I don’t?
Have a safe and happy 2014.
Love,
Scott on behalf of Sheryl, Stephanie, and Steven
My Top 10 Songs for 2013
- "Mirrors" — Justin Timberlake
- "Change My Needs" — Scars on 45
- "First Kiss" — A Rocket to the Moon
- "Broken Over You" — Vertical Horizon
- "Rooting for My Baby" — Miley Cyrus
- "Serious" — Todd Rundgren
- "I Can’t Stop" — Flux Pavilion
- "The Monster" — Eminem
- "Ain’t No Hat 4 That" — Robin Thicke
- "Everything On the Table" — John Kraft
(I will look back at this letter years from now and say "I can’t believe that’s what I was listening to?")