|
Click on the images below to view a large picture
|
|
 |
What an exciting year was 2002! Here I am at the Tacoma, WA,
Museum of Glass. It's right across the street from a little lunch
cafe in downtown Tacoma that I absolutely adore. If you're ever
going to the Northwest let me know and I'll recommend the place! |
|
 |
Hide and seek! This is my nephew, Mark, and of course, me.
At my parent's 40th anniversary party, we were walking around and
someone asked me how old he was. I told them, "Two". Then I
looked down and noticed he was holding up three fingers and he said,
"Tree!" (3). Oops! What a cutie! We have tons of fun
together. |
|
 |
Who does this cute little face belong to? Emily! My new
niece! She showed up in time to celebrate her zero birthday on
October 25. I've never had any little sisters or nieces so this'll be
new and fun! Finally someone to play dolls with me! |
|
 |
Bye bye, Troy, OH! In February, I moved to Indianapolis to begin a
contract design engineering position with Rolls-Royce Corporation.
And no, unfortunately they didn't give me a Rolls to drive. This
picture show but a small portion of my junk strewn across the front
lawn. Moving is such a bother! I was very thankful to
my friends for their help! That's how you know who your real
friends are. |
|
 |
Here are more helpers! My parents drove over from Ohio and I flew
my brother in from Maryland. Chris is, I think, the most gifted
man in the world when it comes to organizing and putting things away.
It was worth every penny to fly him out! This picture is inside my
Indy place - two bedroom, two bath. I even had a wood fireplace!
Little did I know that I would be moving back to Ohio a mere 5 months
later. |
|
WASHINGTON AND
MONTANA This summer, after leaving
Rolls-Royce and before starting my new job, I went to
Washington and Montana with my current roommate, Dan Wiley, and a
mutual friend of ours, Charlie Yap. We spent nine days touring
Seattle, the Olympic mountain range, Glacier National Park,
and everything in between. These pictures are but a
sampling of the nearly 700 we took. Enjoy! |
 |
Flowers! I picked up these two exotic
bundles at Pike Place Market in downtown Seattle, WA!
Final price? $12 for the pair! |
 |
Objects in the mirror are larger than they
appear! This picture shows Dan drooling on his beloved
mountains. We're surrounded by peaks in the Olympic
range in the
Northwest corner of the United States. |
 |
Look out! Incoming! My friend Jana
and her sister, Laura, joined Dan and me for a day in the
mountains. Charlie was off with a Realtor in Seattle
looking at property he wasn't interested in, but that's
another story. Isn't Jana mean for throwing snow at me?
Yeah, that's what I thought. |
 |
As if 6' 3" isn't tall
enough, I figured I could get a better view from Dan's
shoulders. Dan and I are roommates at my current
apartment. We met back when I was working at Goodrich.
He's getting married in April 2003 so I'm currently in a
roommate search. Looks like I'm going to be in the
wedding party, too - I hope I
don't faint or throw up or something. |
 |
Next, we traveled to Glacier National Park in
Montana. I highly recommend you go to this park
if you're ever in the area. The mountain views are
simply breath-taking. |
 |
Moo? I have no idea what mountain goats
say. I guess "Baaaa" or something. I was surprised
at the amount of goats and other wildlife we saw on the
trails. Thankfully I didn't meet any bears! |
 |
Simply beautiful. This is another
mountain view from one of the trails. |
 |
Finally a picture of Charlie! Here we
are across the Sound from Seattle, hunting a good, local
seafood restaurant. It is so beautiful in the Northwest! |
|
|
 |
Grandma Days 2002! We went to Cherry Valley Lodge in
Eastern Ohio. I managed to eat rotten Salmon on the first day and
spent the remainder of the trip driving the porcelain bus (aka. throwing
up). And dad had broken his leg earlier this summer which is why he
has a cast of sorts on it. But other than those things, it was a
great trip! Everyone commented how relaxing and enjoyable it was.
I'll take their word for it. |
|
NEW YORK, NEW
YORK |
 |
One Friday night, two college buddies of mine, Josh and Ryan,
and I drove to New York to spend the weekend.
While we all enjoyed it, driving to New York and back in the
span of two days makes for quite a rushed trip! Directly
behind Ryan's head in this picture is the Statue of Liberty. |
 |
This one is a true classic! This fine
specimen of New York graffiti affectionately calls out,
"Hillary Sucks". |
(high-res) |
An important stop on the trip was seeing
"Ground Zero", the locations of the World Trade Centers.
Just about everyone that has visited the area says they are
surprised at how large the area is. I guess that would
be my reaction as well. |
 |
Near "Ground Zero", there was an area where
people had placed candles, pictures, poems, and remembrances.
Also, there were hundreds of different patches representing
all the fire and police departments that had been on-site to
help. |
 |
New York, New York! This view is from
the top of the Empire State Building. What a huge city
this is! We even got stuck in a traffic jam at 2 AM.
Although I enjoyed the visit, I think I'm quite content to
live in a smaller city. |
|
|
 |
Happy 40th! Mom and Dad celebrated this special day in Columbus,
surrounded by family and friends. The event doubled as an open house
for some recent remodeling they completed. Both thoroughly enjoyed
the event. And why not!? They deserve to celebrate.
Congratulations! |
 |
It's my little big brother! And I couldn't ask for a
better one. I am truly blessed with wonderful family! Chris
and his wife Brenda are the MVP's regarding the planning for the 40th
party. I just opened my wallet at the appropriate time. |
 |
I think I'll close with another picture of my adorable
nephew playing peek-a-boo with me in the back yard? I love him to pieces!
And I can't wait to show off more of my new niece next year! |
Hope you enjoyed the pictures! Have a wonderful New Year!
| Merry Christmas!! |
December 6, 2002 |
It is amazing to me that another year has passed! It seems like
only
two months ago that I was waiting for the world to crash as the year 2000 rolled
in. Well, like it or not, 2003 is here! My past year has been amazingly busy and
different for me. Let me break it down and explain.
Work. We’ll start with this one because it is the most complicated
and interesting. The year began with me in the job market after a November 2001
layoff from Goodrich Corporation. I soon began work as a contract design
engineer at Rolls-Royce Corporation in Indianapolis, IN. No, they don’t make
cars, they make aircraft turbine engines. In parallel, I interviewed and applied
for an engineering position at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (WPAFB) in
Dayton, OH. To make a long story shorter, I ‘retired’ from Rolls-Royce in July
and began my position at WPAFB in early August. I am currently the subsystems
engineer on the JPATS (Joint Primary Aircraft Training System) T-6A Texan II.
That means a lot to you, doesn’t it? Basically, it’s the first training aircraft
that the Air Force airmen will fly. I'm responsible for all the issues
with the landing gear, fuel systems, hydraulic systems, environmental control
system (heat/air), and the power plant (engine). Phew! I'm beginning to
get settled in.
Travel. So far, I have been doing a lot of traveling for work and
enjoying it! In fact, I’m typing this letter in a coffee shop in Hollywood, CA!
And if you want a bonus piece of info, I got a $300 ticket on the way here from
LA for driving in the carpool lane by myself. Oops. It’s a long story, slightly
more complicated than that. Anyway, work has taken me to Wichita KS, South Bend
IN, Pensacola FL, and Los Angeles CA. Looks like I’ll be going to Texas and
Montreal soon as well. I skied at Vail in Colorado over last Christmas, took a
trip to Washington and Montana with work friends, went to Lafayette IN multiple
times, oh, and drove to New York City with some college buddies for the weekend.
Maybe I should stay home for awhile? Nah.
Family. God has given me an amazing family and I continue to be
thankful! Chris, his wife Brenda, and I coordinated a 40th wedding
anniversary party in Columbus OH this summer for our Mom and Dad. Chris and Brenda have a new little
girl, Emily Joy Handel. Now I have a niece! How fun! And my nephew, Mark, turned
three this year. They are both adorable! What about me and my marital status? I
have some exciting news for you! Okay, I lied, I don’t. No wife, no fiancée, no
girlfriend. I’ve met a number of lovely ladies during the year but so far, no
exciting news to report. Stay tuned!
The End? What else is there to report? I guess that about does it.
As always, I’ve posted an online portion of my Christmas letter with lots of
pictures from the year at: http://www.stevehandel.com. Be sure to check it out - that's where the
really interesting things are. Well, here’s to wishing you a prosperous and
happy new year! And remember, if you’re driving alone in the big city, stay out
of the carpool lanes.
Steve
PS. Remember to view the pictures at
http://www.stevehandel.com! Who knows, you may be surprised to find out YOU are featured!
|
|
