Christmas 2001    Those who received previous Christmas letters from Rob and Frima Perrine may notice a difference this year. Previously we alternated who wrote and who edited. This year, I am both writer and editor. You see, Frima left about a year ago. She has left before, and like before, she came back. But this time she came back to pack furniture. She now lives near Disneyland, and enjoys spending her days there. I had thought this would allow Charlie Cat to have a room all his own, but Charlie Cat succumbed to cancer before the furniture was moved. Thus my Groundhog’s Day celebration was solitary this year.

   My employer offered condolences and provided opportunities for me to work so many hours that I hardly noticed. I declined their generous offer, but they insisted. As a matter of fact, as the dot.com companies folded, and the recession became serious my employer offered everyone the chance to work more hours than they had ever dreamed of. Every day quickly became the same. Work 12 hours, go home, and spend more hours on the phone. Not that it was all bad. I had the opportunity to develop a new software product, and opportunities like that are scarce.

   Software development, like what I do, is changing. When I was younger, I designed and built a corporate email system. Few companies had one, so we were a leader in our industry. Now, just about every PC comes with email built-in. And no self-respecting developer will admit that they worked on a homegrown email system. Software is making the transition the automobile made 100-years ago. Software, like automobiles, is made in “factories”, not in little custom shops. So when I had the opportunity to build a custom monitoring solution, I was happy to work those long hours. Happy, that is, until the project was cancelled.

   Once I had my weekends free, I went back to walking and bicycling. My longest walk was 22-miles in one day. My longest bicycle ride was 80-miles in one day. My employer, however, was concerned about the effects that sunlight and fresh air might have on my health. And since they had already given several of my friends an opportunity to evaluate the state unemployment system, I returned to the seven-day workweek. This time my task was to take “factory-built” software and customize it. Somewhat like adding chrome to a new car, my job was to take something built elsewhere, make it run faster and make it look classier. And that is where most of the rest of the year went.

   Through all this I have had immense support from family and friends. Tuesday nights I have choir rehearsal. Sunday morning is reserved for church. I have friends there, friends who ask how I am doing, and who prayed to help me through the darkest times. And this year has provided more opportunities than every before for me to talk with my family.

   As the year draws to a close, I am grateful for friends, both new friends, and friends that have remained over the years. I am grateful that I have a dependable job in a time when too many of my friends are struggling. I am thankful for my health when too many have already passed on. I have learned to appreciate living in this little town where people remember me when I go back to the same shop. And I am so very grateful that God created music. It is music that joins our choir into a fellowship. It is music that helped me through lonely days. And it is music that warms my apartment, and reminds me that this is my home.

   Merry Christmas, and may God bless you and your family in the new year.

   Robert Perrine