March 29, 1998

Dear Friends and Family,

I haven't written in a while because I have not had time to update the photo albums and kept waiting until that job was done to write. So, here it is a BEAUTIFUL spring day, after months of el nino rain, and here I am working on web pages. Addiction? perhaps...But I got them done and up to date!

www.trademan.com/family

So for your quarterly dose of Friesen pictures, check them out. Warning! These are family snapshots, so only go if you like this sort of thing.

Eric and I spent the morning at the office moving computers and furniture back in after we had new carpets installed. In a few weeks we will get new furniture to match and go through the moving again.

The BIG deal news is that I am off of the floor. I do not have a seat and am in the office most of the day. I have six, count them, six traders yelling and screaming in my place. What fun to go to the floor and see them working so hard! I have also hired a full time operations person to help me get organized. Marty became so overwhelmed with my messes that it was spilling over to our weekend time together.

Within a few weeks I expect to have the organization running like a sewing machine. I am working on the risk control graphical interface and building partners for the electronic exchange I would like to make happen. My day goes by so fast I should get a speeding ticket. It is a lot of fun. I do miss trading during the hectic times, but I will get over that.

Marty and Lorien went to a local reception for University of Colorado at Boulder. Next week the pair are off to Boulder and Chicago where Lorien will get a feel for Northwestern. Big decision time for her coming right up. I have no idea of where she will land, but when I know, you will know.

Marty's birthday is coming up, April 5. She will be traveling with Lorien, so have had to hurry up party plans. Looks like just a dinner out this year with the kids. Last year was a big deal, (50) so it was pedal to the metal.. but this year I'll keep it simple.

Taught Eric to drive the stick shift in the last couple of weeks. He will be sixteen at the end of May. He and a couple of buddies are trying to go into building computers for sale...I hope he can get it off of the ground.

Marty just completed the Marin Academy Scholarship Auction. She was in charge of the operational end. What a lot of work. But she did a great job. Did all the data entry, put out the catalog, organized the check out. Networked 4 computers together for the auction night for bid entry and check out. It worked really smoothly. Best auction yet. I stood around trying to take credit for the whole thing, but everyone saw through my cheap charade. She has been doing this for years for the kids schools. It raises a lot of money for the scholarship funds.... but boy, the volunteers sure put in a lot of hours.

We are busy and well. Hope you are doing great. Call or write if the urge hits you.

Rich

er. She is finishing off a very strenuous semester of sports, academics and applications, and looking forward to cruising through her last semester before graduation and the "Big C".

Jeremy is home for the holidays from Case Western Reserve in Cleveland and enjoying being here and relaxing. He was snagged by the company he works for part time to do a rush job over the holidays for Intel's multimedia division so much of his first two weeks at home have been spent at the computer. He will graduate with a Master's degree in computer engineering this spring. It doesn't look like finding work will be a problem. We are keeping our fingers crossed that he will find work in the Bay Area. Many of the companies who do the kind of work he is interested in are based here, so the chances are good. He has his eyes on Industrial Light and Magic or Digital Domain. Someday you'll probably see his name on the credits of a movie screen for computer special effects. His girl friend, Erica, arrived New Years Eve day, so I will have a new person in the house to torment with my humor.

Marty is still singing like an angel. Everyone tells me that she is getting better and better and I agree. She recently completed singing the Messiah for the Marin Symphony Christmas concerts and for the Winifred Baker Choral. This summer she was Despina, the maid in Mozart's opera, Cossi fan Tutti. I never knew she had acting talents, but she was terrific. She still never sits down and works from dawn to dusk. She is completing legal work for Trade Management, doing the benefits package, payroll, accounting etc. The needs of my rapidly growing company are about to overwhelm her and something has got to give. I figure I am going to have to fire her so she can have some time to herself. However, since she developed the operating agreement for the firm, I am not sure who is in charge, and I may not have the authority to do that anymore.

I am very thankful for the riches in family and love that we share. Marty's parents flew in from Ohio and are currently with Evelyn, her sister, to celebrate Christmas. They will join us soon. Wendi (www.wendi.com) and Tim shared Christmas with us at our place and we went to Evelyn's the day after and celebrated all over again with Marty's sisters and parents. We also managed to squeeze in a day of Sierra skiing under a perfect California blue sky and brilliant sun.

Thank you for your greetings, letters, and pictures. It is so good to hear from you and see how your families are growing. We are blessed to live in a time when there are so many ways to keep in touch. Even though we live in many separate places, we look forward to these times of sharing the news of our respective year. We wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a very Happy New year!

Rich and Marty Jeremy, Lorien, and Eric