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2011 was an exciting year, especially for the younger RuLabinskys. Izaak finished his masters in computer science at Stanford in March and then embarked upon the trip of a lifetime -- a 15 week round-the-world tour of New Zealand, Australia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Nepal, Abu Dhabi, Turkey, Greece, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, England, The Netherlands, France, New York, New Orleans, and then home. For an amazing and insightful good read, check out his travel blog -- www.izaakrubin.com/travel. In September, he started working in the Maps group at Google in Mountain View and now lives in a group house in Palo Alto. |
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After finishing his sophomore year studying animation at USC, Max did a few internships in LA over the summer of 2011 -- at "InTheMo" (reality-TV producers); "Brave New Films" (editing and animation); and doing some animation for the LA mayor's office. In the fall, he was off to Florence, Italy for fall semester abroad, studying painting, sculpture, drawing, and animation, with side trips to Oktoberfest, Barcelona, Rome, and Dublin. Max is now back at USC, living in his fraternity (Theta Xi) and finishing up his junior year. |  |
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Amy's big news of the year is the completion of her second book, Active Consciousness. It is already beginning to sell fairly well, thanks to an article in the November 2011 issue of Noetic Now and a new book excerpt in Reality Sandwich. Other media appearances, talks, etc. are slated for 2012. Amy's other book, Impossible Cure, continues sell well too. Besides promoting her books through writing and blogging, Amy's real plan for 2012, is to explore... seek out life and new civilizations... and follow wherever her far out interests lead. Amy also continues her studies with meditation teacher Gary Sherman, has gotten back into playing piano, and keeps swimming at the pool. (By the way, that is a henna tattoo, not a real one!) |
| Steve still works on Electric at Oracle, making it one of the most long-lived pieces of software in the universe! (30 years and counting!) His real thrill these days, though, is as "director of vaccine research analytics" at the National Vaccine Information Center, doing volunteer work maintaining the MedAlerts version of the CDC's VAERS vaccine injury database. Steve also writes a monthly blog with analyses of the data, which often appears in various alternative medicine venues. He meditates daily and when he's not sitting in front of a computer, he can usually be seen sitting in his comfy chair, reading out-of-copyright classics on his Kindle. |  |
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Compared to the boys, Amy and Steve's travels in 2012 were downright pedestrian. Well, they didn't walk there, but they spent 2 months in Bala, Ontario at the cottage (with an initial trip to New Jersey and Buffalo on the way). For the last two weeks of August, they were joined by Izaak and Max, who still love a bit of canoeing and kayaking on the Moon River. Amy and Steve also went to the Big Island of Hawaii for a week in November, where they hiked, kayaked, snorkeled, and ate too much. |  |
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2011 also was a big year for travel visits with many family and friends, old and new, in California and in New York, New Jersey, Rochester, Buffalo, and Bala. They include: Oonagh, Marian, Paul and Marti, Lewis and Brenda, Allan, the Bronskys, Connie and Bruce, Jeff and Patti, and Carolyn and Gary. Fun times! |
| The only sad news at the Ranch this past year was the loss of our dear Shadow, who nearly made it to 16 years old. She lived a nice long life, died naturally without being poked and prodded by docs, and is buried out back where she loved to roam. Farewell sweet Shadow! |  |
We hope that you all have a year that is filled with growth, creativity, and joy. The world is certainly changing -- and if we all put our minds and hearts into it, it will be for the better!
Love,
Amy (lansky at renresearch.com),
Steve (strubin at rulabinsky.com),
Izaak (izaakrubin at gmail.com),
and Max (max at rulabinsky.com)
www.rulabinsky.com;
www.impossiblecure.com;
www.activeconsciousness.com;
www.izaakrubin.com;
www.maxamania.com