From 6fa3d6d03c4f0731cf388166bacebbf2e062fd1c Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Blaise Thompson <blaise@untzag.com>
Date: Thu, 8 Jul 2021 16:42:51 -0500
Subject: refactor with actual building

---
 source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex | 96 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 1 file changed, 96 insertions(+)
 create mode 100644 source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex

(limited to 'source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex')

diff --git a/source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex b/source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex
new file mode 100644
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+++ b/source/2020-solstice-letter/letter.tex
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+% document
+\documentclass{letter}
+\usepackage[margin=0.5in]{geometry}
+\usepackage{multicol}
+
+% text
+\usepackage[utf8]{inputenc}
+\renewcommand{\familydefault}{\sfdefault}
+
+% graphics
+\usepackage{graphicx}
+\usepackage{wrapfig}
+
+% signature environment
+\newenvironment{sig}[1]%
+ {\begin{list}{}%
+         {\setlength{\leftmargin}{300pt}}%
+         \item[]%
+ }
+ {\end{list}}
+
+\begin{document}
+
+\pagenumbering{gobble}
+
+\large{\textbf{Winter Solstice Greetings \hfill 2020}}
+
+\begingroup
+\setlength{\intextsep}{0pt}%
+\setlength{\columnsep}{10pt}%
+
+Hello to all my friends and family.
+What a year it has been.
+Certainly for many of us it has been the hardest year of our lives.
+Still, there is snow on the ground and I'm enjoying a nice coffee as I write to you.
+I feel so lucky to be able to connect with you all in this small way.
+
+\begin{wrapfigure}{l}{0.4\textwidth}
+  \begin{center}
+    \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"IMG_20200111_143519"}
+  \end{center}
+\end{wrapfigure}
+
+I started this year with a few days in Seattle.
+My friend Tyler started a new job there in late 2019, and I visited to explore his new home.
+Tyler was between apartments, so we stayed in a luxurious Airbnb with an excellent view of the city (see left).
+It was special to be able to experience Seattle with Tyler.
+Seattle and Madison share a notable similarity---they are both cities built on an isthmus.
+Madison is between two lakes: Mendota and Monona.
+Seattle is between Lake Washington and Puget Sound.
+
+Like everyone, my 2020 has been primarily shaped by COVID-19.
+On March 17th we were told we have two days to pack up everything and get off campus.
+I took two large carloads of various electronics and instrumentation and holed myself up for three straight weeks in my apartment, not stepping outside my door even once.
+We were originally told shut-down would last eight weeks, but in the end I ended up being kept away from campus for 15 weeks straight.
+
+The most wonderful outcome of quarantine was the opportunity to spend an entire month living in Iowa City with my parents.
+It was so nice to experience their lifestyle---gardening, walking with dear Karaby, enjoying food.
+Iowa City is a lovely place.
+I'm so lucky to have been with loving family for a portion of this isolated time.
+
+\begin{wrapfigure}{r}{0.4\textwidth}
+  \begin{center}
+    \includegraphics[width=0.4\textwidth]{"PXL_20201122_163338324"}
+  \end{center}
+\end{wrapfigure}
+
+I have also used this quarantine period to experience more outdoor places near Madison.
+I never realized how many wonderful parks there are so close to my home!
+Here I am at Mirror Lake, which I visited with my friend Zach.
+Other highlights include multiple trips to Indian Lake, running from mosquito at Cherokee Marsh, and hiking out in the dark to avoid freezing temperatures during a camping trip at Brooklyn Wildlife Area.
+
+I continue to grow professionally.
+I feel very lucky that I was able to work from home this year.
+I was actually able to attend more conferences than normal, as virtual conferences don't require travel cost.
+There are a lot of people doing exciting work in my weird little world of scientific instrumentation!
+I was one of the very first to return to campus in June, being designated essential to the ``research reboot'' effort on campus.
+Work has been shockingly hard since then, as I am under-resourced and must personally complete all tasks.
+Things have recently gotten a lot better as I have hired two new student assistants.
+This week, staff at University of Wisconsin hospitals began receiving vaccines.
+
+Wishing you and yours a happy new year. Stay in touch!
+
+\vfill
+\raggedleft
+
+Blaise Jonathan Thompson \\*
+\hspace{0pt} \\
+725 W Washington Ave. Apt 306 \\*
+Madison, Wisconsin 53715 \\*
+\hspace{0pt} \\
+1-424-225-2493 \\*
+blaise@untzag.com \\*
+http://blaise.zone
+
+\end{document}
-- 
cgit v1.2.3

