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Summer 2011

Hello my dear friends and family,

I hope this message finds you well. It's been a year since the last Tien Beat, and I've spent the last year trying to find some type of balance living and working in L.A.

Yesterday marked the fourth anniversary of our loss of Kennedy and Maggie Fitzgerald. As I am reminded of them, I can't help daydreaming about having them here. Maybe Ken would be on Zak's road trip to California and I think Maggie would have been graduating from college. It's just not fair, and it's hard to tell if I am more sad for them or sad for myself and the rest of us. Sometimes it seems so cruel that such joyous people would so consistently be associated with sadness, but I hope you will agree with this sentiment: When you lose the ones you love the most, the ones with whom you've shared countless experiences and emotions, they are a special part of every beautiful landscape, every celebration, every moment of appreciation that you will have for the rest of your life. They are forever inscribed upon the definition of who you are, and they are somewhere in the DNA of your happiness as well as your sadness.

Right now I'm living in Santa Monica, about ten blocks from the Santa Monica Pier. I've been working at the airport for almost a year now, promoting Southwest credit cards, and I just got promoted to being a manager. So, my average work week is 3 days of sales from Monday-Wednesday, 2 days off, and then I sit on the computer in the airport doing schedules and payroll on Saturday and Sunday. It's a pretty good gig. I could probably do this for a while and still make progress on the musical front. I'm in a writing stage, composing my next album, but soon I'll be recording again. I started playing bossa nova songs regularly in an adorable family owned French restaurant, and I also organize an acoustic showcase in a bar nearby.

7 years after I moved away, I'm still trying to find the right mix to make it feel like home. I have amazing friends, lots of hobbies, a good job, and I'm following my dreams, but a big part of me still misses the shore and all my friends who live elsewhere. One of these days I'll have the freedom to go where I want, whenever I want, but for now, I'm doing pretty well, and I hope you are too.

Love,
Tien


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