Today is a really rainy day in Belfast. I am about to leave the house to go to work at SARC and start working on a presentation due on Friday. I haven’t posted anything on this site for a long time. This is partially because the beginning of the year has been more than hectic. My research work is going really well as I had a few breakthroughs recently. I am also involved in several outside projects which are starting to take a good shape. One of them is the recent creation of Go4Music, a web portal which will allow musicians to promote themselves over the Internet. More on this soon …….
March 28th, 2006
This year has definitely been a year of changes for us. After spending a few wonderful years in London we have relocated to Belfast. Even though we do miss our former work, at ACCENT International and Rightscom respectively, life in Belfast has been fantastic. Alain is pursuing a PhD in Music Technology at the Sonic Arts Research Centre, or SARC, at Queen’s University.
Vianna is keeping busy through counseling studies and volunteering with a local community relations organization focused on the reconciliation of young at-risk Catholics and Protestants. So far our experiences have been really interesting and we feel very fortunate to be here.
Relocation aside, the year still managed to be quite busy. Alain was involved in the production of the Montreux Jazz Festival for the sixth year and Vianna finished up her research and MA dissertation. With the graduation ceremony coming up in March, it is hard to believe that it is over.
Travelling this year has been one of the highlights. For Easter we returned to California to visit friends and family and also traveled around Nothern California. In August and November Vianna was able to return to Chico to see her family and fiends. In addition to reconnecting with some dear friends, she had the opportunity to spend a few days in her old high school as an ‘observational intern’. The experience was enriching and rewarding and she is already looking forward to the next time. The year ended with a return to Switzerland to spend the holidays with Alain’s family which included some time spent in La Baule, France where we visited Vianna’s family.
We look forward to welcoming you to Belfast should you ever be in our neighborhood.
January 13th, 2006