In the midst of mourning Ivan's passing, the challenges of work and extracurricular activies, and a couple nasty viruses, a couple of months have passed us by! But fear not, DMDCAF is still here for you. In fact, look for a new and possibly improved version of the website in 2004. As always, your constructive criticism, suggestions, feedback, and contributions to the site are most welcome. In October and November, we did not get to tell you about countless film festivals, theater events, Buy Nothing Day, and more! We will just tell mention that the Orinda Film Festival was a terrific success again in its second year and we are looking very forward to the third annual Orinda Film Festival!

We have a very active December planned--many of the details are listed in the Entotainment Update--including exciting performances by exceptionally talented members of the DMDCAF community! Also, we want to invite you to a screening of Uncovered: The Whole Truth about the Iraq War at 4:00pm on Sunday, December 7 at our house. Register here and/or RSVP to David and Candice via email . Optional potluck items welcome. Some chairs and lots of floor seating. Discussion and all points of view welcome.

And now a few words directly from the CAF side of DMDCAF:

Better late than never, here is our update for the month of December. I, of course have been consumed with the Marina girls' basketball team. It has been a sad season but a learning one not just for the girls but for me too. Coaching has never been an easy job for me. For those who do not know, I'm actually quite obsessive about it. Most people would have fun with it, I take it way too seriously. I finally came to terms with the idea that winning isn't everything. I don't think the girls understood what I meant when I told them to leave their heart and sweat on the court every time we played a game. Or to play as though this is their last game they will ever play. That was too intense for them. Instead, I'm focusing on individual goals. I just want the girls to improve on individual skills. This has made me less crazy. After a good conversation with my sister and an intelligent, eighth grade basketball player, they made me realize that my dreams of coaching a bunch of ballers is unrealistic. Expecting the girls to learn 10,000 plays and become fundamentally sound just wasn't going to happen over night. Of course, I will never be completely calm and cool on the side line, but I'm learning to smile once in awhile and shake it off when we lose or play poorly.

The next big event I'm trying to organize is taking a group of seventh graders to Mexico. My goal is to take them to Chichen Itza and Tulum the last week of May. We need to do some serious fundraising. If anyone wants to help or have suggestions, let me know. I truly believe this can happen. I just hope the assistant superintendent accepts my request. Wish me luck!

The month of December is an exciting one. I'm so excited that my mom and dad will be coming up to the Bay Area to spend Christmas with us. Robin, Richard, and Sophie will also come up for Christmas, which I am so excited to see how big Sophie has grown. We will be going down to SoCal for New Year's. I'm looking forward to seeing all of my relatives and to eat some good food. There are tons of events coming up and I hope some of you will be able to join David and I to a couple of shows, events, or just hanging out.

Take care,

Candice y David