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Greg's Guests in San Miguel

 

During our two-week stay with Greg in San Miguel, we had a chance to meet for the first time or reconnect with seven of his friends. More came to visit but they were either before we arrived or after we left. Fred and I took a number of candid pictures of the other guests (although many of them have already appeared in pictures you've seen.

I want to put the best of those pictures on this page and specifically identify who the guests were and where they were from and information like that.

 

Richard Roberts and Penny Pickering

Greg first met Penny Pickering and her husband in the late 1990s when he was working in Europe as an Executive Vice-President at Phillips. They had a company that created video presentations in the time before YouTube and cellphones. He maintained the friendship over the years, as they eventually moved from Seattle proper out to Vashon Island in Puget Sound.

(Picture at left)
Here's another picture I didn't take; it is one of Mohamed's pictures from one of our evenings at the rooftop restaurant a block away. Richard and Penny are enjoying a glass of wine before dinner.

 

 

 

(Picture at right)
Leaving a different restaurant on a different night, I noticed a neat little alcove that I was going to photograph on its own, but then I thought it would be a nice backdrop for a picture of Richard and Penny.

 

Chase Hoover and Mohamed Alkhan

Greg has known Mohamed for five years or so and met his partner Chase through him. They live in downtown Dallas still, although Greg has moved to San Diego.

Here are Greg, Mohamed, Chase, and I talking outside Casa Pina.		  
We've been shopping, and Fred took this picture of Greg, Chase, Mohamed, and I from across Aldama.

(Picture at left)
While almost all of the pictures in my album are from myself or Fred, I occasionally include pictures taken by others who might have been participating with us in some trip or event. This picture and the one at right came from Mohamed. On one evening when they went out by themselves, they apparently had someone take this very nice picture of them.

 

 

 

(Picture at right)
On a different night, when we were out to eat as a group at one of the rooftop restaurants we favored, Mohamed asked me to take this picture of he, Chase, and Greg.

 

Darrell Blandford and Lisa Belli

Darrell is one of Greg's oldest friends, they having first met when Greg taught an SSAD (Structured Systems Analysis and Development) class in the early 1980s. During an assignment in Saudi Arabia, the two of them came up with the original ideas that led to Data Junction, the software package that eventually became the core product of the eponomously-named company. I met Darrell in 1984 on their return to the US when the initial work on the product began in Austin, Texas. So I've known Darrell for about thirty years as well, and his partner, Lisa, for about the last ten.

On the day they arrived, Fred took this picture of Lisa, Darrell, Greg, and myself catching up on things out in the courtyard of Casa Pina. Darrell and Lisa still live in Austin, in the same house (although enlarged and remodeled) that was our home base when Data Junction first got started.		  
Darrell brought Data Junction caps for each of us to wear, and he wanted to get a picture of the three of us. Fred took the picture. At the beginning, the three of us owned almost all the stock in our little enterprise; Greg and Darrell put up their intellectual property and I added a chunk of change. Best business decision any of us ever made.

 

David McMullen-Sullivan

I must apologize to David; he was only able to stay in Mexico for a relatively short time, and in that time neither Fred nor I had the occasion to grab a pictures of him. Tim and David McMullen-Sullivan were friends of Greg's from 1990s Dallas, and Fred and I were introduced to them by Greg at about that time. They moved to San Diego some time ago, and Greg now lives quite close to them- and may even eventually live with them, as the three are in the midst of planning an addition onto their house which would get Greg out of his apartment and into a more home-like setting. Tim had work requirements, and could not come to Mexico. David's work is mostly programming, and so aside from the necessary face-to-face meetings, he can work from anywhere.

 

Group Pictures

Here are some additional pictures of Greg and his guests that I want to include here.

On the day we arrived, Theresa made margaritas for us. Here, gathered around the table are Greg, Mohamed, Richard, Chase, and me. Fred was our photographer.		  
Here, we are getting ready to eat one of Theresa's great lunches, and around the table are Penny, Fred, myself, Mohamed, Chase, and Greg.

We were sitting in the living room talking one afternooon, and Fred took this picture of Richard and me (in my Mexico hat).		  
There was a rooftop sitting area on top of the two-story bedroom building, and on this particular afternoon we find Greg, Fred, Penny, and Richard enjoying the view.

We enjoyed meeting everyone, and it was nice to spend two weeks with such congenial people.

You can use the links below to continue to another photo album page.

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Walking Around San Miguel Allende
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