Jan Friedli
Jan Heinrich Friedli was born in idyllic Copenhagen, Denmark to Swiss parents Dora
and Rene. Jan, his parents, and his older sister Karin frolicked amongst Denmark's
windmills and clogs for two years. Jan then moved to Japan for a five year stint,
attending a German speaking kindergarten and eating lots of sushi. After Japan,
it was back to the flatlands of Denmark and off to an English speaking high school
(just to keep him utterly confused about his identity.) Ever the überjock, Jan excelled
in soccer, tennis and then finally running. It was with running that he found his
true calling. By the time he was eighteen, Jan was ranked as one of the top three
middle-distance runners in all of Denmark. He eventually received a four year track
scholarship to Villanova University, one of America's premier track programs. At
the age of nineteen with two suitcases, he left for America...the adventure had
just begun.
In the US, Jan saw lots of running success... among his accomplishments are a sub-four
minute mile and a victory over the 1988 Olympic Champion (a mere six months after
the Olympics.) He finished with a Computer Science degree and moved in with five
other ex-Villanova runners all of whom were looking for glory on the track. A year
and some failed attempts at battling injuries later, Jan and his then-girlfriend
Renée moved out west to sunny southern California to look for new adventures. He
landed a job in Newport Beach that would ultimately shape his career. PIMCO was
the company and bonds were the game. Three years of sunny West Coast ended with
a return to school in Philadelphia. This time, it was for a prestigious Wharton
MBA. However, Wharton got cut short when an unexpected job offer lured him to Milwaukee,
Wisconsin. The adventure now took Jan to Cheese Head country and the frozen tundra!
Jan and Renée endured three bitter cold winters before Jan was offered a job down
in Houston. Fresh University of Chicago MBA degree in hand, Jan traded in Milwaukee's
frozen winters and "oooh-yaaa" with Houston's steaming hot swamps and "yeee-haaaw".
Of course, things were going all too well so Jan had to do something stupid to balance
things out. He got married. That didn't last very long. Back to single life it was,
and Jan took full advantage of this opportunity. Within a year his neighbors were
sending him notices to stop running his private "night club" so loud and the fire
department had been dispatched at least once of twice....And then one evening, feeling
somewhat burned out from his bachelor life style, he went to a local pub called
Zimms....
Christine Wu
Christine Emily Wu was supposed to be born in Stuttgart, Germany. Instead, she
insisted on attempting to meet Jan several decades early by surfacing in Switzerland
during her parent's ill advised vacation attempt. (Jan grew up in Denmark, but his
parents and family are from Switzerland.) Her parents heroic attempts at a frantic
car journey to Stuttgart failed (as would many subsequent attempts at maintaining
order and discipline in Christine's life..) Christine was born halfway to Stuttgart,
in beautiful Freiburg, Germany.
Christine and her parents Mary Rack and C.H. Wu stayed in Germany long enough for
her to develop a toddler's command of German and a lifelong disdain for Wonderbread.
In 1979, the family was off to Rochester, NY where little brother Rich was born.
Also in Rochester, Christine was recruited by a neighborhood cult of violin playing
hippies and their myriad offspring. The artist soon-to-be-known as Christine Friedli
was spawned...
After Rochester, the family was off to a picturesque neighborhood in Princeton
Junction, New Jersey. These were formative years. The first day of kindergarten,
learning to ride a bike, first tai chi classes, cello lessons, all kinds of fun
things. Ever nomadic, the family headed off to Rolla, MO in 1984 for Dr. Wu's position
at the University of Missouri, Rolla.
Rolla being too small a town for such things, Christine's dedicated and self sacrificing
mother drove 120 miles to St. Louis every single Saturday for violin lessons. As
the Wu's were in possession of a compact car at that point, the cello career came
to a premature end. Happily though, there was a piano teacher and a ballet school
as well as softball, basketball and soccer leagues to keep Christine off the streets.
Rolla also marked Christine's debut as an orchestral violinist. At the age of 8,
the UM Rolla Symphony accepted her into the violin section!
In 1985, Christine's passion for travel was inspired by a six week trip to Europe.
Christine, Rich and Mary visited friends and family in Germany, Switzerland, Yugoslavia
and Romania.
In 1988, Christine, Rich and Mary moved to the Kansas City area for Mary's teaching
job. The initial stay was brief; in 1990 the whole family moved to Germany for Dr.
Wu's sabbatical. Christine attended Gymnasium (German high school) for her 8th grade
year and attained a respectable command of Kraut in the process. Back in Overland
Park, KS, Christine played as concertmaster of the KC Youth Symphony, attended the
American Dance Center and competed as the slowest swimmer on the varsity swim team.
Upon graduation, she accepted a full scholarship to Duquesne University in Pittsburgh,
PA to study violin and begin performing professionally.
After Duquesne, Christine played part time with the St. Louis Symphony for one
year then headed out to sunny CA for the Masters program at USC. During the second
year, she won a position with the Houston Symphony and moved to the humid place
down south. And then one evening, she told her roomate she was going out for a couple
of hours to a local pub called Zimm's...
Our Story: Jan
~ Friday, October 4th, 2002...
It was a Friday night like any other Friday night. The buzz of city lights hummed
their Friday tune. Strangers rushed to pass each other, eager to arrive at places
where they would not be strangers anymore. I was a tired stranger and had no desire
to go out. Two years of Club Naj ownership had taken its toll. The hangover from
yesterday still lurked as I soaked under the downpour of a hot shower. I reminisced... "Come on,
just one drink" my friend Jake had uttered during the conversation that had gotten
me off the couch. Sure why not, one drink...it's Friday after all.
I pulled into the parking lot at Zimm's...tired. One drink. The music grew louder
as I approached. The place was already full of strangers. Too full for my taste.
I was tired after all. My crew was there, lazily lounging, like lizards on rocks,
across a set of sofas situated across from the main bar. I grabbed the best lizard-watching
rock amongst them and sat down. "Can I get you anything" the waitress said. "Apple
martini" I replied.
The bustle in the place was more than usual. Zimm's was turning into a meat-market
and had lost some of its chill-hangout charm. I chatted with my friends, walked
around a bit and then came back to my crew. "Can I get you another one?" she asked.
"Sure, why not, it's Friday". Two drinks. A little later I glanced across the main
bar and noticed my friend Sep, the Pfizer sales guy, Mr. Viagra, chatting up some
ladies with his usual smooth style. I didn't recognize the ladies he was charming
but I took notice of some long black hair of one. Attitude, confidence, fun, charming...sexy...there
was something there that was different. "I'm going hunting" I whispered to my friend
Curtis who was slouched into a big leather seat next to me. Before his delayed "huuh
what?" hit my ears I was on my way.
I gingerly headed to the bar towards my perfect alibi Sep. "Hi Sep how are you?"
"Hey Jan, long time no see, what like 24 hours?" His big grin exploded across his
face. I had seen Sep out yesterday night as well. "Ha ha very funny" I replied.
A few minutes later I was talking to Christine and the conversation flowed effortlessly.
This felt different. Sep, Valdez and all my friends disappeared from my vision and
thoughts that night but Christine did not. Strange how things happen... :-)
Our Story: Wu
~ Friday, Oct. 4, 2002
I realized I had a bonus Friday night free; that evening's Houston Symphony concert
had been abruptly cancelled. Bad news about the symphony but cool about the Friday
night!
I headed out to Zimm's, a favorite neighborhood bar. It was my usual apres-concert
watering hole; also many weekends had been spent at Zimm's celebrating the new job
and getting to know the people in this new city. Zimm's was to me what 'Central
Perk' is to the characters on the show Friends.
I met up with my posse, but was feeling restless, bored and annoyed that the HS
concert had been canned. Plus, my crew were all sitting lifelessly in the corner.
Emboldened and inspired by the first ever 'Sex in the City' episode I'd just watched,
I recruited my boy-crazy friend Rebecca Valdez to join me in the hunt for "someone
to buy us a drink!" and off we went towards the main bar.
As we made our way through the crowd, I saw a really sexy guy pass on my left.
I reflexively took a quick assessment; good looking, confident, worldly, experienced,
intelligent, and a leader. A guy people would listen to, I thought. All part of
taking the evening's inventory, I didn't dwell on the non-encounter for even a nanosecond.
I just went off with Valdez to the bar. Within minutes, we were chatting up her
friend Sep and very soon we were joined by....that guy! Within minutes, Valdez and
Sep faded away and we spent the rest of the evening together. Little did I know
that we'd be spending the rest of our evenings together!