Friday, October 27, 2006

teenagers rule

we are ending a week of school vacation and everyone is well. i love having teenagers so much! they are air-headed and profound in the same breath and bursting with energy.

the time is almost accelerating with ash and i am savoring every moment of her high-maintainance life here with us. =] right now ash is sitting with 6 of her friends in the complete dark squealing at whatever movie they are wrapped up in. ok, the karaoke-o-meter is rising and i expect to hear wicked at any moment.

brooke and i spent the day together first visiting the u.s. embassy, the doctor, had fantastic tandoori chicken and naan with amazing mint sauce and a dessert that uncle chris will have to try, and finally the coolest mall crowded with more shops than you could literally shake a stick at. not joking, you could try, but you would not succeed. she is now visiting a friend proudly sporting her new asian-styled-fashion finds. she's so sweet and cute and looks like the aftermath of a wild 70's party involving strawberry shortcake and the captain of the geek squad. she's the best.

greg took a little trip to singapore today and will be home in about an hour. we are all looking forward to seeing uncle chris in singapore during the marathon- can you believe it?? crazy. greg is really beginning to help ashley sort out the decisions surrounding her college choice and her future career, which is difficult because the girl is all over the map when it comes to interests! so we could have a journalist or a biologist or a philosopher or maybe even a professional chef! i wouldn't put it past her to try them all. it is a great time for them to spend time together because everyone knows little girlies need their daddys, especially when they are making important decisions about the future.

and i miss my daddy, too! as an expatriate for many years, he was the first to really be excited about our move to malaysia. of course, i wanted him to tell me i couldn't move because he would miss me too much, but instead he told me how enriching it would be, how much the girls will benefit, how we will develop new friendships and deeper appreciation for our own country. just like him to be right. we had the same type of conversation when i was entering college; again full of great advice. daddys are just like that, i guess!

chryl left the ground at 20:56 8 comments

Wednesday, October 18, 2006

as promised

better late...

here are those pics i promised. sorry if they take a long time to load; still learning! this is part of the route that i run with alfredo, pood dude. he has so many friends it's hard to make the 1.8 km without interuuptions to greet his peeps.
 typical street in the area; many of the locals live in row houses and everyone has a gated-in yard.
 this is jenny. she is on the trail most mornings and loves using this giant hula hoop thingy.
 cool house on the way to our street. i'm told it's a traditional style for malaysian royalty. just looks pointy to me.
 alfredo with mimi, one of his several lady friends on the trail.

since islamic types are afraid of/ forbidden to touch dogs, most of alfredo's friends are chinese. the women especially are charmed by his handsome looks and will all but chase us down to bury their fingers in his fluff. really, this can be a problem since the trail is very hazardous with upturned bricks, tree roots, the cars that stop to point at him, and the motorcyclists that amuse themselves by seeing how close they can get before i bail out into the drainage ravine. it's downright dangerous! i have been known to take a tumble or two trying to avoid the hazards of having such an unusual and tragically suave pooch. =]

have a great weekend~
chryl

chryl left the ground at 13:06 10 comments

Monday, October 02, 2006

time for a plan...

i have spent the better part of the afternoon struggling to fit into words the accumulated hopes and dreams of the last 17 years. i am staring at a college application, grasping the previously untethered thoughts of 'next time i do this i'll...' or 'if i can just finish that degree, then...' amazing how they cloud my sky at times, giving a dismal hue to the landscape. ironically it is clear skies today. a blank horizon that stretches for miles. go figure.

who knew it would take a deep breath and a little moxy to do something that didn't take a lot of courage last time i tried it. how much do i say when the application asks what i plan to do with their degree? when they ask me to state anything that i want them to consider when reviewing my application? i'm a nice caucasian? (they ask for both race and religion on the form!) does it count that i'm all (well, mostly) grown up now? when i look at my original transcript i am taken aback by how much i assumed i knew about life and relationships and accomplishments; how things are wonderfully and sometimes tragically different and how i have been changed by those experiences. somehow that all fits into my music. how do i write that?

will they laugh? will they reject my application seeing that i am just about 20 years older than the average student? ouch! (don't be surprised if they are allowed to do that in malaysia!) when they ask what i plan to do with the degree, do i need to make something grand and important up? how about enjoy a sense of accomplishment or increased self-respect? how about increase my love for the joy of music?

the good thing about being where i am in life is that i've seen it demonstrated time and again that an education improves your life while going to college to get a job just gives you something to do. i've already been doing the things i want to do, so i want the education- who knows where it will lead me? what does God have planned? does God have anything planned? He can use whomever whenever and however, so it's not like i'm increasing my marketability to Him.

i guess from that standpoint i am already quite well educated and don't need a degree to prove anything except that i am still alive and growing and interacting with the world around me. so it doesn't matter what they say when they read my comments.

except yes, that is!

chryl left the ground at 15:47 4 comments