To join or not join

So I received an email informing me that a cousin of mine is considering joining the US Marines today. My question is why? Why is he considering joining the military? Is it so the military will fund his college? Is it in hopes of attaining skills for a job after leaving the service? Is it a sense of patriotism? Is it a rite of passage? My question for you (reader) is this? If it were someone that you cared about what questions would you ask of him/her and what sage advice would you provide a young and impressionable young man or woman (in this case man)?

I am curious to hear what others reading this blog have to say? I encourage you to share your comments on this blog. Click comments and share your thoughts. I hope my cousin will read your insightful comments.

Good times

Having some fun and getting ready for baby number two.

Beach Bound

East Coast Parkway

Finger Lickin' Good

All Aboard

Livin' It

Tommorrow we move to another apartment which is close by. My parents and niece will arrive here on Wednesday so tomorrow promises to be a "big"day. Today we slept in and had pancakes. We dilly dallied and then walked around the neighborhood and enjoyed a nice lunch. Afterward Zee and Mommy napped and then Zee and I went to visit the local library. A nice three story structure with a coffee shop built in. It seemed to have a decent selection of works and also included a nice section for Zee to run around and be wild. A nice little Asian girl was running and tripped and fell on her books. The poor little things mouth was bleeding until grandma came and mumbled something in Mandarin....It must of been good because the girl stopped crying and put on a serious face. I tried to get a library card to check out some videos but no dice. I have to have lived in the country for at least three months......too bad la. It didn't surprise me thought. After the library we headed for the beach and had dinner at a local Turkish resto. The hummus and pita were yummy but we were hoping for some falafel. We settled for a nice chicken kabab and rice but Master Zee was too excited by the rides and ambience to eat so went and played on beach. We found an abandoned shovel that had washed ashore and Zee was in his element. I had a sandbox....Zee had the beach. After it got dark we made our next stop at good ole' Kenny Rogers restaurant. Yepper! You gotta know when do hold 'em, know when to fold 'em...Kenny sure did satisfy with all that down home cookin' right there in Singapore. It was kinda surreal but Zee loved the mac and cheese and tasty corn bread and with a picture of Kenny and Dolly Parton, well, shucks, we felt like we were back stateside. I nearly had to fight back the tears. After dinner we got some vitamin F at Mickey Ds. Zee wanted his own ic cream cone so we bought him one. He couldn't finish it but he sure liked the idea of just holding on to it and making a mess. We had to help him out by finishing it. We finally got back home at around 9:30 PM and Zee was still going strong. I finally got him down at a little after 10:00 PM. Will try to post something tomorrow.

Sweet livin'

Singapore has done it right. It is amazing to think that this small city state is only a 1.5 hr flight from Jakarta, Indonesia but so different. One could only imagine what kind of a beautiful paradise it could be if only it took a few notes from this country.....ahhhh if it were only that easy.

We just got back from a 10 mintue walk in our neighborhood where there are Tibetan, Eurasian, Hokkien, Mexican, Indian, and Chinese restos. We walked into a Deli and the people gave us free samples of drinks and fed Zee samples of healthy food. We decided to eat at a local Chinese stand and the woman gave Zee hugs, kisses, and a free bag of goodies. Zee kept opening up his arms for a hug and the woman would come around and hold him. It was nice. Mommy and Zee are down for a nap as I type this so I will cut it short.

Singapore Beach

We are all doing well here in beautiful Singapo'. I can't get over how nice it is. Our apartment is a 15 minute walk to a beach that I imagine to be like Venice Beach in California. There is a bike path and walking path next to the ocean. There is a gentle breeze and people are running, roller blading, walking there dogs, or just chillin' at one of the local eateries. We celebrated the other night by popping a bottle of Sparkling Cider on the beach and watched the sun set. Good stuff. I am attaching a few pics of Zee on the beach lovin' life.

Cross Country

My friend picked me up on the corner at 0600 AM. It was nice to see him again. He was a part of the running group in Jakarta before he moved to Singapore due to his job. Jakarta is pretty transient and we have been there longer than most. We went to the MacRitchie Resavoir. A lovely place that is only about a 2o minute drive. Everything is close here. There was a choice of either doing a 10 KM race or a marathon (four laps along the same route). The race didn't start until 0700 and we didn't want to wait so we ran a hilly and scenic route. It was stunning. The steamed rolled off the lake as we ran around it. Bikers zipped by and most people greeted us along the route. We ran through lush green forest as well as around golf courses. We saw monkeys and just enjoyed the 2 hour run. By 0830 it was incredibly hot and it brought back memories of the marathon in which I ended up in hospital. We were both tired by the end of the run but happy to have had found a nice trail.