Whalen Lake

We bought the property in the Summer of 2015.   We enjoyed our staycation destination in Whalen Lake for the past 8 years.  The kids always had a great time swimming, playing in the water, kayaking, etc.  But now it is time to share the property with another family/person to enjoy the benefits of living/vacationing on the lake.

The hubby always kept it sparkling clean and in great condition so it was easy to just remove our personal items when the property got sold.

July 27, 2023 at 11:00 am.  We went to Fremont, MI where we did our signing for change of title and other paper works.

Hope the person, who bought the cabin will enjoy it as much as we did.   

Recruit Training (Bootcamp)

Vyn got his papers in order and was medically approved to start being a  Poolee.  A poolee is an individual aspiring to be a marine but still need to finish high school or college and finish other affairs before starting bootcamp.  This can be 365 to 410 days of signing up.  

Vyn was determined to get himself physical trained and gain some weight that he was regularly at Planet Fitness or the community center.  He joined poolee events and training whenever possible.

He graduated from poolee life in June 2022 then he have to fill out more paper works and then scheduled to go to Parris Island for recruit training (bootcamp) for 13 weeks.  

He is there right now and I hope he perseveres through the challenges and come out victorious as a US Marine.

 Vyn's scheduled ship date for bootcamp was Monday, June 20, 2022.  We brought him to the Marine office in town at 0700 and they drove to another town to meet up with other poolees going to Parris Island, South Carolina, another poolee friend was shipping out the same date but to San Diego, California.

The only things he have with him were his driver's license, social security card, $40 for travel expenses and an address book.  I taped on some pages of the address book some pictures, wrote some encouraging things and have his grandma and some friends write on it as well and some stamps.  So hopefully once he get his address, he would send us a letter and we get to hear from him.

They stayed at Lansing MEPS hotel for the rest of the night and was sworn in on Tuesday, June 21, 2022.  We were checking for the video since he left just to see a glimpse of him.  We were so glad to find out that he and his friend stood right in the front for the swearing in that we get to see them for the full swearing in time.  Then they were off to start their travel by bus and plane and more bussing I think until they reached their final destination Parris Island, South Carolina.  

We got our call at 2350 Tuesday, June 21, 2022.  It was a very short eleven second call.  He was yelling off a script and then that was it.  There was a feeling of relief that at least he got to his destination and is well enough to yell to the phone.

Hoping for the next 13 weeks to come by fast so we get see him and hug him on family day and graduation day.

Glynith

The journey starts

Sometime in 2020, due to Covid -19 students were still doing some online schooling, my son decided to join the U.S. Military.  

One day while inside Barnes and Noble Bookstore, he asked me to buy books about the Marines, Navy and Air Force.

                                                              

                

                                                                

We borrowed books on ASVAB from our library

But he did not read it.  Since he thought he will need to take the exam after high school officially.  So I returned the books and in February of 2021, he took the exam just to see if he needed to really review and fortunately get better scores.  That first exam score  end up being the one used for his papers.

Yesterday, June 1, 2021, he got a call from a recruiter who wanted to meet up with him today, June 2, 2021 with a parent preferably.  We all thought it was just to get to know my son and to give him information.  The hubby went with him to the recruiting office at 1515.  They came back at 1730 telling me to get dress and go back to sign more papers.  Hubby already signed his part.

The feeling was so surreal.  Since, we were still hoping to get our son to get into college and do the usual things you hear kids do after high school.  But this is getting really real so fast.  I am not sure to feel sad or proud.  

Vyn, is going to start joining training this Saturday and meet some of the other poolees.  Next week, he is going to do MEPS on Monday in Lansing and Tuesday, he will officially be named a poolee if he is successful at the MEPS ( Military Entrance Processing Station ).

A Poolee is an aspiring Marine in Delayed Entry Program to fulfil requirements like finishing high school and other requirements.  Vyn joined Planet Fitness and trained with other Poolees to get themselves ready for the physical rigors of Marine bootcamp.  Here is a Marine website to read more about the DEP.

Tonight, I am going through this web page: https://rp.marineparents.com/ and https://www.marines.mil/.  

Thank you for stopping by.

Glynith

Fair Warning

 

Fair Warning by Michael Connelly

A seemingly innocent genetic testing is being used by a serial killer targeting women with a certain genetic marker as his victims.  Jack McEvoy, a journalist for an online media outlet "Fair Warning" is another main character written by Michael Connelly.  When a woman Jack had a one night stand with was murdered brutally, he investigated and found out that a number of women across the nation has been killed the same way and they all have the same genetic marker.  How can he prevent future killings of these women?

Genetic testing is something you see constantly being advertised as being helpful for people who were adopted searching for their biological parents or for individuals just wanting to know their ancestors and relatives,  maybe helpful also for those who wants to know if they may be carriers of some hereditary diseases.

In this book Michael Connelly will show you that genetic testing although helpful in so many ways, can also be perverted.  The book is a page turner from start to finish.  

Russia and Ukraine

Thursday, February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine.  It started earlier with Putin claiming they were just having trainings around the border.  Here is a news article from Washington Post about the escalating number of forces in Belarus and around the borders of Ukraine.  Here is a link from Wiki about the history of Russia and Ukraine.  

Amidst the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, we are started to see news of China and Taiwan conflict maybe arising.  US warships are sailing the Taiwan Straits which is making Beijing feel irritated.  Here is an article about the warships from South China Morning Post and here is another about the US sending delegates to show support to Taiwan.

What a world we live in now.  All countries' are still trying to improve financially/ecomically.   Covid-19 infection is finally now diminishing in number of cases and death and so people are starting to wage wars to kill each other.   Why is it so hard for the world to just concentrate on healing and keeping peace?

Bandit

Bandit 

May 31, 2008 - August 8, 2021

We picked Bandit up to join our family on May 29, 2013.  His previous family described him as a gentle giant and he was the best four legged friend for both our 5 and 9 year old at that time.  He has become the youngest in our family and wrapped us all in his little giant paws.  Memories of the eight years with Bandit will always be cherished and treasured.

Bandit was a mixed Great Pyrenees and Australian Shepherd.  These two breeds according to Brain-Sharper are described as:

"The Very Devoted Great Pyrenees

As we said in the title, if you're looking for loyalty and devotion in a dog, then look no further than the Great Pyrenees. This dog is very friendly towards its family and very gentle with children, but will often be wary of other dogs and strangers who will likely want to pet this gentle giant. That being said, we've gotta warn you to watch out for that fur. They tend to shed, so a good brushing will often help keep it under control."

"The Originally American, Australian Shepherd

Despite their Aussie name, this breed developed mostly in the US. The Australian Shepherd is renowned for its good-natured, protective, and intelligent temperament, which makes them well-rounded to families with children or other dogs. Aussies are also one of the smartest dog breeds, with their climate flexibility and easy-to-train nature. However, they require physical maintenance due to their eye issues and shedding fur. In addition, they cannot be left alone for long due to their strong bond with their owners."

 We hang out on the porch or the garage the last few days since he can't get up the steps anymore.  As you can see in the pictures below, he still gave us his trademark smile up to the time he passed for that rainbow bridge.

Dr. Benson a vet at Countryside Animal Clinic diagnosed Bandit with Osteosarcoma on July 29, 2021.  We all spent the whole day of August 8, 2021 with him until Dr. Benson came at 4 pm.  The whole process was heart breaking for us but peaceful for Bandit.

    

`    `````    

Dylan, R.D. (2020, June 23). 35+ Of The Most Peaceful Dog Breeds. Brain Shaper. Retrieved from https://brain-sharper.com/social/35-peaceful-dogs-tb/35/  

Lethal Agent

Mitch Rapp is a favorite series of mine and with a title like "Lethal Agent"  I could not resist and borrowed a copy from our library when it was available.   

As I was reading this in October of 2020, I kept on thinking Kyle Mills might be a clairvoyant or have some kind of a premonition as he was writing this book as this was first published in 2019.  But the book reads like you are reading the current events with Covid 19 and our own Presidential election going on.

Here is a link to the author Kyle Mills page.  Kyle was able to continue Mitch's character just as Vince Flynn had written in the past with Mitch's strong sense of saving the United States no matter what the cost and without any political agenda to his actions.

In this book ISIS forces a French microbiologist to manufacture a lethal bioweapon in Yemen and tried their best to bring it in to American soil which include working with drug cartels.  All  while America is in a political chaos with a presidential election coming up and the leading presidential contender being an enemy to the CIA director which made Mitch's job even more tricky.

The House In The Cerulean Sea

Thank you "K" for recommending this book.  This was my first TJ Klune book.  The House in the Cerulean Sea is pure enchantment with a story that is touching to the core. It is about Linus, a caseworker for the Department in Charge of Magical Youth.  He was sent to the Marsays Island Orphanage to investigate the house, the six magical youth living there which include a sprite, a gnome, an urchin-like blob, a pomeranian-boy shifter, a wyvern and the anti-christ and their caretaker the mysterious Arthur.

Linus is a very kind person in his 40s living his life as a caseworker for 17 years.  He love his job and has no plans of changing anything.  Living the same every day life in a bubble where everything is safe and predictable.  But he eventually got the Extremely Upper Management to notice his work which made them decide to send him to the island.  The adventure begins and he realized what has been missing in his life.

In this day and age when everybody is categorized, stereotyped and judged before acceptance into a community, this book will show you that people even the very different ones have the same wants and needs as all of us.  In the 4 countries I have visited and lived, the US of A is the loudest about acceptance no matter your gender, color, religion,your culture or traditions.  But it is also the country where everybody is so pressured to belong, to prove their worth or be closeted.  This book will really hit people who are inclined to be prejudice towards the unknown, the different, the anti-christ who is portrayed as a six year old charming boy and those who are against gay romance.