Chookooloonks

haiti no more

It appears I am no longer going to Haiti: the trip has been canceled, for reasons mostly related to security. There is a part of me that is deeply disappointed: despite all of the traveling I've done in the last 5 years, say, none of it has been to a place that was entirely new to me. I was looking forward to going somewhere where I actually felt like a foreigner, where I could practice another language, where I could expand my horizons. Haiti would've certainly provided me an amazing opportunity.

But then there's this other part? Well, that part is just plain relieved.

In some ways, the relief is irrational. I am, if nothing else, an incredibly seasoned traveler. I've been flying since I was a month old. At last count, I've been to 30 different countries -- not all of them very safe. I've been to Nigeria, where a soldier with a machine gun escorted my every move. I watched the events of September 11th unfold from my hotel room in the Middle East. I used to fly to sketchy parts of the world with hardly a backwards glance. There was a time I'd have charged into Haiti with nothing but the grace of God. And yet, something has changed.

I was telling a friend recently that as little as five years ago, I never used to fear death. In my mind, death happened to everyone, it was the natural conclusion to life, and when it happened to me, I'd be ready. After all, I used to think, I've lived a good life. I'm well-educated. I've traveled the world. What more is there?

Then, I met Marcus. And while flying has never been my favourite mode of transportation, I found myself more and more saying a silent prayer before every trip: please, God, keep me safe. I want to have more time with this wonderful man. Don't let it be my time yet. And then I'd smile, and chide myself for being so melodramatic.

Then Alex was born. And since then, I find my prayers are becoming more and more fervent: please, God, please keep me safe. Alex is so young. I'm not finished being her mother. We're not finished being a family. There's still so much to do.

So even though I won't get to see Haiti, and get to experience the first black independent nation in person, see its vibrant art, taste its incredible French-inspired food, and meet amazing people like Wyclef Jean (and others), there's a part of me that is also relieved that I won't be visiting one of the most corrupt, dangerous countries in the world, as well. Because all of a sudden, considering the risks is actually important.

Because, happily, my priorities have changed.

the most wonderful time of the year

Yesterday, we put up our Christmas tree. While it may seem to some that it's awfully early to decorate for Christmas, trust me when I tell you we must be the last people in Trinidad to get our tinsel and trimmings up -- we were seeing trees up in October, and not just in stores, either. Without pesky Thanksgiving to get through, Trinis start the celebration of Christmas as early as possible -- after all, it is the unofficial start of the Carnival season.

Anyway, here are a few photographs of us doing the deed:

And, of course, our annual family-in-a-Christmas-ball self-portrait:

Fa la la la la, baby.

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right before i beaned him with a christmas ornament

"I don't know...maybe we should have another child."

"Why -- you want to get pregnant?"

Silence.

"Well??"

"Marcus, just because I suggest something you don't want doesn't mean you have to get ridiculous."

"Well, it seems that your being pregnant would be far less stressful than what we went through before."

"Says you! You don't have to carry the baby!"

"SEE? That's half the stress gone already!"

sunday photo review

Here's how we spent our Sunday:

It's good to be home.

resetting your perceptions that marcus is a classy guy

"Hey, your Vanity Fair came in the mail today. Looks like it came with a mini-brochure from Louis Vuitton."

"Wow. Too bad I hate Louis Vuitton."

"Yeah, well, I'd never buy it for you, that's for sure."

"What? What do you mean you'd never buy it for me? What if I were dying, and my last living wish was to own a Louis Vuitton handbag?"

"...."

"WELL??"

"Welll ... I mean ... do they rent them?"
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distracting you with the cute (aka the oldest ploy in the book)

So, several of you have asked about my new job -- what it is, who I'm working for, that sort of thing. And my darlings, I promise I would tell you if only it didn't violate my Number 1 Rule in Blogging: I never write about my workplace (even when my workplace is actually an IKEA-dining-table-cum-desk in my bedroom). Still, it does seem annoyingly coy of me, doesn't it? So I'll tell you this much, and then let us never speak of it again:

1. According to Certain Reputable Sources, the company I'm working for is Even Larger than my former employer, Very Large Corporation (ColossoCorp?).

2. My title is "Associate Producer."

3. Ultimately, I would've never gotten this job if it weren't for the fact that a little over two-and-a-half years ago, I started a small personal website called "Chookooloonks."

Any more than that, my little kumquats, you shall not get out of me. In the meantime, however, in the manner of that time-honoured Jedi Mind Trick of the inimitable Obi Wan Kenobi, I show you, instead, pictures of Alex taken this morning before she went to school:

Incidentally, the dress Alex is wearing in these pictures is the most recent one made by my mother, who claims that she can't sew. She swears this even after making a considerable percentage of the dresses my sister and I wore as children, and churning out an impressive number for our daughters, as well.

Mom, no one's buying the "I can't sew" schtick from you anymore. Just sayin'.

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at ease, folks

Thanks to you all, balance to the universe has officially been restored. To answer some of your questions:

1) I did not get in trouble for posting the previous post. In fact, Marcus had ample time to review the post before it went live, and I offered not to publish it repeatedly, but he insisted I do so, such was his confidence in the glasses. I think he is actually in a bit of shock that people are so vehemently against his sunglasses, but hey -- I did try to warn him.

2) For those of you who said that the glasses are obviously what cyclists wear, you are correct -- he bought them primarily for his forays into the mountain rainforests. Blessedly, the glasses are actually designed to change lenses as desired -- in addition to the fly-like yellow ones, he bought some relatively clear ones that do not shade the sun, but reduce the glare, and act like goggles while he rides. Upon reading your, well, frank comments, he said, "Perhaps I should buy some plain dark lenses," to which I responded with an "alleluia" under my breath. My work here is done.

3) Full disclosure: I actually sort of dig the shape of the glasses on him, and when he wears the clear lenses, he looks fine.

So again, thanks. And just as a reminder that Marcus is certainly capable of good looks, I thought I'd post my favourite picture I took of him in Tobago -- it's already in the Flickr set, but frankly, I love it, so wanted to post it here, too.

Love you, boo.

imploring you to restore balance to the universe

If you've read this blog for a while, you may be under the impression that Marcus and I spend our lives floating on a confectioner's-sugar-coated cloud of marital bliss. For the most part, you'd be right: harmony does tend to reign in the Chookooloonks household.

But not all the time.

There are moments, my little kumquats, even now, even after four years of marriage, when Marcus finds himself wading hip-deep in a deluded fantasy he likes to call "Marcus is right, Karen is wrong." I think it's pretty self-explanatory that while he might find this bogus reverie fulfilling, he is obviously not being honest with himself. For the most part, I find these little forays into Fallacyville amusing; however, even I have my limits, and there comes a time when his imagination makes him believe things that are so far Out There, I am forced to engage the services of you, Oh Internet, to intercede and settle the score once and for all. This, my friends, is one of those times.

You see, I believe, not just as a guideline, but rather a strongly held conviction, that regardless of (a) cost, or (b) brand name, there does not exist a time where mirrored sunglasses are either appropriate or attractive.

Marcus, on the other hand...

...well...

...okay, see, he wears these in public:

Please, help me out here: who is Right and who is Wrong?
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tobago

Coconut tree at Coco Reef Resort, Tobago

We're sneaky. How sneaky are we? We're so sneaky, we've snuck away to Tobago for the long Independence Day weekend (that's Trini Independence, for those of you who are confused, wondering why I didn't post this back on July 4th).

If you'd like to see the incriminating evidence, click on the coconut tree above for a slideshow (feel free to click on each image of the slideshow to see a description, as well). Enjoy. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it'll become a part of you.

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just another reason why we don't watch television

Oh, my little kumquats, I'm disturbed. It appears something's rotten in the state of Denmark -- or, at least, in American television programming. And since finding out, I have not been able to shake my funky mood.

It all began when this weekend, I received an e-mail from my friend Carmen Van Kerckhove, who, along with her partner, Jen Chau, are the creators of the blog Mixed Media Watch and Addicted to Race, a podcast covering America's obsession with race. In her e-mail, she said...

...well, here, you read it:

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Hey everyone,

It's been an exciting couple days here in NYC. As you may have heard,
the new season of "Survivor" is going to split up its contestants by
race and pit them against one another. Of course, it's creating a lot
of controversy and thankfully most of the reaction has been negative.
We've been speaking out against it, of course...

...I hope you'll join me in boycotting this next season of "Survivor"
because it sounds absolutely horrendous. The last thing we need right
now is MORE racial divisions.

Already it's giving people like Rush Limbaugh an excuse to air their
crazy theories about how Asians will "outsmart" everyone, Latinos will
win because they're willing to do things nobody else is willing, how
blacks can't swim, etc. See/hear for yourself here.

Take care,

Carmen
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Um, exsqueeze me?

Survivor is creating competitive teams based on race? What could POSSIBLY be the purpose of this? Oh, yes, of course, I know -- ratings and controversy and all that, but seriously, can any good come of this? Apparently Rush Limbaugh is already leading the charge for setting odds based on racist stereotypes, but ignoring him for a minute (or, you know, forever), I can't imagine what the legitimate purpose of pitting races against each other could possibly be. Call me morbid, but I forsee any conflict or alliance arising among the teams being interpreted as a comment not just on how teams react in a staged setting, but as a statement of fact about how races behave in gross generalities. Furthermore, and I'm just guessing here, I suspect that the directors and final producers of the show won't be painting these generalities in the most positive light. The show, in my opinion, runs the risk of cementing the beliefs of bigots everywhere. And frankly, in 2006 shouldn't we -- and by "we," I mean all of humankind -- be over this sort of nonsense?

In reading the article Carmen referenced in her e-mail, I learned that the teams (and therefore the ethnicities who will be competing) are White, Black, Asian and Latino. My husband is White. I'm Black and Asian. Our daughter is 1/2 Black, but 100% Latina. This show will be pitting against each other all the races that our little family represents.

Clearly I won't be watching this show, but the truth is, I don't watch television anyway, so my not watching really doesn't make much difference. However, I hope those of you who do watch television will consider resisting any morbid curiosity you may feel, and change the channel when Survivor comes on this season. I'd hate to see them succeed because of this clearly inflammatory choice of programming. But then, of course, I would. Because for me...

...it's personal.

Update: More on the new season here.
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