An update from me

I'm sure a lot you (readers of this blog, that is) noticed my 2-month hiatus from Singapore Sling, and hithereto, my recent crisis-mode cluster-blogging...I have not been the most disciplined or regular blogger I know, but much has happened in my absentee period so I feel obliged to document, for reconnection's sake, what we've been up to.

As most of you know, Matt has started his own strategic consulting firm in August 2006. There are ups and downs, but all is well so far. And since I've debriefed Matt's now not-so-new venture with quite a few of you personally, I will leave the subject at that and move on to myself...I've also been engaging in some sort of entrepreneurial adventure. In December I started a business in teaching reading comprehension strategies and creative writing to children, though it's rather plainly and straight-forwardly named "Creative Studies Inc." It sounds lofty to "own" a company, but before you ask me when I'm issuing IPOs, let's just set the record straight: it's all a matter of red tape. In order to be a self-employed foreigner in Singapore, the pursuant individual has to register a company. So my company is basically just...me. And a handful of students enough to occupy my weekday afternoons. As any teacher will resonate, even actual class time is 20 hours a week, lesson planning takes up 200% more. It's a lot of work, and that should explain my blog hiatus, but I do like the flexible schedule and how I can still spend all my mornings with Luke and get home in time to put him to bed.

This leads to another big adjustment to our life, and I'm almost sheepish to blog it...we've hired a full-time domestic helper. It was quite a shock, indeed, we still feel a little disoriented, because for the 2 years we spent in Singapore, we have staunchly resisted the idea of having a live-in helper, for various reasons. But when it became unmanageable (in fact, disastrous) for me to schedule reliable babysitters during my lessons, Matt and I decided to and hired help within 2 weeks' time. It came about so fast that we're still wondering how it happened. But it has been great so far. Rachel blends right in to our family, and always keeps her distance to retain our privacy. And to my greatest relief, she's wonderful with Luke. For the icing on the cake, our living space has never been so consistently clean and tidy every day ever since the day Matt and I got married. We still pitch in with housework - Luke still mops the floor (because it's just too hard for him to give up his favorite chore) and I still do most of the cooking(ditto), but I have to say I'm thankful that I can focus on my work when I have to, without having to worry about dirty laundry or dishes in the sink. This new situation prompted some ideological ponderings on our part (What does it mean to be a good steward of being the employer? How can we help develop Rachel's gifts and talent as a person in such a limiting job? How do we view the whole foreign domestic worker situation in a socially responsible way, now that we are in the "system"? etc.) - and for that matter, it will deserve a whole blog itself to expound on these issues. But it will definitely be a learning experience for us.

I hope this will fill in some gaps. And as much as I'm NOT a resolution type of person, this New Year's I did resolve to be more attentive to Singapore Sling to keep you guys adequately posted.