One of our first new beginnings was starting Kieran in an online school program. I am happy to report that he is adjusting well to it and I am impressed with his dedication to completing his work and doing well on the assignments. I was a bit worried that he would think it was a prolonged vacation but that reality hasn't surfaced!
Ellysa's new school didn't start until yesterday. Boy oh Boy did I get an introduction into why CA is in such a mess! First of all, by all accounts, Ellysa should only need World History to graduate. She is far ahead of most other Seniors having taken two english courses last year on top of doing independent study for the AP Language course which she received a 4! But, she has to take yet another year of English because her tenth grade course was based upon American Literature and they base theirs on WORLD literature! Also, they didn't want to do the analysis of her classes from Interlochen so they pretty much discounted her ENTIRE year there! So she gets to take an additional PE course and Elective course in order to graduate...when they even said she has WAY MORE credits than "fit into" their check boxes. So, why then does she need an ELECTIVE? So, that will be something that Ellysa will try to fix...mom is going to take a step back (Yes...I really am...otherwise I don't know if I could handle the illogical nature of this whole thing!) Or, she will just have to "buck up" and take the extra classes! (It's not that it would be difficult for her...just sets her back a month from graduation. She is eager to enroll at the community college for winter semester and get a head start on her Bachelor's degree!
We aren't the only ones with new beginnings...Keith and Zac are on their way to new adventures as well! Zac started at UofM Dearborn this fall and seems to really be enjoying it. (Not sure he is loving the commute from Sterling Heights twice a week but that will end eventually when he gets a place closer to school this winter.) He will start practicing with the soccer team in the winter as well, which will require him to be on campus five days a week, but for that reason, he won't mind! He also intends to apply for a co-op position so that will be another new thing for him to tackle but all of these things are great new beginnings!
Keith is still in limbo as the company sale hasn't finalized yet so his schedule is a bit up in the air. He has to do a lot of travelling this fall but some of it is local and some of it includes China and Australia. In October, he will be attending the Darden School for Emerging Leaders as he was selected as the one person from his division to attend...quite an honor! We are hoping that some of his travels will allow him to stop over in LA so we can spend a day or two with him.
I am finally feeling like things are getting settled...the kids' bunk bed arrived yesterday so I will be assembling that later today and getting their room organized. Once that is done, I plan to start my new website...EXSTATETRIATES.com This is a website geared to the growing nomadic lifestyle of those of us in the USA. The current economic climate has us moving all around the US to find jobs and while there are lots of resources for Expatriates, there aren't many for the local American who may be very unfamiliar with their new location as well. The only advantage they may have over an Expat is that they speak the language! So, with chapters formed in Indiana, Michigan and California, we will be well on our way to helping struggling newcomers find things a bit easier. We hope to set up monthly coffee mornings, outings and a local help section on the website where people can go to to get their questions answered. All this moving around will finally pay off!
So, while we say good-bye to Summer, we are saying hello to all these new experiences! It's going to be a fun journey and we hope you enjoy coming along on it with us!
UPDATE: just found out they misplaced part of Ellysa's transcript so she no longer has to take the PE or Elective class...but she still has to take world literature. (If her transcript had just said 10th grade Honors English and not had the -American Lit next to it she wouldn't have to take it...ahhh love red tape! But, that puts her on track to finish by the end of November again! Now to check into Glendale Community College for winter...
ReplyDeleteSounds like everyone is settling into their new routines nicely! Not sure that Walt and I could be separated by so many miles. How do you cope with that type of family separation? I asked Walt if he could do it and we both agreed it would be way too hard for our family to be apart at this point in our lives. That is great that Ellysa does not have to take a PE or Elective class. I bet she is excited to graduate in November! What will her major be in college?
ReplyDeleteWe are lucky to have spent a month here in July as it has made settling in go quickly and smoothly. As you can imagine, the separation is the worst part but manageable for many reasons. First of all, Zac being settled and happy at U of M Dearborn takes away a huge burden. At least I know he is well looked after and is near family and friends instead of all alone in Lake Forest, IL. I miss watching his soccer games and going to the university to take him out to dinner, etc but Nana and Toppy are taking good care of him! Another big thing is Keith's travel schedule for the rest of this year. It is crazy and he won't be home much anyhow. And with the sale of his company, our lives have been in limbo for a while and continue to be until the sale is final and things get settled. We have a wedding in October and Keith will stop over in LA whenever possible when he goes overseas for work. It isn't ideal but we know we can do it as we did it when Keith moved to Indiana 8 months before the rest of us for his current job. Believe it or not, we have met people who do this all the time and have been doing it for 6+ years...!
DeleteEllysa is very excited to be able to graduate early and is looking forward to taking college classes that actually count for something. Her college plans are complicated as they depend upon which route she decides to take...theater or academic. She originally thought she would major in Theatre and will probably still audition for Julliard, NYU, etc. but will also apply to UCLA (her top choice academically at the moment) Pepperdine, USC etc. where she would study communications and marketing. If she goes this route, she will continue taking her group acting classes from her current acting coach and continue film acting. The Marketing and communications degree is a great compliment to an acting career and gives her options later in life. She has a tough decision ahead of her!
And it helps that Kieran is loving it out here. There is so much to do that, other than the fact that he has to do his school work, it feels like a long vacation to him! Having the pool downstairs and a skatepark nearby makes him a very happy boy! The online school system is really good for him and I don't know if I would have tried it if we hadn't moved here. The hard part will be moving back to a cold climate in the future...brrr. :)