It'll Just Have to Wait

Well work starts tomorrow. I can't believe it. I'm so ready to go back. These last few days I've been in a funk, feeling worthless, aimless, useless. I think it's because I know I'm about to start work and am anxious for it. Kind of like when you have to work for like two weeks without a day off. The first ten days or so you're fine but the closer you get to your day off you start feeling it, start getting tired and such because you know you're almost off. I think I'm feeling like I am because I know I'm about to start work if that makes any sense.

Winter is definitely here. We've been below 0 for a while now. It was -15 today but nice and sunny. I love days like that! The sun has gone down already. It's 2:45pm right now. We have long sunsets and long sunrises tho. Almost two hours, but the days are remarkably shorter now. I haven't really noticed it in the mornings because I've been lazy and have been sleeping in. But starting tomorrow I'll definitely notice it. December 21st isn't that far away tho. Then our days will start growing again. We gain about 7 minutes of light a day. By mid-January we will be back to almost regular daylight hours.

It's been down to -30 at the cabin. Clara is still taking her time when she goes out to do her business. I was hoping the cold would speed her up but not yet. She'll get there tho. Warning, the following might be TMI! I have gone to the outhouse at midnight when it was -20. It really wasn't that bad. The toilet seat I made is great, it's not cold at all!! Thank goodness!! I put one of those tap lights out there so I can have a little light when I'm sitting there. It's not enough light to read by but I'm not reading when it's -20, I'm getting my business done! LOL

I got a call from my lawyer on Friday. He was going the "due diligence" on my bankruptcy petition. All looks good and they were going to move forward with filing the paperwork. The next step is the court appearance. Ugh. That's the worst thing. I'm so not looking forward to that but oh well. You'd think that my lawyer could appear for me but not the case, I have to go. Oh well, it will be wort it in the long run. A fresh start. I'm anxious to get it done and over with and move on.

On the brighter side I did get to two hockey games this weekend. Watched the Ice Dogs play the Kenai River Brown Bears. The Ice Dogs are having a good year and are first in their division. I enjoy going to their games. I like the Nanook's games as well but I think I like the Ice Dogs more for whatever reason. But it was good to get to the games. Next week it's the Nanooks. Kirk will be back in town so I'll go to the games with him.

Not sure what else I can ramble on about. I'm sure as soon as I post this I'll think of something. LOL It'll just have to wait tho.

Are You Sitting Down?

Ok, so are you sitting down? I FOUND A JOB!!!!! Yippeeeeeeeeeeee!!!! I can't even believe it! I'm so freaking relieved!! It's like the weight of the world has been lifted off my shoulders. When I got the offer I didn't know whether to shout with joy or cry. I'm still kind of in that spot but it is sinking in. I don't start until the 24th so now I can enjoy my time until then. I'm excited that it's a M-F 8-5 job. The summer shouldn't be crazy so I can enjoy the summer. Hopefully I can get out and camp and hike and kayak like I want.

Kirk is back up north working. I've been helping him out, trying to help him get on top of things. We flew down to Anchorage on Saturday. He bought a truck down there that's been at his uncle's house. He needed to go down and get it. So we flew down and drove back on Sunday.

Friday night tho we went to the Nanooks game here. They played Michigan. They are nationally ranked at #7. UAF is nowhere near that. I was expecting a blood bath. Michigan scored first not too far into the first period. I thought here goes the bath. Well, in the second period UAF tied it and then went ahead 2-1. In the third period they went ahead 3-1. Michigan pulled their goalie with about 3 minutes left in the game and UAF got an empty net goal to seal the 4-1 victory. It was awesome!! The sad thing about going to Anchorage meant that we would miss the game Saturday night. I was expecting Michigan to come out wanting blood so I wasn't that sad about missing it. Michigan did win but it wasn't a blow out.

We had fun in Anchorage. On Saturday night we went to a UAA hockey game with his step-brother. It was cool to see a different team play but it's nothing like watching the Nanooks. The arena they play in is bigger and there are fewer people at the games. I just didn't feel the energy or the excitement of the game. It was just a game. The good thing about games there is you can drink beer at your seat. LOL Anyway, his step-brother is going to be in town this weekend and I'll go to the Ice Dogs games with him.

After the game we went out to one of the bars there. We planned ahead and stayed in a hotel that was a block from the bar. Didn't have to worry about driving or dealing with taxis. It's a good thing. We both cut loose. I so needed that!! I just had tons of fun and met a few cool people that I hope to keep in touch with. It's funny, the person I end up talking with the most, getting their number and getting kissed goodnight by is the straight woman!! LOL Go figure on that one. But she is an amazing person and I can't wait to see her again.

So Sunday morning we were supposed to meet Kirk's step-brother for breakfast. Well I woke up right when we were supposed to go meet him. So I ran downstairs and ate with him while Kirk showered and such. Anyway, we got a really late start. We headed to Palmer to pick up Kirk's truck then headed back to Fairbanks. It was a nice drive, nice to be in a vehicle other than a 45' motorcoach and not to be driving. I enjoyed the time with Kirk.

On Monday we took his truck to the dealership to have it winterized and some other work done. We also stopped by a place where he will have an auto start and driving lights installed. Then to another place where he ordered his winter tires. He set up all the appointments and this week I'll be taking his truck to the various places to have the work done so that when he gets back his truck will be good to go. One less thing he'll have to worry about.

On Tuesday we took more heating fuel to his cabin. This time he bought a cargo sled to pull with his snow machine. We were able to put the 55 gal barrels on the sled and haul them to the holding tank. The hose for the hand pump was just long enough to reach from the 55 gal barrel to the top of the holding tank so we were able to pump 100 gallons in only about 10 minutes!!!! That is so much nicer than doing it 5 gals at a time! We also cleared the snow off the slough (it's frozen right now) so it will freeze even more solid. His his uncle will be clearing out the trees from around the cabin in a few weeks. With the slough being super frozen he will able to get the machinery across and to the cabin.

Anyway, I'm just rambling. My mind is all over the place lately. I filed bankruptcy last week and even though it sucks it's a huge relief to get that going. I'm so anxious to get that over and done with and start over again. And now having a job, it is like a fresh start. And I'll finally feel like I'm living here, like I'm in Alaska for good now. I'll have cut the ties to Seattle with the bankruptcy and having a permanent job with benefits here, well, it feels real now.

Ok, I guess that's it for today. I've totally lost my train of thought. Just wanted to share the big news of finally landing a job!!!

Fred Flintsone

Ok, here's a pic of me from Halloween. Unfortunately the pics with Lance Mackey were just too blurry. Oh well.

Comedy of Errors

It feels odd to blog without pics. I have some that I wanted to share but I can't find the transfer cord for my camera. Ugh I know it's at home somewhere just unable to find it in my disorganized mess of a cabin. I've yet to fully settle in. I have the time now to do it, just dragging my feet about it for some reason. I guess when I have too much time on my hands I procrastinate. When I have limited time is when I tend to get things done. Oh well, I'll find the cord soon. It can't have gone too far.

I saw the northern lights a couple of times last week. That's the first time this winter that I've seen them. They are awesome and I'll never get tired of seeing them. The first night I saw them they weren't very bright. They took up a large portion of the sky and I did watch them for a bit. The next night they were so amazing. They were so bright and vibrant and just dancing everywhere. It was just like a scene out of my dreams...the beautiful huge night sky full of stars, the outline of the trees and my little cabin, and the lights overhead dancing all over. They were green and red and just amazing. It was midnight, -15 out and I was just wearing shorts and a t-shirt. I stayed out until I was a frozen popsicle. I didn't want to miss anything by running inside to put warmer clothes on. I was too amazed at the beauty of what I was seeing. That night magnified why I'm here, why I chose to move back. It reminded me that the struggles and challenges I've faced are worthwhile and I'm where I want to be. I'm so looking forward to more nights like that this winter.

When I started telling people in Seattle I was moving up here many though I was off my rocker. About this time someone was shot at my bus stop. I told people I'd rather be up here where I'm more worried about animals then getting shot at my bus stop. Well, careful what you wish for. The other day I got back to my cabin after running some errands. As I was walking up to the cabin, I realized that the dead weeds were all gone. I looked over at the planting bed, there was one holdout of a long gone plant that stood almost 2 ft tall. It, too, was gone. I looked around and saw moose tracks in the snow. I followed the tracks around the side of the cabin. I was just curious as to where all it went. As I got to the side, I looked towards the back of the cabin and saw something. Yep, it was the moose, laying down behind the cabin. I thought it was pretty cool and wanted to see if I could get a pic of it. Unfortunately the cabin doesn't have windows on the back side. So I got my camera and snuck around the other side of the cabin. Then I stopped....the moose was still laying down but now it was facing me, looking right at me, and was about 1/3 the size it looked like two minutes earlier. I eased back, went back to the other side of the cabin and sure enough it was momma moose, standing up now. She and her calf helped themselves to the leftovers in my yard and were taking an afternoon break in my yard. I eased back and went inside the cabin.

Moose are unpredictable at best. They are mean and nasty despite their docile appearance. Add in a momma and baby and this is NOT something you want to mess with. I was hoping they wouldn't be getting too comfortable in my yard. Luckily moose roam around a lot. Unless there is a steady food supply they move on. Well since the decimated what was left in my yard, I figured they'd be moving on. I went to dinner at Missy's after that and when I got back they were gone. While I don't mind sharing the area with them, the last thing I need is to run into them on my way to the outhouse in the middle of the night!

So hockey season has started back and I'm SOOOOO excited!! I've already been to five games in two weeks. Luckily the Ice Dogs (the league just below college level) and the Nanooks schedule it so that if one is in town playing, the other is out of town. That way you don't have to choose between them on a hockey night. What this mean is hockey every Fri and Sat in November!! Sweet!! Another bonus of winter in the north!

Kirk and I went Friday night to the Ice Dogs game. While there, we saw Lance Mackey and his wife walking around. If you aren't familiar, Lance Mackey has won the Iditarod Sled Dog race the past two years. He has also won the Yukon Quest Int'l Sled Dog race the past two years. This means he won the Quest, then a couple of weeks later won the Iditarod. This a HUGE and amazing! And he did this two years in a row!!! I always talked about him on my tours. Lance Armstrong gets lots of kudos for what he did in the Tour de France. Well, in that race, you have a team helping you out. They take turns leading so he could draft behind them and save his energy until he needed it. But what Mackey did, he did on his own with his dogs. It is beyond comprehension what the mushers go through in the 12 days or so of each race, what they face, the mental and physical aspects of the races. Many mushers don't even make it through one race, let alone finish one. And Mackey finished and won two difficult races within weeks for two years in a row! Not to take anything from Armstrong, but Mackey is the epitomy of a true athlete to me. Anyway, I did get to meet Mackey and have my pic taken with him. Unfortunately neither his wife nor Kirk could get a clear pic of me and him with my camera. Oh well, it was just cool to meet him.

After that game, we went out to the Howling Dog Saloon in Fox for Halloween. I dressed up as Fred Flintstone. I'm happy to say I was the only Fred! I didn't want to be wearing what a dozen others were wearing. There were tons of pirates, both male and female. One guy was dressed as an oompa loompa and I loved it! It was too awesome. That's what I want to be next year. I also saw two guys where dressed as Ted Sadler. He is the guy who started Sadler's Furniture and sold it and made a fortune. He's from Fairbanks. Now he has some stores called Mattress Ranch. He has HORRIBLE commercials on tv. He always wears a Sponge Bob tie and a vest and does this creepy dance. He seriously looks like a creepy child molester. Anyway, there were two guys dressed like him and that cracked me up. Kirk, Missy and I also went to the Blue Loon. We were only there for about 30 minutes before it closed. Here the bars are open until 3:30am. After it closed, we went out and had breakfast and then went home. I got in at 5am. UGH! I'm too old to stay out that late. I was too tired to do anything Saturday and even missed going to the Ice Dogs game (gasp!), that's how tired I was. Oh well, it was worth it, it was a fun night.

I've had several job interviews recently. I don't really want to into telling about them but one of them was a comedy of errors, not quite like the Lowes interview (which, by the way, they still have yet to call!) but goes to show what a big dork I am. One of the interviews was on the army base. In order to get on base you need your ID, registration and proof of car insurance. I got there in plenty of time and stopped at the visitor center to get my pass. The guy looked at my proof of insurance and told me it was expired. It expired in July. Oops!! My insurance didn't expire, just the proof of insurance card did. I thought about just blowing off the interview but that's not me. So I drove down the main road in Fairbanks looking for an Allstate office. I found one and they were able to print a new card for me. I flew back across town to the base, got the pass and found the building and I was still on time for the interview. Whew!! So I was told to go inside the building and I would be greeted by someone. So I go in an no one is around. So I wait. And wait. And wait. I waited 15 minutes and still no one. I finally figured that if they couldn't even remember to come greet me was this even a place I wanted to work for? Nope. So I left. As I was driving away I looked at my notes again regarding the interview and I noticed something. I wrote down to go into unit 2. I was in unit 1. DOH!! So I circled the block, parked and sheepishly walked into unit 2. I was immediately greeted and was asked if I was Mike. I said yes. She asked if I had trouble finding them and I rolled my eyes and said yes, that it was a comedy of errors. She just laughed and said not to worry. Thank goodness!! I'm such a dork sometimes!