I [HEART] Alaska

I took this near Elderberry Park in Downtown Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday, February  18, 2012

Men, take notes.

Yes, I am actually sitting down at the computer and writing a blog post.  Don't get too excited, and please don't send the news crews.  I look like trash as I have been home sick all day in my very much unbearably warm apartment.  I've got all the windows open and it's just roasting.  I never thought that on May 1st at home in Alaska I would ever complain about being too warm. Six days ago last year there was a mondo blizzard that dumped well too much snow.  If you do some digging in my archives you'll see a post all about it, and a food drive that very night if I remember correctly.

Anyway, for those of you not blessed to be up North at the moment, the weather here has been purely amazing for the last week or so.  Our sunlight has been increasing each day by leaps and bounds and it's actually delivering HEAT.  That's a big deal up here. 

Increased sunlight brings about cheery and jovial moods in people, especially when following a long, dark, and cold winter.  Something else that helps bring about those happy moods is a new friend who drops into one's life at just the right moment.

Oh no, I'm not speaking from experience at all.  Never.  

Have I mentioned lately that I lie? [Insert one of those smiley-face things here.]

That said, there's this great guy that just walked into my life path recently.  He's super, and we've been having fun the last couple weeks.  What really bites is that he leaves for Iraq with the Air Force sometime in June and will be gone for at least 6 months.  

I could wonder why the heck we didn't mesh so instantly a few months back when we initially met, or why this, or why that... but it's fruitless to dwell on anything that nothing can be done about so I'm merely going to make the best of the whole situation.  

Do you ever think that sometimes every event in one's life is amazingly correlated?

I do.  And that's why I'm ready for whatever life has to hand me.  Maybe.  Perhaps I shouldn't speak so boldly.  It has a tendency to get me in trouble. 

Oh!  Speaking of speaking boldly (that was definitely an interesting use of verbage), I completed a dating survey for one of my Institute of Religion teachers who was gathering opinions in preparation to speak to a group of youth in the church.  Keep in mind that the questions are geared toward teens and the dating lifestyle of that age group.  Regardless, I enjoyed myself and am more than happy to share my answers with the world (daring, I know).

Everyone have an excellent weekend and enjoy reading my crazy answers!  (Men, take notes.)

1. List the top three characteristics of the perfect boy.

Characteristic #1: Caring and Compassionate

Characteristic #2: Honorable and Trustworthy

Characteristic #3: Motivated and Driven

2. List three things that make a group date good. Please list them with the most important one first.

#1: Good company 

#2: Planned and organized (yet flexible)

#3: Sincere fun

3. List three things that attract you to a boy, with the most important thing listed first.

#1: Personality is a major thing.  A pretty face can hide a real jerk.

#2: Knows what he wants in life and goes for it.

#3: Sees me when other people don't.

4. List the top three things that you look for in a boy when you consider dating him. List your most important criteria first.

#1: Treats his family well (especially his mother)

#2: Stability (in personality and life situations)

#3: How he has handled past relationships (know his history)

5. List three things that you would like a boy to do on a date.

#1: Open doors (chivalry is not dead, I have yet to see it in the obits)

#2: Exhibit natural humor (just make me laugh, don't TRY to make me laugh)

#3: Talk with me (conversations aren't binding, they’re just nice)

6. List the three things that you would most like a boy NOT to do on a date.

#1: Answer phone calls, make phone calls, text, etc.  You know those pre-movie warnings to turn off the cell phones?  Yeah, girls need to have those at the door as the guys walk in to pick them up for the date.

#2: Talk about other girls, gossip, and put down past dates.  That all spells LOSER.  If he talks about them, he'll talk about you.

#3: No bodily functions (picking nose, belching, breaking wind, spitting, etc.)

7. List three things that boys do that turn you off.

#1: Talking about video games (provided that the gal is not a fellow gamer). Come on people, really? Do we have to?

#2: Not washing hands after using the restroom.  Self explanatory.  Very disgusting.  This is worth calling a cab to get home.

#3: Clipping nails in public.  If I've typed it, I've witnessed it.  Ick.  That's it, just ick.

8. How should a boy dress? Here is your chance to tell the boys what you do and don't like about the way they dress. Feel free to tell them what makes you comfortable and/or uncomfortable.

Your pants should fit well.  Not too tight, and not falling off.  If you need help purchasing the right pair of pants, ask one of the women in your family (especially your grandmother) to help you.  Don't wear more jewelry than your date.  What are you wearing jewelry for anyway?  The CTR ring is cool, sport it bro'.  A few other funky things, sure.  But please, if you look like a disco ball, bring me the flowers and go home.  Don't sport the drug/alcohol t-shirts.  Just because Uncle Ned gave it to you for Christmas doesn't mean you should wear it.  Wear a nice shirt; that and a non-holy pair of jeans/slacks can go a long way.  Please wear socks unless you're going on a date that includes sand or water (we're in Alaska, this is not one that happens often).   

How would you like a boy to treat you at this point in your life?

Treat me well.  I'm a friend so be a friend.  Have fun with me, play along with a good joke for the heck of it.  If you like me as more than a best buddy, drop proper hints that clearly let it be known.  If you don't, make it clear but with kindness.  Leave modern ways at the door.  If you want a date, ask for it.  Don't wait for me to be feminist and forward.

10. How important is it to you for a boy you wish to date to be an active member of the LDS Church?

Extremely Important!!!!  <------ That’s my answer!

Somewhat Important

Doesn't Matter

Not Very Important

Not Important At ALL

The Power of YouTube

On Saturday some friends and I decided to try the theory (made popular on YouTube.com) that one can pop popcorn with the radiation emitted by active cell phones.

As you can see, success was not achieved.

And here is everyone watching the YouTube video that says it's all a joke... 

Feeling very very silly.

Sweet Stuff

Have I mentioned lately how much I love the rain??? (From the title of this post you thought I was gonna write about all the ice cream I ate last Wednesday night, didn't you? Gotcha!!!) But if you want to enjoy a funny moment regarding that night, take a cruise through my "He Said, She Said" page and witness what a bit of sugar will do to my brain functioning. Yikes.

RAIN...

It rained yesterday for a short time, and fairly heavy for Anchorage. I even got a bit misty-eyed missing the heavy rains of Maryland, my home away from home. Of course I hid it well since I was soaked from enjoying the rain between meetings at church... Ah, life is good.

Traveling Kitty: Scenes 1, 2, & 3

A friend of mine in Maryland sent this stuffed Hello Kitty doll up here to Alaska so I could take some pictures of it and send it back for a project her niece (I think) is doing.

I'm busy, so I haven't gotten as many photos as I'd like thus far.

Today, post-Easter dinner offered some fun time for photography.

My friends Cristi and Jessica came to dinner at my Grandparent's house with me and afterwards I showed them a place in town where you can see downtown Anchorage quite nicely. [Check out my photo page for more views.]

And here you see Cristi, reliving yesteryear with Hello Kitty in hand.

It is life's priceless moments we live for, eh?

One more.

I got to eliminate one more thing from my "Things To Do Before I Die" list featured at the bottom of this blog.

Yay!!!

Which one was it?

GO TO A HOCKEY GAME

Saturday evening my father and I went to a hockey game between the Alaskan Aces and Canada's Victoria Salmon Kings.

We were gifted two buddy passes to an Aces game for Christmas. When I found this out I almost shed a tear realizing that one more item on my list would be taken care of, with no prior planning for it.

It was fun. I took my dad to dinner before the game and we enjoyed good times talking and laughing... and eating ourselves silly (it's Wednesday and I still feel full, ha ha).

I'm not much of a sports spectator... but I learned that I wouldn't mind a job in sports photography!

We were one row away from the rink, and sitting right next to the Zamboni. Great eh? I took some mad photos! Most of them look as if I were on the rink (I whipped out my good zoom lens).

Problem?

I took nearly 800 photos.... which means I have to invest some time SORTING through them and pulling out the best ones and trashing all the ones that didn't work out. (Meaning it's gonna be a good while till anyone sees anything.)

I'm into still-life, well behaved people, and whatever-else-that-doesn't-move-fast photography. However, I learned a lot on Saturday and think I may pick up a new interest in sports.

Watch out, the world isn't nearly ready for me!!!

I quit.

Meet Brooks.

Brooks understands how I'm feeling regarding house-sitting.

Yeah, not a good thing.

I have really bad luck with anything regarding WATER.

It all started when my parents went out for the weekend in October. I was all ready for church and came downstairs for breakfast. I found a LAKE in the kitchen.

The line that goes into the freezer to make ice had exploded and deposited oodles of water into the house all... night... long.

I watched a house and 11 sled dogs out in Eagle River in December. On a Friday night after returning from work and taking care of the dogs I discovered the house was chilly.

Chillier than the normal chilly.

50 degrees Fahrenheit chilly.

The floorboard radiators were cold.

The hot water didn't work either.

At 1 in the morning a neighbor and I found the hot water heater and boiler.

They were silent.

He unplugged some stuff, plugged them back in, and -Whirr!- there was something going on.

6 am Saturday the heat finally reached 65 Fahrenheit... tolerable.

Top all this off with the fact that I was sick too.

Really sick.

I called work Saturday morning and explained why there was no way in heck I was coming in after Friday night's adventure.

The hot water didn't work till Sunday morning.

Early January I watched a house, dog, goldfish, and finch just around the corner from my folks.

Everything was hunky-dory till the coldest day of the winter thusfar in Anchorage.

16 below zero.

Saturday the main water line froze.

Then it cracked.

Then it thawed.

The water cut-off was ABOVE the crack so....

There was gushing water in the garage for 45 minutes till the city came to shut off the water from the keybox... around 1am Sunday morning.

The heat in the house wouldn't budge past 58 Fahrenheit either.

Friends of the family that came to help out said the non-insulated aluminum windows didn't help the lack of heat.

A cold breeze coming through the cracks of the sliding glass door that wouldn't shut properly didn't help either.

The little space heater, 3 blankets, and an obnoxious (but very cute) beagle DID help.

So did my friend, Mark, who came over with food, water, and stories till I fell asleep on the couch. Thanks.

Sunday the house was alive with the in and out of the plumber who fixed everything.

The Scottish dude from the city came and turned the water back on also.

Everything was taken care of in time for me to take a luke-warm shower and barely get to church on time.

Wearing blue shoes with a black skirt.

I quit.

I ventured outside in the cold for you

I am constantly around others. At work, at home, out and about... I just never seem to get away from people.

Today I don't work till the evening shift at the restaurant. Yay! Time to sleep in, finish Christmas shopping/creating, and the opportunity to not only make breakfast but to sit down and eat it too.

During the making of breakfast I had a visitor near the kitchen window. Yes, it was the hairy madame you stole a glance at above. She's not as big as she could be and I'm not new to the sightings of moose, why take a picture then? Escpecially when I was in the middle of my ME-therapy morning?

Well, I was thinking of you.

Yes, YOU.

I opened the door with a camera in my hand ready to take a great photo. The door squeeked and Miss Madame Moose ran next door. In pink fuzzy slippers, jeans, and my "I-am-doing-laundry" teddy-bear scrubs top, I ventured outside in the cold for you (it's 1 below zero at the moment) and captured my Thursday morning sighting to share with you. And with you, and you, and you too.

Even in those moments when I take some time to think of me, something will always come by to redirect my mind and heart to thoughts of you... I can't complain, I'm never alone.

Merry Christmas to everyone in my life...

I love you.

And that's how we like it.

Here's the long promised road-trip post - Originally dated October 20, 2007

Last weekend Dad and I went on a mini road trip. We drove to Soldotna, ate a very late dinner, crashed at a fairly decent hotel, bought my car the next morning, and drove back home to Anchorage with a lot of stops so I could take pictures (sorry dad).

Here's a little picture tour and commentary of our little daddy-daughter trip:

The whole way there was in the dark, since we left after I got out of work.

And gas prices skyrocketed when we left the city.

The temperature ROSE to 37 degrees Fahrenheit (the fuzzy photo is of the external temperature reading in dad's car)... which means it was warm enough to rain, and rain, and rain, and rain some more. (See the wet road?)

We arrived in Soldotna late and since it was dark and rainy, we decided to check out the car the next morning.

We found a 24-hour backwoods Alaskan diner and enjoyed hot cocoa and soup at midnight.

At the hotel the parking lot near our door was closed to cars-it was recently repaved. To avoid being drenched by a very long walk around the building in the rain, we parked illegally much to my dismay. Looking back I guess, to quote an old coworker referring to my one instance of not finishing my shift closing tasks 100%, we all need to get in touch with our "bad side" once in a while, eh?

The hotel wasn't too bad. Other than the funkified parking lot, my only quip was the fact that the doors only had knob locks. Yikes. I had trouble getting to sleep since I'm used to sleeping on a practical firm twin bed, and there I was with tons of stretching space on a double bed that was softer than I am accustomed. When I can't sleep I usually read. I forgot a book so my only other option was to talk.

"Dad?"

"Yeah."

"Did you know there is only a knob lock on the door here?"

"Yes. No worries though, I brought a gun. I'll get anybody who gets in
here."

"Thanks dad. Goodnight, love you."

"You too, hon."

Dad then returned to his own feat of getting to sleep. He uses a c-pap machine to help him breathe at night. It's probably hard to sleep with sometimes. Can you imagine having a semi-noisy machine attached to your head via a hose strapped to your face covering your nose? Imagine, and imagine it good.... 'cause that's why I started laughing shortly after talking to dad.

"Dad?"

"Yes sweetie."

[Laughing] "I doubt you'd need a gun if something were to
happen."

"Why's that?"

[Laughing still] "Anyone who walks in here will see the c-pap hose
and with either be scared and run away, or laugh till they pee their pants. I
doubt we're in any danger with that thing around."

[Laughing] "I think you have a good point there."

The laughter was fun, it was a great reminder that my dad's not just my dad... he's my friend too.

The following morning we headed over to where the car was stored, pulled into the drive way, and the license plate spoke to me.

CTR. To me, and most everyone who belongs to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, CTR stands for, "Choose The Right". It's one of those great little reminders like the whole WWJD thing that was oh-so-popular a few years ago. 801 just so happens to be the area-code for a lot (if not all) Utah phone numbers. Not that I liked Utah all that much when I was there, but it was a convenient fluke with the licence plate I've decided to throw in there as well.

I did check out the car, and it ran very well and looked good under the hood. Only 77,000 miles on it and it's 13 years old. The original owner passed away recently, and dad used to insure her. Dad and I both felt good about the car, no denying it. We went in the house to finalize stuff and what was on the wall right inside the front door? A mesmerizing photographic giant family tree this woman created. The woman must have been super awesome, that's all I can figure. She was not a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, but I did ask since we are big on geneology and you know, the world could very well have shrunk even more that day.

The car is mine now, and I've named it "Jean" in honor of the woman who used to own it. My old car out in Maryland was named "Mike" and I intended to pass that name on, but I couldn't. When I got in, it was definitely a female car, I could just feel it. Jean, the woman, left sticky notes in the car... I loves sticky notes! Jean, the car, had all her radio stations set on country channels... I enjoy country music! It was a match made in heaven! No pun intended there considering Jean, the woman, is no longer with us.

The drive back to Anchorage was less scary, as I was driving my car instead of being a passenger. I'm not a good passenger since being hit by that drunk driver 2 years ago.

It was pretty going home, here's some pictures:

(That's Dad exploring.)

When you gotta go, you gotta go.

Or I guess it's "When I gotta go, I gotta go."

Our outhouses up here are accessible... at least these ones were.

I like signs. This one cracked me up. It mentions toilets... There's no toilet! It's just a fancy piece of plastic sitting on a hole in the ground!

Might as well get a snapshot right? If I didn't, who else would?

Ooh! A great Alaskan moment happened on the way home too - aside from the pit stop.

I met a duck hunter.

Yes, you read that correctly.

And yes again, you are indeed seeing what you think you're seeing.

On my last picture stop there was a pickup truck in the pull-off too. As I went back to the car to continue on, a man came out of wherever in chest waders carrying dead ducks in one hand and a sack of fake ducks in the other. I, being who I am, didn't hesitate a single second to go talk to him. He let me take a couple pictures, though he didn't want to be in them. That's ok. Talking to him was cool, it was like visiting with an old neighbor.

And that's what being an Alaskan is all about. We're ALL neigbors up here. Better yet, we're family... and that's how we like it.

Tomorrow

Well, I have this great blog of the trip dad and I went on to Soldotna recently to pick up my car and... I can't finish it yet. It's a "pictures included" blog entry and blogger.com is experiencing issues with uploading photos at the moment. Argh.

I just wanted to write a little today. I'm waiting for my laundry to finish so I can go to bed and face tomorrow's fun (ha ha) schedule, even though I have the day off from work:

5:15am - Roll out of bed, shower, get dressed, and eat breakfast in no particular order.
6:40am - Brush teeth.
6:45am - Freeze butt off while scraping ice off car windows then leave the house.
7:30am - Check in and do paperwork at Alaska Regional Hospital's front desk.
7:45am - Check in somewhere else and do more paperwork. Wait.
8:00am - MRI scan done on leg where a hematoma (or so we think it is) still resides from being hit by a drunk driver two years ago.
9:00am to 12:50pm - Hunt down, find, and purchase a decent external flash for my camera, a bundle of 800 ISO film, face paints, maybe get a haircut, eat lunch, save the world, clean up, change clothes, yadda yadda yadda.
12:55pm - Brush teeth.
1:00pm - Pray the roads are dry and I'm not clear across town right now.
1:30pm - Meet up with my friend and her fiance to discuss last minute details for their wedding photography and hopefully catch a few cute moments while I'm at it.
4:00pm - Be Ms. Photographer for the wedding and try not to cry.
6:00pm - Change into my costume in preparation for the young single adult Halloween dance out in Eagle River.
6:55pm - Brush teeth.
7:00pm - Hopefully be ready to leave for that dance and maybe arrive early to help set up.
8:00pm - Dance begins. Have fun.
12:00am - Dance ends. Drive home safely.
12:30am - Brush teeth.
12:35am - Crawl into bed and be comatose for the next 7 hours.

Y'know, I used to color-code my daily schedule down to the minute. It lasted maybe a year, then I drove myself crazy. I was thinking about picking up that habit again... and I just remembered why I don't. S-T-R-E-S-S. Such detailed scheduling is good for some, not for all. I travel with the "all" folks on this one.

Speaking of traveling, I had 3 people at a table today visiting from Utah for a few weeks on a job-related trip. They told me they didn't like Alaska. I told them I didn't like Utah.

They left a great tip when they left.

One more point towards the fact that honesty is the best policy. If I had lied and told them how much I loved Utah and that I wanted to go back so bad, they probably would have been able to read the lies in my face. I refuse to lie to people in hopes of getting bigger tips. It's a ludicrous habit and will bite my coworkers in the butt one day.

Ah, the sound of the dryer stopping.... full of warm sheets ready to put on my bed.

Goodnight, I'm outa here!

'Tis This Special Season

'Tis that special part of the year in Alaska when summer is over yet it's not yet white and bitter outside. The time when wearing a short sleeved shirt after 7pm is just not a good idea. The time when an umbrella is used not for keeping off the rain, but to defer the tsunami-like waves created by passing motorists as they -VROOM! SPLOOSH!- drive by as one waits for the People Mover (city bus). Welcome to Anchorage, the city of 4 seasons: Almost Winter (when we're rained on every other day), Winter (self explanatory), Breakup (when everything is melting), and Construction (it's so bad our city mascot ought to be an orange traffic cone).

As you can see in the photo, almost winter resembles what those in the Lower 48 refer to as "fall" or "autumn". Key word: RESEMBLES. That means it's not the same, but it seems similar. Yes, our leaves change color. -Ding!- One point for similarity. And they fall off the trees. -Ding!- And the weather gets rainy, windy, and hurricane-y. -Ding!-

HOWEVER.

Almost winter is not conducive to running around barefoot in fallen leaves. It doesn't quite make my spine tingle like red maple tree leaves do (we can't grow maples up here). It doesn't smell like fall. It smells like dust until someone mows their grass, then it smells dang good. Almost winter doesn't allow one to comfortably spend extended time outside to take a nap, study, or read a book (I was very good at this in Utah and Maryland... well the nap part). Outdoor projector movies are out of the question. So are outdoor dances. I put on a sweatshirt to check the mail in case a neighbor passes by and wants to talk, keeping me out there longer than a quick sprint to the mailbox. Early morning walks have changed from pleasant and relaxing to frigid and too dark to walk without the accompaniment of a rottweiler. Our electrical storms are- wait, we don't have electrical storms (well, unless you include the kamikaze squirrels who chomp on the power lines).

Not that I'm bitter or anything, I love it here in Alaska. It's just that this time of the year has presented a small problem inside me.

I miss fall.