Venturing Farther

Moving on

2011-09-13T14:45:00.000-07:00

The time's finally come:

I'm moving on to a different blog!

All new posts can be found at http://quitespectacular.blogspot.com/

(Honestly it looks more or less the same as this one, but I wanted a new domain name. I'm picky. Whatevs.)

Pro Tip

2011-09-11T23:05:00.000-07:00

While drinking, it's a bad idea to fall ass-first into a table. There might be a glass on that table, and you might land on it, and cut yourself in a very awkward location.

Just sayin. Be careful where you land.

Love,

Chelsea

2011-09-03T18:09:00.001-07:00

Kitty at my foot and I wanna touch it!

You know your house is dirty when...

2011-08-10T18:34:00.001-07:00

...you think that sweeping the carpet is a valid idea. Then, after you've done it, it turns out to have been a genius idea! It looks so much better!

Perspective

2011-07-22T10:03:00.000-07:00

Excerpt from this hilarious book I'm reading:

I was a few beers deep and thought texting was a good idea. My roommates helped me out with the wording, since "I want to bone your face" seemed a little blatant.

P.S. The book is actually my journal. Oh man. I am so embarrassed for myself.

Aspirations

2011-07-19T20:53:00.000-07:00

Since receiving my packet of information about the Peace Corps, things have been moving alarmingly quickly. Partly because I was approaching the last days at my job, partly because of my camping-road trip, and partly because I had time-sensitive documents to deal with. It's still pretty hectic, but since getting home on Sunday night I've had more time to focus and get things done.

One of the requirements I've been working on is a statement about my aspirations and expectations for the Peace Corps. This has been especially challenging for me because I've been out of school for over a year, and even while in school I was rarely called upon to write papers. I know I skated through school on inherent intelligence - one thing I truly expect from the Peace Corps is to be forced to knuckle down and finally prove what I'm capable of. But back to the Aspiration Statement. Through conversations with friends and interviewers I've developed my ideas about Peace Corps, but I haven't exactly written them down and organized them into tangible form. This statement has been such a healthy, revealing, and necessary piece of work for me to create! There are still half-formed answers and ideas floating around in the air, barely scratched out on notebook paper, and half-remembered from beer-fueled conversations. But at least I'm that much closer to being articulate and confidant in my decision.

So, here's what I've got, and I hope it helps answer some of your questions and concerns:

A: The professional attributes that you plan to use, and what aspirations you hope to fulfill, during your Peace Corps service.

While working on a project and living within the community, I hope to completely immerse myself and find innovative ways to resolve the issues at hand. Ultimately I aspire to be the mediator between the local community and other organizations. I’m determined to get involved and down to work as soon as possible, but I know I’ll also need to make compromises in order to see tangible results.

A large part of my acceptance to the Community Economic Development program was based on my bachelor’s degree in International Business. I look forward to finally putting my education to use in a real, practical manner. One of the aspects that especially interests me is the opportunity to share the information and skills I’ve learned with people eager to obtain them. I’m not sure how much information technology will be available, but I’ve found Excel and other programs invaluable to my work and hope to pass those shortcuts on to others.

While in school I participated in various projects that took us out into the community to assess an issue, so I already have a small idea of what situations are likely to crop up. During those projects I found that my attention to detail and organizational skills were highly valuable while trying to expand ideas and formulate a plan of action. I also really enjoy working on product and market development, and hope to get more experience in that area.

Finally, I realize that the chances of being situated near a body of water are pretty slim, and even then the water might not be fit for swimming. However, I’ve been a lifeguard and swim instructor since I was 16. If it were possible, it would be interesting to look into the feasibility of teaching swim lessons. In general, I’d like to put together some sort of personal project with no relation to economic development, preferably something with a focus on physical activity.

B: Your strategies for working effectively with host country partners to meet expressed needs.

My #1 strategy for working with host country partners is this: patience. Whether it’s an unexpected conflict, a miscommunication due to language gaps, or delays in getting things done, I realize that a willingness to relax and let things develop at their own pace is going to be the most successful way to see things through. I already work pretty hard at maintaining a sense of humor and positive attitude in my day-to-day life. If I can pair those traits with a big, fat, hearty dose of patience then I’m sure I’ll be able to get along just fine.

However, I do realize that sitting back and letting things unfold won’t always work. I will also go into the program with humility and respect for those who have been at this work much longer than myself. I know that, especially in the beginning, there will be much for me to learn and process. I will be straightforward with my partners, both in the community and at work, and will attempt to initiate conversation whenever possible. My coworkers especially will be an invaluable source of information, and I will do whatever I can to pry that knowledge out of them.

As I become more confident in my role, I’ll try to strike a balance between observation and participation. I realize there will be cultural norms and chains of command to adhere to, and I will do my best to not stir up the pot too much. However, I’ll also try to find like-minded coworkers who are willing to listen to my suggestions, and will do what I can to implement positive changes when needed. Again, all of this will be accomplished via a positive attitude, respect, and patience to let things develop at their own pace.

C: Your strategies for adapting to a new culture with respect to your own cultural background.

I’m far too excited to learn about the new culture I’ll be a part of to worry about being singled out. But I’m not going to fool myself; I’ll be pretty easy to spot in the crowd when I arrive in Guinea. It doesn’t faze me though – in fact, having already lived abroad and dealt with similar attention before, I’m well prepared for it.

That said, I am thinking ahead to how I’ll adapt to the new culture. Again, patience is going to be incredibly important. In the same way that I’ll be making mistakes, possibly overstepping boundaries, and learning how to fit in, others in my community will be adjusting to the new girl in their midst. There are bound to be miscommunications, so I’ll do my best to look beyond the obvious behavior and try to recognize intent. I hope I’ll be afforded the same leniency.

Ultimately, the best way for me to adapt will be to first learn about what I’m trying to adapt to. I plan on talking with anyone who is willing to give me the time. I’ll ask questions, listen to stories, and acquire an encyclopedic knowledge of local gossip. I’ll try to participate in even the most ordinary activities, from chores to sporting events. Being younger might actually work in my favor in this case – it won’t be unusual for me to be asking for advice and help. I’m especially hopeful that someone will be willing to teach me how to cook local foods and prepare some tasty meals!

D: The skills and knowledge you hope to gain during pre-service training to best serve your future community and project.

As I explain the Peace Corps to friends and family members, I find that I cannot even begin to stress the importance of pre-service training enough. Right now, I feel barely qualified to be assigned to an economic development project. Much of that is a lack of confidence in my own abilities coupled with the uncertainty of what the projects will entail. I’m looking forward to and depending on the training period to bolster my confidence and prepare me for the work I’ll be doing.

Language is definitely the most important of those factors. I studied Spanish in school – while French is similar, I still feel overwhelmed knowing that I’ll be learning two new languages simultaneously. I hope that an understanding of the grammatical structure will be provided, and the added language immersion will be extremely helpful as I start to pick it up.

Above all I hope to gain real, applicable skills. I want to take what I've been taught in the classroom and see how to apply it in practice. I cannot wait to get outside of the classroom and have hands-on learning opportunities within the community – it will be an invaluable introduction to interacting with other professionals and recognizing their attitudes and approaches toward doing business. Additionally I expect to learn the local business methods currently being used, cultural mores that influence economic functions, and the correct procedures for progressing with a project.

E: How you think Peace Corps service will influence your personal and professional aspirations after your service ends.

Peace Corps has always been the next thing to do post-graduation for me. Many of my peers have continued on to a career or grad school, but I always knew Peace Corps to be my next step. This experience will help me focus on and define my interests and skills for a career. Right now, I’m interested in seeing how the business methods I’ve learned can be applied in challenging and various circumstances. Some methods will work, some won’t be feasible to implement, and some haven’t even been introduced to me yet. The Peace Corps is perfect for me right now in the sense that they offer a multi-faceted approach toward economic development. As a volunteer I’ll be encouraged to take on various projects and have multiple goals. It will be an extensive and well-rounded learning experience that will have a huge influence on where I go next. Whether it leads me into a grad school program, internship or full-time job, I’m looking forward to this becoming the defining experience and guiding force for the rest of my adult life. I’m also expecting that the people I meet through my service will continue to be my peers, colleagues and coworkers in the coming years.

As for how it will influence my personal aspirations, I hope that the challenges and hardships I face and overcome will help me develop an internal strength I can carry with me in everything I do. I’ll truly know my capabilities, as well as my limitations. I already hike and run and put my physical endurance to the test. Character is just like any other muscle – it needs to be exercised and challenged before it can become strong. The Peace Corps presents an opportunity to test the limits of my character, and once it has been worked into exhaustion, it will be built up even stronger. I look forward to knowing myself fully, doing work I can be proud of, and having something worthwhile to discuss and educate others about.

Manifest Destiny Took Control

2011-07-18T20:57:00.000-07:00

... and so I headed west.

Olympic Peninsula!

PS I'm playing around with methods of sharing content. Still trying to figure out the easiest way.

Take a deep breath and focus.

2011-07-13T21:23:00.000-07:00

Alright, here we go.

I've been sitting on this little egg for a few days now, trying to process it and find the words to express myself. The problem is that the words aren't coming to me. Or rather, too many come at once. I'm overwhelmed and giddy and not quite sure what to do next, or at least what to do first.

You guys, I'm going to Guinea!!

Guinea-Conakry, as opposed to its northern neighbor Guinea-Bissau. I'm going to be a Community Economic Development Advisor, which could mean anything from teaching high school students about SWOT analysis to helping a small co-op market their product. I'll be leaving in November for 9 weeks of training in the country, and while I'm their the PC teachers and support staff will assess my progress, strengths, and weaknesses (ha, they'll perform a SWOT analysis on me!) and find the best location for me. As with everything Peace Corps, one piece of information brings up a million more unanswered questions.

Now I have a stack of things to do, including write up a new resume, a statement of intention, apply for a visa and a new passport, learn French, read up on everything Guinea, and answer all the questions all my friends and family can think of.

The upside of all this, however, is that in a few short hours I'll be officially unemployed. And starting bright and early tomorrow morning, my roommate and I are taking off on a much-longed-for, much-needed camping and hiking trip around the Olympic Peninsula. We're going to survive off of almonds and coffee and PBR, soak in hot springs and camp on sandy beaches, we're going to bike through Forks and pretend we're not there for the vampires, and we're going to take a million pictures of all of it so we can remember and reminisce about the best of the PNW when we're off in our far-distant corners of the world.

For all my excitement about my progress with the Peace Corps, this vacation is badly overdue. I'm taking off , I'm going to recharge, and when I get back I'll try to give you a better idea of what I've got (for starters, it's a 100+ page pdf, 3 books, and a stack of official paperwork.)

2011-07-10T11:21:00.001-07:00

Ran a 5k a few weeks back, my gymfriend just forwarded me this adorrrable pre-run pic!

Good morning!

2011-07-10T08:41:00.000-07:00

Well hello there! How is your day going so far? Oh that's just lovely.

Hey, listen. I've been at work for about an hour now and might just go a little bit crazy if something doesn't happen soon. So I went through my email account and found a bunch of pictures that have never made it onto the internet before. Want to see? Ha, of course you do!

Meet Tracy! Or Trevor. Gender really just depends on your mood. S/he loves going on hikes and exploring the PNW, and often daydreams of breaking free from society and heading off on her own into the wilderness.

Remember this day? I had some guests on the tour from Mexico, and we hit if off really well. They agreed to take tons of pictures for me (I'd lost my camera earlier in the summer) and later bombed my email account with all of them. These are some of the best!

No parking, avalanche zone? You don't say! This was one of my favorite photo stops - you could get a real close look at the fireweed and poke around in the "wilderness", without too much space to stray.

Bove Island! Always so pretty, but especially so in the fall when the trees on the island start changing. Add snow and oh, wow. So gorgeous. (Pretty much everything in Alaska fits that description though.)

Emerald Lake, oooooh. I was the only driver who made it out there that day, mostly because I liked to change the itinerary on tours whenever possible.

Who's the prettiest princess??

Caribou Crossing puppies = so adorable, all the time. Also I'm pretty sure the middle puppy is Chief, the crazy awesome dog one of my coworkers adopted.

Not pregnant, just lots of tips!

That was honestly the best day ever. It's the adventure I'm going to savor as an old lady, repeating it over and over again to anyone who will listen, yearning for better times.

Woman, Quit Complainin!

2011-07-08T11:16:00.000-07:00

Now that sprained ankles are a thing of the past, another ailment has stepped in to fill the gap.

Enter the Iliotibial Band Syndrome. Wait, syndrome? That sounds horrible! The other two on that page are described for what they are - "Knee" and "Cyst" - why can't this one be "Tight Band" or something? Ugh.

Anyway, I'm doing the stretch where I have to lay on the floor and contort like I'm leaping through the air, only you know, I'm laying on the floor like an idiot. And oh gross, I have got to vacuum the carpet today.

How to Lose Weight

2011-07-06T20:18:00.000-07:00

Look around the pre-packaged section of the grocery store. In and among the Rice-a-Roni and Mac'n'Cheese, you'll be bound to find something that advertises "Makes its own gravy!" Get that.
Next, go home and cook it for dinner.
Add a can of tuna for good measure. Protein!
Now here's the most important part: look at your meal and think about how much it looks and smells like canned cat food. Take a bite for good measure, and savor the goopy texture and fishy taste.
Congratulations, you're not hungry anymore! Keep this up for a few weeks and you'll be rockin' a bikini bod in no time!

2011-07-06T19:13:00.001-07:00

Time well-spent at work. Also I know what I'm eating for lunch Saturday!

2011-07-06T16:25:00.001-07:00

Testy tester is testing

Family

2011-07-04T12:04:00.000-07:00

Remember my brother? No? Yeah, neither do I. Haven't seen the guy in over a year, ever since he up and joined the Air Force and left Washington behind (traitor). But I guess I should say I hadn't seen him, because as of this weekend he's back in town!

I was only home for a few hours on Saturday so we didn't get a chance to catch up too much. We went on a quick hike down to Dash Point and back, and I got to meet his girlfriend who is totally rad.

Seriously, aren't they adorable?

Hard at Work

2011-07-04T10:10:00.001-07:00

Only took me 3 hours this morning. So proud!

Soft or Crunchy Tacos?

2011-07-01T13:44:00.000-07:00

Arrived at the gym for my class today, only to find the room dark and no one in sight. The folks at the front desk had no idea what was going on, nor did any of the other staff. I made the mistake of spotting one of the personal trainers who sometimes substitutes and asked him if he knew what was up. Nope, but he'd be happy to give me a one-on-one session to make up for it!

Ungh.

So off we go outside and 20 minutes later my arms are jell-o, I've got sweat dripping in my eyes and I'm making those crazy-sounding throaty wheezes and grunts that, oh God you really don't want to think about this but aren't they vaguely sexual? That's a thought to horrify you in the next spin class!

After all was said and done we high-fived, I hopped on my bike and rode home. And all I can think about now is how bad I want crunchy tacos from Jack in the Box. I'm going to try real hard to resist but I'm also going to be drinking and hanging out in Seattle right across the street from a JitB, so we'll see how that goes!

Parlez vous francais?

2011-06-26T21:21:00.000-07:00

"Oh gross another blog by a Peace Corps volunteer? Don't these guys have something better to do with their time? You know, like go out in the community and work with the people that the government is funding them to work with??"

Alright grouch, I get where you're coming from. But to be fair, 1) this was a personal blog long before it starting focusing on Peace Corps themes, 2) it will probably revert back to personal issues at any time without any warning whatsoever, and 3) I'm not actually abroad yet which means I can do whatever I want with my time so SHUTUP.

But guys! Listen! You see how I made the subject something about speaking French? Even though I majored in Spanish and am obsessed with the language and read books in Spanish and tell terrible jokes in Spanish and am even auditing a class right now that I'm not getting any credit for or any benefits at all except more understanding of Spanish?

That's because I'm about to learn French!

On Friday afternoon I had a phone interview with my Peace Corps placement officer. It was a warm and sunny day, I'd just gotten back from a run and was curled up on our funny-smelling leather chair on the porch. She asked me all the usual questions: How are you preparing for your departure? What do your friends and family think of this? What are your concerns? How do you plan to cope with being so far away? etc etc etc.

Some people might feel challenged by these questions, maybe overwhelmed, especially when it's so clear that the answers will have far-reaching implications on their chances of moving forward. Instead I felt relieved, if not excited to tell her everything that has been running through my mind these last few months. It was a 30 minute conversation, and it condensed my ethusiasm and dedication for this into a little nugget of white-hot excitement that's been sitting in my chest ever since. If someone gives me an opening I just vomit my enthusiasm all over them.

About midway through the conversation she asked, "How would you feel about going to French-speaking Africa?" I'll admit, I panicked a little bit. I've wanted to go to Latin America so bad, for so long, that being confronted with the reality of going elsewhere threw me off kilter. Even through the end of the conversation I still felt a little unsure. However, there are 2 applicants for every Latin American post, and none of them leave until 2012. And you know what? I'd rather leave.

Less than fifteen minutes after I hung up the phone I was gung-ho commited to the idea. Think of all the colonial French history I need to learn! I'm going to see lions and zebras and giraffes! I am going to be so sick of eating yams! (That last one is based solely on a highschool reading of Things Fall Apart.)

So I've been nominated for a post in French-speaking Africa. In the next 2 or 3 weeks I'll be receiving a letter with my invitation, which will include the specific country and a departure date for some time in October or November. Of course, in my enthusiasm I've used Wikipedia and the Peace Corps site to cross-reference and narrow it down to about 10 different options. (My money's on Madagascar - how cool would that be?!)

My heart is skipping beats and doing leaps and tumbles and I'm so full of energy and happiness. I'm walking on air! It's finally happening. This dream I've had is finally coming true. A week ago everything looked bleak and I was driving myself crazy feeling trapped. Now the future is wide open in front of me.

(Two years from now, I'm gonna be fluent in FOUR languages. Ha-cha-cha!)

P.S. I've tagged all Peace Corps related posts so you can skip right to those if you find my posts about chocolate covered pretzels and hiking uninteresting. Jerk.

Things I've Covered in Chocolate from Trader Joe's

2011-06-23T22:35:00.000-07:00

-peanut butter pretzels
-strawberries
-almonds
-whole wheat pancakes
-my face and hands

Hobbies

2011-06-21T22:18:00.000-07:00

I mentioned a while back, in passing, that I stopped using shampoo. I made the decision back in April, based nearly entirely on an article called "How to Quit Shampoo Without Becoming Disgusting". (Oh, Hairpin, your articles are delightful and I adore everything you do!)

At the time I convinced my roommate to do it with me. Hers was a more challenging assignment than mine. While I had already weaned myself off of washing my hair on a daily basis, she struggles with perpetually-greasy hair that must be cleaned religiously, else she'll be wandering around being, as they say, disgusting.

So the project started. We each bought a box of baking soda (so cheap!) and a bottle of apple cider vinegar. And every day we would examine each other's scalps, and comment on greasiness, and talk about dirty hairbrushes and our showering routine and all sorts of other things. Along the way, I "invested" (seriously, it was only $3) in a gigantic box of baking soda. Pretty soon we were each going for the Big Push of not doing the baking soda wash for at least a week.

The roommate surrendered to her greasy genes about a month ago. No matter how slowly she worked up to it, her scalp still defeated her. On the upside, she is down to only cleaning her hair every other day, and still using only baking soda and vinegar.

Meanwhile I'm rolling along pretty consistently at only cleaning it once a week. I'm saving tons of money and where I used to sit in the shower for ages and ages, instead I just rinse and run. My hair smells fantastic (though not in that strawberry product, over-scented Herbal Essences sort of way) and just seems all around healthier. ...Although I just reread the article and realized I pretty much skipped Step 2. Am I willing to go a full month (yikes!) of not doing anything, especially when I'm so happy with my current results?

Oh hell, who am I kidding? This is science! So here we go. One month starting now!

Status Update

2011-06-20T10:25:00.000-07:00

As anyone who's been unfortunate enough to ask me how I'm doing lately knows, things are pretty stressful these days. The short list: I'm miserable at my job (Oh really? Welcome to the club! Our members are everyone, everywhere. We meet at the bar every day after work. Please Chelsea just shut up about this already.), I'm going to be homeless in a few weeks, and since I have no idea when I'm departing for the Peace Corps I'm hesitant to commit to a new lease or a new job - the only two things that could make this situation any better.

As of right now, I'll be moving back in with my parents come August. This is less than ideal. I'd been so proud of myself for not having to fall back on them after graduation. I had a great job last summer - I made so much money! And then I came back to Bellingham and BAM! another job! But slowly the enthusiasm for taking care of myself has started to wane. To be fair, the job I have isn't really so bad. I love the work, I love interacting with all the people, and while maybe the work isn't as hard as I'd like it to be, is that really a bad thing? The main problem, the overarcing theme to why I can't work up any enthusiasm for it anymore is this: the hours at this job are horrible. Who wants to join me for a movie or a drink after midnight? No one. Who wants to go out for coffee or brunch at 10? Sorry, have to work! And then the weekends are over before I even realize they started. One day of hiking, or a quick jaunt to Seattle, and hey I never caught up on sleep and here we go again! If I quit the job and move back home, I'll have all the free time in the world to take advantage of living in a town where I know no one and have no desire to start a new social life.

(I was down there this weekend for Father's Day and found only two things to look forward to: the community gym is only a mile away, and my parents have all the channels ever on their big screen tv.)

I feel like I'm going in circles and can't find a way to break the cycle. I went up to the career center on campus and talked to an advisor, and all we concluded from the session is that I need to get into the Peace Corps asap. There are so many ideal jobs out there that I'm qualified for and would love to take, except that accepting a position would be cruel to this ideal employer when I resign a few months into the gig.

... And there you have it. That's as far as the thought process gets before I get back around to hating my current job and barely being able to keep myself from crying as I get into my car and start the commute every afternoon. Not thinking about it isn't a solution. The only time of day I'm not miserable is that 45-minute period just after a run/workout when endorphins and adrenaline are running high and I'm feeling good about whatever I've just accomplished.

(Killed Stimpson yesterday. That moment when I crest the last hill and start the downhill portion is like a religious experience. My legs stretch out and my breathing comes back to me, and next I know I'm bounding through the forest like a deer. The forest is so lush and overgrown right now that nettles and sticker bushes are creeping into the path, and my shins are covered in tiny scratches and bumps from the devilish plants. And yet I wouldn't give it up for anything.)

I hate that there's no positive conclusion to this. You've read all this and now find yourself wondering, "What's the point?" There isn't any, I'm sorry. I'm just sitting here on the floor (the roommate took the table when he moved out Saturday), drinking coffee and being miserable. I need a place to put this down, to get it out, and maybe find a little solace by expressing it. Except I know that this tiny little bit of peace I'll find by putting it out there will be lost when it comes back around in a few hours.

Maybe I'll just write about how awful this uncertainty feels again. Maybe this blog will turn into me parroting the same feelings of hopelessness and disappointment over and over again, once a day or more, until some deus ex machina steps in and somehow changes things for me. I'm going through a rough time right now, please, please send some good thoughts my way.

Things I Like to Spend $$ On

2011-06-14T19:33:00.000-07:00

Nothing.

Are you kidding me?! I am broke as a joke! After gas, groceries, and rent, I'm lucky to think that $2 happy hour whiskey at the bar down the street sounds like a good idea.

Anyone out there want to fund a directionless post-college twentysomething with no real talents or interesting hobbies? I promise your money would be gleefully spent on alcohol and clothes.

Anyway, went to the community bike shop the other day and they quoted me $70 to get my bike all spruced up and tip-top, including new wiring for my rusted-out brakes that are probably going to give out any day now. Definitely worth it, but I don't even have the $15 for a new headlight for my van, and I drive that thing every day and have been pulled over about it 4 times now.

Mooch

2011-06-13T23:09:00.000-07:00

Also a guest totally bought me a bacon and guacamole hamburger from Bob's today. I'll never not love free food!

Social Butterflies

2011-06-13T23:00:00.000-07:00

Strange how Facebook makes it possible for us to see patterns in our lives that wouldn't have been available before. Two random encounters that would have barely merited a comment are suddenly grabbing my interest. Two summers ago a friend and I got daydrunk in Alaska, and sat in someone's hotel window talking to the two TD's trying to nap inside. The following spring I ran into one of the TD's in a lifeguard challenge course put on by my work. We spent about 30 minutes trying to figure out how we knew each other before remembering that sunny drunken afternoon, then laughed about the coincidence and wrote it off, curiosity satisfied.

Never would have thought of it again, except that this person keeps showing up in the background of friends' photos in Facebook. It makes you wonder just how many people are on the peripheral of your circle without ever quite getting close enough for notice. The center of one person's life is just an insignificant blip on someone else's.

It just continues!

2011-06-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

(A quick side note before we get to the meat of the matter. Since I stopped shampooing my hair in April, I've had to get more creative with hairstyles on high-grease days. I can whip out a french braid in seconds flat, and today nearly every lady-guest and coworker commented on how nice my hair looked. Oh ladies, if only you knew why!)

Another hike done and down!

Fourth of July Pass. 10 miles round trip, with only about 2,500 elevation gain. Celebrated with a delicious victory beer at that one brewery out on Highway 20. You know, the one with all the beer schwag, delicious brats, and absolutely no french fries!

Murder!

2011-06-10T23:29:00.000-07:00

The mosquitos this time of year are fat and bloated. They drift drunkenly through the air, heavy with the pint of blood they can store in their distended bellies. With the bedroom window open non-stop now, they come in at night and feast while I sleep.

Before turning in, I do what I can to fight them off. If it's within arms reach, that sucker is dead. The problem is that they rarely stay stuck to my hands - instead the body drops as I pull my hands apart to be sure I caught him, and the thing gets lost on my bed.

I'm estimating there are at least 4 dead mosquitos in bed with me right now. Gross, yes. But at least they're dead and not sucking my blood!

Cooking Tips

2011-06-07T22:40:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to the guests who gave me a free salmon dinner tonight. I look forward to enjoying the free meal! However, there's one thing we need to talk about: BBQ sauce?! On salmon?! Who taught you how to cook salmon like that because they clearly have NO IDEA what they're doing. Lemon juice, butter, maybe some mayonaise. Dill sauce if you're getting fancy! But the natural flavors in salmon are so delicious that really, anything beyond the lightest addition is just stupid.

Still going to eat it though. Thanks again!

Oh, and!

2011-06-01T22:22:00.001-07:00

I suppose I should share the newest Peace Corps info!

In the last week or so I was contacted by the DC placement officer asking for an updated resume. Fortunately I was still under the impression I'd be here through January and I'd just been re-working the whole thing in hopes of getting a better job. So, off it went! And within a few days I got a response: my file has been approved, and now someone (someone specific! She has a name and everything, and I can contact her with questions pertaining specifically to me!) is analyzing the whole thing and trying to find a place for me. Chances are looking slim that it will be in my area of interest, but I think I could resign myself to it. (But oh, please, please let me still serve in Latin America. It's really what I want.)

It looks like it's just a matter of weeks before I'll get a new nomination/ actual invitation to serve. Isn't this exciting?! Who knows, this time next month I could be planning a packing list!

Who am I kidding? I've been planning the packing list for months now. Here's what I have so far:

1 bottle apple cider vinegar
1 (big) bottle Dr. Bronners soap
hiking shoes
Chacos
tent
sleeping bag
hiking backpack
GPS
...pretty much everything I've ever bought from REI actually
other stuff!

Aunt Irma

2011-06-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

My Period Takes Me Shopping

"Within 15 minutes, my period and I walked out of the store with the stretchy, sequin-y minidress and a set of heavy silver arm bangles. I never wear bracelets, but there you have it. My period told me I needed them, because it likes shiny crap. In that respect, it’s actually a lot like a raccoon. (See also: garbage-eating.)"

Yup, that's pretty much exactly what it's like.

Moonlight Joyridin'

2011-05-16T23:57:00.000-07:00

Hey Bellingham, what's going on? This is the third time since the New Year that your cops have pulled me over. They don't give me tickets. They just like to check my papers, comment on one thing or another, mostly make sure I'm not drunk, and then they send me on my way.

Look, don't get me wrong. I'm not unappreciative. Believe me, I am extraordinarily appreciative that they haven't ticketed me yet. But how about we cut out the song and dance? Let's agree that yes, midnight is an odd hour to be driving around but really I just work shitty hours, and yes, my large white van and tendency to drive 7 over the speed limit is mildly suspicious so maybe I should slow down.

Or at least stop cracking the same joke about how it's a bit late to be driving buses. I swear I'm going to give up my CDL just to make them stop.

So much for that

2011-05-11T20:42:00.000-07:00

Between breaking an egg on the kitchen floor and sleeping in until 10, I spent a bit of time this morning on the phone with the Peace Corps placement office in DC. We talked about my situation and compared it to the goings-on in the whole organization. Turns out Peace Corps got shafted when congress was doling out money this year, and they're struggling to find places for current nominees. All the positions for June are filled. Where do I fit into this? Well, my medical documents are still being processed. That puts me pretty low on the rung. The most likely scenario has me departing in January.

Yeah, you read that right.

January.

As in 2012.

I'm not too thrilled about this, as you can imagine. But Peace Corps is still my priority - and hey, an upside is that I do get to enjoy an idyllic Bellingham summer! And over the course of the day I've started to adapt to the idea. Hopefully when my lease runs out in August I'll have a departure date, and then I can rent a cheap room somewhere either month-to-month or take over a sublet from a student studying abroad.

Sure, it means being in this less-than-thrilling job for another six months. It also means watching my friends take off for more exciting locations. It means more time sitting around being tempted to buy new clothes, dream about a new car, and make other commitments that would lose all meaning when the departure date finally comes around.

But the upside is that... well... No, there's not really a huge upside to being around that long. Hopefully something will come up before then.

Thinking about the future is scary

2011-05-04T10:09:00.000-07:00

A friend of mine got me reading Anathem, by Neal Stephenson. It's been a great read, and one of my motivations for plowing through it was to get to his beguiling sticky note halfway through the book that simply says "Amazing quote". Last night I made it! And damn. I definitely wouldn't have needed a sticky note to make me sit up and take notice. Here it is for you:

"Thousands of years ago, the work that people did had been broken down into jobs that were the same every day, in organizations where people were interchangeable parts. All of the story had been bled out of their lives. That was how it had to be; it was how you got a productive economy. But it would be easy to see a will at work behind this: not exactly an evil will, but a selfish will. The people who'd made the system thus were jealous, not of money and not of power but of story. If their employees came home at days end with interesting stories to tell, it meant that something had gone wrong: a blackout, a strike, a spree killing. The Powers That Be would not suffer others to be in stories of their own unless they were fake stores that had been made up to motivate them. People who couldn't live without stories had been driven [into the fringes]. All others had to look somewhere outside of work for a feeling that they were part of a story, which I guessed was why [they] were so concerned with sports, and with religion. How else could you see yourself as part of an adventure? Something with a beginning, middle, and end in which you played a significant part?"

Oof. Chills.

That's my intro to tell you about my progress with the Peace Corps. I need yet another update to my medical info. Here it is the beginning of May, and I've been nominated for a departure in the beginning of June. I'm going into the doctor tomorrow, and all the info can be faxed directly to the Peace Corps office in DC. With any luck, they'll be able to process it and accept it all sometime early next week.

Early on I received a letter that said nominees would get a minimum of 6 weeks heads up before given a departure date. However, last week I spoke with the regional director of my area and was told (in a roundabout way, in which I wasn't given a conclusive answer to any of my questions) that if I miss this date, it might be a while before another opportunity comes along. Peace Corps has lots of people, but not a lot of money - placement is hard to come by. The only conclusive advice I got was to contact the DC office as soon as my medical papers were approved and tell them I'm still interested.

So there's the Big Issue. Fight for a departure date that leaves in just a few weeks and miss out on the idyllic summer plans I've been crafting, or let it slide and still be waiting for placement, probably in a different region than I'd hoped, come October? (Or worse, never get into the Peace Corps at all?)

This is my adventure. This is the big one that I've dreamed of since high school. Attending that summer school in Peru was an eye-opener that only made me want to travel more; studying abroad in Mexico was an unforgettably wonderful and endless struggle to adjust to a culture not my own, and working in Alaska rounded it all out by giving me the expectation to do something constructive while I'm abroad. Even the cruise I just got back from reaffirmed this notion: ten days of nothing but lying around and vacationing nearly killed me with inactivity.

So I guess the answer is a no-brainer. I'm going to fight for it. I'm going to do everything in my power to get this June departure date. I'll leave behind a long list of people whose company will be sorely missed and mini-adventures aborted in their planning stages. But it will be infinitely better than watching those same people depart for their own adventures, to have the lease run out and move back to the family home, and eventually consign myself to giving up on this years-long dream of mine.

Animal Politics

2011-04-04T00:40:00.000-07:00

Pocha said the geese were fascists. The pure-white birds would taunt and harass the mottled-brown chickens and terrorize the other farm animals. Once upon a time a neighbor gave her a white chicken, though, and the geese accepted her without question. The roving band of fowl was something to see and laugh about, though nothing to tangle with, as I learned first-hand the day I got too close to a goose's nest.

Pretty and Witty and Gay!

2011-03-28T17:17:00.001-07:00

The other night I had a nightmare: I was getting married to someone I'd known only six months. In the nightmare everyone kept questioning the decision. "It's okay, we love each other, we'll make it work!" As the dream went on, the 'reality' of what I was getting into started to creep up on me. (There was also some sort of conflict about if I should wear the high-heeled gold sequin shoes or the blue sequined flats. Um.) I woke up in a cold sweat and gasping relief that, Thank God, that wasn't real!

I wouldn't have even written about the nightmare except that just now, while at work, a woman with a gaggle of kids came up asking for buckets and shovels for clamming. There weren't enough to go around so naturally the ones who got left out broke into that high-pitched whining cry that pierces through the ear drums and is meant only to annoy until the child gets its way.

So now I have two things whose absences I get to celebrate: kids and a husband. I haven't got either and damn doesn't it feel good!

10:15pm Edit:

I should also mention that when I told my mom about the getting-married-nightmare, she casually replied with, "Oh yeah I talked to your brother the other day and he and his girlfriend have been talking about getting married." They've only known each other maybe six months OH GOD I DREAM THE FUTURE.

♥ friends

2011-03-26T16:51:00.000-07:00

It's almost 5pm. The grillfood is sitting in its marinade, the ambient music has us bobbing our heads in approval, and the beer is flowing steadily. We've been realistically discussing the merits and practical application for the Republic of Cascadia for going on 45 minutes now.

Birch Bay Locals

2011-03-22T17:09:00.000-07:00

She's nursing two vodka soda with limes at the bar. Her eyes are unfocused but she's still sharp, holding conversation and cracking jokes. It's obvious the kitchen hasn't even gotten started on my order, so I settle in for a chat. We're sharing our life histories and she mentions her hometown. Hey, I'm from there, too! Oh yeah? She graduated in 1978, which school? And that's when we realize we graduated from rival high schools (27 years apart). We size each other up in silence for a beat, then laugh and agree that hey, what does it matter? At least we both made it out of the town alive!

Now we're gettin personal!

2011-03-21T18:10:00.000-07:00

I poop in the morning,
I poop at night,
And when I'm done poopin'
I feel all right!

The Peace Corps got back to me! Not as exciting as you might think though. It was just a list of further medical information they needed. Including a written personal statement about how I plan on managing living with IBS in a foreign country!

I know I came clean about my poopin' problems a while ago. Well, get this: I don't have them anymore! I made up that little limerick above (while pooping) and plan on opening my personal statement with it. My doctor laughed when I recited it for her, so hey, maybe they'll take it well?

But let's get serious. Going into this requires a little backstory. When I was a young girl of 12 or 13, I got my first period. It wasn't traumatic or memorable or life-changing because I clearly have no idea when it actually happened. But I do remember what came next: a whack-ass schedule that could sometimes disappear for 5 months before settling in for 2 weeks straight, go away for a week and then swing back around in full force. I was miserable for years and years and years. Finally, a few days after my 18th birthday, I went to the doctor and got exactly what I'd been dreaming about since I was 14: birth control! (To this day I'm still not sure why my parents wouldn't sign off on the drugs - were they that worried I would start sleeping with everything that had a penis just because I couldn't get pregnant?) More or less immediately after I started getting the symptoms to what was eventually diagnosed as Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

Now let's fast forward a few years. Imagine this scene: it's my birthday again, this time 5 years later. I'm about to graduate from college and spend my summer living in a town so small that the closest doctor lives either a 45-minute plane ride away or in another country, your choice. I'm also about to lose my health insurance. Knowing that I'd be (hopefully) departing for the Peace Corps relatively soon, I made the decision to save some money and hassle and stop taking birth control.

You might see where this is leading. A few months later, I realized I hadn't worried about bathrooms in a while. Go figure, the problem was gone.

I know correlation does not mean causation, but come on. Five years of this shit (lol) and only one major change around the time it set in/departed. I'm not about to write any scientific papers on this, but I'm pretty sure I found the culprit. Thanks, little daily dose of hormones!

Of course there's also the other side of this coin, in which the Redcoats have been laying seige to a certain American body for going on 12 days now. This is fucking ridiculous.

JUST NOW

2011-03-15T12:52:00.001-07:00

"So now I have free texting, because you never know when you'll have to send 1200 dirty text messages."

How to be supportive

2011-03-15T10:32:00.000-07:00

Scene from yesterday-

Me: Geno! Can I bring a friend to Wednesday's class?
Geno: Of course you can! I'm just glad you have a friend!

Still Life with Woodpecker

2011-03-10T01:13:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday Jeannine and I got together to recreate a typical Alaskan afternoon. She brought the Diet Coke, I brought the Jameson, and by the time her boyfriend came home from work we were three sheets to the wind! While she made Important Business Phone Calls I perused her bookshelf, and naturally came away with some reading materials. One of which was Still Life with Woodpecker by Tom Robbins. Turns out that no matter how academically interested in a book I may be, I'll still drop it in an instant in favor of a page-turner.

So much for finishing those other books I've been working on.

Now, back during my sophomore year I lived with a rowdy cast of characters. Upon moving into the house, one of the guys handed me Even Cowgirls Get the Blues, announcing that as a Bellingham college student I was legally required to read Tom Robbins. And I kid you not, I've run across copies of that same book in nearly every Bellingham house I've visited. But THIS ONE. Oh man. I know a while ago I expressed a fear of writing in books. It's safe to say I've gotten over that. It's actually gotten bad enough that I've had to make myself throw the pen across the room so it's out of reach because Hey! This is not your book!

Don't believe me? Alright, it's time for some excerpts!

On the mainland, a rain was falling. The famous Seattle rain. The thin, gray rain that toadstools love. The persistent rain that knows every hidden entrance into collar and shopping bag. The quiet rain that can rust a tin roof without the tin roof making a sound in protest. The shamanic rain that feeds the imagination. The rain that seems actually a secret language, whispering, like the ecstasy of primitives, of the essence of things.
***
Who knows how to make love stay?
1. Tell love you are going to Junior's Deli on Flatbush Avenue in Brooklyn to pick up a cheesecake, and if love stays, it can have half. It will stay.
***
They glared at her the way any intelligent persons ought to glare when what they need is a smoke, a bite, a cup of coffee, a piece of ass, or a good fast-paced story, and all they're getting is philosophy.

New Schwag!

2011-03-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

This, babies, is the REI Flash 18 Pack.

What can I say that he didn't? It's very visually pleasing. Sold!

Now really, it's incredibly lightweight, which was one of the main problems with my old dayhiking bag. The reservoir pocket is big enough for even my hulking 100 fl. oz. sack (though if there is a downside, there's no loop to connect the top of the water bag to keep it upright). The chest straps can adjust up or down for varying chest shapes and sizes (or, as my roommate put it: "For people with breasts, like you! And people with no breasts, like me!") There's even little straps to go around your waist. They may not be padded and sturdy like their older brothers on bigger backpacks, but they'll for sure hold the bag in place as you bike around or scramble down rock scree trying to get to a glacier. And the easy-open pulltabs really are wonderful. It takes a second to figure out which string to pull to open/close the top, but once you do - BAM! just seconds and you're digging around trying to find your trail snacks! No zippers to twist you up when your fingers are frozen and you need your gloves.

Maybe I should have stated this first, but this bag will only run you $30 at REI. Similar bags by different brands, hanging right next to these on the wall, are priced at $90 and up.

When I was buying mine, the cashier immediately started gushing: He'd just bought it, brand new, and took it out for a spin. Unfortunately he laid his bike on top of it, and now there's a giant black tire mark across the front that he can't wash off. But hey, that's okay, because now he can tell his apart from all his coworkers' bags! (I love the idea of a pile of yellow bags in the employee lounge, and everyone scratching their heads over whose is whose.) So while he's sad that it got dirty so soon, at least it's unique.

Here's the full truth: I didn't discover this all on my own. It was actually the previously-mentioned roommate who bought his first, and after fiddling lovingly with his new backpack for about 20 minutes I realized I had to have one of my own. The idea was cemented when I spotted one on the back of another hiker along the Oyster Dome trail. I'm telling you, this little yellow bag is hot shit! I was afraid that I would run into the same problem the cashier had. But I thought ahead and came up with the perfect solution:

I got the green one.

2011-02-15T10:04:00.001-08:00

I don't remember this at all, but apparently I made myself a playlist called "High School Rock".

Jimmy Eat World
A New Found Glory
Third Eye Blind
Eve 6
Alkaline Trio
Offspring
Rancid
Stone Temple Pilots
etc etc etc

What's not to love about this??

The last 24 hours

2011-02-09T10:14:00.000-08:00

The workweek is pretty consistent. Nothing too interesting, just a slow simmering combo of relaxation and boredom.Mornings are the best. I get up (relatively) early and hang out listening to music, enjoy a cup of tea, and catch up on my never-ending reading lists. (Finished two books this week - finally pushed through A Short History of Nearly Everything, which I've been reading on and off for almost 4 years now, and The Death of Artemio Cruz.)
Forget taking pictures of the afternoon coming in to work. Check out that sunset! Photos don't even start to do it justice.

Coworker being introspective and poetic on the beach.

Having never really had long hair before, I find myself trying really, really hard to do something with it. Youtube suggested this gem. ... I think not.

It's been slow lately. Which means you have to get creative with the menial tasks!

Who's got the Mondays??

2011-02-07T10:17:00.000-08:00

The Internet is spazzing out this morning!

The Hood Internet is being downloaded so much that many of its links are over capacity.
The Pirate Bay's search engine has been overloaded for the last 30 minutes.
And of course, the Sasquatch! page is struggling to load under the weight of all the thousands of over-excited PNW kids trying to validate spending almost $300 on concert tickets. (I'm leaning toward doing it myself!)

Man I love days that start off all exciting like this!

Did I mention I got a new camera?

2011-02-03T12:40:00.000-08:00

While taking a shower today, I noticed that the tub was draining a little slower than usual. "Hmm," I though. "I bet there's some hair down there. I should fix that."
Growing up with two older brothers, then living with various boys throughout college, I've learned that you can't rely on men to do things that would be considered Minor Projects in Cleanliness. Aside from removing hair from the shower drain, these Projects include vacuuming, doing the dishes, and wiping down counters. (Not to say I'm perfect. There are three tea mugs in my room right now, and a box of clothes for the Goodwill that's been in the living room going on 5 weeks now.)
Let's get back on track. Hair!
That's the first of three wads I pulled out. Look how long it is! Definitely two feet.
Did I hear you say you wanted a closeup? Well, I'd be happy to oblige!
Aw yeah. That's a good 4 months of hair all wrapped up around itself. And with only 2 girls in the house! Seeing it all, I'm shocked that the drain was only just a little bit slow.
Now the Internet usually follows things like this up with a Unicorn Chaser, but I don't have any pictures of unicorns on hand right now. So instead I'll give you a picture of Birch Bay and the San Juans, taken around 2:30pm yesterday.

Ahh, much better.

Impulse

2011-02-01T20:01:00.000-08:00

Got a temporary cap on my tooth at the dentist's today. The dental assistant had to pry the mirror out of my fingers to make me stop staring at the little nub left over after all the drilling. It's so tiny! And kind of eerily adorable! Kind of like this girl. Just knowing that the temporary cap can be removed with nothing more than a bit floss and some jiggling is very, very tempting. I'm itching to pull it out. When the dentist was drilling, I could feel little bits of tooth dust being blown around in my mouth. Every now and then I'd catch a whiff of faint burning smell. The memory of that first tongue-probing and realizing how little of the tooth was left is permanently imprinted in my memory. Considering my tendency to have recurring dreams where I'm trying to keep my teeth from falling out by fitting them under my retainer, I look forward to tonight!

Why I'm Broke!

2011-01-31T19:37:00.000-08:00

Yo whatup. Today has been a rad day.
1) Got my new camera in the mail, finally.
Check out those badasses. Even with towels on our heads we're a terribly lovely bunch!
2) I can now use the camera to take sneaky spy pictures from various places!

Yee-ikes our kitchen is a mess. Someone should get on that. (Not it!)
3) Someone rewarded my blatant disregard for the rules (namely, doing a crossword from the paper that's supposed to be for the guests) with a giant bottle of whiskey.On the right is what normal people consider a good amount of booze. On the left is what I get for introducing certain people to Super Mario's Wonder Burritos.
4) I don't have a picture of this, but I splurged and bought myself some sweet new headphones. Listening to Kanye is way more thug when you can actually hear the bass.

Allstate for the soul

2011-01-31T07:19:00.000-08:00

An email from a friend:

"I have to stand in front of an ordination council and convince them to make me Reverend ---- (that's right, bitches, what up)."

If all future religious leaders in this great nation are just like her, we're in good hands.

In my free time..

2011-01-30T18:08:00.000-08:00

Also I have been reading Hark! A Vagrant again. I'm sure I've talked about how much I love this comic before... Haven't I? Anyway, it's genius! Lots of insider history jokes, and the author always takes the time to at least partially describe whats going on in the comments. Thanks to her I now have this song stuck in my head:

Sneaky

2011-01-30T17:32:00.000-08:00

We're arguing about a box of Jujyfruits - mainly, who should take it. I keep trying to pass it off and getting rebuffed. "I've already had enough candy!" Bullshit. Overeating at the movies is a requirement! So I pause my stride and stick the box in Ana's direction. "Here, hold this." Instinctively she takes it. I get a good 5 feet away before she realizes - "Hey, you have a purse! Get back here! I hate you!"

Let's head to the mountain! Bakerrrr!

2011-01-29T19:42:00.000-08:00

Baker can't really figure out if they want new snowboarders/skiers to succeed or not. On the one hand, for less than $50 you can get a 90 minute lesson and a pass for the beginner lifts. On the other hand, the beginner lifts are guarded by what the instructors refer to as "The Beginner's Cliff". It's a (not really) steep hill that drops down to the lifts, and most beginners take one look before shying away and returning to the rope pull. I honestly saw at least five people call it quits after seeing what the next level of difficulty entailed.
And the rope pull? Oh man, the rope pull. One of the guys in my class, after chickening out at the Cliff's edge, convinced his more advanced buddies to do the rope pull with him. He and I had been dealing with the jerky jolting mechanism, with its slippery handles and uneven height for several hours. These snowboard prodigies were not only very confused by how the whole thing worked, but spend the entire ride up bitching about how difficult it was. Once we reached the top, one of them announced: "If I had to deal with this shit when I learned to ski, I'd give up!"
In fact, when I finally gave in to exhaustion and announced that I quit around 2:30, it wasn't because snowboarding was too difficult or I had fallen too many times or that my wrists hurt or that my tailbone was sore or that my legs were jiggly from all the bent knees. Hell no, I could have worked on my C-turns for hours! No, I was defeated by the rope pull. On the last ascent, I was grimacing and grappling at the wire and just trying, oh please, to make it to the top. But my arms refused to cooperate and I had to hike the last 10 feet up to the top of the hill.
Tomorrow, when the wonderful whiskey buzz I'm rocking wears off, my upper body is going to be very, very angry.

Tacoma

2011-01-28T22:14:00.001-08:00

Got home to my parents' place late, the whole house quiet and still. I snuggled into the bed in the spare room - "my" room - and immediately fell into a warm, easy sleep. Staying the night in that bed is one of the big reasons I love going home. The pillows are the perfect amount of fluffy, there's a memory foam mattress, and the blankets are piled so high that it's like drowning in softness. If there's any down side at all, it's that my mom likes to come in and wake me up for coffee and chitchat around 9am. Now, there's nothing bad about any of that on its own - I love our morning conversations, it's part of the tradition! - but I never quite make it to bed early enough to fully enjoy a nice, long sleep in that quiet guest room in the back corner of the house. Some people daydream about flying or having superpowers or adventuring. I daydream about sleeping a whole day in that bed.

Maybe moving back in with my parents wouldn't be the end of the world...

... No. It definitely would. Forget I even thought that.

Before I say Goodnight...

2011-01-26T00:34:00.000-08:00

The end of every month is always tough to get through. Inventory at work, rent check payment coming up, and not to mention the chance of looking back and seeing all the nothing you've accomplished in the last few months. Give me the mid-month relaxation any day, please - bills paid, paycheck flush in the pocket, enjoying the steadiness of a regular schedule.

All this just to bitch/brag about how I counted out 5,053 post cards at work today. I've got paper cuts on three fingers, dust up my nose, and a new appreciation for terrible, terrible photoshop disasters. (One card had a waterfall that appeared to be coming out of an eagle's feet.)

I've been listening to The Weakerthans almost non-stop lately. Things I've taken away from their music: a desire to find a book about Shackleton and compose a sonnet, I really hope I don't have to stay in a hospital for a long, long time, someone I know needs to get a cat I can play with, and how can I convince everyone I know to listen to this music? Because damn, it's good.

Also.

2010-12-05T21:34:00.000-08:00

My new job is right along the waterfront. Usually I come to work around 6:30 am, with the dance music cranked and a cup of coffee glued to my right hand while I let cruise control do the work. I leave at 3:30 in the afternoon, just as the golden/magic hour is starting. Guys, I cannot express to you enough just how incredible the view is across the bay. Today I could see each one of the San Juans outlined across the water, different shades of gray indicating their distance from myself. The sun was hovering a few inches above the horizon, so there was this perfect golden line stretching from the southwest toward the beach. I literally let my van coast while I stared out my window, looking back every few seconds just to be sure I didn't hit a pedestrian. One of these days, if I ever replace the camera I lost while hiking Loughton glacier this summer, I'm going to stop and take a photo of this incredible view. Ideally I'll take multiple photos across several days, just to demonstrate the versatility of the beauty I get to enjoy. (If only I could see it from behind my desk, though, instead of only along the drive home.)
And then if that's not enough, as I rise up the hill and head toward the freeway, I can see a perfect view of Canada's Coast mountains to my left and Mount Baker in all her glory dead ahead. A coworker was telling me that every year, a Hawaiian highschool sports team comes to stay at our resort. Rather than request a view of the water, they request to be put in the very back every single year, without fail. They're tired of beach views, but not a one of them can get enough of the view of Baker.

2010-12-05T18:09:00.000-08:00

I say. How is it I can drink a half a fifth of Jameson with no ill effects, yet am completely trashed after just two beers?

A question to ponder if ever there was one, surely.

Adventuring

2010-09-25T17:29:00.001-07:00

Yesterday there was a huge snowstorm up in the mountains. The Higher Ups debated letting us take our tours out, but when it came down to Go Time they gave us the green. So up the highway I went, and Wow! It was gorgeous! My group and I were pretty much in awe the entire time.
We even saw a wolf. He crossed the road ahead of us and I thought hmm, a fox? So I slowed down and no, it was way too big for a fox. The wolf sat just off the edge of the road, watching us as we watched him. Then he turned tail and disappeared into the trees. The whole encounter lasted less than 10 seconds but it gave me chills the rest of the day.
Later, when we got to the furthest point, the snow was starting to come down again - and thick. Rather than pretend this was a normal day, we drivers gathered 'round and debated our exit strategy. In the end we formed a caravan and drove Very, Very Carefully back toward Skagway. It took an hour and a half to make what's usually a 45 minute to an hour drive. By the time we arrived at the train station, things were getting tricky. Two of our drivers had never driven in snow before and were losing their cool. The whole world was whited out, and where the roads had been wet but clear earlier in the morning we now had at least 3 inches of snow. Yikes! So we pulled into the train station, and our boss patted us on the back and gave us some very simple instructions:
"Get everyone onto the train. Turn off your bus and leave it, you're going home on the train too!"
So yeah. I got paid to ride the train in the snow. !!!!
Then today! At 10am we got the call to rally the troops, and we all piled into a minivan heading back up the mountain pass to do some bus retrieval. There were worries that the snow might start up again soon, so we had to Hurry Hurry Hurry! Except... Along the way up, we saw a bear. Ol' Buddy was just walking along the side of the road, so we slowed down and paced him for a few minutes. He was soaking wet and looking none-too-happy about the rainsnow mix falling on him, but he was a good sport about the loud vehicle with a bunch of nosy people gawking at him.
Up at the Canadian train station, our boss was all business. The train station is downhill from the highway, so we were worried about getting those big ol' things out of the snow. They don't have much for traction. Again, simple directions. "Get your momentum going and get out of here. Don't worry about pausing for traffic, I'll wave you through."
So that's what we did! It was a great adventure - completely out of the ordinary from everything else I've done. For a few days here I've been feeling a bit out of sorts, ready to finish up here and get out of town. I still want to get home to Le Ham, but if interesting things like this keep cropping up, I might actually be sad to say goodbye to this town!

Whoops

2010-09-25T02:39:00.001-07:00

Nap time accidentally turned into early bedtime. So much for everything else I'd planned! :(

I dreamed that someone was offering me coffee. I reached out to take the cup, and woke up with a start at 1am, my hand straight up in the air.

It's Cold Outside

2010-09-21T20:32:00.000-07:00

Woke up early in this new home of mine for the next nine days and crept about, trying to get a feel for the new building. Felt slightly disconnected as I sat in the hallway, cross-legged and bleary-eyed, brushing my hair and sipping a mug of tea. The rest of the day followed in a series of moments where I felt, like then, completely satisfied that I've chosen the path I have.

Here's a portion of a quote, the full extent which can be found here:

"... treat one's enemies with polite inconsideration, avoid persons who are chronically in need, and be satisfied with life always but never with one's self." -- George Jean Nathan

Later this afternoon, as I waited for my next job duty to begin, I curled up in the front seat of my bus with the current book. Folk music played from my ipod while sunlight warmed my toes. It felt like hours passed while I sat there.

After work I went for a run. Tried a new route -- it took me 15 minutes to get to the top of the hill, and only 12 to get back down. Now I'm wrapped in blankets, huddled in the corner of my temporary room, trying to find a way to recapture that glowing post-run heat.

Quote!

2010-09-19T14:10:00.001-07:00

A half-read book is a half-finished love affair. -- Cloud Atlas, by David Mitchell

Commuting to Work

2010-09-17T14:04:00.001-07:00

Monday they flew people out to Juneau again. The pilot decided to take a shortcut coming back, since we had to get to Skagway before nightfall. Instead of flying up the canal, he veered over the ice field and cut through mountains, getting us within almost-touching distance of glaciers -- sometimes wobbling the plane so we could get a better view, other times pointing out specific bits that he really liked.

Somehow I don't think I'll be signing up for a desk job any time soon.

Day Off

2010-09-12T19:46:00.001-07:00

Sunshine. Whiskey and towels on the hot cement. Painting toenails, chatting with the passerby's. New dress, new sunglasses, not-so-new friends. Gossip and giggling, and most of all the feeling that yes, this can happen in an Alaskan September.

Good day.

I've got the hookup

2010-09-11T21:14:00.000-07:00

Today I saw a moose!

It jumped right into the road, hesitated for a few moments, then took off into the woods on the other side. The whole encounter lasted less than ten seconds.

And this is why my job is so rad. I feel bad for all the people in the passenger seats behind me, only getting to see this scenery once and with a crummy view of the back of my head.

My Summer Job!

2010-09-06T00:16:00.000-07:00

I may not be lifeguarding, but that doesn't mean I'm not getting in the water! Some of my passengers took these pics on one of the last sunny days in the Yukon. Now there's fresh snow on the mountaintops. Siiiigh.

Life Lessons

2010-09-04T00:36:00.000-07:00

Had some drinks tonight, then decided to see if the tent I inherited from Jeannine's boyfriend's dad really works. Turns out... It's a bit bigger than I expected, and the inside is covered in dirt and chicken feathers. So now I'm going to break into J9's room and steal her tent for tomorrow's camping/climbing trip. Also, lesson of this story? When you've been drinking and want to pitch a tent in a hotel room: Don't.

The Neverending Conversation

2010-09-02T16:11:00.000-07:00

My buddy Nick is a special, special guy. We've been bff's since freshman year when we'd sit around playing X-Men Legends and not talk about that fact that he was in love with my cousin. Sophomore year, after she moved away, we'd sit on my front porch and chain smoke while dissecting the day. Junior year we lived together with 2 other guys, and that was the best time. We barbecued in the snow, threw costume parties, made many Bad Decisions, had kung-fu marathons and actually started calling each other BFF.
These days we don't see too much of each other. He graduated, moved out of town, and found a serious girlfriend. Soon he'll be going a step further and moving to Canada, of all places, for school. Meanwhile I've been doing things like living in Mexico and Alaska for months at a time.
Luckily for us, we both have unlimited texts! I have to delete my whole phone's memory every few days to accommodate for the hundreds of messages we send each other. I'm about to do it again, but before they disappear, I'd like to share with you some of the choice tidbits that keep me entertained while on the job.

I fucking love ice cream sandwiches. I would do terrible things to a Klondike Bar.
I admit to having questions about the mechanics of girl on guy dead sex. I feel rigor mortis only gets you so far.
I'm worrying about how much food you're getting up there.
If [the dead lady they found in the movie theater where he works] cursed Theater 1 with a neverending stream of shitty movies I'll believe that it's haunted, for sure.
I don't understand why you always bring us back to necrophilia.
omg a customer just spit at Noah what is this
Are doves pigeons? They certainly look similar. Or maybe pigeons are doves.
Magic has a really awful reputation and I'm on a one man crusade to fix it!
The best wolf themed song is by werewolves of london by warren zevon.
I think Nicole wants to start moving in tonight. I'm planning a mutiny.

Oddly fitting

2010-09-01T18:51:00.000-07:00

Read this today, after getting back from a run and being psyched over my next hike:

"One final paragraph of advice: do not burn yourselves out. Be as I am — a reluctant enthusiast… a part-time crusader, a half-hearted fanatic. Save the other half of yourselves and your lives for pleasure and adventure. It is not enough to fight for the land; it is even more important to enjoy it. While you can. While it’s still here. So get out there and hunt and fish and mess around with your friends, ramble out yonder and explore the forests, climb the mountains, bag the peaks, run the rivers, breathe deep of that yet sweet and lucid air, sit quietly for a while and contemplate the precious stillness, the lovely, mysterious, and awesome space. Enjoy yourselves, keep your brain in your head and your head firmly attached to the body, the body active and alive, and I promise you this much; I promise you this one sweet victory over our enemies, over those desk-bound men and women with their hearts in a safe deposit box, and their eyes hypnotized by desk calculators. I promise you this; You will outlive the bastards.

— From a speech to environmentalists in Missoula, Montana in 1978 and in Colorado, which was published in High Country News in the 1970s or early 1980s under the title “Joy, Shipmates, Joy.”

AB Mountain: DONE!

2010-09-01T15:24:00.000-07:00

Take one more down off the Trail Checklist! This Monday I set out with a mission: Climb That Goddamn Mountain.

AB has turned into my Everest over the last two summers. It haunts my dreams and teases me from my bedroom window. Every time I'd make plans to take it down, I'd be foiled by hangover sickness or weather or lethargy. But September is upon us, and I'm literally counting down the days before I get behind the wheel of the Great White Shark and wave goodbye to this town (for good, maybe, hopefully). I've realized that if I don't finish all my Skagway Adventures, they may never happen! And so now all holds are off, all hesitations are ignored. I'm running at breakneck speed into as many opportunities, Bad Decisions and Adventures alike, as I can find. For better or worse: it's happening!

So now I present to you Hike 9: AB Mountain! 8/30/2010, 10 miles, 4,900 ft elevation gain
Photos courtesy of my buddy Reegis, since Laughton Glacier ate my camera.

Failed jumping photo, whoops!

The Trail Checklist

2010-08-23T01:18:00.000-07:00

This summer, one of the local mountain shops is inspiring people to get out on the trails by hosting a Trail Challenge: 12 trails, one summer. My new friend Jeannine and I have been bonding over these trails, fighting through the thirst and sweat and hunger and pain to come out on top and looking damn good in our photos. And so I present to you: our hikes so far!

Hike 1: Sturgill's Landing, June 27th. 7 miles and my first overnight camping trip of the summer.

J9 busts out the hiking whiskey as soon as we set down our packs!

Hikes 2 and 3: Icy Lake and Upper Reid Falls, July 3rd. 6 miles.

Hikes 4 and 5: Upper Dewey Lake and Devil's Punchbowl, July 9th and 10th. 8.5 miles total, and another overnighter!

Hike 6: The Chilkoot Trail! July 15th- 19th, 33 miles and my first extended backpacking trip!

The summit after the Golden Staircase! I'm amazed I made it.

Just above Deep Lake.

Hike 7: Lost Lake, August 6th. 2 miles STRAIGHT UP.

Hike 8: Laughton Glacier, August 15th. 5 miles.

Bonus Hike: International Falls, August 8th I think. 6 miles in the fog!
So stay tuned, there are only 4 left! We've done Lower Dewey multiple times, but repeatedly forget to take pictures. Smuggler's Cove is being saved as a champagne victory hike, so the true challenge is to get AB Mountain (10 miles) and Denver Glacier (6 miles) before the end of the season. These days it's tough to get good weather and a day off at the same time, so wish me luck!

Semi-drunk blogging, mostly rambles

2010-08-20T01:34:00.001-07:00

Some nights (like tonight) my nerd-level exceeds orange. If no one is around to share the nerdness with (like tonight) I start to shake and reach near-panic levels. Did you know Steven Moffat created a modern-day take on Sherlock? And that the Holmes character exhibits many Doctor-esque traits, all super intelligent and cryptic and erratic. Also Gunnerkrigg Court started a new chapter today and it's going to address Jeanne! (Although it will doubtless introduce more questions about the Court than it answers.) Also: finished V. and it has definitely earned a place on my bookshelf as both maddeningly literary but also a decently rollicking fun read as well. Started Lamb and all that fear I had of it being over-hyped was unfounded - within the first pages I was hooked and now look forward to my downtime at work to read it. Other nerdbites: Robert Downey Jr is starting to replace John Cusack in terms of neurotic nice-guy actors, and I think I'm okay with that. Especially after watching Grosse Point Blank and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang back to back.

Night Biking Take Two

2010-08-16T00:52:00.000-07:00

Getting darker and funner with every evening!

The Pursuit of Happiness

2010-08-14T20:24:00.001-07:00

The planets finally aligned and the impossible happened: a sunny day in Skagway and a day off all at once! After spending the whole day lazing about, appreciating the sun and drinking early in the afternoon, a group of us finally pulled together and put plans into motion. We drove up the highway to the local's swimming hole, grilled some hot dogs and chicken, drank a few more beers and went swimming in a barely-warm-enough pond. I smell like lake water, bits of algae made the trip back home with me, and I've got a whole slew of new bug bites. Now I'll be enjoying a hot shower and a cold beer. Hello, summer!

Excerpts

2010-08-13T18:57:00.000-07:00

It's always while sitting in the 6am shuttle heading into work that my ideas for this blog come to me. Chances are, if I do have a piece of paper and pencil handy, I'll get 5 words down before work interferes and I have to start driving / smiling / being On The Job. What happened to downtime?? Man I miss cashiering at the pool...

Anyway! My reading list has pulled a huge turnaround and I'm suddenly enjoying the hell out of books again. That Donald Barthelme -- his recommendations are SERIOUSLY hit-and-miss. Tell Me a Riddle? Couldn't put it down! I kind of wish I'd brought it with me to Alaska just so I could page through a story every now and then. I'm Not Stiller? SNOOZE. Some days I'd find myself seeking out people I generally avoid because they'd be more entertaining than that book. It was so bad that I'm getting frustration flashbacks just thinking about it....

As for good ol' Thomas Pynchon - this guy is fabulous! I've been keeping him on a pedestal of overwhelmingly good-quality Capital L Literature for years, ever since reading Mary Karr (in her 2nd memoir, Cherry) reminisce about her super-intelligent friend gushing over Pynchon's writing. Later finding Gravity's Rainbow among my brother's books only cemented this idea that Pynchon was beyond my reading ability. And I'll admit that there's probably a second or third level that I'm still not quite grasping (people have written companion reader books about how to interpret V!), but there are large portions of V. that are just romping galloping adventures of booze and sex and political intrigue.

I say this all as an introduction to a passage that literally stopped me in my tracks. I was so impressed that I took out my pencil and marked the passage in the book. (I never write in books. I enjoy books that have been written in by others, but it feels like a sacrilege to do it myself. It's up there with dog-earing the pages - verboten!) So here it is: a woman's response to a man's selfish monologue about how he's insincere, cannot feel love, and is only in it for the sex.

"You have to grow up," she finally said. "That's all: my own unlucky boy, didn't you ever think ours is an act too? We're older than you, we lived inside you once: the fifth rib, closest to the heart. We learned all about it then. After that it had to become our game to nourish a heart you all believe is hollow though we know different. Now you all live inside us, for nine months, and whenever you decide to come back after that."

The Dirty Skags

2010-08-09T21:44:00.000-07:00

Juneau's had a bit of trouble with drivers this year. It's nothing bad, but the drivers they have are running out of hours and on their busiest day, they sometimes don't have enough people to cover all the work. So what's an overworked segment of a larger mega-money tourism company to do? Yup, you guessed it! They fly drivers in from Skagway!

Today I got up and caught an early morning flight out to Juneau, and enjoyed a quick hour-long town orientation before being put to work. And by put to work, I mean I sat around for hours on end waiting for the busy portion of the day to begin. Much like Skagway, Juneau can handle itself just fine for the most part - it's just one shortcoming that becomes a glaring problem. I only really truly drove for 3.5 hours, but those hours were crucial to the day coming across smoothly.

Either way, that's not the point! The point is that after a day of getting to know another division, coming home to Skagway just felt right. At the beginning of the summer, as Riley, Bethany and I pulled into town that first evening in early June, I felt a tugging in my gut that said Run! Turn around! Go home now! Now I roll into town and breathe a sigh of relief. How much of this is Stockholm Syndrome in effect, and how much of it is a genuine affection for the town is hard to say. But I approve of this place.

A Drinking Song!

2010-08-08T17:48:00.000-07:00

This book is full of goodies!

Why are you leaving the party so early,
Just when it was getting good?
Were the crowds and the laughter just a little too tame,
Did the girl you had your eye on go and forfeit the game?
O tell me.
Where is there music any gayer than ours, and tell me
Where are wine and ladies in such ample supply?
If you know a better party in the Southwest
Protectorate,
Tell us and we'll drop on by
(Right after this one)
Tell us and we'll drop on by.

Creepy Ass Lullaby

2010-08-08T16:03:00.000-07:00

Brought to you by Thomas Pynchon, in V.

Dream tonight of peacock tails,
Diamond fields and spouter whales.
Ills are many, blessings few,
But dreams tonight will shelter you.

Let the vampire's creaking wing
Hide the stars while banshees sing;
Let the ghouls gorge all night long;
Dreams will keep you safe and strong.

Skeletons with poison teeth.
Risen from the world beneath,
Ogre, troll, and loup-garou,
Bloody wraith who looks like you,

Shadow on the window shade,
Harpies in a midnight raid,
Goblins seeking tender prey,
Dreams will chase them all away.

Dream are like a magic cloak
Woven by the fairy folk,
Covering from top to toe,
Keeping you from winds and woe.

And should the Angel come this night
To fetch your soul away from light,
Cross yourself, and face the wall:
Dreams will help you not at all.

Another day in Alaska

2010-08-01T00:02:00.000-07:00

Went for a mini road trip with my friend Brian today. We've been hearing a lot about the road up Montana Mountain for a while, and if Brian has one single hobby he excels at, it's finding his way up old mining roads. So after driving around the Yukon Territory for a bit, we finally set off up the hill in the late afternoon. The weather was getting progressively worse -- after an hour the clouds had dropped down and visibility was getting worse. We'd risen about the tree line and were crawling through an alpine meadow when - get this! - another truck comes rumbling down toward us. The men in the truck were also Washington-via-Skagway residents, who'd gotten the same hankering to drive up the mountain as us. So there we are, sitting 3,500 feet up the side of a narrow mining road in the gray and damp, discussing abandoned mine shafts and trains. And here's the kicker: both men in the truck were also named Brian -- Brian Sr and his son, Brian Jr. We wished them well and waved them off, then continued on with our journey up the mountain.

Night Biking

2010-07-31T01:02:00.000-07:00

True night is coming to Alaska earlier - we lost another 4 minutes of daylight today. Riding home at 11:40pm, I actually wished I'd brought a light -- this same time just a month ago, I was sitting around taking pictures by the waterfront. The weather was pleasantly mild then. Now, moisture hangs in the air while each breath comes in crisp and clean. Mist rose off the Skagway river as I biked across the bridge. The streetlights reflected off its rushing waters, and the noise and the cold and the exhilarating feel of pedaling faster and faster all combined to make it one of the best bike rides of my life.

Things I Want

2010-07-26T09:24:00.001-07:00

A shower that consistently spits out the same temperature water.

Also acceptable: a shower that fluctuates only between mildly hot and mildly cold, and none of the extremes.

Adrenaline Crash

2010-07-16T09:45:00.001-07:00

Let's sum up today's feeling so far:

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck ASS SHIT FUCK fuck fuck fuck.

Repeat.

(Drunk Blogging, Hooray!)

2010-07-07T00:20:00.000-07:00

Tonight, Pizza Station turned into Secrets/Embarrassing Stories Night. I only wish I could tell them all, but it was too golden to be recorded accurately.

Needless to say:

One story told the tale of shitting ones' pants before having to give a tour.

The other began: In highschool, I had a mustache...

AWESOME

2010-07-02T22:23:00.000-07:00

Today. I saw a bear on my tour. I timed all my arrivals perfectly. I made it out to the Yukon and back with the worst coach in the fleet and didn't break down! I impressed my passengers by successfully making the tightest turn ever. And then I made lots of $$ in tips.

Then I got off work and went for a run, and ran faster than I ever have before. And then I did sprints, which were the worst most painful thing ever, but I challenged myself and won!

Then I made dinner. Heated up some chili. That chili is badass delicious.

I feel like such a bro right now. I am full of my accomplishments and my self and basically, I cannot be brought down!

Trucking Along

2010-07-01T12:10:00.000-07:00

Work this summer isn't nearly as hectic as it was last, but that's not saying much. Things still move fast and hectic around here, and it's hard to find idle time for projects. Reading and writing and communicating with those far-away have all fallen by the roadside as I use every moment of spare time to chatter with the people in my line of sight, to catch up on a few hours of sleep, or to head for the hills and explore the new terrain on foot.

There's lots to be said, but little time to get it down. And I'm very, very happy about it all.

Dream Fever

2010-07-01T12:09:00.000-07:00

n. the intense heat on the skin of a sleeping person, a radioactive byproduct of an idle mind humming with secret delusions which then vaporize when plunged into the cooling bath of reality, thus preventing a meltdown that could endanger those close by, who tolerate the risk because it gives them energy.

via The Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows

Update from the North!

2010-06-26T17:04:00.000-07:00

Things have already developed into a wonderful routine around here. Wake up at the crack of dawn, work work work work work, get off around 6pm, strip off my clothes and wash the bus air and tourist noise off of me, then hang out in the kitchen making food and/or drinking until I feel like going to bed.

This is called a spirit bear. Very rare!

I'm not completely shout-out-loud in love with this job, but it has a ton of perks. One of which is how easy it is for me to find someone to join me on adventures! Back home, I'd be drinking and feel like riding bikes, only to have no one to ride bikes with. Here, it's just a matter of walking up and down the hallway a few times before I gather a gaggle of enthusiasts. The other night we rode out to Liarsville and back, measuring the distance to the bridge via an iPhone app with a British accent, all so we would know how to judge ourselves on our jogging endeavors.

The road trip up was long and exhausting. We hit the road around 6:30pm on Saturday and drove through until 6pm on Monday evening. We stopped to sleep for a few hours a night, got one real meal a day, ate Cheez-Its and Monster energy drinks the rest of the time, and stopped for gas every 250 miles. By the time we arrive in Skagway we were barely being civil to each other, smelled like sulfur from the Liard hot springs (SO mad I didn't get any pictures! But I was too tired to think about those things), and could think of nothing except the hot showers waiting in our hotel rooms. It was fantastic, and I think my dad and I are going to do the drive back together in October. We're taking the long route home just so I can sit in those hot springs again.

Today the cook at Liarsville, Doug, gave me a bunch of salmon fillets. Jeanine, Adrienne and I are going to cook up some rice and veggies and have a hearty meal before we take off to go play Capture the Flag in Dyea (aka drink a lot of wine in the woods). Ciao!

I'll leave the gun at home, though

2010-06-11T14:45:00.000-07:00

I keep forgetting that crossing the border is not like boarding an airplane. Yes I can have scissors. Yes I can have liquids. And hey - it doesn't have to all weigh less than 50 lbs! Shit yeah I'm gonna be prepared this summer.

Tomorrow's To Do List:

Graduate
Commence road trip

Britain Does Things Right

2010-06-06T22:50:00.000-07:00

Aw man. Come on Doctor Who. You're supposed to be a family-friendly somewhat science-fiction TV show, not a show that makes 23 year old women cry over the tragedy of Vincent van Gogh's life. (This is also why I love you, Doctor Who.)

Amy: We didn't make a difference at all.
Doctor: I wouldn't say that. The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. Hey, the good things don't always soften the bad things but vice versa, that bad things don't always spoil the good things or make them unimportant.

And for my ginger friends (you know who you are):

Amy: If we had got married our kids would have had very, very red hair.
Doctor: The ultimate ginger.

Hobbies

2010-06-04T19:10:00.001-07:00

I sure do enjoy bird-watching at night. So fun. So many birds.

witness my glory

2010-06-02T09:09:00.001-07:00

For those of you who are extra-sharp readers, literary geniuses if you will, then this story is no surprise. But in case you didn't catch on, yesterday was an excellent example of blog-post foreshadowing. You see, yesterday, as I was making my merry way to work, I realized I was driving on a flat tire.

I'm not the most perceptive of drivers. The Great White Shark is great because it requires very little upkeep (at least as far as I'm aware!) Where someone of the male variety may have noticed before ever getting in the car, I had driven 2 blocks before I suspected something was wrong. When I finally did pull over to check things out, I almost had a heart-attack right there as I started imagining all the ways I no doubt had just ruined my wheel rims. See, I really don't know much about what a car can handle.

Calling into work was fun, too. I couldn't just ditch the car and ride my bike in - the car was stranded on a no-parking zone and I was too scared to try and drive it home. And I couldn't just say "I'll be in 30 minutes late" - I've never changed a tire before! Who knows how long that kind of thing would take! (As it turned out, it took an hour. Stop laughing.) I'm sure I'll be in heaps of trouble for calling in over a flat tire, but there you go.

I have to say. I felt pretty bad-ass sitting in the back of my empty party van, surrounded by jack parts and instructions, little-by-little figuring out how to put things together so I could take things apart. Pretty soon my hands were covered in grease, my jeans picked up more dirt than they had all weekend at Sasquatch, and people walking to school would cross to the other side of the street in fear that I'd ask them for help.

(One kind soul did offer to help, but I was feeling pretty good about myself at this point. I told him if he wanted to stick around and watch that was fine, but otherwise I was good.)

Unfortunately I still can't say I've changed a tire on my own. I came damn near close, but as fate would have it I'd pulled over in front of a fire station. One of the firefighters came running out to help, and before I could tell him that I'd be fine eventually, he'd taken the spare from my hands and gotten to work. He straight up stole my thunder right out of my hands!

But that's okay, because my spare was flat, too. They got called out before he could take the tire in and fill it up, so I called Les Schwab road assistance, but then they came back surprisingly quickly so I canceled the call. This time two firefighters came out, and they filled that sucker up and popper her on and sent me on my way in less than 5 minutes.

While I'm still a little mad that this isn't an "independent woman" story, one where I take on a task normally reserved for men and succeed, I'm very glad those firefighters had an air pump.

And finally, I urge everyone to always go to Les Schwab for tire issues. Seriously, those people couldn't be more fantastic. They got everything fixed in under 30 minutes and didn't charge me a dime!

Smasquash! Smaaasquaaash!

2010-06-01T21:01:00.000-07:00

Sasquatch Weekend 2010 was a huge success! Friday afternoon we attempted to fill a Subaru with all our piles of camping equipment, but inevitably ended up taking the Great White Shark. Ol' Sharky has been having issues with its front tire lately, so every time we stopped it was one of the boys' job to check the tire pressure. (And we made it the whole weekend without incident! Not so lucky today, though...)

Our driving music options were limited only to bands playing at the Gorge. Our food came in three forms: hot dog, PB&J, or beer. Our tents struggled to stay upright against the winds that inspired the local restaurant to be named "Blustery's Burgers". Allison and I took photos of everything that moved, and often several things that didn't. One night we huddled in my van and drank Bud Light in the dark. Another night we foraged for firewood and came back with tree branches bigger than our bodies. In the daytime we went on interpretive scenic hikes and skipped rocks on the river and debated the pros and cons of climbing on restricted paper maché dinosaurs (instead we ghost rode metal horses!). We saw so much good music that the concerts have all rolled into one giant roving shindig, and whenever I think of this weekend again I'll only ever have one thing to say:

"Oh fuck it! I'm gonna have a party!"

2010-05-24T13:43:00.000-07:00

I almost disrupted an entire computer lab full of frantically-studying students when I saw this. Fortunately I choked back the laugh.

via Defective Yeti

Learning Things

2010-05-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

It's been busy (not really) around here lately! Since I've started running again I've been out nearly every other day, minus 3 out of the 4 days I "celebrated" this weekend. It's only three more weeks until I head out on an epic road trip followed by 4 months of hard hard work, and between now and then it seems like an endless list of things to get done.

But you're not here to listen to me itemize my future.

Instead, let's talk about the second coming of the wasp who likes to buzz around my bedroom. While waiting for Quinn to bring me my lunch (side note: I think one of my favorite things about having money will be the tendency among friends to buy each other things like food and coffee and cute things we saw on sale) this stupidly enormous wasp came sailing in through my open window. He was also enormously stupid, because he then proceeded to knock into the window for about 10 minutes before I took pity and swiped him out with a magazine. I mean, this thing managed to fly in between the two panes of glass, but couldn't sense the fresh breeze blowing only a foot below? Do wasps really have no survival instincts at all?!

Also, today was the last day of swim lessons. I had this awful little girl for private lessons. She would splash me in my face and laugh and ignore everything I said and instead take off running across the pool to show me how well she could "swim". Meaning not at all. And every time I'd try to get her to try something new she'd insist that she either already knew how to do it, or that it was hurting her. Good God, I can't even begin to count the number of times she said I purposely hurt her stomach/neck/legs. When I found out her mom had signed up for private lessons, I wanted to scream. In the end though, this little girl and I found some common ground and learned how to work together. Honestly, I think she taught me more about myself as a swim instructor than I actually taught her in swimming skills.

It turns out that if someone is having trouble with a skill, I really, really like to just keep working at it until it comes out right. She taught me that instead of forcing an issue, it's easier to step back, work with something you can already do, and approach the new skill from a different angle. I'm sure every teacher already knows this. Parents, babysitters, and life coaches probably know this. But hearing the advice told and actually trying it out and seeing the results are totally different. I know I'm not a world-class swim instructor - shit, I really do want to get out of this as soon as I can - but it feels good to find new ways to improve.

Continued Saga

2010-05-12T23:57:00.000-07:00

... of an unnatural obsession with a beer-providing establishment.

TAKE THAT, CROSSWORD!

Back in the day, nearly two years prior to now, a classmate and I used to passively rebel against our teacher by doing the New York Times crossword together. The past-time grew into a hobby, and the next thing you know, I was buying collections of the Sunday Times Crosswords from Barnes and Noble. I even bought several before I went to Mexico, and then annoyed my host parents about Spanish-language crosswords until we eventually figured out that they are so uncommon in Mexico, they don't exist. In Alaska I grew out of them (mostly because my iPod and its version of Solitaire was handier) and this year I've been almost crossword-free.

Until tonight.

When someone left the untouched crossword at the bar right next to the collection of beer lists.

Naturally I picked it up. Naturally I found a pen. Naturally I did this after my roommate and I had paid the tab and were ready to leave, and naturally I sat back down to get as much done as possible.

And Naturally, we finished it! It was a team effort, but GO US! We rock! We beat those brain-teasing New York elitists and filled that sucker out with minimal erasure!

And also, Dave gave us free beers to keep us motivated. "Is this the same Dirty Dicks I had earlier?" "... I don't know, I can't say if all dicks taste the same or not!"

On Family

2010-05-11T18:45:00.001-07:00

Why did I also neglect my brother? Friends have to understand one another in order to be friends; brothers are brothers in any case....

--I'm Not Stiller, by Max Frisch

things that scare me

2010-05-10T22:41:00.001-07:00

THERE IS A CRANE FLY IN MY ROOM GET IT OUT.

Seriously. I need a screen for that window.

Starting Over

2010-05-09T19:44:00.000-07:00

Ran my first mile since the Ankle Incidents! Feel strong and impatient to get back in the groove. Must remind myself not to overdo it - not too far, not too fast, and not too often.

My brother's a basic training grad! Now leaving San Antonio and heading up to the northern parts of Texas for tech school. Like any true military man, he's already tried to convince me to join up - "They'll pay you to go to grad school!"Doesn't he look good? A bit goofy with no hair and new glasses, but he's charismatic enough to pull it off. Also: he's got my mom's nose.

Other Items of Interest:
- The Honey Moon might start competing with Mckay's for favoritism. Outside seating, with evening sun and home-brewed mead? Very European. As my friend noted: Mckay's and the Honey Moon are both very European, one's a dark, noisy, back-alley pub and the other's a sidewalk cafe in one of the Romance language countries.
- The cruising season in Alaska is picking up, and friends are already starting to post pictures of bears and stories of tourist antics. I'm psyched to join them in a few weeks!
- With the new sunny weather, bugs have started to make their presence known. The wasp a few weeks back was just the start - now my room always has a mosquito or gnat or fly or two buzzing in and out of the open window. I also ate a gnat while running today. Not fun. Go away bugs! (for those of you in areas that actually have real bug problems, instead of the silly ones we Pacific Northwesterners make up: you're braver and more capable than I. Have fun with your cockroaches.)

I Wanna Know What It's Like...

2010-05-07T00:06:00.001-07:00

Newest embarrassing moment:

While recounting to my roommate an embarrassing story of mistaken identities, our bartender (Dave of Mckay's fame, of course!) mentions how I haven't friended him on Facebook. "Of course I have!" I say. I think. "At least I've friended Mckay's, but not you..." "Why not?" "Well..." And here I do some fast thinking, "I don't know your last name!" Pause as we look at each other. "Who do you think Mckay's is named after?" Well SHIT. He caught me there. Roommate starts cracking up, laughing her ass off while I turn beet red and think about hiding under the bar. It doesn't matter that I earn "respect" for having the guts to go balls-to-the-wall all out and make the mistake anyway. I'm still the one with the most stories where I look like an idiot/ass. How many people out there have I offended? Creeped out? Alienated? Good God, I'm a threat to my own well-being.

FDub: Everything You Want

2010-05-02T13:32:00.000-07:00

... except for charm, character, class, or culture. Or even me, Chelsea! So really, everything but the important C's.

Meet Skyler, my honorary nephew. We went to Northwest Trek on Friday and later did some doughnuts in the parking lot.

FDub: Only OK because I don't live there

2010-05-02T12:24:00.000-07:00

Went home for the weekend, and this time it was harder to come back to Bellingham than usual. Federal Way has slowly been improving over the years... Though not because the town is any better, but because the things I want from life are changing. $5 all-day pass to the fitness center, which has a steam room and a sauna. Nearly guaranteed jobs at 2 locations, plus a plethora of other possible employment opportunities that would let me show off/ practice my Spanish. Friends that I don't see nearly enough. Free room and board. A sweet, sweet bedroom. In the end, though, I'd be living with my parents and sequestered in suburbia, wasting 30 minutes just trying to get to the freeway to connect to other bits of suburbia. After being away so long, the extreme distances one has to cross to do basic errands is absolutely ridiculous. So I'll continue to be poor, scraping by money to pay for rent while dreaming of being able to afford things like yoga classes and gasoline.

Home Subject #2: When I'm not being a cantankerous bitch, my brother and I actually get along really well! We watched the newest Doctor Who episode together, laughing uproariously over the "Are you sure he's not a mad man?" "I trust him completely." dialogue, sharing theories about the cracks in the wall, and for me, finally getting the answers to some questions about the Doctor Who timeline that Wikipedia wasn't explaining (and watching all those old episodes was NOT an option).

He also got me hooked on a new webcomic: Hark! A Vagrant I can't stop reading it, and with every comic I'm also googling images of historical figures' beards, reading entire pages of Wikipedia, and generally wishing I was more of a history geek. Did people make fun of you in high school, calling you "smart" as if it were an insult? Are you now unabashedly proud of knowing things other people don't? Read this comic! It's fantastic!

All I want is a balcony with a bay view and newly renovated modern kitchen for less than $360 a month...

2010-04-28T23:01:00.000-07:00

And the house hunt continues....

We saw a place today. It was literally a block and a half away from Mckay's! I was ready to sign the lease right then. Too bad for the landlord that we didn't - walking inside changed everything. The house was lovely, the yard was nice, even the little porch area was charming. But two of the bedrooms were so ridiculously small that it was doomed from the first moment we peaked inside.

After the tour we headed to the pub, ordered a pint and sat down to discuss. Not a one of us was the "bigger man". We all have full sized beds! It just wouldn't work! We argued back and forth about our options. I might have yelled at one of the guys a little (but not meanly. I think. I was supposed to be getting his adrenaline going?) In the end Dave brought us a free pizza (have I mentioned how much I LOVE MCKAYS??? And Dave. Love Dave) and he put in his own opinion. Aside from independently trying to get said future roommate's adrenaline pumping over the same issue I was fighting for, he also mentioned how he wants to buy the house next door to his bar. And if he did, he'd rent it to us. Now I know this isn't a future I should be banking on, let alone even daydreaming about, but it's nice to know our bartender is rooting for us.

We're going to find a home. And when we do, it will be PERFECT.

Disappointed...

2010-04-26T22:09:00.000-07:00

No satisfactory Google results for "hobbit foot fetish", though plenty of options is you're just looking for 2 out of 3.

Other phrase written during last night's cold medicine induced delirium: naked baby thrower. A thrower of naked babies? Or a naked person throwing babies? Where did this thought even come from?