Christmas

This year was my first Christmas away from my family and while it was hard, it was made easier due to some great friends. I planned a brunch for Christmas Day so those of us left behind could commiserate and celebrate together. I made tofu scramble and others brought: hashbrowns, cinnamon rolls, pumpkin cheese cake, fruit, and granola. It was all quite spectacular and left us lulled into a stupor on various furniture pieces around the apartment. Charlie and the Chocolate Factory was on as a holiday movie, playing in the background, and I knew then that we had a tradition in the making. There are no photos worth posting of it other than these spices (garam marsala, paprika, turmeric) before I mixed them with onions and garlic--the beginnings of a tofu scramble:



But I am getting ahead of myself here. Upon waking up, I woke up Ryan with a phone call and soon we were video chatting while opening our gifts. I received a 50 mm lens for my dSLR and a book of portrait photography by Henri Cartier-Bresson from Ryan, both of which I am enjoying. The lens is the one used for every photo in this post. Thanks, baby! Ryan enjoyed his lightbox, film and skillet mitt. The next gifts I opened were from Ryan's mom.



The hat actually fits my head, which is quite an anomaly, I assure you. After every hat in the local outdoor outfitter store would not fit my head (except ugly, non-descript things), I wasn't sure if I would find a proper winter hat. A matching scarf came with it and both are beautifully colored. The handwarmers will come in handy (ha) as well. Thanks, Moo!

So, fast forwarding to after the brunch...my Wrangell momma and her husband came to pick me up for some family Christmastime. I played with remote controlled helicopters, watched Nintendo gaming systems being played, talked, ate, and petted animals. It was nice to soak up some family atmosphere, even if they aren't my own family. By the time I went home, it was 54 degrees, windy and night time. Alaskan weather is almost as strange as my home state's. It must be the ocean's influence.

With that, I leave you with some of my holiday decorating. The rest (not photographed) include cards and a small, red glittered tree.



I am wondering about one of the cards...there is no return address, no origin stamp and no full name is assigned. So, "A", if you are the one who sent me this card, please let me know so I may attribute it properly!

nearly three months...and winter

As I walked on the airport loop after church, I thought about how almost three months ago I was being driven on this very same loop to what was going to be my apartment. In some ways, I could hardly believe it's only been three months. With the weekend potlucks, surprise parties, dates, visits, new people arriving and work (especially work), time has flown by and I imagine it to be somewhere around end of the March instead of nearly mid-December. But here I am, crunching through half an inch of snow, looking at the clear, blue sky broken up with mountains and muskeg trees. No doubt, it is winter.

I finally feel like I am getting a grasp of what my job is and what I do. With the job comes new things almost constantly, so it is almost like waiting for something new to overwhelm me. However, it shouldn't overwhelm me as much as it did in the beginning. Feeling more confident about what I am doing helps, too.

It is definitely winter in that the sun rises while I walk to work and it is dark by 3:30 pm. We have been fortunate to see some amazing sunrises, sunsets and just plain sun during the day. However, the thing about it getting dark so early is that you're about ready to take a nap when you get home from work and would just rather stay home when you get there. December 21st is the winter solstice and nearly everywhere I go, lately, someone is talking about it. Keeping hope for when those longer days return.

Another sign of winter is running the heater all of the time. I do not have heat other than the electric heaters in my apartment. After receiving my November electric bill, I realized just how much it takes to run these heaters. Since then, I decided to keep them on low over night so they don't have to work as hard in the morning or in the evening when I am home. Perhaps I'll see a decrease in my bill next month? I'm hoping so. I briefly considered moving, but with my rent as low as it is, it does make more sense to stay here and pay the higher heat bill than move elsewhere by myself.

Ryan sent me some photos from when I visited him a few weeks ago. Following is a goober-tastic photo of myself in Ryan's snowshoes in our trek through the Homestead Trail:



I hope to do some more snoeshoeing sometime soon.

What has helped with the darkness lately is having better lighting at home. I purchased one of those rice paper lamps (online) and set it up in my apartment this week. Its glow lights up the room, but is much softer and gives the apartment a more home-like feel. Settling in seems to be an ongoing process, even when you think you're done.

photos from my adventures up north

The sun setting, late afternoon.


Mountains, Ocean, Beach


Ryan, composing the shot


The beach was very reflective that day. Close to sunset.

thoughts from the plane

The soreness from yesterday's hike is finally settling in. My legs, sore from the awkward gait of the snowshoes, are briefly relieved when I take off my BOG boots so I can move my feet as I like. My upper arms are also sore from supporting the weight of my pack and taking it on and off. Although I had forgotten my snowshoes, Ryan let me use his so I could see what they were like. soon, I was wearing them the entirety of our hike. I liked the bar I could flip up to use on inclines. I was pretty good at not stepping on each of the shoes, although I did wipe out a few times. Luckily, the snow was fluffy and I was bundled in multiple layers so the falls didn't hurt. The only time it came close to hurting was when I completely wiped out and my messenger bag whipped around and whacked me in the face. Other than that, the terrain was fairly boring and I was afraid we'd run into bears toward the end. I'd see what I thought were their tracks as it got darker and darker and insisted on holding onto Ryan's hand even though it made it more difficult to hike. We ran into the presidents of the ski club and despite being nice, we knew we were being lectured about punching holes into their precious groomed trails with our boots and snowshoes.

Other outdoorsy things we did included walking on a frozen lake (not for very long because I was nervous) and went to the beach to take photos. I will post photos from that soon.

home

And where are you from? The cashier asked.

Wrangell. I answered. Huh. I'm from Wrangell. I didn't even further explain that I recently moved from another state this time.

Are you visiting family then? she asked me.

I'm visiting my boyfriend. We met in Wrangell and then he moved up here for a job.

That was the first time I referred to Wrangell as "home". Previously, I had referred to my prior residence as home. I guess living two months in a new place is long enough for such a label. Another step in settling in.

ask and you shall receive

Just as I received my snowshoes and was waiting for the snow, it came the next day. This photo was taken today after coming home from work. Adam, most appreciatively, gave me a ride home and I was glad to use my yak trax in my walk to work this morning.

Will I get up that mountain and snow hike through that fluffy stuff? I hope so!

snowshoeing and other activities

When my snowshoes arrived, I couldn't believe I found something for me to wear that actually dwarfed the size of my head. After that first note of happiness, I also noted that the steel teeth on the bottom of said snowshoes were bada@@. These far above my mental image of tennis rackets strapped to my shoes or boots. These could tear up some stuff (like the inside of the box they came in, for instance).

Now for some snow.

Nearly all the mountains around here have a dusting of snow but it has not come down to sea level yet. Word is that it will snow down here tomorrow.

Liz and I hiked Mt. Dewey again yesterday. We had the day off for Veteran's Day and celebrated it by liberating her dog Burton to hike up and down the mountain. It's not a terribly hard boardwalk trail, and with Burton keeping us moving, we made it up in 12 short minutes. You can click here for pictures from our time together, as well as other hiking trips. Those pictures are roughly on the bottom third of the page.

The rest of the day was spent relaxing, doing laundry and cleaning up the apartment. A few weeks ago, Adam, Sarah and Liz all helped me paint my apartment a delightfully beige color named Nation and another reddish color for an accent wall in the bathroom. I will post more pictures once I finish taking them of the entryway and have a bit more bandwidth to spare. That's one thing I don't like about rural Alaska...internet data caps!

it's dark and wet

When that alarm goes off in the morning, I don't want to get up. It's warm underneath the flannel sheets, two down blankets, fleece blanket and my comforter whereas my face feels the icy cool air of my bedroom. Besides, it's dark. Who has motivation to get up when it's dark?

By the time I get home from work, it is also dark. It starts to get dark around 4:30 now with it fully dark by 5:15/5:30.

And when it's raining plus darkness...there's no hope.

I'm officially in Alaska. Time to get used to the dark and wet outdoors.

My solution is to some day rig up a full spectrum light to a timer to go off every morning to help wake me. Let's hope it works.

hair cut: a lesson in island culture

For a while, I thought I might be able to pull through without a haircut. My hair would simply grow into a long mess that I could pull into a pony tail until I could get my hair cut at home again. However, I soon realized that I did not like this option. The hair became unkempt and flat (see crazed vegan candy picture from my previous post). I made the hair appointment.

Upon showing up 10 minutes early for the apartment, I was surprised to find the establishment dark and locked. After calling around, I found out that if one wants to go home, she goes home, regardless of appointments booked.

Such is life on an island.

I had waited for this haircut for a long time and was very disappointed. I stomped from store to store to find a thinning shears. No luck (and no surprise).

It was time to take matters into my own hands.



I picked up my hair scissors and hacked away. Although it still needs the refinement of the thinning shears (shipping from Amazon today), the hair is less a flat, unruly mess for now.

Although I still miss my stylist in MI, cutting my own hair will happen until I return to the Mitten. No wonder Alaskans are so independent; sometimes you have to do it yourself so that it gets done.

commute time, shortened

I recently acquired Rybi, a new-to-me bike given to me by Ryan before he left for Homer. It's blue, has new gears and a new seat, and rides smoothly. While breaks that curl around the handlebars of a road bike are not my favorite, I am getting used to them. The bike fits me quite well height-wise, so it is easier to have my hands in the curl rather than the top part of the bar than it has been on previous road bikes I've used. The nice part is that it takes a shorter amount of time to get to work or run errands now. I have yet to conquer one of the hills here, but that gives me a goal to work toward.

Other Alaska gear I have acquired since arriving here is Yak Trax Walker for more traction on ice and snow. They slip over the bottom of your shoes. I am also looking at snowshoes for winter hiking, more fleece jackets and winter boots. The hard part about winter boots is that most women's boots are either fashionable but useless or functional but ugly as sin. The search continues.

Today in the mail, I received my shipment from Vegan Essentials, which included the mouth watering Jokerz and Mahalo bars from GoMaxGo! Foods, Primal Strips Seitan Jerky (in mesquite and texas bbq flavors) and Sour Mambas. Shipping wasn't outrageous (for Alaskan standards) and I'll probably order again when this runs out.



See my eyes crazed with GoMaxGo! goodness?

I moved to my second temporary office this week. Now they are done building my office down there and once I have a computer, I'm all set to move. I have appreciated working next to Adam though and we celebrated by declaring Friday Snuggie Day. My mom brought one up for me when she visited.

I received my first paycheck today and although it was only for three days of work (because of how the pay periods go), I think I like this whole salaried staff thing.

This weekend is a three day weekend. Alaska celebrates the day it became a state on Monday, so we get the day off from work! It will be nice to have an extra day to relax, do laundry and putter around the house/town. Liz and I are going to pick out paint colors at the hardware store, shop at Salvatore Armani (aka Salvation Army), have coffee, enjoy a vegan potluck and whatever else we can come up with. Can you believe I will have been here a month on Sunday? This time has flown by.

whirlwind week

It has been a whirlwind of a week in Wrangell. In addition to working 8-5 this week, I spent time with my mom. Mostly we ate dinner, watched TV and hung out at home. However, Thursday night we "walked" Addison together and drove to a couple scenic spots before dinner and TV time. Friday, I brought her to the airport to return home. It's somewhat surreal having people from home visit you when you live so far away. You can't quite believe they're here and you can't quite believe it when they're gone. I didn't realize how much I was used to living independently until Mom visited...nor did I realize how much was missing from my kitchen. Each night when I'd come home, she would have something new that she bought me: a kitchen timer, a cutting board, another pan, dust buster, clothes drying rack, some of my favorite foods, etc. It was nice. She even cooked me dinner throughout the week...what a nice surprise. I felt like I should be the host since she was staying with me, but she took care of me very well. Thanks, Mom!

Friday night I went to dinner with some people I had first met in Wrangell. Saturday, Ryan and I went out to Thom's Lake and hiked around for the afternoon. The fall colors here aren't quite like home, but I settled for the yellowish orange of the muskeg with the contrasting green evergreens here. At the end of the trail is the lake, placid except for a few fish that would surface. In the evening, we went to see District 9. I didn't know it would be in a documentary-like style, but it was still pretty good. It seemed to point out some similarities to the Nazis with concentration camps and Apartheid in South Africa with the aliens vs. humans plot. It wasn't as violent as Inglorious Bastards, which isn't a surprise since Tarantino did not direct this film.

Today is gloriously sunny. I've spent some more time organizing my apartment, thinking about different wall colors, hanging out with Addison and cleaning. When the sun shines so little, it is amazing how important it coming out is.

Mom's here!

Mom arrived safely on Sunday afternoon. Ryan took us to Turn's Island for hiking. Above is a picture of us while on the trail and below is the view we had once we hiked down to the beach.



In the evening we had a potluck with some friends. It's been great coming home from work and having dinner on the table...I'm not used to that at all. Monday we had lunch together at the Diamond C, one of the cafes here. Other than that, Mom's been on her own while I work. We'll do a few more things together before she leaves on Friday afternoon.

the first (work) week

Last weekend perked up considerably. I went to a Rockabilly themed party, which included a trip to the local bowling alley (only 2 lanes!). Sunday afternoon was spent in Rainbow Falls. It's a hiking trail that leads through some mountains, near a waterfall and has beautiful views.

Here is a picture of me at the beginning of the trail. Most of the trail is boardwalk throughout. Later in the afternoon, Liz, Adam and Sarah headed over for a vegan potluck at my place. This week's theme was Mexican. Unfortunately, I forgot to take pictures. However, we had a good time. After that, I experienced a movie night in Wrangell. That weekend's movie was Inglorious Bastards. It pointed out some ingenious work, but moved along slowly. The movie "theater" is one room with plastic chairs. People who have gone to Calvin: they are chairs like the DeVos Center.

The rest of the week included the beginning of work in Wrangell. This week was more orientation and job shadowing than anything, but I liked it and am looking forward to having my own client load next week.

Three out of the five work days were sunny and gorgeous, despite the air still being brisk. It made for some killer sunsets as I walked around the island (second picture below) or even just as a view from my living room (first picture below).





I received roughly 11 packages this week and have unpacked most of them. Settling into my apartment here in Wrangell is going very well. I ran into my landlord at the grocery store this morning and she said when I paint, that she will pay for the paint. She's also looking into sheers for the windows and will take my input.

Tonight is Girl's Night. We are going to eat salad and watch The Time Traveller's Wife together. Tomorrow my mom arrives and everyone will receive much deserved surrogate mother action. It'll be a good week.

To see more of my pictures of Rainbow Falls, sunsets and more of life around Wrangell, click the Moving to Alaska link to the right of this page.

a new day

The cell phone works again. More later...

broken cell

On a side note, after the stint in the rain this morning, my cell phone has opted to allow only the 2,4,6,8, up, down and end buttons to work. If you text, leave messages or call me, I apologize for not getting back to you. Now when I open my phone, the pound (#) key is pressed until I press one of the aforementioned keys to stop it. Let's hope the phone dries out enough to be usable tomorrow.

only a matter of time

It was only a matter of time before I broke down. I hated trudging through the rain this morning. I was so mad that I was wearing my rainboots, rainpants and raincoat. Usually I can get away with rainboots and a raincoat. Standing in the rain for 30 minutes with a stubborn St. Bernard didn't add to my affinity for the island either or did my cell phone refusing to work after getting slightly damp while using it. Cursing my choice for a new job, I curled up in bed with the space heater on, trying to get warm and dry.

Self-pity over, I went back into town again later. The sun was out and I was able to remove my rain coat. One tends to get sweaty in plastic clothing. I talked with Liz, ate a chocolate cupcake and headed back home. Now, the sun is out for the second time today. This place must be exquisitely beautiful in the summer when the sun is out more frequently. Blue skies, green all around, views of the mountains...breathtaking. Feeling a little better, I look forward to seeing Inglourious Basterds at the visitor's center and going to the Rummage Sale and the Salvation Army this weekend. My first day of work is Monday and maybe that will help me keep my mind busy, even when the weather's not so great.

settling in

So much has happened since my last post that I am not sure where to begin. I'll try my best to convey what has been going on.

On Monday, I met with the landlady to sign the lease. She showed me a different apartment than the one I had first seen on Sunday. The bedroom is much bigger and even has its own bathroom. The floor plan of the rest of the apartment is open and is also larger than the first apartment I saw. It was even the same rent. Score! I signed the lease and could begin moving in ASAP. Liz walked with me to the Post Office where I received my own PO Box. They do not deliver mail to your door here in rural Alaska, so everyone goes to the Post Office to pick it up. If you would like to send me any mail, shoot me an email (jean [dot] emily [at] gmail [dot] com) and I'll give you my address.

I also switched utilities to my name, turned in my paperwork, and shopped some for the apartment. During their lunch breaks, Adam and Liz helped me move my stuff to my apartment. I set up what stuff I had and gave Sarah, another new clinician, a call. We met up in the grocery store later, I helped "fix" her toilet and then we went to my place for a little bit. Adam came later and we went to work out at the gym. The gym is part of the local high school. It actually has some pretty nice equipment, albeit limited in number of machines and space. I made my dinner that night (spring rolls) and continued setting up house.

I slept poorly during the night, not only take 2+ hours to fall asleep but also waking up at 4 and having a hard time falling back asleep. My cold had also taken a turn for the worse and didn't help matters. However strange that was, I felt rested when I got up. Sarah and I met up to run errands together. There are probably very few people who go in at the same time in the same room to get separate bank accounts, but we did it. We were able to setup our internet/cable as well. Every other Tuesday, a man named Dan parks his van in a parking lot and sells organic produce. We met Liz and went over there together. I bought some ginger, arugula, spinach, yukon gold potatoes, and japanese sweet potato. I'm already looking forward to two weeks from now when he comes again. At the end of the day, I worked out again. When we left the gym, the sky was so clear...I wish I had my camera. You could see all of the islands around as well as further mountains in the distance. It looked so gorgeous.

Wednesday was spent around the apartment again and I walked to town a few times for more items I had forgotten as well as to pick up my second box from home. Liz came over for dinner: broccoli, garlic and arugula pizza with Japanese sweet potato fries and chocolate cupcake brownies for dessert. We discovered that microfiber dishcloths do not work well as hot pads. They burn designs into the fabric (see below). Lesson learned...use the terry cloth towel until I own oven mitts!

My apartment is really starting to feel like home...more of my items from home are arriving, I have my bills setup, utilities on and people are coming over for meals. When I talked to my parents last night, I remarked that I felt like an adult. Mom said, "You could have felt like an adult in MI, too, you know!" Well, yeah, she's right. But there's just something about setting up a home across the country on a remote island that has a bit more twinge of adventure to it.

first Sunday of settling

I first woke at 5 and made myself sleep until 7:45. I got ready for the day and after a while, Liz came over with bran muffins and soy milk. We went out to get coffee and came back to my place to chat. I have been really thankful for helpful coworkers and they have been great to hangout with as well.

After a while, I made lunch--stir fried tofu and broccoli over soba noodles. There's nothing that makes me feel more at home than cooking my own food. I invited Adam over for lunch, especially since he was working across the hallway. We enjoyed the meal and separated until he drove me to meet someone for an apartment. Although this apartment didn't quite have all the amenities of the last one, it still seemed decent. After accompanying Adam to pick up another new employee, I called to say I would like the apartment. I meet with her tomorrow.

After an afternoon of settling in and taking photos, I walked with Liz to Jerod's for a vegan potluck. Currently I am overfull of TVP, noodles and vegan carrot cake and so ready for bed. This is starting to feel a bit like home to me and I realize it probably won't be for a month or so that I realize I am here and so far away from home.

I leave you with a few pictures of Wrangell for the night. The first one is the Wrangell sign outside of the visitor's center. The one below I like because it shows the misty mountains in the background:



On an entertainment related note, they do show movies in town on the weekends. This weekend is Julie and Julia.

adjustment

In the light of the streetlamp through the window, I stretched my legs and thought about my day. I am so thankful for my coworkers, without them I would be completely lost. As much as I wish I could write and say that I'm in the apartment I put a deposit on a couple weeks ago, I cannot. We found upon arrival that the apartment was rented to someone else. Apparently my deposit was not received even though I mailed it ASAP after talking with the person on the phone. Currently I am in an apartment on an emergency basis and will hopefully find something within the week. I'm glad my start day is not for another week or I'd be completely overwhelmed. My coworkers have been amazing, calling places and troubleshooting what to do about the situation. My mom called to stop payment on the check I had sent incase the check ever shows up where it was intended to go or she actually does have it. After grocery shopping, a drive around town and out the road, and dinner together at the Stikine Inn, I'm settling into this apartment. I'm going to head out for a walk before sleep...I feel so mushy after traveling for so long.

I have more to write about saying goodbyes, but I'll write about the present at the moment. I am sitting in the SeaTac airport in the same spot I sat in roughly a month ago when I was flying back from my interview. What's different now is that I am on the tailend of an all-nighter in the airport. I hope I am able to sleep some on the plane from here to Wrangell. Otherwise, new coworkers, beware!

What's been fun about this trip out here is meeting new people. The last time I flew out, I didn't talk to anyone unless I was talked to and this time I thought I'd try my hand at conversation. Lo and behold I meet a mother who travels a lot for her job and worries about her older son going far away for college, an early 30s professional who has the public policy and administrative piece to the social work degree and a nearly 40-year-old divorcee who works in Maui, returning after a month off to explore the American continent as she scattered her mother's ashes. The last person I met spent the majority of this overnight with me, laying on benches in gate A. With the constant announcements overhead, vacuum cleaners going and any other noises, we didn't sleep very much. If I have to hear anymore about how SeaTac is a smoke-free environment or how much a woman loves to go there for a glass of wine and to catch up on her email, I'll...groan.

support and saying goodbye

I have been overwhelmed with the amount of responses I have received from people who want to say goodbye and keep updated on my life in Alaska. Sometimes you just don't know what you have until you leave it, you know? I knew I had it good, but was still amazed to see that proven over the past few weeks.

Sometimes saying goodbye triggers things that may not have happened otherwise. While I cannot truly know they wouldn't happen without the goodbye, it does seem that way. One of these things was an impromptu neighborhood gathering. My family was out on the porch when one of our neighbors came over, knowing I was leaving soon for Alaska. Soon, her husband came out with another neighbor. My dad had placed a telescope in the lawn, which attracted yet more neighbors. A while later, a fire started in the handmade firepit next to us while the neighbors crowded around. We talked and laughed late into the night. Ah, the friendships you develop before you leave...

Another goodbye was a couple of Sundays ago. Friends of mine had their second baby girl not too long ago and I had babysat their first girl since she was two months old. While holding the second baby, the only things that reminded me that was a baby and not a doll was her breathing and tiny movements. She was so sweet to hold and as I did so, I hoped I would get to know her in person some day.

The last goodbye I will write about in this post is saying goodbye to work at the middle school. I helped as much as I could before my last day. It was good to see the students start their first week, run my last chapel and say goodbye to staff and faculty. At the end, they had a farewell party for me in the library of the school (featuring the hat a few posts old). Even though I had been there only two years, I felt like I had been a member of their team for a lot longer. What a nice family of people with which to work.

first boxes

If it wasn't already apparent that I'm moving, it certainly is now. My room has been utter chaos since moving back after dog/house-sitting, but has gotten much better now that I have packed up 2 25x25x25 boxes (UPS' largest sold) and 2 smaller boxes of books. Two suitcases are also packed. This morning, my mom and I wrestled (pronounced "Wrastled" to go along with "Wrangell") two of the big boxes out to the car, only to discover that just one large box fit. We wrestled the big box back into the dining room, to be shipped tomorrow. Today, the first wave of boxes will be sent out (1 25x25x25 and 2 book boxes).

This is really happening. A good portion of my stuff is gone now.

when you hear "Alaska" you think...

Today began innocently enough. The last day of work, finishing up odds and ends, 2/3 of the classes being gone, lunchtime...and then the after school party happened.



They make nice with the coffee, cider and treats first. Then come the presents. Faux fur hat and scarf!



They crack me up. Who wouldn't hear "Alaska" and think fur-lined hats and scarves?

open house celebration

Come on over to wish me the best in Alaska, open house style. Friends and family with kids, feel free to bring them! This will be a bare bones affair, where there may be some cookies and drinks, but really you're there to say goodbye (for now). It's not goodbye forever.

Please bring no gifts. Your presence is present enough for me (corny but true).

The festivities will be on Wednesday, September 16 from 6:30pm until 9pm. Hope to see you then!

sight unseen

On Saturday, one of the places I called for an apartment returned my call. She is going to hold the apartment for me for when I arrive. A person will show me the apartment when I arrive. This takes a huge weight off my shoulders, as I was beginning to worry that I would get off the plane and have nowhere to stay. The apartment comes mostly furnished, which I am also thankful for given that I am leaving all of my furniture behind. Although prepared to sleep in a sleeping bag on the floor until a bed could be purchased or prepared to retrieve clothes from suitcases until I could get a hold of a used dresser, having real furniture already available is that much better. I am wondering if "sight unseen" will become a new theme for my life, since I have accepted this position "island unseen", "worksite unseen" and now this "apartment unseen".

saying goodbyes

Since being offered the new position, I have started a series of goodbyes. I don't think of them as goodbyes forever, just goodbye for now. Besides, with Web 2.0 applications, it is much easier to stay in contact with loved ones around the world while one is off galivanting around remote islands. Still, that doesn't make it any easier to say goodbye to that physical connection for which a local proximity allows. I would like to capture as many of these local proximity goodbye moments as I can before I take off. While watching J and L's children for the last time tonight, there was the following conversation:

L: I want you to be gone when Mommy and Daddy get home.
A: Yeah.
Me: Oh?
L: Yeah, when Mommy and Daddy get home, you will be gone.
Me: That's right; Mommy and Daddy always come home after they go out, don't they? And then I leave.
L: Yeah. Except you will never come back.
Me: Yeah, 'cause I'm moving.
L: Yeah, 'cause you're moving...but I love you, Emily. (said like that's a reason not to go) (Insert heart jerk here.)
Me: I love you too, L. And I love you, A.
A: Love you too.

How do nearly 3-year-olds come up with that? I'm continually amazed at human beings as they mature, especially as children. It's hard enough to say goodbye to my friends and even harder to say goodbye to their children when I know that the children will change so fast before I see them again.

plane ticket

Even though I have been communicating with my future co-workers via email and phone, as well as purchasing my plane ticket, moving to Alaska still doesn't seem like something tangible. Two weeks from tomorrow night I will be on a plane, on my way. Somehow, that does not seem possible. Like somehow this is a dream and although I am working towards getting there, I cannot quite fathom what it will be like.

what are you doing in Wrangell?

"What will you be doing there? What is the job like?" are a few other questions I have received lately. I will be a casemanager for a community health organization, connecting chronically mentally ill, geriatrics, people with disabilities and others to resources in the community. Some day, it may also include a bit of counseling/therapy, which I am looking forward to. As far as what it is like...I won't know until I get there!

where is Wrangell?

One of the questions I get asked most frequently is: Where is this place? It is roughly 130 miles south of Juneau, as part of the panhandle of Alaska. It is on an island, shared with a rainforest, with views of the mountains, glaciers and, well, water. In this satellite view of Wrangell, you can see how green, yet icy, it is there. It rains most of the time (it does share an island with a rain forest!) but has its sunny moments. In the winter, temperatures are typically in the 30s and 40s and in summer, they are typically in the 50s and 60s. It rains more than snow falls, receiving 120 inches of precipitation per year. Population is estimated at 2,400 people year round. According to Wrangell.com, natural resources are its main sources of economy, from timber to salmon fishing. Tourism has increased over the years as well as its artists' community. I am looking forward to seeing what this community is all about!