Life has been purely crazy the last few days. I can't believe I have let this slip by the wayside. Well I am almost done with house sitting which will be nice. It was truly nice to have a car which scares me because I never want to love having a car, I think I need to have a long date with my bike. I don't know if this long distance relationship we are having is going to work out after all. She's going to have to move up here. Also the dog that I am watching has started to breath weirdly, I feel like she's going to croak at anytime. And she gets me up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom but nothing as bad as the puppy from hell. But all in all it was a nice break to have a house to myself.
Lets see on Saturday I went on a date with a drag king. yep I don't think I need to give details that should explain it all. It was nice, we danced and people watched. I also had my first ever....wait for it wait for it....jello shot. yay for me, well not really. It wasn't too tasty but free. As a JV I have learned one thing and that if it's free then you should take advantage of it.
Oh and as everyone knows I have been discerning another year of JVC. So I had the interview with the placement and it went amazing. She loved me, I loved her it was like love at first sight. The job sounds amazing exactly what I want, the city sounds amazing exactly what I want....so tomorrow I will let them know of my decision to not do a second year. I know you might be confused because why would I deny a second year if I love the job and the city. Well because I wouldn't be doing a second year of JVC with a full heart, I don't really want to live in community but would have done it if it got me to Portland. But I have too much respect for JVC to do that and I wouldn't want to live with someone who was only partly into it so I have decided to stay here in Anchorage for another year or so. I hope to find a job, maybe save some money, and if the yearning to live in Portland is still there then in a year I will move there and it will be just as exciting and special.
This week has been kinda long already and it's only Wednesday. My supervisor is on vacation for a week so it's just me and Annie, another JV. Oh sidenote on Friday I hear Annie arguing with someone over the mail. Now this already is out of the ordinary because I have never seen Annie argue or raise her voice. Well it all ends with the lady hitting Annie in the face, so yea be careful beanies are protective about their mail. I think I need to sharpen my reflexes. But back to the long week, thankfully our house is having a get together of friends on Friday. It's called "The Break Up Shake Up" because Alaska has two seasons, freeze up and break up and it's almost time for break up so we are going to start it a little early with a party. My hope is that someone brings the beer "session" because under the cap it has either a rock, paper, or scissors and then you play the game when you open your beer. ooh perfect timing now it's time to drop some beanies off at the hospital and maybe have enough time for coffee.
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Sunday, March 15, 2009
Selective hitchhiking
So when I blog I get really excited. I start to think about all the things I forgot to write about or remember funny events that I wish I would have talked about. And since I am at the housesitting house and have nothing better to do I will include some extras for this Sunday edition of my blog. First after leaving the coffee shop I went to the grocery store to buy some kale which is a treat I buy for myself. The grocery store reminded me of my first month in Anchorage. Me and Molly went there the first month to get some groceries and when we finished we realized we would have to wait an hour before the bus was going to come. So instead of waiting we practiced what Molly calls selective hitchhiking. It's catching a ride but gives you the perception that it's safer because you choose who you ask for a ride. So this is how it goes down. Stand outside of grocery store and ask people if they are going in your direction. We asked a few people and then finally asked these two girls who didn't live near us but gave us a ride anyway. They also just moved to Anchorage and were going to school at UAA. In retrospect I would say it's not the safest thing but it's a funny store to tell now.
Second I really like my housemates. Yes there are some moments that are hard and challenging but for the most part living in community this year has been pretty great. I definitely lucked out with my community and their willingness to be be vulnerable and to challenge themselves. Last night was really fun. I was listening to music out loud and then we watched Justin Timberlake's spoof on Beyonce's song Put A Ring On It which led to listening to more songs. So I asked my roommates if they knew how to do the Cupid Shuffle which is a popular song to play at the club. yes I know that it's not a hard song to dance to but I never knew when to turn so Sarah Lauren and Annie helped me out. There was just something special about the night, all three of us dancing the cupid shuffle in the living room and then other roommates joining in. I think I need to show more love to my roommates. For the most part I play the sarcastic mean role in community. I know that they understand me and know that I am joking when I say my sarcastic comments but I also hope that they really know that I do like them. Haha this is not going to turn into a romantic love sonnet for my roommates. But I hope that when we all move on from this experience that we keep in touch and that they know that I've really learned a lot from all of them. Now I think I will put on some dance music and dance and pretend that I am really good.
Second I really like my housemates. Yes there are some moments that are hard and challenging but for the most part living in community this year has been pretty great. I definitely lucked out with my community and their willingness to be be vulnerable and to challenge themselves. Last night was really fun. I was listening to music out loud and then we watched Justin Timberlake's spoof on Beyonce's song Put A Ring On It which led to listening to more songs. So I asked my roommates if they knew how to do the Cupid Shuffle which is a popular song to play at the club. yes I know that it's not a hard song to dance to but I never knew when to turn so Sarah Lauren and Annie helped me out. There was just something special about the night, all three of us dancing the cupid shuffle in the living room and then other roommates joining in. I think I need to show more love to my roommates. For the most part I play the sarcastic mean role in community. I know that they understand me and know that I am joking when I say my sarcastic comments but I also hope that they really know that I do like them. Haha this is not going to turn into a romantic love sonnet for my roommates. But I hope that when we all move on from this experience that we keep in touch and that they know that I've really learned a lot from all of them. Now I think I will put on some dance music and dance and pretend that I am really good.
Poker face
So I am sitting at a new coffee shop listening to "Poker Face" by Lady Gaga. There are two things that I have become addicted to in Anchorage, coffee and dance/hiphop music. These are not the things I thought I would discover when I moved to Anchorage or the things that JVC probably wants me to do with my time here. I guess drinking lots of coffee isn't that bad but it's one of the only luxuries that I can afford and it makes me feel so normal to just go out and have a cup of coffee. If anyone needs to know the prices of coffee in Anchorage please contact me. Starbucks is by far more expensive but it is more conveniant because it's by the hopsital where I drop people off. I like Kaladi the most because eventhough they are a chain they are a small chain with all the shops in Alaska and one in Seattle. They also have soy milk for free which adds a very nice nutty taste to the coffee. And I don't know why dance music, I guess because I like the beat of it and I get to crank it up after I drop people off after van rides. I realize that when people see a white van with Bean's written on it and look to see who's driving they often see me dancing and singing on the top of my lungs to songs like Poker Face and Right Now. But it's a great release for me during the day which is so needed.
On another note I am housesitting/dog sitting once again. I hope that this is goes a lot better than the last one. It's funny because the dog that I am watching is 14 and can barely see and walk which is drastically different from the 5 month puppy that was the energizer bunny on speed. And I get a car for 10 days which is so nice. This morning I drove to Kincaid to go cross country skiing with Annie and Emily which was so nice. The weather was amazing again and we did a different path then we usually do. Usually I ski on the novice trails but today we did moderate and advanced trails. There were some really steep sections where I pretty much just went sideways because it was too scary to go so fast. I wish I could describe how beautiful the trail was but you have to see it to really understand it. I am thinking of driving to Palmer next weekend and skiing there. Palmer is a small town about 30-45 minutes from Anchorage and it has some really nice ski trails and a nice hippy coffee shop. See I have a one track mind it's all about the coffee. I feel like I am like that dog in the commercial where all I can think about is bacon beggin strip. But instead of bacon my mind is coffee, coffee, girls, girls, coffee, dance music, girls, coffee. haha I am just joking I am not a lush. Yes I have had way too much caffeine and I am listening to Right Now by Akon.
On a closing note I got into JVC and got placed with Catholic Social Services being an outreach worker. If I accept it/they accept me I will be doing outreach to chronically homeless women and helping them transition into permanent housing. The position definentely appeals to me but also scares the socks right off me. I think this job would challenge me but I hope that I am what they are looking for. I will be interviewing with this agency in a week or so and will keep people updated. I think that if I really like the position then I would do a second year of JVC but if it's so so then I will probably stay here. I guess a lot hinges on the interview. Alright time for a potty break.
On another note I am housesitting/dog sitting once again. I hope that this is goes a lot better than the last one. It's funny because the dog that I am watching is 14 and can barely see and walk which is drastically different from the 5 month puppy that was the energizer bunny on speed. And I get a car for 10 days which is so nice. This morning I drove to Kincaid to go cross country skiing with Annie and Emily which was so nice. The weather was amazing again and we did a different path then we usually do. Usually I ski on the novice trails but today we did moderate and advanced trails. There were some really steep sections where I pretty much just went sideways because it was too scary to go so fast. I wish I could describe how beautiful the trail was but you have to see it to really understand it. I am thinking of driving to Palmer next weekend and skiing there. Palmer is a small town about 30-45 minutes from Anchorage and it has some really nice ski trails and a nice hippy coffee shop. See I have a one track mind it's all about the coffee. I feel like I am like that dog in the commercial where all I can think about is bacon beggin strip. But instead of bacon my mind is coffee, coffee, girls, girls, coffee, dance music, girls, coffee. haha I am just joking I am not a lush. Yes I have had way too much caffeine and I am listening to Right Now by Akon.
On a closing note I got into JVC and got placed with Catholic Social Services being an outreach worker. If I accept it/they accept me I will be doing outreach to chronically homeless women and helping them transition into permanent housing. The position definentely appeals to me but also scares the socks right off me. I think this job would challenge me but I hope that I am what they are looking for. I will be interviewing with this agency in a week or so and will keep people updated. I think that if I really like the position then I would do a second year of JVC but if it's so so then I will probably stay here. I guess a lot hinges on the interview. Alright time for a potty break.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Bruise
I have the biggest bruise on my side. It's like deep deep purple and I can't wear a belt because it hurts too much to have any pressure on my side. But it was my fault, I was trying to push one of my roommates in the snow and we both fell down except I fell down on a small wooden post. I have no idea why I just blogged about that. I can't believe I went from two posts in one day to nothing in a little over a week.
So lets see where to start. Last Friday I had my interview with JVC:Northwest about applying for a second year. I think it went well, I find out today if I get accepted and on Friday where I get placed. I'm a little nervous because I don't know when I will get the call from Bruce my interviewer. On another note I have yet to know if my ovaries are malfunctioning. About a week ago I had an ultrasound on the ovaries to see if they were being good and I was supposed to hear within a day and nothing. I keep playing phone tag with the doctor or they just forget to call me back. Not that I paid for the procedure but still it took time and someone else's money for me to get the procedure done and all I want is a thumbs up or down. Hopefully I hear about the ovaries and JVC today and then I can move on to deal with the next issue of teeth.
This past weekend was crazy busy. On Friday was my roommates b-day and we were going to go to Humpy's to listen to Melissa Mitchell who is a local singer who is pretty popular in this area. But when we got there it was packed, probably because it's right downtown and the start of the Iditorad this weekend as well. So after waiting around we were going to just go home but bumped into a girl who we kinda know and she invited us to McGinley's which was fun. It's an irish pub downtown, nothing too special but it had more space than Humpy's. So we sat around, bumped into a few more people and then ended going up to Humpy's after all and dancing by the stage. It was fun, at one point I thought I saw the bamboozler but we didn't bump into each other. I really hate awkward interactions and I'm not excited for that first meet and greet.
Then Saturday was the start of the Iditorad, you know the big dog race that goes from Willow to Nome. They do a ceremonial start in Anchorage but it doesn't really start here. So on Saturday me and Annie decided to ski downtown and meet up with our roomies to watch it which was entertaining. I wasn't blown away or anything but I guess I can check it off my to do list, eventhough I don't think it was even on there. Then Saturday night I bummed a ride with an FJV and some roomies to Alyeska where they were going skiing. I didn't ski but I did get to watch skiers by a fire and pretend that I was a skier, I think I pulled it off quite well. Afterwards we ended up going to the Brown Bear which is this tiny bar between Girdwood, where Alyeska is, and Anchorage. It's a pretty popular place for bands to play and hippies to hang out. Again Melissa Mitchell was playing which was great. The place is one room with dollar bills tacked to the walls and packed with people smelling of weed and drinking cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. I would have to say that it was very Alaskan.
And finally to bore you even more I will talk about Sunday as well. Sunday was uneventful but I did watch a pretty great movie. It was called Itty Bitty Titty Committe which I know kinda sounds like a porn movie so I was a little skeptical. And yes it's not like an award winner but it is one of the best Lesbian films that I have seen. It's definentely an indie film that's not done with too much money but it still does a great job. I liked the acting and how it was filmed. The story was ok but I thought it was really well done. Most gay/lesbian films I have seen are absolutely horrible but this was a nice surprise. But the most excting(sarcasm) part of the day was our community money chat. So we've been housesitting and doing other jobs in order to save up some money for a house trip(s). In this meeting we were supposed to decide where we wanted to go and how many trips we wanted to do. Now warning the rest of this post will probably be one sided because well I am going to talk from my point of view. So we all agreed rather quickly about going to Homer for a weekend, check and done. But then instead of the meeting taking one hour it took many. The problem was that most of us wanted to go to Denali, by most I mean everyone but one person. Now I understand her reasoning, yes it would be a lot of traveling for just 2 days in Denali. Yes there could be things we could do that would be closer and yes it would be hard to organize a trip with 8 people. I totally understand that, what I don't understand is her resistance and what I see as selfishness. There were at least 4 people that would rather go to Denali than Homer but yet they compromised because they knew people wanted to go to Homer. Frankly I felt really hurt throughout the meeting. For this person it was not enough that people really wanted to go to Denali or the fact that some people will probably never come back to Alaska and going to Denali would be amazing. There's a lot of background that I don't know if I want to get into. But yes she does have a car that her parents shipped up because she works so early that no buses run. I'm totally fine with it but she needs to realize that has some advantages over the rest of us. She has times when she doesn't work for 9 days, she doesn't have to worry about renting a car when her boyfriend comes and he's coming a couple times. She's also staying after our year so she has more time. Yes I am a little jealous but I felt angry that she asked us why we wanted to go to Denali. I don't feel like I have to justify my reasoning for wanting to go to Denali, I would never ask people why they wanted to go because to me it doesn't matter. All that matters is that someone wants to go there and I would do it because I know how much it meant to that person. Anyway it ended with a vote where 7 of us wanted to do a group trip to Denali and she said that if all 7 us wanted to go then she would go as well. It's a very complicated matter and frankly it's not even about Denali. I think a lot of it is how people were raised which I will write more about in a different post.
I have to go do van rides now. This morning I got up early to help a roommate clean the yoga studio where she does work exchange which was actually fun. But now I am tired and realizing that the sun still hasn't come up because of daylight savings time.
So lets see where to start. Last Friday I had my interview with JVC:Northwest about applying for a second year. I think it went well, I find out today if I get accepted and on Friday where I get placed. I'm a little nervous because I don't know when I will get the call from Bruce my interviewer. On another note I have yet to know if my ovaries are malfunctioning. About a week ago I had an ultrasound on the ovaries to see if they were being good and I was supposed to hear within a day and nothing. I keep playing phone tag with the doctor or they just forget to call me back. Not that I paid for the procedure but still it took time and someone else's money for me to get the procedure done and all I want is a thumbs up or down. Hopefully I hear about the ovaries and JVC today and then I can move on to deal with the next issue of teeth.
This past weekend was crazy busy. On Friday was my roommates b-day and we were going to go to Humpy's to listen to Melissa Mitchell who is a local singer who is pretty popular in this area. But when we got there it was packed, probably because it's right downtown and the start of the Iditorad this weekend as well. So after waiting around we were going to just go home but bumped into a girl who we kinda know and she invited us to McGinley's which was fun. It's an irish pub downtown, nothing too special but it had more space than Humpy's. So we sat around, bumped into a few more people and then ended going up to Humpy's after all and dancing by the stage. It was fun, at one point I thought I saw the bamboozler but we didn't bump into each other. I really hate awkward interactions and I'm not excited for that first meet and greet.
Then Saturday was the start of the Iditorad, you know the big dog race that goes from Willow to Nome. They do a ceremonial start in Anchorage but it doesn't really start here. So on Saturday me and Annie decided to ski downtown and meet up with our roomies to watch it which was entertaining. I wasn't blown away or anything but I guess I can check it off my to do list, eventhough I don't think it was even on there. Then Saturday night I bummed a ride with an FJV and some roomies to Alyeska where they were going skiing. I didn't ski but I did get to watch skiers by a fire and pretend that I was a skier, I think I pulled it off quite well. Afterwards we ended up going to the Brown Bear which is this tiny bar between Girdwood, where Alyeska is, and Anchorage. It's a pretty popular place for bands to play and hippies to hang out. Again Melissa Mitchell was playing which was great. The place is one room with dollar bills tacked to the walls and packed with people smelling of weed and drinking cans of Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer. I would have to say that it was very Alaskan.
And finally to bore you even more I will talk about Sunday as well. Sunday was uneventful but I did watch a pretty great movie. It was called Itty Bitty Titty Committe which I know kinda sounds like a porn movie so I was a little skeptical. And yes it's not like an award winner but it is one of the best Lesbian films that I have seen. It's definentely an indie film that's not done with too much money but it still does a great job. I liked the acting and how it was filmed. The story was ok but I thought it was really well done. Most gay/lesbian films I have seen are absolutely horrible but this was a nice surprise. But the most excting(sarcasm) part of the day was our community money chat. So we've been housesitting and doing other jobs in order to save up some money for a house trip(s). In this meeting we were supposed to decide where we wanted to go and how many trips we wanted to do. Now warning the rest of this post will probably be one sided because well I am going to talk from my point of view. So we all agreed rather quickly about going to Homer for a weekend, check and done. But then instead of the meeting taking one hour it took many. The problem was that most of us wanted to go to Denali, by most I mean everyone but one person. Now I understand her reasoning, yes it would be a lot of traveling for just 2 days in Denali. Yes there could be things we could do that would be closer and yes it would be hard to organize a trip with 8 people. I totally understand that, what I don't understand is her resistance and what I see as selfishness. There were at least 4 people that would rather go to Denali than Homer but yet they compromised because they knew people wanted to go to Homer. Frankly I felt really hurt throughout the meeting. For this person it was not enough that people really wanted to go to Denali or the fact that some people will probably never come back to Alaska and going to Denali would be amazing. There's a lot of background that I don't know if I want to get into. But yes she does have a car that her parents shipped up because she works so early that no buses run. I'm totally fine with it but she needs to realize that has some advantages over the rest of us. She has times when she doesn't work for 9 days, she doesn't have to worry about renting a car when her boyfriend comes and he's coming a couple times. She's also staying after our year so she has more time. Yes I am a little jealous but I felt angry that she asked us why we wanted to go to Denali. I don't feel like I have to justify my reasoning for wanting to go to Denali, I would never ask people why they wanted to go because to me it doesn't matter. All that matters is that someone wants to go there and I would do it because I know how much it meant to that person. Anyway it ended with a vote where 7 of us wanted to do a group trip to Denali and she said that if all 7 us wanted to go then she would go as well. It's a very complicated matter and frankly it's not even about Denali. I think a lot of it is how people were raised which I will write more about in a different post.
I have to go do van rides now. This morning I got up early to help a roommate clean the yoga studio where she does work exchange which was actually fun. But now I am tired and realizing that the sun still hasn't come up because of daylight savings time.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
And you thought I was done
Yes two posts in on day, crazy I know. But I remembered something that I wanted to share. So on Saturday I went skiing on the coastal trail, I was planning to ski for a long time and even took some lunch with me. But about 30 minutes into the ski I hear someone running behind me. Nothing to get worried about people run, bike, and ski all on the same trail. But it felt kinda close so I begin to turn my head but before I can turn it all the way around I am frozen in fear because a moose gallops right past me. I think that if I stuck my tongue out I could have licked the moose, well maybe a little exagerated but it was damn close to me. He didn't seem agitated, he just looked like he was out on a little jog on a Saturday morning. So yea after that I decided to call it quits for the day and enjoy the fact that I didn't get run over by the moose. Moose supposedly have very poor eyesight so I am glad it didn't just crash into me and be like silly human trails are for moose.
The weekend
Has come and gone. Today was the first day of March, I am hoping for a good month. It’s light out now till about 6:30 which is crazy. I woke up today at 9 and the sun was streaming into my room which was so amazing. Today was probably one of the best days of winter. In the morning I went to Kincaid to go skiing with the roomies and a visiting boyfriend. It was perfect weather, sunny and not too cold. We went for a couple hours but half way through it we realized that we were on the course that was being used for a skijor race. So every few minutes we would have skiers passing us being pulled by dogs. It was great though to see it and be right in the mix of it all. Plus there were some pretty big hills that we skied down and I didn’t fall once. I did though fall once but I was standing still looking at the dogs that were passing us by. So maybe I should be less afraid of the hills and more afraid of my two left feet. But it was a beautiful morning.
After skiing we went home and then left to attend a drum circle at a fair trade store that sits in the hippy plaza. The hippy plaza is a strip mall here in anchorage where yes you probably guessed it the hippies hang out. Anchorage is pretty conservative and laden with strip malls. I don’t know who designed this city but they were for sure in love with strip malls. But anyway the hippy plaza isn’t too far from our house and it contains an REI store, a coffee shop, the fair-trade store, and some other progressive type stores. So the fair trade store was having a drumming circle from 2-4 so we decided to go and it was great. The store let us use their drums that they are selling and it was a pretty good crowd. There was this guy Jesse who led it and he was amazing. He taught us some rhythms and we just jammed out for a few hours. Then after the drumming circle we crossed the street in order to attend a Yoga class which was our spirituality night for the week. A couple of the roomies clean the yoga studio in exchange for free passes so they worked it out that our whole community could come for the Sunday class. The class was definitely a good compliment to the drumming circle. So what else could I ask for on a Sunday afternoon? Skiing, drumming, and yoga. Well my roommate also made an amazing carrot stew in the crock pot and that mixed with wheat berries was very tasty. One of my roommates bought 60 pounds of wheat berries so if anyone ever feels like visiting me don’t worry about being hungry. So yes now it’s time to go to bed and begin the month of March.
After skiing we went home and then left to attend a drum circle at a fair trade store that sits in the hippy plaza. The hippy plaza is a strip mall here in anchorage where yes you probably guessed it the hippies hang out. Anchorage is pretty conservative and laden with strip malls. I don’t know who designed this city but they were for sure in love with strip malls. But anyway the hippy plaza isn’t too far from our house and it contains an REI store, a coffee shop, the fair-trade store, and some other progressive type stores. So the fair trade store was having a drumming circle from 2-4 so we decided to go and it was great. The store let us use their drums that they are selling and it was a pretty good crowd. There was this guy Jesse who led it and he was amazing. He taught us some rhythms and we just jammed out for a few hours. Then after the drumming circle we crossed the street in order to attend a Yoga class which was our spirituality night for the week. A couple of the roomies clean the yoga studio in exchange for free passes so they worked it out that our whole community could come for the Sunday class. The class was definitely a good compliment to the drumming circle. So what else could I ask for on a Sunday afternoon? Skiing, drumming, and yoga. Well my roommate also made an amazing carrot stew in the crock pot and that mixed with wheat berries was very tasty. One of my roommates bought 60 pounds of wheat berries so if anyone ever feels like visiting me don’t worry about being hungry. So yes now it’s time to go to bed and begin the month of March.
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