48 posts tagged “alaska”
Jan. 3, 1959, Alaska became the 49th state of the United States. 50 years later and I find myself, at the ripe old age of 28, living here among the moose and bear and the even more unusual animals (read: humans). I never would have chosen Alaska as a place of residence on my own, and I still have plans to leave within the next couple years - but I can't deny that Alaska has its own particular charm and appeal. I could probably come up with a long list of things I dislike about this place, but on the other hand I could likely create a similar list of things I love.
Anyway, the 50th anniversary of our statehood was a few days ago and I was lucky enough to have a prime spot to enjoy the fireworks show. Standing atop the parking garage of our downtown 5th Ave. Mall, shivering in the negative 15 or 20 temp we had that night, I was still able to snap a few photos that turned out decent. We had to get there an hour early and the traffic jam getting out of the parking garage afterward was a joy filled 2 hour adventure, but I suppose it was all worth it for the light show in the sky.
At least I have photos to prove I was there!
** You know it's been awhile since you last blogged when it takes you 3 tries to get the correct password **
Well lets see, since I last blogged a few things have happened:
My brother unfortunately failed his first attempt at his drivers license. Apparently he rolled into a crosswalk without fulling coming to a stop at the preceding stop sign, thus automatically failing. The terrible thing about it is the fact that it was the very last thing he would have been graded on before pulling back into the DMV parking lot. He is pretty bummed out about the whole situation, to say the least.
He thinks because all his friends passed on their first try that he is somehow a failure for not getting his, but as I tried to tell him; some of the best drivers I know (including myself) failed their test multiple times before finally passing. I know personally I didn't pass until my 3rd attempt. Since then I've never had so much as a parking or speeding ticket, so failing your driving test isn't a lifetime judgment on your driving skill... but of course the wound is fresh for him, so he doesn't want to hear it. I can't say I blame him though, I was a depressed lad after failing mine.
He'll be taking his next attempt at the local driving school, for a 60 dollar fee. I'd love to just have him take the free DMV test again, but between the upcoming start of his school year and my new work schedule I just don't have the time to get him there. At 60 bucks a pop though he better pass this new test on the first try!
On to less important matters; I've pulled all my money out of the bank, and promptly put it into another bank... Yeah. Well my previous bank has just screwed me over too many times for my liking, so enough was enough. I pretty much just walked across the street -- literally -- to the 'rival' bank and opened myself up an account there. I told them exactly where I was coming from and why I was there, and they just about rolled out the red carpet for me. They were practically giddy to hear my story - I guess stealing customers is a time honored tradition among businesses that lay across the street from each other.
In other more Alakan'ish news, but still relating to money, the state has approved what they are calling an "Energy Rebate", which is our politicians whimsical way of saying "Ya'll are gettin' some free cash". 1,200$ of free cash to be exact. They are saying this is to offset the rising costs of heating oil, natural gas, and disel fuel, among others. I don't much care what their reasoning is, all they had to do is mention the fact that I'll be getting free money and that is all I need to know. Of course THIS free money is on top of the regular free money that we already get each year (the PFD), so they are projecting this years check to be in the 3,500 dollar range... Yup, three and a half grand, for free. I already have plans to get myself a TV, new camera, and probably an Amazon Kindle with that money, and I'll still likely have 2 grand left to put into the bank - good times, good times.
There are times I hate being in Alaska (like, uhh... winter) but there are definitely perks to living in this state, for sure.
Well lets see, since I last blogged a few things have happened:
My brother unfortunately failed his first attempt at his drivers license. Apparently he rolled into a crosswalk without fulling coming to a stop at the preceding stop sign, thus automatically failing. The terrible thing about it is the fact that it was the very last thing he would have been graded on before pulling back into the DMV parking lot. He is pretty bummed out about the whole situation, to say the least.
He thinks because all his friends passed on their first try that he is somehow a failure for not getting his, but as I tried to tell him; some of the best drivers I know (including myself) failed their test multiple times before finally passing. I know personally I didn't pass until my 3rd attempt. Since then I've never had so much as a parking or speeding ticket, so failing your driving test isn't a lifetime judgment on your driving skill... but of course the wound is fresh for him, so he doesn't want to hear it. I can't say I blame him though, I was a depressed lad after failing mine.
He'll be taking his next attempt at the local driving school, for a 60 dollar fee. I'd love to just have him take the free DMV test again, but between the upcoming start of his school year and my new work schedule I just don't have the time to get him there. At 60 bucks a pop though he better pass this new test on the first try!
On to less important matters; I've pulled all my money out of the bank, and promptly put it into another bank... Yeah. Well my previous bank has just screwed me over too many times for my liking, so enough was enough. I pretty much just walked across the street -- literally -- to the 'rival' bank and opened myself up an account there. I told them exactly where I was coming from and why I was there, and they just about rolled out the red carpet for me. They were practically giddy to hear my story - I guess stealing customers is a time honored tradition among businesses that lay across the street from each other.
In other more Alakan'ish news, but still relating to money, the state has approved what they are calling an "Energy Rebate", which is our politicians whimsical way of saying "Ya'll are gettin' some free cash". 1,200$ of free cash to be exact. They are saying this is to offset the rising costs of heating oil, natural gas, and disel fuel, among others. I don't much care what their reasoning is, all they had to do is mention the fact that I'll be getting free money and that is all I need to know. Of course THIS free money is on top of the regular free money that we already get each year (the PFD), so they are projecting this years check to be in the 3,500 dollar range... Yup, three and a half grand, for free. I already have plans to get myself a TV, new camera, and probably an Amazon Kindle with that money, and I'll still likely have 2 grand left to put into the bank - good times, good times.
There are times I hate being in Alaska (like, uhh... winter) but there are definitely perks to living in this state, for sure.
Well it has been awhile, I know, and I don't really have any excuses for my long absence - I've just not been in a blogging mood the past month or so. Life has been carrying on as usual, and summer seems to be dead in the water--to steal a nautical phrase. This has been an abysmal summer in just about every way you could possibly measure. It's been cool, cloudy, rainy and just all around depressing.
The only people I know who have been enjoying the summer are the fishers, because the worse the weather the better the fishing. Or so they say.
Just to put things into perspective, on the way to work this morning I heard a lady call in and say that she was a life-long Alaskan, born and raised, and in all her years the worst winter she has ever seen has been Summer '08. Yeah I know that she was exaggerating--slightly--but it just goes to show that everyone is noticing just how crappy this summer has been. I've only had to mow my lawn twice... just twice! I know that must sound rather nice to you folks who have to mow every weekend, but understand that just as my grass isn't growing, neither are any of my plants and flowers.
It's all just stunted and dead.
This is my 10th summer in Alaska so far and I can easily say that this has been the worst. I feel bad for the poor tourists who saved up for their "dream" vacation only to be met with dismal gloomy weather the entire trip. I guess we can't control the weather, but I'd sure like to see the sun at least once again before the summer ends.
I was letting my brother drive my car yesterday to get more practice in before he takes his drivers test, and suddenly he says "Wow that was odd, what just happened... Is the car overheating?" I leaned over and looked, said "No, why?" He responds, "It just got really hot all of a sudden." To which I replied, "Thats because the sun just came out." My brother was silent for a moment, then says "Oh...! I'm not used to that."
That pretty much sums up the Alaskan summer of '08.
The only people I know who have been enjoying the summer are the fishers, because the worse the weather the better the fishing. Or so they say.
Just to put things into perspective, on the way to work this morning I heard a lady call in and say that she was a life-long Alaskan, born and raised, and in all her years the worst winter she has ever seen has been Summer '08. Yeah I know that she was exaggerating--slightly--but it just goes to show that everyone is noticing just how crappy this summer has been. I've only had to mow my lawn twice... just twice! I know that must sound rather nice to you folks who have to mow every weekend, but understand that just as my grass isn't growing, neither are any of my plants and flowers.
It's all just stunted and dead.
This is my 10th summer in Alaska so far and I can easily say that this has been the worst. I feel bad for the poor tourists who saved up for their "dream" vacation only to be met with dismal gloomy weather the entire trip. I guess we can't control the weather, but I'd sure like to see the sun at least once again before the summer ends.
I was letting my brother drive my car yesterday to get more practice in before he takes his drivers test, and suddenly he says "Wow that was odd, what just happened... Is the car overheating?" I leaned over and looked, said "No, why?" He responds, "It just got really hot all of a sudden." To which I replied, "Thats because the sun just came out." My brother was silent for a moment, then says "Oh...! I'm not used to that."
That pretty much sums up the Alaskan summer of '08.
In a few hours I'm probably going to be getting a call confirming my upcoming flight down to Minnesota. It's going to be a week long trip, and depending on whether or not I have wifi access at the hotel will determine if I'll be blogging at all till about the end of the month . Lets just say that I'm not looking forward to this trip. At all. I have no interest in Minnesota (no offense to anyone living there) and I really am not happy about the changes that will likely be happening to my work schedule (and thus my life) during the days after I get back home.
But that is life, as they say. All I know is that I have at the very most two more years in Alaska. As soon as my little brother graduates high school, I'm gone. The time for me to have moved on is way overdue. Alaska is beautiful, probably the most beautiful place I've ever lived, but it just isn't where I want to be. So as much as I know I'll be disliking my job for... awhile, it's not going to be forever.
I have places to go and people to see, and those places and people are most definitely not here in the Last Frontier.
But that is life, as they say. All I know is that I have at the very most two more years in Alaska. As soon as my little brother graduates high school, I'm gone. The time for me to have moved on is way overdue. Alaska is beautiful, probably the most beautiful place I've ever lived, but it just isn't where I want to be. So as much as I know I'll be disliking my job for... awhile, it's not going to be forever.
I have places to go and people to see, and those places and people are most definitely not here in the Last Frontier.
