Such is Life!

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My Bethel Cohort

I have this really amazing group of friends here in Bethel. The four of us all started teaching here during the same year. Hard to believe we're all still here 5 years later and that we all just signed a contract for one more year as well. I think the fact that we've had a tight little group of friends throughout these years here is one of the reasons why we're all still here.

Bethel (and Alaska in general) is a pretty difficult place to live. There are many hardships to endure including the cold, the long hours of darkness in the winter, the extreme weather, living within a new culture, high cost of living, some subpar housing/utility standards, and a loss of basic life amenities that you grow use to when living in the lower 48. But more bothersome than all of those things is the remoteness of life in bush Alaska...the disconnect...from friends and family, from quality grocery and other resources, from sources of entertainment and a social scene.

Life in Bethel, however, is also wonderful. There are many great qualities to life in bush Alaska including the long hours of daylight in the summer, hundreds of miles of open uninhabited land, wild fish/game to eat, beautiful colors of the changing tundra in the spring/fall, the pay scale, ability to travel, the interconnectedness of the community, living within one of the strongest native cultures in the world, and the resourcefulness that a person develops when living here. But more important than any of those things are the friends that take this journey with you....the friends...that lift you up when things are tough, that celebrate your successes, that make you laugh, that let you cry, that experience new adventures with you, that motivate you to workout and become a better person, who remind you to write on your blog:), that stand with you and shake their heads and say, "Only in Alaska...".

Most of the people that I've seen come here and dislike it have been people who did not take opportunities to establish a solid foundation of friends. Thankfully, I've found an amazing group of people here in Bethel that I love and care for....my Bethel family. Some of them have been here from the beginning, we came together in the same year and (I have a feeling) many of us will leave together in the same year. It's nice to have a group of people who have been there with you through it all, but some of them came to Bethel in the years after that and still became part of our solid group of friends. I know for a fact that there is NO WAY I would have lasted this long in Bethel without an amazing group of people by my side. One of the BEST things about living in Bethel is that it forces you to slow down and focus on the things that are REALLY important...people!

Friday, March 09, 2012

Number 26: Get a professional facial

While I was in Anchorage over spring break, I finally decided to cross this off of my LONGoverdue list. I've been giving myself facials at home for quite sometime, but I wanted to see if my idea of a facial was the same as a real facial. Turns out...

IT IS!!! Wash, exfoliate, wash again, hydrate, mask, rinse, wash again, hydrate again. The only thing that was different was that there was a massage included in there somewhere that obviously I wouldnt be able to do on my own. She massaged my arms and hands while my mask was setting then massaged my face and scalp while hydrating, but pretty much everything else was the same as what I do at home.

I LOVED my facial, but it's good to know that I can do at home what I payed $100 for in a salon.

Wednesday, March 07, 2012

Number 25: Try a new fruit and a new vegetable

Chayote Squash

Alternate names: Cho-cho, christophene, mango squash, mirliton, pear squash, vegetable pear, choko, pepinella, pepinello, xuxu, xoxo
Characteristics: Pronounced "chai-YO-teh," this lime-green gourd vegetable looks like a tight fist and is about as big as an apple. Although the flavor is nondescript (a cross between a potato and a cucumber), its taste is quite versatile. Look for chayotes that are firm and without wrinkles or blemishes. Treat the vegetable like a squash: Eat it raw in salads or cook it however you'd like. In southern Louisiana, chayotes are called mirlitons and are usually served stuffed with a seasoned beef mixture.

The pomelo (Citrus maxima or Citrus grandis) is a crisp citrus fruit native to Southeast Asia. It is usually pale green to yellow when ripe, with sweet white (or, more rarely, pink or red) flesh and very thick albedo (rind pith). It is the largest citrus fruit, 15–25 centimetres (5.9–9.8 in) in diameter,^[1] and usually weighing 1–2 kilograms (2.2–4.4 lb). (from wikipedia)

The pomelo tastes like a sweet, mild grapefruit (which is itself a hybrid of the pomelo and the orange), though the typical pomelo is much larger in size than the grapefruit. It has very little, or none, of the common grapefruit's bitterness, but the enveloping membranous material around the segments is bitter, considered inedible, and thus usually is discarded. The peel is sometimes used to make marmalade, or is candied and sometimes dipped in chocolate. The peel of the pomelo The Chandler is a California variety of pomelo, with a smoother skin than many other varieties. An individual Chandler fruit can reach the weight of one kilogram. Pomelos are usually grafted onto other citrus rootstocks, but can be grown from seed, provided the seeds are not allowed to dry out before planting. The seedlings take approximately 8 years to start blooming and yielding fruit.

The tangelo is a hybrid between the pomelo and the tangerine. It has a thicker skin than a tangerine and is less sweet. (from Wikipedia) Interesting, eh?

I really enjoyed both of these new things. I wish I lived in a place where I could get fresh fruits and vegetables on a regular basis. I might try to just eat as much as possible from as many local farmers markets as possible in all the places that I might find myself this summer. So, if I'm headed your way this summer, plan on consuming as many fresh fruits and veggies as possible :)

Tuesday, March 06, 2012

Roller Derby

A few brave ladies here in Bethel have decided to start up a Women's Flat Track Roller Derby league. We have been having practices now for a couple months. It started out as some women skating around on school skates and looking pretty shaky. Most of us are geared up now in full safety gear and new skates. I was amazed at the last practice at how far we've come. Everyone is looking very confident on their skates now and have a pretty intimidating appearance with all their gear on.

I have my old skates and new gear. My skates are 20 years old. They were the first thing that I ever bought with my own money with my first job when I was 12. It's great to have my skates on my feet again. They are a little tight fitting, but they'll work ok for now. I'm hoping to buy some new skates while I'm in the lower 48 this summer. I love skating. I feel a little freer on my skates. I feel a little more like myself on my skates. And now we get to combine that with knocking people over, falling down, and developing an alter ego? Yes, please!!! I chose 'Nuclear Weapon' for my roller derby name and my number will be U235.

Anybody want to go see a roller derby bout with my while I'm in the lower 48 this summer?

Sunday, February 26, 2012

Number 14: Attend a sporting even or concert

Went to a hockey game tonight. Alaska Aces played the Las Vegas Wranglers. Funny coincidence, huh? Apparently these two teams are number 1 and 2 in their conference, so it was a good/important game. It was a blowout. Aces won 5-0!!! It was alot of fun and really nice to spend some time with Avery.

Friday, February 24, 2012

Ryder's after bath crazyness

This cracks me up!!! He makes himself so dizzy that he runs into things then falls on his face.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Pup pup

For the last few months, I've been helping with a new organization here in Bethel called Bethel Friends of Canines. We have a dog problem in Bethel. People get dogs and then decide they dont want to care for them anymore. Or maybe their dogs have puppies and they dont want to feed them. Or maybe they have a sled dog that isnt pulling their weight on the team. What happens to all these dogs? They end up homeless and abandoned on the streets of Bethel. Many of them end up in the pound and then have to be put down because they are unclaimed. Not anymore.

The goal of Bethel Friends of Canines is to get the strays off the streets and into loving homes. They also have worked to get many dogs spayed and neutered. After a dog has gone unclaimed at the pound for a certain time period, the dog used to be put down. Now the dogs are put into foster homes while they wait for a more permanent home. Eventually, many of the dogs end up getting shipped to Anchorage where homes are found for them there. Others end up being adopted by people right here in Bethel.

Back when the organization first was getting going, I volunteered to be a foster dog parent. I've taken in and fostered several dogs in the last few months and found all of them loving homes right here in Bethel. Whenever I get a foster dog, I dont like to name it, because I would rather leave that privilege up to the family that adopts the dog.

I usually just call the dogs puppy or little girl or something like that. This last foster dog, I called pup pup. I'm usually really good about not getting attached to my foster dogs, but I just fell in love with pup pup. He was such a well behaved puppy. He was playful at the right times and cuddly at other times. He was potty trained completely at 9 weeks after only being at my house for 6 days. He was super cute.

Eventually, people started to ask me if they could come look at him to see about adopting. I kept putting people off and telling them I wasnt available or that it wasnt a good day. After turning aways several serious inquiries about adopting him, I finally had to admit that I was planning to keep him.

I was still having a hard time committing to another 15 years of dog ownership, especially because it is difficult when travelling. Also, I wasnt sure if I was ready yet after Taboo died a couple years ago. Then, I lost him.

My friend, Sadie, and I took both of our dogs out for a ride on the snowmachine. Our plan was to get out of town and let the dogs run while we checked the rabbit trap line. We got almost all the way to Oscarville (about 4 miles) before realizing that my pup pup had jumped out of the bin in the back. We searched and searched for about an hour before finally heading back toward Bethel. When we got close to Bethel, we saw a few other people riding their snowmachines and stopped to ask them if they had scene a little yellow dog. They said they had seen him closer to Bethel. Then we saw the little red flashing light that I had attached to his collar in the distance!!! Yay!

I was so happy when we found him that I realized I was going to keep him and I started trying to think of a real name to call him beside pup pup. Eventually, I settled on the name Ryder since he had a history of riding snowmachines. He has grown up so much in the last few months and he is still a great dog, even if a little ornery.

I still miss Taboo, but I think 2 years was long enough to be dog free. I love my little Ryder. AKA Pup Pup, Puppalup, Puptastic, Puppalupagus, Snuffapupagus.

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Rainbow of fruit and veggies

We started another round of the Biggest Loser here in Bethel. My challenge

this week is to eat a fruit or vegetable of every color. Not only did I complete

my challenge, but I completed it in less than 24 hours. Yay me! Now I have

further been challenged by a friend to see how many times I can do it in the

two week time frame. It just so happens that I've eaten yellow, green,

and red already today. Hmm...how many times can I do it in two weeks?

Thursday, February 09, 2012

The Weather

We Alaskans spend alot of time talking about the weather. And for good reason...

from weather underground...

Two daily records, one broken and one matched, within first two
days of February...

The bitter cold that began in late December 2011 and dominated
January 2011 has continued into February with one cold temperature
record broken and another matched. The high temperature of 26 below
on February 1st tied the record coldest high temperature for the
date set both in 1910 and 1999. The low temperature of 38 below on
February 2d beat the old record of 37 below from both 1910 and 1914.

In fact, the record low for today February 3d has already been
matched with the temperature around 1:30 this morning falling to 37
below. The record coldest high temperature for today is 23 below.
A final record event report for today's record will be issued
Saturday morning.

Temperatures will begin warming this evening as a front approaches
Norton Sound from the south. Beyond today temperatures will likely
not pose a threat to records for awhile.

The weather here has been obnoxiously cold for about 6 weeks now. This January has crushed the previous average daily temp of -13.2 with an average daily temp this January of -17.1. I've asked a few people who have lived here their whole lives and they all tell me that the cold has never lasted this long before. Listen to this little recording to hear the specifics...brrrr.

Now here we are a few days later on Feb 9th and it has been not only above zero, but ABOVE FREEZING for 6 days in a row now. The river is a mess. The snow is melting then refreezing at night. It feels like spring!!!

Friday, February 03, 2012

32 things to do before I turn 33

The first 9 are roll overs from last years list, but the rest are new. Some easy, some fun, some time consuming, and some really challenging. Looking forward to another great year!

1. Lose 30 pounds

2. Finish reading On The Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

3. Volunteer at the local senior center

4. ~~Attend a city council meeting~~

5. Finish at least 1 rubicon map

6. Visit the southern hemisphere or go on a cruise

7. Finish reading the Bible or listen to an audio version

8. Publish my book

9. Take a steam or go hunting

10. ~~Write on the blog once per week (not including bday list posts)~~

11. ~~Explore the air...sky dive, bungee jump, or hot air balloon~~

12. ~~Explore the water...snorkel, scuba dive, canoe, kayak, or ski~~