Car withdrawal= oops

So after 2 months of being completely without driving privileges, I made a little boo-boo.

When I got the call Thursday morning that my car was ready i was ridiculously stoked. I was jumping and squealing, and for those who know me I RARELY jump and squeal. So after inspecting the car for damage and signing paperwork... I hopped in JAX and turned the key. He was a little sluggish to start but once he got going he was amazing as always.

There was just one... little... problem...

I didn't look everywhere before I drove onto the road and I missed something. That something... was a ditch. Yep a water ditch, completely empty of water but a ditch none-the-less. As my car dipped downward nose first into said ditch, a guy in a big truck was driving by at that moment and slowed down- I'm pretty sure it was to help tow me out.

I decided to try out my vehicles off-road capabilities. First with just 2WD and if that didn't work, I was gonna turn on 4WD. So I semi-carefully hit the gas and took control of the wheel. And JAX did good. He climbed right out of the ditch without any trouble. My baby knows exactly how to deal with what the world is throwing at him. I'm hoping I can take this as a sign of good things to come and control in some interesting weather.

I mean really, who gets so excited they don't even see a ditch right in front of them? That's right, I do! ::sigh::

JAX

$108 at $6/gal and my car is full and made a trip around town already. I'm super glad I have JAX back.

JAX has arrived!!!

You read that correctly people... my car is here. I got a call at 8:40am.

I'm going to take a cab over at lunch to grab it then run around and do some errands for a while. I'm so ridiculously stoked I can't even tell you.

Cancelling cell phone plan - ATT (iphone)

A month before I left to move here, I called ATT to get information on terminating my phone. I was expecting to terminate right after I arrived and had access to my new Alaska cell phone (the one and only cellular company- GCI). I was told that...(1) 'actually, ma'am, your phone will work in Alaska. We use local towers and if you use them for an extended period of time, we'll work with you to find alternatives, but the company takes care of any cost involved with using other towers, not you as the customer, even if we don't actually service the specific area you're moving to.' ... OK, so I don't have to be so anal about getting my new phone quickly, my old phone will work for a period of time. Excellent. Little did I know...

... the customer service rep I spoke with didn't actually check the location I was moving to when I gave it to him. He just used a blanket answer even though he specifically asked me and I specifically told him exactly where I was moving. And even I, as the customer, had gone online to find that ATT does not service anywhere besides the area around Anchorage and Fairbanks.

So I arrived in Anchorage and my phone kept working. I uploaded pictures from the airport to this blog and got on the plane promising my parents and my work mom that I'd text when I arrived so they didn't worry. See... I was arriving around midnight EST on a Sunday so a calling would have been a bit much.

So the next day, I was able to get on the internet in my temporary housing and email everyone to let them know I'd arrived. Luckily, everyone had assumed that was going to be the case and didn't panic.

Fast forward to today...(After roughly half a dozen phone calls to ATT)
... During my first post-arrival call (2), I was told instead of terminating service (over a $200 charge), I could transfer service to another ATT customer, they could take over my line (and phone number) and we'd be golden. And even though there was a clause that if they were not a service provider in an area someone was moving to, your termination fee was waived, I was not eligible for this clause because there was a secondary clause stating that this was not-applicable if you received your phone through a promotion such as get a free phone for signing up for a 2-year contract because they ate the cost of the presumably expensive phone. ::SIGH:: I got in touch with family and close friends and the question was asked by my brother if my unlimited data would transfer too? Good question, I hadn't asked that, so I called back (3). See I signed up for my plan just before unlimited data was taken off the option menu with ATT. I was able to stream Netflix, YouTube or music to my heart's content. My brother, who got his about 6 months later wasn't able to take advantage of this and -mostly- good-natured, liked to poke fun at me about hating me for this particular feature. See, he often got frustrated for having to keep track of usage and not really being able to watch and explore what he wanted. Something about wasting the phone's potential I suppose.

(3, cont) I was told that NO, my unlimited data plan was not available during the transfer and anyone receiving my phone would have to select an existing plan option. My family told me they'd think about it and get back to me. (4) at this time, my father called to see if he could get information out of them and work on trying to get it transferred since it was actually a lateral transfer of a plan. Apparently, the answer was skirted around since he was not the plan-holder. (5) I noticed that while I was waiting to find out from family, I was charged the full amount for the next billing cycle instead of the reduced suspended rate of $10/month. My bill was explained, something about date of changing plan vs date of new cycle, and then options for termination/transfers were explained again. Still could not transfer unlimited data. Then I got word from everyone that they did not want plan if they couldn't have the unlimited data. Next came my call yesterday to ATT (6) After talking to 1st customer service rep and her attempting to give me  the option to transfer service (again, bad stalling tactic. you're cohorts have been there and done that) I was transferred to a termination specialist. He then asked again if I wanted to take advantage of the option to transfer services. I told him no and why and he was appalled and very apologetic that i was given that information and that I absolutely could transfer the unlimited data. I informed him that I'd been told REPEATED since 2-3 months ago that I could not, he made the comment about how he didn't know how I could be given such misinformation. 'the same way your representatives didn't actually look up my destination to find out if you actually did/could service the area I was moving to' 'you were told you'd have service?' 'yes, and then i got here and did not' 'of course you didn't have service, we don't have towers anywhere close to you at your location' 'and yet I was assured I would, I'm getting a lot of false assurances from you guys lately.' Then he proceeded to offer to call those who might be interested in taking over my plan, with my permission of course (it's not my permission to give, jerk-face), and outline the plan details to them. I'm sorry, you guys have had 3 months to help me figure this out and you've used stall tactics and false information to get me to this point. I'd just like to terminate outright. Grand total= $79 NOT $245 as it was originally 3 months ago. the price magically kept dropping, and more than the promised $10 a month. I've dealt with some interesting cell phone companies over the years. I can't wait until customer service actually gets good with any of them.

BTW, EVERY call was started with "thank you for being one of our preferred iphone customers with us here at ATT where you can talk and surf at the same time, my name is ______, how can I help you today." while I appreciate and agree that it's a great feature, can we change it up a bit? It got real old, real quick.


*** Calls are numbered within parenthesis. Ex] (1) is call #1, etc.

First ENT clinic

So today is the start of my first ENT clinic. Though... it's not really a real one for me. See a little over a month ago the roofers were working on the roof in my area. This is great, except that because of them moving around on the ceiling/roof, chunks of roof were falling and at one point, a light fixture fell (almost hitting someone, not good). Ultimately, the room we use for ENT clinic, because of it having a microscope, was shut down for a time due to missing chunks of ceiling.

Because the room was out of commission until 2 days ago, this months ENT clinic was for just nose and throat patients. This means I brought my kindle to work. Also, I'm going through things that need to be filed and such but I haven't quite figured out my assistant/tech's filing system quite yet, it's by village in the cabinet, but the accordion holding all the files confuses me. In the mean time, I have paperwork to get through and hearing aids to order and Medicaid pre-auths to submit. Ug.

Next month, we'll have one FULL of ears and I'll be much busier, hopefully I won't want to hurt anyone at the end of that one.

mixed up mail

On a slightly sad note. having a name so close to a family member is putting a damper on re-routing my mail. The electronic sorter can't separate us well apparently and is now forwarding bills for someone else across country to me... sigh... working on straightening this one out.

(and yes, i set it up for individual move instead of family move)

FYI, Flight Discounts

I found out quite recently that Alaska Airlines tends to have a bunch of deals that go on sale in October. You can buy then for anytime during the year, but they'll run the sales sometime during Oct. Just thought I should share for my friends/family who are thinking about visiting.

Also, if you're not already a member of flight miles through Alaska Airlines or their affiliates -namely Delta- you can sign up for a mileage account on their website too.

makin grub!

Today I made what I consider my first REAL meal. I made my Great Aunt's Stew (crock-pot recipe). Unfortunately, my crock pot is a little small for all of it and it's also apparently got a predisposition to things baking on the crock. Very much NOT helpful. I'm thinking if I keep making crock-pot recipes I may upgrade to a larger version and maybe also a digital model.

I've got plans to make my favorite chili too. It's a bit on the spicy side so it kinda automatically warms you up. G-ma sent me a lentil soup recipe so I'll make that one soon too. Please feel free to send me any other recipes you think might be yummy up here.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

I got through a bunch of clothes today and got them all put away. I also fixed a bunch of stuff on the shelves. Things are looking better and better in my apt. When the 2 shelf unit I bought get here it'll be a lot better  and I'll have storage for much much more.

Interesting observation

It randomly hit me the other day that I work in a hospital, the only hospital in the region and there's no restrictions about allergens. No "do not wear perfumes", and no mention of "no peanuts or peanut products". The peanut one surprised me. Back home, I know a number of people with nut allergies, yet here... nothing. I asked around and no one knows of anyone up here. There's another white woman up here who also has a Gluten allergy, but no one that lives here. The cafeteria even has nothing but diet or sugar-free drinks, even the juice (much to my dismay and this is all per the nutritionist on staff).

Just thought I'd share.

The beginnings of assimilation

At some point before, I mentioned that one of the first cultural things I learned was about the Native Alaskan way to use facial expressions. Any eyebrow raise is 'yes', a nose wrinkle is 'no' and a shrug is... you guessed it, 'I dunno'. Over the last couple days, "A" (my assistant) and I have noticed I've begun using these. Mostly the eyebrows, but I have. I've responded entirely non-verbally, and I've mixed it in with words. In short... I'm assimilating.

You could say its a product of or testament to my nomadic nature in life thus far. It reminds me of moving from the South to the North and getting teased at about 11 yrs old. Let me tell you, I lost that accent quick.

Call for Recipes

HERE YE! HERE YE!   

I CALL FORTH ALL OF YE TO BID ME A FAVOR... 

THE NEED: Your favorite recipes. 

Anything and everything related to stew, soup, fish, quinoa, rice dishes, crock pot-style anything... 

(especially if it is sans flour since I'm allergic).

Please send them my way. 

Kitchen's unpacked and I want to get started. I'm trying to organize some of my recipes but not everything is as easily found as it used to be.

~~~
The rest of my apartment is slowly getting into shape. I've hung 2 pictures and I have to decide on places to put the rest. I unearthed my bed and put appropriate blankets on it so I won't freeze. I also fixed some pillows. I have a bunch of clothes that need homes so that's one of my next tasks.

I ordered a small shelving unit for the bathroom so I can store extra towels and a large multiple-shelf piece for the corner of my bedroom. I can store suitcases, coats, linens, sweaters/sweatshirts and anything else I want. These two pieces will help tremendously in organization. I'd love to get an over the toilet unit but I have a towel bar in the way and I can't get it off yet.

I've also got a couple shelf organizers I need to put in cabinets. All in all, I'm close to having everything organized and put away. Not there quite yet though.

MY STUFF IS HERE!!!

I sleepily roused from some very strange dreams at about 9:45 this morning by a phone vibrating next to my head. I saw a Bethel # on the display but it wasn't one I had programmed into my phone. I was thinking that maybe the barge with my car had arrived so I forced myself to wake up and answered quickly.  It was "Bethel Bob". He's the one and only mover in the village! -At this point I wasn't sure if my car or my things were more exciting.- He asked if I'd be around today to have him move things in and when I eagerly told him "YES!" -as calmly as I could-, he said he'd call a couple of his helpers and call me back about bringing everything in. About 10 minutes later my phone rang again. He said he'd pick up the guys at 11 and be at my place at about noon.

I then spent the next hour moving odds and ends to be out of the way and taking a shower. From 11-12, I relaxed and read a bit while 'calmly' waiting for the arrival of my stuff.

At about 11:55, the 3 guys arrived and began bringing things in. I relocated some pkgs to the bedroom or kitchen as they arrived once reading on the box what was inside, and began unpacking some boxes. By the time they were done unloading at 12:50, I'd unpacked about 8-9 boxes and we found that one of my bookshelves had a corner knocked off. Bethel Bob is going to fix it and bring it back to me. He also recycles the boxes and packing material so I'll break down the boxes and keep the packing paper and call him when I'm unpacked. My parents early training -sending us to our room when we arrived in a new house with a sharp implement and telling us not to come out until our rooms were unpacked- will come in very handy this weekend as My plan is to have everything unpacked before I go back to work on Monday.

Soon my car will be here and I can complete the set.

I'm super excited to get everything unpacked and find homes. I'm also super excited to have the food that I packed and hook up my new TV (32" HD flat screen, perfect for my little place). This weekend was going to be a low-key resting weekend and now... I get to make my apt my new home.

In the words of Bethel Bob, Welcome home!

Alas...

So the barge schedule apparently changes OFTEN. My barge actually hasn't arrived. It's currently scheduled to arrive next week. Sadness. So it looks like my stuff will get here before my car. Bummer but I'll be OK. i can't do anything about it anyway.

I've had a few people weigh in on the paint color question. I was originally thinking of a Steel Blue color but then we realized there were too many shades of Blue in the apt already AND it was pointed out by a long-term resident here that I wouldn't want the same color on the wall that I'll be looking at all winter. Instead, an orange or yellow was suggested. It'll work off the blue and be much brighter. Since I think I'm morally/ethically opposed to yellow (after something like 6 former houses having yellow kitchens in every shade between a pale easter-like Yellow and a mustard/puke yellow... I'm leaning toward a burnt orange if i go that route. OR... a sage-y color. I have a brown couch and the chair/ottoman I got recovered are in browns and greens. It makes a bit of sense. And I'm thinking just 2 walls.

I'll hold off for now and wait for stuff to get here but that's the direction I'm thinking of going.

Duluth Trading Company

Yay!!! my pants came and they fit. AND... there's a free shipping until August coupon that came with my order... so I'll be ordering more. They're perfect for work. And the fleece pair will be utterly fantastic when I want to stay outside for long periods of time... like for sitting outside while watching the Iditerod.

Just wanted to pass along the message. Very excited about this turn of events.

Grocery Sampling

And you thought your groceries were expensive!

Oh, and I had one for Peanut Butter too but for some reason it didn't send... large PB= $10.95

G-Chat Conversation on Water

Friend: explain water delivery to me please

me: OK, water delivery...

  Some people are on city water/sewer and some people (like me) have tanks either inside their homes (usually in the arctic entry) or outside in a tank where it's piped in.

obviously, tanks inside the house are a little better off because you don't have to thaw the water in the winter

  Each tank is a different size. usually 500+ gallons.

  Water is delivered on different schedules. Some people have it delivered once a month and some every 2 weeks or even every weekMine is delivered every other week and my tank is inside my arctic entry

 Friend: how big is an arctic entry?

 me: I have to watch how fast it's being used so I don't end up without water

  every place is different

 Friend: and is it expensive? and I have no idea what is normal for water use

 me: think of it like a mud-roomFriend: yeah

  I know what it is, I just didn't know if it was bigger or smaller than a mud room

 me: 1000 gallons once a month is about $96. twice a month is is about $190

 Friend: a water tank is big

 me: it isthere's enough room usually to store shoes and maybe coats and water tank and heaterFriend: and a freezer

 me: mine could hold a freezer too (not too big)

 Friend: you will get good at fast showers

me: i already amFriend: yeah

  washing clothes when necessary only

  I'm interested to see how much you use

me: me too

Another Saturday

Hello!!! FYI, it's raining again. My Bogs are getting a lot of use.

I'm anxiously awaiting the arrival of my car. The barge is supposed to arrive this weekend (if everything went as planned) and when they offload my car I'll get a call. When that call comes in, I'll take a cab to the docks and find the people in charge.I will hopefully soon have my car. If it doesn't come till Mon or Tues I can go at lunch or after work. If I have a DNKA (did not keep appointment), I can run out too.

I should also mention that my couch is quite comfy to sleep on. I was up reading last night on the couch and totally passed out. Slept long and hard. It was great. So if anybody wants to come visit and doesn't mind the couch you're set.

Last night I went over to a co-workers house and watched the first couple episodes of this season's True Blood. We hit up the grocery store before and got snacks. I took pictures of some of the prices. As soon as I get a better connection, I'll post the pics.

I also have been doing a LOT of online shopping for things. Everything from the normal stuff I'd normally buy on amazon (CDs, books, etc) and now I'm adding household goods such as a shower caddy and bathroom rugs. I'll probably end up with some organizing pieces for clothes or the bathroom. I also found a bunch of Gluten free foods. I'll order things periodically and supplement what I can get here.

My household stuff is still in route. We'll see what happens. Hopefully I'll get it soon. I'd really like to start making real food with real stuff. super excited about my crock-pot. Totally ready for stew and chili. Thinking about things I want to make already. Which reminds me...

Please please please, send me any and all recipes you may have for fresh fish (mostly salmon, but halibut too). Also any slow-cooker recipes. I'm going to become a much better cook being up here. Raw ingredients are MUCH more efficient than buying ready cooled meals or eating out.

Back to relaxing.

Oh, water

My deliver this week got messed up because of the 4th, so my landlord straightened it out really quickly (I told him over lunch and by the time I got home I had a full tank (I think it's like 700 gallons). I'm going to get good at water conservation for sure.

My water is delivered every 2 weeks. Fuel is every 3-4 months depending on need.

Work/Casual Pants

OK, so I've decided wearing my old work pants is actually a total hassle up here. I want something that's not jeans (can't wear them to work) but comfortable and casual enough for work. Cargo's or something similar work if I can get them to fit well (nothing pleated for the love of any/everything). I decided to try out Duluth Trading Company's women's pants and see what they do. They even have a fleece-lined pair that will hopefully work in the winter.

I ordered 3 different styles so I'm hoping they'll work. I had to base size selection off of measurements so cross your fingers for me. This is my first venture into on-line ordering of clothes I haven't tried on in the store (and thus know my size and style). We'll see how it goes.

Internet/Cable

Yay, internet and cable are hooked up now. The guy calls me at 11:15 and the conversation goes something like this...
"This is GCI"
"Hi, what time are you coming today?"
"I'm here now, are you at home?"
"No, I'm at work"
"Is someone else at home?"
"No, just me"
"Well how am I supposed to hook up cable if you're not at home?"
"I'm sorry, I was told you'd be here yesterday so I was home part of the day waiting"
"They didn't put you on my schedule for yesterday, who told you yesterday? I was bored yesterday, it would have been good to have another job then."
"Anchorage and the local office told me Tuesday."
"Oh"
"I can grab a cab outside and be there in 5 minutes"
"Lunch is at 12, I could meet you at one"
"I can do whichever, just let me know."
"It won't take long, you can be here by 11:30?"
"Yes"
"OK, I'll wait for you."

I was back at the office by 12, AND I stopped into my landlord's office right before he started surgery (he had to take a dog's leg today) to hand in the lease and get things squared away with water.

Signed my lease

49 degrees right now with a 70% chance of rain, oh and windy as all get out. And guess what I didn't bring to work... yep, a raincoat (i brought the darn things yesterday, I can't wait to have one stashed in my car). My place was creakin' and shakin' all night long. I passed out to the lullaby of groaning wind.

So leases here are mostly month-to-month and they ask for 1 month notice when you're going to move out. Not bad really. I have water delivered every other week. I'm working on figuring out my deliveries at the moment because it was supposed to be delivered Monday but since Mon was a holiday they delivered Sun and mine was NOT delivered. I have a feeling it's still on once a month deliveries after the last tenant so I've got to get that fixed. I've got to drop my lease off with my landlord today/tonight so I'll talk to him then.

Some fun news, my landlord said I could paint (being careful of course) and hang stuff on walls. I have a few decorative things en route to hang and whatnot, but I may need to get more something. We'll see as things go up. I'm thinking a burnt orange accent wall or two. The floors are an blue speckled design so I think it'll go but any suggestions would be great. I don't want to go too dark but I also don't want all pastel or all white.

4th of July weekend (1st weekend in my new place)

So Friday was my first real day in my new place. It was quite nice to be able to start settling in. I'm still trying to decide what furniture orientation will work best with the stuff I've got coming. And I desperately need my kitchen stuff. I can't make much more than sandwiches, oatmeal or easy-mac. Oh, and Hot chocolate. I think that'll be a year-round drink up here.

Just have to put it out there, I had to turn on the heater last night. It's a Toyo-Stove.A little kerosine heater that heats the entire apt quite well.

Won our softball game Sunday, but unfortunately, we were trounced pretty badly yesterday. I suppose it could have been worse. Ultimately, we got 2nd place in the tournament (5 teams total)

I have to say I have awesome co-workers. Since I don't have my car yet, I had one in particular who helped move me from temporary housing to my new place. And then, on Friday, was my chauffeur as I deposited a paycheck at the bank, set up electric services AND got my internet/cable set up. Awesomeness in a bundle. Everything was pretty much done. Oh, and we stopped at the post office on our way back to work.

BTW, just for post office runs, I CAN'T WAIT for my car. I don't love traipsing across town carrying packages. And my latest Amazon order was split into multiple boxes so fun fun.

OK, that's it for now. I'll try to remember more as the day goes on. Hopefully I'll have internet soon too.

Slept in my new place

I have to say the bed is quite comfy. It's actually a Sealey Posturepedic mattress and not old and decrepid. I'll keep it and just put down a mattress pad, etc. There is a lot of storage in the kitchen, but not much in other places. I'm going to have to get a bit creative with storage solutions but mom taught me well so I'm sure I'll be fine.

Here are pictures... (hopefully more to come, transferring them now)