Move in Date...

Is now today. I pick up the keys from the previous tenant today after work and I'll then move in. I won't have internet at home so please don't worry if I don't post/respond right away. I'll get internet, etc ASAP.

ETA on household stuff

If you've been following along, you just got the info that last night I checked out the 2nd apartment and I'm taking that one. I'll get the keys probably tomorrow (still have to meet up with previous occupant) and then I'm just waiting on the car (ETA 7/10), and my household belongings. I emailed the moving company last night and got a response this morning that once it lands in Anchorage, it's usually another 3-5 days before they can deliver. Currently, they've got a list of deliveries and they're 2 men short so hopefully knowing my availability will get me on the list without too much fuss. They'll let me know when they have my shipment and they can put me in the schedule.

Not gonna lie, excited about getting all my stuff and truly settling.

WOOT WOOT!!!

I saw the 2nd apartment and it was fantastic. It was the nicest apartment I've seen so far. the only downside was that it didn't actually have a closet but it had a wardrobe and dresser. OK, so here's the breakdown:

- practically brand new appliances
- full size leather couch
- large enough for 1 person but small enough I won't accumulate extraneous things
- in a quiet neighborhood

On paper, the apartments are very similar. 1 bed, W/D included, fully furnished. The first one was larger and more expensive and with rent and utilities all being the exact same every month. But the 2nd may actually have been the nicer places I've lived too.

I'm very glad I went to see it. I know I'll have to look out for individual bills but I'll save some money and it's just a nicer place. Even if the fuel cost makes it so I end up spending as much as the other place, I'll still get a nicer place out of it. I called the landlord and he's going to have the current tenant who's moving out Friday morning just give me the keys and I'll sign the lease this next Tuesday when the landlord is back in town. So basically, I get to move in this weekend. I'm super excited, and any money I save makes internet/cable feel a little less of a guilty pleasure. I'll take pictures when I start to settled.

::silent screech::

Today's Temp

54 deg...

Current X-Terra ETA...

Sunday, July10th!!!

Woot!!!

more apt hunting info...

So I just talked to the current tenant of the 2nd place.

It's in a quiet neighborhood and it's up about 18-20 feet off the ground so it's higher than the highest recorded flood level (I guess just in case). Base rent is 1050 but then each utility together totaled about 1337 possibly even cheaper during the summer, and 1457-1557 during the winter. Winter costs include plugging in a car. He said it was an efficient little place. Not sure how it'll feel when I see it. He said he lived comfortably with TV/internet, a computer, etc. So usage wasn't being skimpy.

He also reminded me about energy efficient light bulbs. I didn't pack any to send here so I'll have to order a bunch.

It'd definitely be convenient to have 1 flat rate and not worry about monthly bills, but saving a couple/few hundred dollars also sounds quite nice...too many choices.

Housing

I should probably let you guys know that most of the houses here are pre-fab. The possible building season is a very short Summer and because of this houses that are just assembly required just make more sense. It's not like anywhere else you've ever lived. There are some places that were truly built, but most are small or were added onto, built over time kind of thing. People work at making the inside theirs, and I'll be no different.

I should also mention that the gas station here is a tank (above ground for freezing issues) with 4 pumps. No attendant, no convenience store and no loiterers. Refreshing actually. Oh, and gas is $6/gal. (and the pump cuts of at $75 so if your tank isn't full, you put your CC in again and keep going.

I forget, in the cold you don't want your tank below 1/2 tank, right?

A number of people who live up here have strongly suggested I seriously consider the place I've already seen because it's a flat rate with all utilities. I'd just have to take care of my own internet/cable/wireless (see previous posts for more info, and please feel free to weigh in, thanks to those who have).

Back to work.

Internet alone or bundle???

So with my impending move into an apartment I have some decisions to make. Namely, how I want my internet. I found out that internet here is set up so you buy a pkg and that has a set amount of data traffic included (A lot of places are moving towards that). I can either just get an internet pkg or get a bundled pkg. Options are as follows, feel free to make suggestions, especially if you have a frame of reference for what the data usage might mean):

Internet only pkgs:

1. Download: 512 kbps; Upload speed: 128 kbps; Included usage: 5120MB; Overage rate $0.02/MB = $49.99
   
2. Download: 1 Mbps; Upload speed: 256 kbps; Included usage: 10,240MB; Overage rate $0.02/MB = $59.99
   
3. Download: 1.5 Mbps; Upload speed: 384 kbps; Included usage: 15,360MB; Overage rate $0.02/MB = $99.99
   
4. Download: 2 Mbps; Upload speed: 512 kbps; Included usage: 20,480MB; Overage rate $0.02/MB = 149.99

Or Bundled pkgs

1. Cable: Basic (standard box); Internet: 1Mbps / 256 kbps; Included usage: 10,240 Mb; Out-of-State Long Distance: 150 Min = $69.50
2. Cable: Full Digital (w DVR); Internet: 128 kbps / 64 kbps; Included usage: 2048 Mb; Out-of-State Long Distance: 150 Min = $112.50
3. Cable: Full Digital (w DVR); Internet: 512 kbps / 128 kbps; Included usage: 5120 Mb; Out-of-State Long Distance: 150 Min = $142.49

Also, I can upload photos at work (after hrs, etc). I won't be streaming my Netflix, though I might upgrade to more than 1 DVD at a time.
Please let me know what you think. I've got a little time to make this decision, but input is greatly appreciated.

Path through town.

Evidence of the permafrost shifts.

You should see the wooden floor basketball court (couldn't get a good shot yesterday, i'll try again).

studying for my drivers test :(

You read that correctly. I'm using this blog entry as a study break. Here's the deal. I've had my license in 3 states already, Alaska will be my 4th. The other times I've transferred a license you handed it over, provided proof of residency, take an eye exam and get your picture taken. Sounds reasonable, right? You obviously know how to drive if another state gave you a license and as long as you don't have 50 accidents or something, you should be good to go. Nope, not in Alaska. Here I have to take the written test again and all of the above. So I'm studying. Every state has quirky rules. This time I can't learn as I go. It's a bummer. ::sigh::

Good news is that I have 2 strong possibilities on places to live. I'm first in line for both. Here's the rundown (feel free to log an opinion).

1. 1 bedroom, furnished. W/D included. $1600 all utilities included (fuel for heat, water/sewer and electric). it's actually a house instead of an apartment. It's located quite near work (walking distance in good weather) and across from one of the cheapest gas stations in town. I've been told that because it's not a hugely residential street and it has the gas station, it gets quite loud with snowmachines and people during the summer.  It's available now.(saw this one Saturday)
2. 1 bedroom, furnished. W/D included. $1050 with no utilities. I've been told they cost about $200 in the summer and about $400 in the winter. It's in one of the newer subdivisions so it's quiet. not sure if it's a house or apt. It'll be vacant Friday but I'm not sure if there'll be work to do. (I see this one Wed)

Dogs would be allowed in both if I wanna bring Kota up. I have to let #1 know by Friday. I'm leaning toward #2 if it's in a quieter neighborhood and if the utilities are really about that. 

I realized in talking to a couple people this week that I hadn't described honey-buckets. Bethel used to be a honey-bucket town, but now there's septic and city-water. A honey-bucket is a pail that is used to keep waste (human, etc) and then it's put outside on the porch every week to be picked up by the honey-bucket-truck-man. Now here's the catch, in the winter, it freezes. So the day of pick-up, you had to heat it up on the stove. Boiling poo... ew.

This week  got rid of the unlimited data on my phone. It's really not worth having because it's slower than dial-up and can't be used for much more than sending an email (no images). I have unlimited text and call but anything else has to come through when I'm connected to WiFi. Luckily I have WiFi at the hospital and i will have it at my apt whenever that is. I just saved $25 a month. whoo hoo.


oooh, I also just bought a single-cup coffee maker on amazon for my office, with a permanent filter too. It will heat up water for hot chocolate/tea and make my office smell better since people make funny smells and the air is turned down due to noise issues.

double ooh... I'm currently working on my loan repayment application through IHS (Indian Health Services). I'll submit information for all of my loans from grad school (professional) school and they determine which are eligible. They repay (upon acceptance into the program), up to 20k per year for qualifying loans (all federal, state and commercial). Now I just have to find out if they consider a private loan 'commercial'. Then I might be staying up here a bit longer than I banked on before. I'll submit everything and see.

Lots of little things...

Alright friends, I have a little bit of time to sit down and fill you guys in on things. This has the makings of being a long entry if I get long-winded so I'll separate it out by topics.

Apartment Search: 
This is an ongoing process. You may remember a previous post where I talking about what ads I responded to or the places I went to go see during the first couple days I was here. There were a couple that were not going to happen at all, and there were a couple that weren't bad but didn't quite meet my needs like the 2 bedroom. I couldn't do much looking this last week just because of where I was and the hours I was working (9am-8/10pm). Not super helpful to try and call people at night. I had a patient whose daughter has a place. When I got in touch I found out it won't be available until probably August. I'll hopefully have something by then. I also found out Monday there was a new 2 bedroom available but by the time they had the keys in hand to show me 18 hrs later, it had been rented by another employee without the employee I'd been talking to knowing it. A bummer for sure. I talked to my supervisor today and she's got a few more options for me, including possibly rooming with someone. We'll see what happens.

Cleaning/Organizing my office:
So when I walked into my office, my brain was already mentally going through things to figure out if things would fit better a different way or what might be easier to get to if it was somewhere else. But it's all a matter of prioritizing and getting patient charts done first and also getting used to the new paperwork, policies and procedures. I've had a few days to get a feel for things and my assistant and i just keep slowly making changes to make things easier for both of us. We've cleaned out most of the shelves to throw out really old hearing aid information for hearing aids that are no longer made. Between patients we've created new forms, moved reference material and we've got a list of new charts and information to file. If I remember correctly, I was dubbed "Organizer In Charge" for my whirl-wind cleaning sprees. I have a feeling it will be this way for a little while. It's going to be an ongoing process but I'm excited to get things to the point we know where everything is and can get a good inventory.

Dogsleds:
I think I've briefly mentioned the dogsled races in the area. The most notable are the Iditarod, there is also the Kuskokwim 300 (a 300 mile race) and then there's a number of smaller races, including kids races throughout the season. In an awesome twist, I've been told that my assistant knows a bunch of of people who could possibly put me in rotation to drive a team of dogs. Apparently, it would be something where once I've been taught how I'd be put in rotation and have a scheduled time to work with the team. I was also told that the single-most important rule is to stay on the sled. If you fall, the dogs will keep going, they're doing a job and they'll finish it. Period. Can you imagine me driving a sled team? I'll give it a shot though.

Ice Fishing:
My assistant also offered to take me ice fishing this weekend. I've only been fishing a few times with poles and hot dogs as bait. So this will definitely be different. 

Ice Roads:
If you haven't already, I would pull up an online map searching for "Bethel, AK", then zoom to the point you can see the surrounding towns and a bit of the river.  During the summer months, the river is thawed and a boat highway. During the winter, it's a real highway. Yep, once that baby's frozen over... people DRIVE on it. With snowmobiles, snowmachines and even cars/trucks. You've gotta have traction and  a 4x4. We've talked about the possibility of taking JAX (my X-terra) out on it. Hopefully, he'll be ready.

Reindeer/Moose meat:
While I was in Hooper Bay, I was introduced to Reindeer Sticks. These look to be a cross between a stick of beef jerky and sausage.  It should be refrigerated and they taste yummy. It kinda reminds me of eating venison which makes sense given the fact that it's a large hooved beast. Nice snack to have hangin around. I bought a pkg of moose sticks too so I'm hoping they taste as good. I'll let you know when I open the pkg.

Team Mascots:
Again, while I was in Hooper Bay, I noticed my cohort's sweats on our beach-walk. Down the leg in large letters, it spelled... H-A-L-F-B-R-E-E-D. OK, many of you, like me, came from a culture that is becoming more and more politically correct. So I see pants that say that and wonder... WTF? And so I asked, and the answer was this. The Halfbreeds are the team mascot for the school in Aniak. And when the school travel to play other teams through out Alaska and even further... well, the opposing team's announcers don't like to use the name and so it just doesn't get said. They become 'the team from Aniak, etc. The secondary lesson for me was what it is to be a halfbreed here in Native Alaska. What I was told, keep in mind it was from a Gussuk (white person), that a halfbreed is someone who has 1 native parent and 1 non-native parent. Those who are products of such a union typically claim native status. It's not necessarily that they deny their non-native heritage, but it's more like they just identify more with non-native. I'm not quite sure why a school would choose a term like that though. Mostly just because it doesn't make sense to me why if you claim one heritage as yours and not the other, why halfbreeds. that makes me thing someone's embracing both. Side-Note... many teams up here have 'native' mascots, like Warriors, etc... with no signs of changing.

Instant Milk:
So a gallon of milk is $6-8 and heavy when you're walking from the grocery store. Instant Non-Fat Dry Milk (powdered milk) is ~ $4 for a gallon's worth in pre-measured packets. When mixed well, it tastes almost the exact same as regular skim milk. There is a slight difference when you get to the bottom of the jug just because there's more powder that hasn't been mixed super well, but mostly... it's surprisingly tasty, and worth the difference in weight in my bag.

Pilot Bread:
Last 'lil thing... Pilot Bread. I was told about this grocery item. It's not a loaf dispite what the name implies. This is actually a cracker. Sailor Boy Pilot Bread. I mean, what would make something that says 'bread' actually mean cracker? Well, here's what the side of the box say?

"Sailor Boy Pilot Bread
Interbake Foods is proud to bake Sailor Boy Pilot Bread, the generations old recipe, providing Alaskans, outdoors people, snackers and travelers alike with a delicious, sturdy cracker.

The origins of this hard-tack product have been traced back to our country's very beginnings. For years Americans have been eating Sailor Boy Pilot Bread spread with various toppings, including traditional Alaskan spreads, meats, cheeses and more recently everything from peanut butter and jelly to pizza topings.

We appreciate your patronage and would love to hear from you in you have any thoughts on our product.
Thank you and happy eating!"

And even better... it's made in Richmond, VA... did you read that people? I moved across the country only to find a staple of dietary amazingness (yes, I just called hard-tack amazingness) then this world really is smaller than I could've ever imagined.

So that is my update for now. I'm learning tons of new things everyday. I'll keep sharing if you keep reading. Goodnight, until the next time. :D

Hooper Bay pics... 6.13.11 - 6.17.11

Bird Perch

My Island

In Flight

Lost catch

pretty

Taki (HSRC mascot)

boxed whale

more mountains

Gross picture warning!!!

Baby Beluga (muktuk)

Breaker at the end of the runway

more pretty

modern windmills

2 down

So I've been here 2 full weeks. 1 in Bethel, 1 in Hooper Bay and I'm starting week 3. I like it up here. The summer is a great temperature. It's what fall would be in most places I've lived (a little warmer), but with really long days. I also like the people. So far everybody has been really good about helping me get acclimated and explaining the differences. After all, I am a Gussuk (white person).

Oh, I forgot to mention, whale is called Muktuk. I'm not sure if that's specific to a beluga (which is what I had) or just whale in general. I wanted to get a picture of the group of whales that were being carved in Hooper Bay, unfortunately, it was a 30 min 4-wheeler ride and I didn't have access to one, I didn't feel like walking 6 hrs each way to get there, so I only got pictures of a baby beluga (yes, the song's been stuck in my head since last week) that was in the opposite direction and fairly close. There was also a box worth of fish that looked like it'd been tipped over a boat and washed ashore.

Lots of pics of the beach too. Those surprised me because I wasn't expecting the beaches up here to look the same as they do everywhere, granted it's summer so theres' no snow, but besides the lack of tourists, these pics could be taken anywhere. I'm posting pics tonight on Smugmug (see link in previous post and on sidebar) to get the address. I will continue to take pics and add them to the Alaska folder.

I'm still looking for housing. I started calling back people from 2 weeks ago who said to call them back in a couple weeks. 1 possible lead and an application to hospital housing. We'll see how things go. I need to call the one place back tomorrow to schedule a viewing. I'm hoping it looks decent, etc. Alright, gotta go start the loading of the pics. Have a good night friends.

My hut

... On Jailhouse Row

In Hooper Bay

So I arrived and we got started seeing patients. Not too busy but not too slow. It was ultimately a good first day seeing people. I'm already feeling pretty good about using the telemed (tele-medicine) system. My biggest problem is learning the protocols.
After work the clinic had a bbq with everybody that works at the SRC (sub regional clinic). I got to try whale (Balooga). I have to say it tasted interesting. It's pretty chewy and had a fish flavor. I was told to put salt on it so I did and ultimately the texture wasn't something I'd want to eat everyday but it was good to try it. I think for me it would have to be an acquired taste.

Photo Album

This album will get you to more photo's than what I've posted online.

(click on the post title to be linked)

Little blue building

I forgot to answer this question... The little blue building is across the parking lot from my temp housing (The Hut, which I have found is on what is affectionately called "Jailhouse Row" since we're next to the Jail).  I'll try to take a pic of my hut and post it. But that is the view from one of my windows.

First Saturday in Alaska

Hello one and all...

I spent my first Saturday here playing softball, boating the river and hanging out with some people who've lived here a while.

Softball was not bad. Mostly batting practice and fielding the balls. I'm a bit sore now but it was good to get out and do something.

The boat was fun. We went up river and we went past a town a little bit up and then we stopped at an abandoned Moravian children's home and school. Most of the buildings were roped off with an "Asbestos, Do Not Cross" tape. but there were a couple that weren't. From what we could tell, the last time it'd been inhabited was sometime in the 90's. There were some pretty cool things hidden in the depths of the buildings. It was a little compound really. There were at least a half a dozen building including a mess hall, a church, a shop and what looks like a dormitory. There were a couple other buildings splattered around and random artifacts out on the grounds. Super cool just to see what used to be there, and nothing else that's been lived in as far as the eye can see.

I'm also starting to post pics on SmugMug. I'll put the link up and people can see bunches of pics above and beyond what I post here. For now, here's a couple pics from the river and sloughs (slews)...

I see mountains

Dorms from the river

Is this for a canon?

Dorms

Old trike.

Moravian church at abandoned children's home.

Old fashioned slide (10' high, with curve and all metal) with too much bush.

Desks in attic of shop on the compound

Mess hall of abandoned children's home.

Shaker/Quaker furniture in the mess hall at abandoned children's home.

I found a tree in the tundra!!!

Boat wake

Water from the wake

Fish Camp

A fish camp with King Salmon hanging.

Small barge to take some shipments upriver.

Barge in port. My car will be on one of these.

I don't know why I love this boat. Maybe it's the blue, maybe it's the fact that it reminds me of a houseboat.

Barge on land.

1:45 am

1st day

It's come to my attention I neglected to answer a question about whether or not there is a wal-mart here. The answer is that there is not. There's a store called AC which is a grocery/clothing store. Downstairs is the grocery and up is the clothing.
And as many of you may remember, today was my first day. I got the key for my office, started contact to get my billing/provider info set up and started my training on our tele-med system and our internal database. The audiologist who is normally out at the villages came in and we went through some policies and procedures for different thing. My assistant is super well organized and luckily knows the current hospital system quite well so she's been a big help.
Lots of details and lots of getting things done.  but it's getting there.

11:15 pm

Gray day today. Puddles everywhere and it rained earlier.

pictures...

First of all, I want to apologize for the weird timing that goes along with the pictures. Unfortunately, the 2G service isn't enough to send pictures through my phone. However, if I pick up wireless, they'll send a little faster. When they finally all uploaded, they were out of order. Luck of the draw really. I'm playing with in and I'll keep working on my timing. I'm also working on getting some shots later and later to give you guys an idea. I'm only going to be able to stay up so late during the week though, so I'll work on that this weekend.

So I've met up with a couple of "small world" people. My grandmother's cousin's, daughter-in-law's son's step-mom works with me at the hospital. Also, a couple of my old docs have a friend whose daughter is an attorney here and I met her tonight for the first time and hung out with a group from the public defenders office. Yesterday when we spoke to set this up, I was recruited to play in the city's softball league and today found out that there's a group that plays ultimate Frisbee on Sunday's and Wednesdays. So that on top of a gym membership ($25 bucks a month) and my other workout routine's. I might be doing OK this summer.

I've also got a couple leads on housing. One possibility might be through the hospital. Another might be someone who may be looking for someone to finish out the term of their lease. I'll keep looking into things and see what happens. I've got my hospital badge and computer log-in information. I do need to get keys to my office but otherwise I'm good to go.

I'll be spending my day tomorrow getting used to where things are and having the audiologist who works in the Sub-Regional Clinics (SRCs) come out and show me a few things. If I can squeeze it in, I'd like to do training for the tele-med (tele-medicine) system. Ultimately, it's a getting used to where things are, getting prepared to take on my full schedule the week after next. I also got my flight arrangements out to one of the SRCs today. I leave Monday after lunch and come back Friday. I may need a sleeping back which I'll have to borrow, but I think it'll be a very educational and awesome experience to get out to the village and get a taste of life out there.

Also, I need to do laundry this weekend. My time has been quite full so far. But things are looking good. If I can square away this whole living arrangement thing, I might be willing to say I'm settling in quite well.

9:30 pm

More blue than befor...

10:50 pm

Putting on my sleep mask now

8:30 pm

Grey clouds with bits of blue.

New Employee Orientation

So today began my official tenure at YKHC. We had day 1 of NEO and completed LOTS of paperwork. W4's, I9's, health insurance, 403b forms and much much more. Hopefully, tomorrow will go smoothly and I'll get everything I need for a security badge and internet access. I get to jump right into my job on Friday and then head out to one of the regional sub-clinics for next week.
It's been requested i post more pics. I'll take pics of sunlight tonight (please keep in mind it's a cloudy day). I'll try to take more pics around town too. I would have already taken some but i was on a mission to get to those apartments and check them out...
...speaking of apartments. One of the places I saw were 1 room places without bathing or stove-top, and those smelled like urine or pot. There was a 2 bedroom that I'd need a roommate for and another 1 bedroom that is run-down on the outside but nicer on the inside.I'll keep looking.
Oh and I'm heading to a party Sat night and I've been invited to a softball team starting this weekend. 3 days here and I already have a team. Sweet.

Take a Break

Alright...

Sunday:
So I arrived Sun night at 8pm (12 midnight EST), yes, that's a 4 hr time difference my East Coast friends. I then met my contact from the hospital in baggage claim and she helped me head to my new temporary housing. On the way, we realized the grocery store was closed for the night so that would have to wait.

We arrived to my temporary housing and my roommate was unaware I was coming, unfortunately. I unpacked my suitcases and settled in. Then passed out completely.

Monday:
Got up and headed to the hospital to be introduced to people and got a brief tour (small hospital to walk through really). I met a number of the docs and case managers and was also able to meet my assistant (for the purpose of keeping my sanity, I'm going to call her "A") and get an overview tour through my office. Essentially my office is a big room with my soundbooth, some filing cabinets and a desk. If I had to guess I'd say the room was about 15x25. The booth is a good size.

(This next part is for my audiologist friends, if you're not and audiologist it won't make much sense)
It's got a portable audiometer in addition to OAE, Tymps, lighted animals for centering in VRA, an ABR, The new GSI audiometer and tymps BTW, headphones and inserts, with BC of course. Luckily we've been using Phonak for a while but there are some Seimen's out there too. A and I are planning to go through the cabinets and drawers and reorganize everything so we know where it is and we order supplies we might need since they take quite some time to arrive.  (it's OK for non-audiologists to start reading again).

Then I headed 'home' and changed to start making the treks to the cell phone store and to the Post Office. The cell phone store and the post office each lie on the way to the airport from my place. So I headed first to the post office and found out I needed more paperwork from the hospital to get everything done. So I kept heading to the cell phone store. They were able to get me set up and I'm now the new owner of an Android phone. I'm working on setting up my preferences and downloading apps (internet is slow here so it takes more time than I wish but I'm getting them). Feel free to recommend apps (though please let me know what it does). After getting my phone, I headed 'home' for a bit. Stopping at the convenience store on the way back for some emergency supplies and lunch (a cheeseburger, though I'm not sure what sort of meat it was). ~$70 later I had my 2 bags of supplies and was homeward bound. I made some calls/sent some emails about getting something to say I have a residence so I can get a PO Box. I was able to track down the right person, but not the paperwork, but she told me to come in and she'd get me started. I ended up doing all the paperwork and decided since it was only about 3:30 I'd head back to the post office and try to get a box. And I was successful. I headed back again and relaxed for a bit, sending updates to some people about my new address and phone number, and updating some accounts (at least now my Netflix will be sent to the right place. Not sure if i wanna change my account yet, but at least the disc's will get here.)

My roommate came home right about the time my contact from the hospital called to see if i still needed to go to the grocery store. I did so she took me and about ~$250 later I had my small cart-full of supplies.  Then it was time to make dinner, talk to my folks (it was super late, we're all going to have to get used to communication via 4 hr time difference.

Today:
I have an appointment to go look at two apartments someone has available. a 1 bedroom for $1000/month and a 1 room (studio) for $550 a month. a number of the utilities are included for each. I'll update you guys soon.


Coming soon: breakdown of receipts, see what cost me more and what was actually somewhat reasonable.

I'm here.

OK, so I have limited internet at the moment. When I landed my phone didn't work and I haven't gotten the new one yet. Updating will be intermittent until I can get my phone squared away. Though, I do have connection in my temp housing... which by the way is right behind the jail.

Oh, and yes, it is still quite bright out even though it's almost 10pm. sunset is around midnight-ish. Alright, I'm going to unpack and head to bed so i can head to the hospital in the morning. g'night all. I'll fill you in more soon.

Can you see the Mountains?

Just landed in Anchorage. Out one side of the terminal I can see a tree filled hill and from the other (the one in the pic) I see mountains off in the distance behind the hangar. I wish I was sticking around longer but I'll have to come back on at least one more trip for a coat if nothing else. It's sunny and cool and very pretty.

My First (Semi) Up-Close View of an Alaskan Airlines Plane

Made it to the West Coast

2 flights down, 2 to go. I'm getting there be it ever-so-tiring a day. I never liked packing my bags super full or having super heavy carry-ons but moving across counrty'll do that to a person. I just have to make it through the night then I can rest a while.
Thanks for those who waved at my flight leaving town. Warm fuzzies ensue.
P.S. Sea-Tac has a lot of trains to ride and switch from one to the next. Glad I had practice with the Boston train system.
Sent from my iPhone

Waiting in Atlanta

At the airport...

Alright friends, this is it. I'm sitting in the terminal right now waiting for my flight to board. I'm in for a long day but I'll get there one way or another.
On a more... Something-note, I've held it together overall pretty well. That is besides the going away party with people from work and his morning as I hugged my family goodbye. Dad stayed with me in the area just before the security check-point and it was bitter-sweet.
There were things I wanted to do that didn't get done but Ultimately, it's nothing that can't wait to be dealt with later.
Just hum "Leavin' On A jet Plane" and wave to me as I depart for a whole new experience.
Sent from my iPhone

Bit of a Change

As I was attempting to check in for my flight this morning (24 hrs in advance, which got me up at 5:50am), I was a bit surprised to find out that I had an updated itinerary. Instead of leaving at 5:50am, my first flight now departs at 7:00 am, not bad for the non-morning-person that is documenting this particular fact this morning. also, I'm being routed through Seattle instead of Portland and I now have two flights on each airline instead of 3 on one and 1 on the last. My first and last flight of the day are the same.

Another couple surprises... 1) I can't check in online because there are too many legs to my flight so I'll have to get to the airport in time to check in and check luggage in the morning (ugg). 2) Since the airlines I'm traveling on are affiliated with one another, I don't need to collect baggage and re-check, my bags will be checked all the way to my destination (yay!). 3) The last legs will be on Alaska Airlines, and I've never flown with them. I called to ask if my previous legs were delayed, if because Bethel is such a small airport and it looks to be the last flight of the day, if Alaska airlines held flights from their connections and they DO NOT. (double ugg!). I get why and all but I just have to hope that all my travel goes well enough to catch itself up with itself as we go. After checking the weather across the country... it looks relatively clear but with possible showers here at the departure site as well as the arrive site. I suppose we'll see what happens.

T minus just under 34 hrs

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of spending the afternoon with a wonderful woman who lived in Bethel for 11 years in the 60's-70's. She was a teacher and had many excellent stories and crafts to share with me. The artistry in the basket weaving, fur/skin work, doll and mask making as well as the ivory carving was truly remarkable. I can only hope that many of these art forms are still alive and well when I arrive. I will hopefully be able to write to my new friend periodically (as she is not "wired"). After talking with her, my anxiousness for all of this has increased.

Mom took today off and we did some small things to relax and get ready. The closet is filling and the rest of the house is emptying. My luggage is mostly packed with mr needing to do a load of laundry tonight or tomorrow to finish preparing. I'm seriously debating staying up all night Sat night to make sure everything gets done and to make absolute sure I don't sleep in.

Oh, to those who have my #, the VA # will work for a little it before I get my new phone. Unfortunately the new one was a bit backordered.

Cross your fingers for me.

Sent from my iPhone

Pack and Load Day

Hi guys. Sorry it's been a few days since updating everyone on progress. I've been working pretty non-stop on getting little errands done and getting the little odds and ends together for today's 'pack and load'.

We just got here so the movers are getting supplies for loading things up. Hopefully it won't be too bad for any of us.

Sent from my iPhone