IPHONE!

So you may or may not remember my iPhone debacle when i got up here. I had a 4 on AT&Ts network and moved up here and essentially got a really expensive and glorified ipod out of the deal. Well my android was acting up on the crap network here so i opted to go back to an iphone, and bought an unlocked 8gb 3gs from apple only to realize i was completely spoiled by both my 4 and the android and the 3gs with hardly any space and crap resolution, just pissed me of more.

BUT... I found out last night that AT&T is factory unlocking (remotely at that) iphones for qualified individuals whose phones are no longer on contract. So, I called this morning and there's an order in for my phone to be unlocked. I've been told it will be done no later than 6/29. Then I get my final instructions and can swap out my 3gs for my 4 and be a much happier girl again. :-D

Taco Bell Hoax

Taco Bell Hoax

Never saw the fliers around town... either I'm not observant or they just weren't around all that long. Subway does pretty well for itself as far as I can see, but honestly, we don't need a fast food joint up here. Diabetes is a big problem here in a land where everyone used to eat practically organically back before there really was no such thing.

Tonight's Sunset

12:30 am sunset, view from my front window in Bethel, AK  (Canon T1i &55-250mm lens)

warm with a (big) chance of bug-bites :(

it's been warm this weekend. in the 70s. and today it was muggy. not my ideal, especially since we dont' have AC here. But this week will be cooler- in the 60's. Bad part... mosquitos are out again. I've killed a bunch in my house this weekend and have the really annoying bites on my toes and ankles and ear when they got to me before i could kill em. totally sucks. i have a couple vents in my house i think they came in through unfortunately. i need to get sticky traps or something. not sure what the best way to do indoor trapping/killing though. lots of traps and such say for use in non-living spaces but i don't want to need a mosquito net in my house. but i don't like chasing them. they're super distracting and now i have black smudges on the walls above my bed cause i smooshed them there. lol... oops.

Break-up -> Flooding

Pictures from my porch on the worst evening of flooding. Not too bad this year. I was still parked in the driveway, just much closer to the road.

Recap (cause I've been bad)

So mostly life has been uneventful. Mom and Dad came for a visit and they were able to see what Bethel was like (maybe if you ask sweetly enough, they'll comment and fill us all in ;-) ). We had an eventful weekend while they they were here and found some unwelcome critters that took time to deal with. But we were able do a mini tour of the hospital- though there's not tons to see. And we were able to go to a dinner hosted by the college in support from my assistant's completion of a rural health services program. We checked out a lot of local stapes. Stores, museums, library and really just chilled at my apartment a bunch dealing with things. I ended up getting dad fairly addicted to True Blood, which in and of itself was amusing. Mom and I had read the books and mom had seen the first couple episodes but if you've ever seen the very first episode of True Blood it's actually almost painful to watch. the acting is pretty campy and we're already dealing with vampires in the wake of sparkly G-rated bloodsuckers. But once you get past the first episode or so, it gets much better.

After parents left, i headed to New Mexico for a conference and found that I'm NOT cut our for warm-weather climates anymore. It was about 80 degrees and dry heat with sun. I was overcome with the sweat and need to find shade. Now I will give dry-heat this... you can find shade and it's MUCH better. I'm used to humid head of Southeast and unless you have AC, you're gonna be pretty miserable.

Upon arriving back to Alaska, I found more of the snow melted. And the end of last week was the end of the Ice Classic (the giant pool to bet on what day breakup (river/ice breakup) happens and the huge triangle moves past a certain point. The peak of breakup was last Thurs/Fri. I wasn't able to park my car all the way next to my house like I normally do but out near the street and watched water level. It ended up only being about 4-6 inches deep at its worst. i had to bring out the boggs, but it wasn't bad at all. I have a few images from my porch but I'll post those as soon as I can.

It is definitely spring though. river is melted, fishing has begun. dust clouds are blowing across the street instead of snow drifts and softball season is ramping up again (just got an email this morning). Nice to be above 0 degrees though.

Feel free to bug me if I'm not updating. I get caught up in things sometimes and forget things. :(

SUN

If you haven't lived in a snowy climate before, you probably don't know that it's sunnier in the winter than it is in the summer. This is all because of the reflection off the snow/ice. It can be worse than reflection off the water because it's solid and dangerous when icy. The bummer is that I misplaced mine when it was dark over winter. I'll find em this weekend when i do my mass spring cleaning.

Bunny Boots!!!

I ordered Bunny boots last week after my ice fishing trip when I realized that my toes were cramped in my "big boots" and thus losing circulation and warmth. Freezing toes on tundra is BAD.

Bunny Boots (Mickey Mouse Boots) Black- Rated waterproof and warm to about -50 (or -80 depending on who you talk to)

Bunny Boot, White- Good for anything colder than the Black ones

Story goes... Bunny Boots (black ones are sometimes called Mickey Mouse Boots)  were originally a US military issue boot meant for cold weather. They are rated to ridiculously cold weather. Waterproof because they are made from a single piece of rubber. From images, it almost looks like it's a single piece that they somehow molded around the insulation.

Layers

Cut in half

There is a layer of insulation and a valve that you use to keep warm air inside (haven't quite figured out how that works. I think you have to leave valve open on flights). 

I found boots in my size on ebay for $45 brand new. After having the coldest winter in 30 years here in Alaska, I opted to go ahead and get the white ones just to make sure I got to keep my toes no matter what. Only downside is that it's spring-time now really (no coats at 25 degrees ;))

(looks sheepish)

I've neglected you guys for so long. I'm sorry. Since my last update though, I've now ridden a snow machine, I've driven a snow machine, I've drilled a set a holes in about 4 feet of ice with an auger, I've gone ice-fishing (but didn't catch anything), snow machined to another town and saw 2 cases of frostbite, and saw my first Camai festival (Dance Festival, pronounced Ja-My). I do have pictures but still have to go through things and post them. so they're COMING SOON!

On another hand, it's about 35 degrees and everybody around here is in t-shirts or long-sleeve t-shirts. No jackets. The break-up is probably coming soon. I'm hoping my place doesn't flood much. We'll find out.

after a long break...

Iditarod

Here's whats been going on in Alaska...

It's still cold, but we've got about 12 hrs of daylight now. Roughly 9am-9pm.

Sorry for the delay. I had a rash of Migraines followed by some recovery. And then a new facebook game addiction (medieval war game).

cold again

-9 with and feels like -35  after adding 22mph winds. Some frozen car doors and whatnot around town, including my house locks (i really don't like our new doors)

It could happen anywhere

I realized I haven't updated recently. Not much has been going on really. But here are a few things that've happened...

The river has some overflow from partially thawing.

I did interviews last week for my assistant/case manager's replacement. We're working on hiring them, but the process is partially out of my hands. We had a not so great candidate, a good candidate and great candidate.  They'll have a month work work with the current assistant/case manager before taking over completely on their own.

Somebody stabbed someone to death literally right across the street from the police station. Who doesn't think they'll get caught when they kill someone right across the street from the police station. Needless to say, they were caught and medically processed right down the hall from my office. I'm really glad I keep the back door to my office/exam room locked all the time and also glad I didn't know about it right away.

My assistant/case manager is on vacation in Hawaii and i'm super jealous. While I'm here i'd love to make a trip down there since there are practically direct flights from here (from Anchorage there are). And the flights are much much cheaper from here than from practically anywhere. And honestly, off season there is still WAY warmer than here and also much cheaper. So not yet, but at some point, I kinda hope I get the chance to check out Hawaii. Then again, I also want to go to Denali and climb part of it and go to Fairbanks and Barrow and Kodiak. We'll see what happens and doesn't while I'm here though.

There's apparently a puppy play camp that occurs a few houses up from my house during the day. I keep coming home from work and finding half a dozen or more dogs romping in the snow. They're cute, but they're also totally in the way.

I found out there's a $450 subsidy that occurs if I bring an iphone to my wireless network. So i ordered an unlocked iphone (3GS, 8gb) from Apple. I shipped it to KY and I'm having a cousin (Thanks L!!!) turn around and ship it to me cause apple won't ship to a PO and the fed-ex guy in town has been known to take apple boxes and forge signatures. The only difference between here and somewhere else is that you know the guys face and see him all the time (I don't know the guy, but others do).

Oh, and the Fitness Challenge is going well. I know of at least one person that's lost over 24 inches and personally I've lost over 13 inches and we're only halfway through the challenge. We just have to keep going. My gym-wife (workout buddy) has me hitting the gym 4 days a week doing at least 4 miles each day but if she had it her way, I'd be there 5 days a week. That's a lot of time and a lot of miles. And it's paying off.

Back when we had the cold snap, my alarm/auto-starter somehow froze/broke. I'm not sure if it's possible that it's a fuze since I think it's a separate system or what's going on but the key fob lights up even though nothing happens in the car. I miss my auto-starter. When it gets a little warmer I'll play with it and see if I can figure it out.

Basically, lots of little things but nothing big.

Fireflies

Did you know there aren't any fireflies in Alaska? Or at least the Tundra region of Alaska. I guess I've always just taken it for granted that fireflies exist and it's a summer rite of passage as a kid to stay up late enough to be able to catch them either in your hands or put them in a jar

3 day weekend

one of the wonderful things about working for a gov't affiliated facility is that I get most of the holidays that private locations don't take off. So... 3 day weekend this weekend. Gym, cleaning and laundry to kick everything off.

Plants - recommendations welcome

So I've always had an aloe plant and sometimes a spider plant in every place I've lived. Partially because you can't kill them even if you try. OK, well that's true for the spider plant but not the aloe actually. I've killed one of those.

well, I've been trying to grow roots in an offshoot from a spider plant for like 3 months and the shoot is still alive in the cup, but there are no roots. Granted, this might be because I'm trying to grow it in my office which has no windows. can anyone recommend good plants to grow in very low light situations? anything I can buy seeds for especially?