Sitka Update

Weather: partly crappy, mostly shitty

Smell: rotten! Woah, the salmon have all swum upstream to spawn, and the place is ripe!!!Basically, it stinks!

Drama scale this week: about 4/10. Hey, it's only Tuesday - give the place a chance, things will definitely heat up by the end of the week.

Ok, I suppose I am being a bit cynical. Life in this little town is going pretty good. It was the equinox last week which means we are now well on our way into winter. In fact, days are getting shorter at the rate of seven minutes a day! Enjoy the sunlight while you can, because there'll be seven minutes less of it tomorrow. It has started raining, which is Ok... I don't mind the rain. People have said that it this time of year it will rain for up to seventy days straight, but hey that's part of life in Alaska. It's funny, the place now reminds me so much of the place I arrived to -- it is starting to look now how it looked nearly a year ago when I moved here. I guess that just goes to show the amazing contrast and change that is experienced throughout the year: not only in terms of weather, but also in terms of the wildlife, and ambience and all the little intricacies that give any place its character!

Just thought I'd tack on an e-mail that Natalie sent me... I don't often do these, but I thought, what the heck.... so here it is. Didn't think I'd forward it to everyone, but thought I'd share some of my responses anyway.

> Directions! Now, Here Is What You Are Supposed To Do...And Please Do Not Spoil The Fun! Hit Forward, Delete My Answers And Type In Your Answers. Then Send This To A Whole Bunch Of People That You Know...And Send It Back To Me So I Can See Your Answers, The Theory Is That You Will Learn A Lot Of Little Known Facts About Those You Know. Remember To Send It Back and add a question you see fit to keep it interesting.

1. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Both my grandfathers were named Robert>>

2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Last week, at a funeral: very beautiful and very moving...>>

3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING ? yes, love it >

4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? chicken>>

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? No, and I probably won't, but that's OK!>>

6.. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? Yeah, I reckon! >>

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? sometimes... I generally don't find it funny.>>

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? yes>

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? probably not... but never say never, hey >>

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? Weet-Bix>>

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF ? Ummm... I've gotten into the bad habit of leaving my laces tied up>>

12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG? yes - strong willed! (Does that mean I am stubborn?) >> 13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? It's a close call between vanilla and strawberry>>

14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Their eyes, and their demeanour: I can pick happy positive people a mile off! >>

15. RED OR PINK? red>>

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVOURITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? my voice/accent>>

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST ? Paul and Amy; I miss Holiday and Simon, too. >>

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Please do!>>

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Dark blue jeans, which I think belonged to Keisuke, and no shoes... just socks. >>

20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? dinner: chinese style pork with pasta and beans.>>

21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Brian's i-pod... whatever he has put on it.>>

22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? I'd try and be every colour at least once.>>

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? the ocean... and the smell just before it rains>>

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? Brian. >>

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes, Natalie Milne: she is a fabulous actess, and an altogether nice person!>>

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? Netball!>>

27. HAIR COLOUR? Brown
>28. EYE COLOUR? Brown/Hazel>>

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? no>>

30. FAVOURITE FOOD? Probably Malaysian, and ice-cream>>

31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? happy endings (realistic ones, please) >>

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? "Looking for Alibrandi">>

33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? white>>

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Hot, stinking Aussie summer all the way>>

35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs definitely! (Hugs are kind of my special trademark!)>>

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Lemon Delicious>>

37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Not sure...>>

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Yeah, not sure... I've got some busy friends, so I understand that they can't respond >>

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? just finished reading "Le Petit Prince" ("The Little Prince") by Antoine de Saint-Exupery; definitely one of the best books I have read in a long time.
>>40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? waves crashing over rocks (funny, I never paid attention until now)>>

41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Didn't watch TV last night; played cards and won heaps of money. >>

42. FAVOURITE SOUND? When someone is breathing while they are asleep - well, it's a relieving sound: they are not dead!>>

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? beatles.>>

44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Switzerland.. and Alaska too, but then I guess home is where the heart is, and I've tried to make many places home while I have been there.

45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Yeah I do, and I'm blessed with great friends who help bring out my talents

46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Mackay, Australia

47. DO YOU LIKE YOUR JOB? Yes - surprisingly! Never imagined myself as a truck driver, but, hey!

48 ARE YOU THE OLDEST OR YOUNGEST? Second youngest.

49: FAVOURITE PLACE TO GO SWIMMING? Sarina Beach, where I grew up.

Long Time No Write...

Hi all!

Well, it has been nearly four months since I have posted anything on my blog site, so I had better let you all know what is going on at my end of the world.

I'm back in Alaska (finally).... Things didn't really go to plan - this is me: things never go to plan - but we sorted out a solution in the end. The long and the short of it, I didn't get a visa to work here in the US. I had everything ready, and in May headed back Down Under thinking that I would get a visa in Sydney. I had a week in New Zealand catching up with friends over there before heading back to Australia in time for my Mum's birthday.

After a few weeks in Australia, I found out that everything had fallen through with my visa. That was really frustrating, because I was so confident that this would work out. And moreover, it left me at a loose end, wondering what I would do next... I didn't really have a plan B that I could fall back on. I was frustrated and confused. Brian and I scratched our heads, and tried to work out what we would do next.

First of all, we decided to put the visa application process on hold... It had been time consuming, gut-wrenching and just out and out exhausting. We also figured that if I attack the visa paperwork after a year, I'll have renewed energy and fresh eyes with which to approach it.

As for what I would do in the meantime, well, my Dad and I came up with a working solution: I would stay in Australia and work for him for the time being, and I could travel back and forth between Alaska to visit Brian. And for now, that's what I am doing. My Dad is a scrapmetal trader in Mackay, and I'm driving one of his trucks. So, I'm a truckie for the time being. Yep, it is something that I never imagined doing, but hey, it works!

So I worked for my Dad for three months in Australia before making it back here at the end of August, in time for Brian's birthday. It's good being back in Alaska... Second time around I have settled back in quite quickly. I'm going to stay here until just after Alaska Day (18 October) and then I'll head back to Australia for another stint of work.

So, that's my news, really. Sorry I have been out of touch. Following below is a blog entry that I never posted. I wrote it back when I was here last time.


---------------------


Anchorage and Jeopardy!



"I'll choose.... American cities for $400, please."

Well, recently I took a trip to Anchorage. Anhorage is the largest city in Alaska and the travel guidebooks say that from Anchorage "Alaska is only fifteen minutes away". It is kind of true. It is an international hub for some of the major oil and petroleum companies (given its proximity to the oilfields on the North Slope and Prudhoe Bay), not to mention one of the busiest air cargo ports in the US. In terms of urban jungle, it isn't too big, but it is sprawly. It is kind of like Christchurch in that respect - very spread out. In fact, it is a bit of an ugly place: when the tide goes out the Turnagain and Knik arms empty out and it look like a bit of a mudflat. Unsuspecting tourists have been known to wander out onto the mudflats and get stuck; the tide turns and sadly, many have drowned.
As for the comment that from Anchorage "Alaska is only fifteen minutes away" well, you'd be forgiven if you forgot that you were actually in Alaska while visiting Anchorage. City-wise, it could be anywhere in the US. However, the mountain ranges of the Chugach, and the highest peak in the US, Mt. MicKinley can be seen in the distance - the reminder that Alaska isn't really too far away.

I jumped in the car and took a drive to little village called Whittier. This place is a very cool slice of Alaska: little village, right on the sea, friendly locals - and the town is built on the other side of a mountain and you have to drive through a tunnel to get there. But the tunnel is only open at certain times of the day, so you might end up in this place longer than you could otherwise expect.

A few exciting things happened while I was in Anchorage. I saw the State Governor unveil what will be Alaska's state quarter. The design chosen was one of a grizzly bear catching a salmon in a stream, with the slogan "The Great Land". So, it wasn't the one that I voted for, the one that said "Land of the Midnight Sun", but it is still pretty cool. It will be released next year.

Another crazy and exciting thing that I did while in Anchorage was try out for the TV game show 'Jeopardy!'. Jeopardy is a trivia quiz where you are given the answer, so you must give the correct question. For example: you'll be given "This is situated on the east coast of Australia and is the largest city in the country," and you must respond with "Where is Sydney?" Anyway, they were having try-outs in Anchorage to go on Jeopardy. So, I had to give it a go!
Now, I recommend reading Raybon Kan's article "US Wheel of Fortune: An Epic Life Experience" if you want to really know what trying out for a US game show is like! It seems that just about everyone here in America wants to go on a game show... and only a few make it!
Anyway, as for my Jeopardy experience, it was soooooo much fun! And, I made it through to the second round! Basically, you had to take a written test, and if you pass that, you go onto the next round with a longer test, and if you pass that, you're pretty much on the show. So I took the first test, and passed it! And then we got to play just-for-fun Jeopardy and won cool prizes like Jeopardy hats and pens. Anyway, I went back the next day for the second round. It was fun too, but the test was much longer and harder, and it was question about the US which eventually knocked me out: stuff about presidents, and US rivers and mountains.... I didn't have a clue. And there was one question that I completely mucked up: "What Grand Duchy is situated next to the Belgian province of the same name?" I quickly scribbled down Leichtenstein...... It wasn't until several hours later after my audition had finished that I smacked my forehead and said, "YOU IDIOT! It's not Leichtenstien. It's Luxembourg!" Damn! Maybe I could have been on Jeopardy if I had gotten that one right!

Very Important!

Hi everyone! I've been pretty slack in updating my blog lately, but there has been some cool stuff happening over here that I definitely want to post. I will endeavour to do so in the near future. (But then again, don't hold your breath waiting!)
Now, here in the US they are issuing a 25cent (quarter) coin depicting each state. They have already released quite a few different state quarters. Next year, they will release Alaska's state quarter - but the exciting thing is, they are getting the public to vote on the design that should go on Alaska's state quarter! So, all of you who are following this Alaskan adventure can vote too! I've put a link to the page on the right: click the link and choose what you think should be the Alaskan state quarter. The real question is, can you guess which quarter I voted for???

Visa is a four-letter word!

Well, I have had a period of ups and downs trying to sort out my visa. But I have learnt that when one door closes, another one opens. This is particularly true of my ongoing visa struggle this week. The long and the short of it is this: the way my current visa application stands, I won't start work until October! By that time I will be broke and hungry. I thought that I was at the end of the line and was thinking that maybe I would have to go back to New Zealand and try it again in about a year's time. This is not something that I wanted to do, but it seemed inevitable - I didn't really have any other option.
And then, I bumped into the owner of the McDonald's restaurant in the supermarket and she told me that there is a McDonald's trainee programme that I would be eligible for. Under this trainee programme I could effectively continue my management development from where I left off in New Zealand, and as it is a trainee programme it falls under a different visa category. I have done some research of my own and this trainee programme would allow me to stay here for up to 18 months, and I could possible have a visa in about eight weeks. When I found this out I could have kicked myself: why didn't I discover this before? But then again, I had investigated many options, and we had closed the McDonald's door, so it is probably little wonder that I didn't find this out.
I'm still trying to digest it all: it all has happened very quickly. And I think because we had previously shelved the option of working at McDonald's, it is taking me a little getting used to the idea that now the McDonald's door is open again. I left McDonald's New Zealand on a really positive note, but now when I think about the possibility of working at McDonald's here, I have mixed memories of my previous work at McDonald's. Am I ready to go back to supervising fickle staff who are temperamental at the best of times? Am I ready to be called into work on my days off? Do I want to go back to being a little piece in the big corporate jigsaw puzzle? Do I really want to slave my guts out for what was a thankless job at the best of times?
The thing that I really must recognise is this: a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I have the chance to work and stay here - guaranteed work and visa for the next 18 months. And I want to stay here. Perhaps this is my last option if I want to stay here at this time. So if I don't take it, I'm a fool. And as for McDonald's second time around, (well, third time around actually) maybe this time I might be able to call some of the shots.

YVR

I had a fleeting visit to Vancouver earlier in the week. Vancouver is a really beautiful city and the little I saw of Canada has left me with a really good impression. Vancouver reminded me of Sydney - without the Australians. At the same time it reminded me somewhat of Christchurch with lots of similar street names and localities. (This is obviously due to the British influence on both cities.)

While I was there I took in the Granville Island markets. These markets were a hive of activity: lots of meat and produce and food! There was even a little tea stall, so I sat and drank some tea. I had Masala Chai, which is the best stuff I have ever tasted. And it wasn't the crap that comes out of a bottle, it was all hand mixed and it was superb. I also tried some Hawai'ian Rooibos tea with coconut and pineapple in it. So the tea was awesome but I drank so much of it that I needed to pee all afternoon!

The Canadians are really friendly. They are very laid-back and I could definitely see myself living there.Even though I was there only for a short visit, I had a great time and I would love to got back and explore some more.

The Piano

No, this isn't about the movie, but something really quite amusing that happened this weekend. My house-mate (flatmate) Maria bought a piano. Well, in truth she got it for free! And she had wanted a piano, and this was a bargain staring her in the eye, so she grabbed it. And to top it off, the guy selling it said he would deliver it -- also for free. Now, it has been snowing off and on for at least the past week here in Sitka. So, in preparation for the delivery of the piano, Maria's brother-in-law came around on his four-wheeler and ploughed the driveway. In the middle of the morning, along comes the van loaded with about five brute men and a piano. Now, I was inside cooking eggs for everyone's breakfast ('over-easy' - my first time cooking eggs 'over easy', I was just going to scramble the lot of them) so I missed some of the spectacle. But I did get to view the unfolding scene from our third storey window between batches of eggs. You can probably work out how the story goes: snow... living on the third floor... hmmmm. But anyway...

So, the guys in the van decided to drive up the steep driveway in reverse! I don't know if I can even comment on their logic, so I will repeat what Maria's sister Rhonda said: "They're idiots. But at least they're free idiots!"

And alas, they got bogged in the snow! So everyone piles out of the van and stands around and holds a Geneva conference... all this time there is a lot of talking and not much action. I don't quite know how the conversation went, but from what I gather one of the guys finally blew his fuse and said, "We are doing this for free... it would be different if we were getting paid... you're lucky we are even delivering it... whinge whinge whinge." Brian said that at that point we should have told him to take his piano and shove it - or at least dump it in the ocean!

What eventuated next was that the guys drove themselves forward out of the bog and they unloaded the piano right there in the middle of the driveway!

Ah well... I looked down from aloft in our third floor flat at the piano, seemingly stranded in the middle of the driveway. It reminded me somewhat of the iconic scene from the film. We wrapped the piano up in a tarp, and for the moment, we've left it there...

And the snow continues!!

Let it snow...

Well, seemingly from out of nowhere it has started snowing. Like crazy! There have been some huge dumps in the past two days, and I woke up this morning to find the whole place blanketed in deep snow. I couldn't tell you how much exactly, but there is bloody heaps! The whole town is nearly knee-deep in snow. It is very beautiful and even with this snow it isn't too cold.
I think that this is how most people down under imagine Alaska to be: white with snow everywhere! If you look again at the pictures of the Jamestown Bay sunsets and imagine that the scenery is a grayish white, you'll come pretty close to how it looks today! Even with all this snow, though, life continues on as normal for everyone. I was kind of surprised: in New Zealand the whole place would shut down if there was this much snow! But here everyone just gets stuck in and gets on with it. I suppose it reflects how laid back the kiwis are: any excuse to get a day off work.