Whelp, and the next adventure begins!

It's always a new adventure, always moving forward. I finished up at princess yesterday, and met Mikal in talkeetna. It's great we have this whole trip planned and we just met.

I have a really good feeling about her and this trip. I just haven't slept in days so I'm on the verge of breaking down. I was trying to to collapse into tears telling maxwell goodbye. 

It was the perfect place to meet. Beer fest was going on but it was too expensive so we bought our own beers an drank and hiked around. Midnight sun also miss canned 24 cases of beer so there was an epic beer baseball thing going on.

Alaska has just become my home. I love it here. I've said goodbye to too many people. I don't know why I keep doing it. Why I can't just stand still. I guess if I would have done that I never would have met or experienced the people and places I have. I know I'm just being tired and emotional. I just need a nap. This is gonna be an amazing adventure and Mikal seems like the perfect person to do it with. 

Bath mats

So Erin, Fernando and I all went into anchorage to get groceries. We went to target and I walked out with bath mats, toilet rugs and candles. Picked up some knitting needles at Micheals and some things for my costume. Petco happened to be right next door so I had to get kitty something. 

It's beautiful out today. Clear as a bell and sunny. 

 

I worked on my costume for a few hours today, I think it will be fun. I don't know where I will wear it or who I'll go out with, but I'm not gonna sit around and mope on my favorite holiday, friends or no friends. 

Erin and I went to chair 5 today, she's not the most outgoing person in the world, but nice to have a girlfriend. I was hoping there would be stuff going on, just an older crowd. I miss the chaos of home and living in a college town, I just gotta stick it out this next month, things will get better. 

Looking for friends

So it's pretty hard to not just break down and cry. I'm not depressed, which is a miracle, but I'm so dang homesick. I miss Marquette and my friends and the community. I miss walking from house to house or hopping on my bike at 1am to catch the last hour at the bars. I really miss the river and Lake Superior and feeling like I belong.

I went running in the rain today. Pretty sloppy out but I had to get out. The houses here are absolutely amazing, big A frame log homes with huge windows and beautiful porches. I'm curious to who these people are and what they do. I ran up to the day lodge and got a feel for where some of the chair lifts are and the Sitzmark. I stopped and talked with a lady at the local art gallery and went to Jack Sprat to meet the owner, who was friends with my friend from Michigan. He didn't remember my friend, but he offered me a job.

My hip was giving me some trouble so I don't know how much running I'll be able to do, gonna need another activity to keep me sane.

The generator was on when I got home but Andy had his laptop plugged in so I took some candles and took a romantic shower by myself. The bathroom is falling apart, but the shower has two shower heads at each end that both work, could be interesting?

I warmed up some left over rice and beans that were left over in the house and from my NOLS trip. There is so much stuff in the house I made it a rule I had to put a serious dent in the food I already have before doing any grocery shopping. Half my calories are coming from beer so I'm not about to starve.

I'm trying really hard to make friends, it's just that everyone is about, 10 years older than me. I miss the college town and having all different types of people. Here i feel everyone is somewhat the same, all just loving life and the outdoors but pretty hippy, not sure if thats the right word and I don't have a great sense of the things going around me. I did meet a guy who used to live in my room. He stopped by to pick up a phone case and we ended up talking. He is a commercial fisherman and x ski bum. He spent the day hiking and jumping off a mountain with some sort of wings, anyway, he asked me out to dinner but I had already made plans with Emily. We ended up all going to the silver tip for drinks and met up with two more people.

Went into Anchorage to finish up some testing for work. The lady doing my tests told me just about her entire life story, getting pregnant young, her ex boyfriends, her momma, baby daddies, how she hates Alaska and wants to get out but not to Michigan because it's ugly (she saw 8 mile) Anyway, I passed and start training Saturday. I train through Halloween. I'm almost relieved that I have to work cause I just don't have the energy to get dressed up and go out with a bunch of people I don't know. I do have a pretty good idea though, just not sure if I can make it work up here.

Back to Alaska

So Nutt Nutt and I are at the Minneapolis airport. He is laying next to me giving himself a bath. He is doing great on the leash, refuses to go to the bathroom but has no problem eating. I think I'll call him Earl.

So Mr. Earl Nut Nut made friends with just about everyone at the airport, even security came over to play with him for a bit, sure did make the four hour Minneapolis layover go by quick. 

Lucked out with and empty seat next me me. Nut didn't like takeoff and escaped his carrier, but laid down in the empty seat and stayed there the whole trip once the fasten seatbelt sign came on. Thank goodness the guy next to me was a cat lover, I'd doze off and Nut would be on his lap. When we got to the airport all the flight attendants petted him goodbye, even the captain gave him a quick snuggle. 

My friend from Princess picked kitty and I up, 1 am Alaska time, 5 am Michigan time, we were both pretty beat. Good to all hang out back at her apartment for a bit before passing out. Nut doesn't really understand how to use a small litter box, he would go and then just scratch at the air and the wall and everything but the litter. 

So the house I'll be living at doesn't have power right now. Looks like we are using lanterns and the wood stove. Still not sure what room I have or what rent is but whatever, I move in tomorrow. 

June 25

Missing everyone in Marquette and Mackinaw like crazy. Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to have just one life. The people here are awesome and the job is awesome, but I miss the water. I miss the water and the boats and the woods and the rivers. I miss my family and my friends and having someone to snuggle up o at nigh an give me kisses on te forehead. I miss the security one gets from building a life. It's hard walking into a cafeteria an instead of looking for your friends you look for an empty table. I mean I'm making friends but I just don't know I I have the strength to build another life just to rip it apart. I'm probably just tired and emotional, but I just want everyone to know, even if I am unable to talk with you, doesn't mean I dot still love you

June 23

So I gt a new job. It's a lot to learn in a day , I can't even remember the name of the place I work sometimes, the numbers get so jumbled up in my head, 2320 2320 2320, it weird cause its actually 20320 and I just get so confused, I guess I just work at te 20. My McKinley princess wilderness lodge. My roommate is like sixty , I think her name is Karen. She I really nice, a little roughy around the edged. A smoker. - 

All tatted up, but se gave me a pair of jeans and is forward and set ground rules right off the bat. 

I literally got here today aroun one. Camped on te side of the road at a rest stop thing with racheal, wen to Mary something's for breakfast waiting Di her ride ten came to te lodge. I waited or Scott I a bit, met a few people filled out paperwork, got my uniform , saw Danny and Thomas. Thomas showed me aroun then I had one hour to unpack and get ready or work. I showered real fast an talked with my roommate, bikes to work, didn't know where I lock get up then went throught the wrong door in my juniors. I met Jeff, he is one of my bosses, he is actually from Marquette so that was pretty exciting. There are actually a lot of people ere from Michigan . 

They paired me up with Alex, he is a returning server and e gr me training right away. He is an awesome server and was really thorough teaching me. It's so much to pick up and I had a hard time with the trays. I spille a few things a little and put a beer on the wrong tab  everyone wa supper nice an supportive, both workers and guests, I have a lot I learn but when no get it I know I'm goin to live it, it's fast passed and so many new people and I get to ask them where they are from : ) today I helped some people from kersley and I feel like I knew a little about where everyone was from, thank goodness for the bike trip. 

After work Thomas took me out to the employee bar and helped me go over a lot of things, the kid is a genius I swear. 

I gotta get some sleep though, work at 630, so up in a few hours. They have me doing a split shift and I'm running food all day to learn tables and sections and orders

June 22

Still pretty drunk from last night, Deanna drank me under the table. I'm not sure how I like the bars here in the summer, it light out and they suddenly become a little more awkward. 

There is half a bottle Of emergency soaking me and my tent. Deanna asked if I was up and ready to go to breakfast, I'm in no shape to be out in public. 

It's really nice out, I'm packing up and looking for people on couch surfing to team up with. I got a hold of a girl, rachael. She just got here from Missouri an is just hanging out at REI. 

I figured she would be perfect to pick up and we can go back to the homestead and the solstice party an travel the kenai and camp on the spit in homer. Pretty excited to go back to the homestead. I really miss james. 

Deanna gives me a map and a roll of tinfoil and some spices (incase I catch a fish) and I say good bye and head to REI.

You know those mornings after a hard night of drinking when you realize you really probably shouldn't be driving..?

Rachael is posted up outside REI with a big backpacking bag and suitcase charging her iPhone . She is blonde hair blue eyes and really pretty.