I was tagged by Cae at VWXYNot? for this end of the year meme. It looks like I have my work cut out for me for 2008!
1. Will you be looking for a new job? Erm, yes. But hopefully not a new career.
2. Will you be looking for a new relationship? yes, not in a romantic one currently. And always on the outlook for new friendships as well as old.
3. New house? yes, it goes with moving...maybe this will be the year I get to build my own tiny house? Whether renting or owning I will be in a new place for sure.
4. What will you do differently in 08? Differently then what?
5. New Years resolution? Publish the damn thesis already and as always get out of doors whenever possible!
6. What will you not be doing in 08? Working at my former work place or living in Very Small Wet Alaskan Town (which incidentally is named one of the top 3 summer tourist destinations for 08!)
7. Any trips planned? not currently but there are sure to be some! Can't have a year without one.
8. Wedding plans? none of my own but a least one to attend
9. Major thing on your calendar? nothing big but lots of little job application closing deadlines
10. What can’t you wait for? well, I can always wait but I am excited to see where I will end up next!
11. What would you like to see happen differently? The US to sign the Kyoto agreement
12. What about yourself will you be changing?
13. What happened in 07 that you didn’t think would ever happen? The Disreputable Dog fell in love with a cat
14. Will you be nicer to the people you care about? This seems to imply I'm not at the moment and I think I am quite nice and will continue to be so.
15. Will you dress differently this year than you did in 07? not likely although if I move south I may require less layers.
16. Will you start or quit drinking? neither.
17. Will you better your relationship with your family? It's pretty good as it is although there are always little things that need working at.
18. Will you do charity work? of course!
19. Will you go to bars? Probably, especially if i live in more places where the entire social structure revolves around bars.
20. Will you be nice to people you don’t know? I am & will continue to be.
21. Do you expect 08 to be a good year for you? I hope so!
22. How much did you change from this time last year till now? I started a blog!
23. Do you plan on having a child? uh, not currently. See #2.
24. Will you still be friends with the same people you are friends with now? Certainly although depending where I end up the mode of communicating with those friends will change.
25. Major lifestyle changes? Perhaps. Although the base things that are important to me will remain that way.
26. Will you be moving? laugh, YES, see #1 & #3. Don't know where I'll be going to.
27. What will you make sure doesn’t happen in 08 that happened in 07? erm, all the things that I don't want to happen are not things I could ensure not happening in the future...
28. What are your New Years Eve plans? probably hanging out with friends in hot spring...maybe skiing to them?
29. Will you have someone to kiss at midnight? Not sure, but unlikely.
30. One wish for 08? ah, well, to get a satisfying new job, fall in love...oh, wait, you said only one :)
Tag only if you want to...
As Fine As Froghair
Ravenwater
The Trouser Press
Saxifraga at Rising to the Occasion
28 December 2007
Arrgh!
Arrgh! With all my backing up from various work and personal computers all of my bookmarks seem messed up. Which means I'm not finding some of you. So if you don't see me around for awhile be sure to comment so I can find my way back to your page! Thanks so much!
26 December 2007
Running at Altitude
I went running today the first time since I arrived. I find so difficult to remember that I have been living at sea level for some time now and must give myself time to adjust to the altitude before pulling on my running shoes. I think the fact that my sea shore was surrounded by mountains fooled me into thinking I'm at a higher altitude. But now I'm at least 6,000 feet above sea level and I find that even pulling my niece and nephew up the parental driveway after crazy sled rides left me short of breath (that's my nephew in the picture below).
I am finding it somewhat disconcerting how everyone else seems to have plans for what I am going to do next. It usually involves moving closer to them. My sister wants me to be close enough to babysit but not close enough to drop in unexpectedly. Another friend hopes I'll be here until April. My Alaska friends are all convinced I will be back shortly and have even started sending me rental notices for Fairbanks and Anchorage and my lower 48 friends are convinced this means I'm leaving the state while my out of country friends are cajoling me to move near them. Only my out of country friends seem to understand that I could end up ANYWHERE. Really, I could. It was breaking news up and down the extended family telephone wires over the week and I know there will be much gossip about it. I am only glad that they have found something else to discuss other then what they see as my old maid-ism. I am generally the black sheep of the family, the person who lives the exciting life that everyone else enjoys talking about but are secretly relieved they don't live.
I have been spending extended time with my niece and nephew. My niece's fondest desire was to have the Disreputable Cat sit on her lap and she finally got her wish. The cat barely fit but she was game and my niece has never sat stiller for anything in her entire life.
I am delighted to find myself alone with the animals tonight after days of chaos; lovely chaos but I am fond of my solitude. We've had three birthdays to celebrate in among the holiday celebrations and the house has been full and overflowing with people of all ages and volume. Tonight everyone has plans but me. I went running and am now cuddling with the Disreputable cat to the right of my lap, the Parental cat to left and the Disreputable Dog and Parental Dog at my feet snoring slightly. The Parental Dog is a bit worried that the mainstay of her pack is gone. I am finally in my own space well enough to be ready to visit with other old friends who have flocked to the area to visit family over the holidays. Sadly, I am a bit late for some of them but try as I may I am never ready for these reunions when I first arrive, always needing a few days to acclimatize and adjust to being in this space and making it work for me. Not that I haven't been seeing people every day but they've mostly been due to the planning of others, not the ones I must self initiate. I haven't even pulled on my skis yet since every time I plan to do so I seem to get roped into some other task.
I am finding it somewhat disconcerting how everyone else seems to have plans for what I am going to do next. It usually involves moving closer to them. My sister wants me to be close enough to babysit but not close enough to drop in unexpectedly. Another friend hopes I'll be here until April. My Alaska friends are all convinced I will be back shortly and have even started sending me rental notices for Fairbanks and Anchorage and my lower 48 friends are convinced this means I'm leaving the state while my out of country friends are cajoling me to move near them. Only my out of country friends seem to understand that I could end up ANYWHERE. Really, I could. It was breaking news up and down the extended family telephone wires over the week and I know there will be much gossip about it. I am only glad that they have found something else to discuss other then what they see as my old maid-ism. I am generally the black sheep of the family, the person who lives the exciting life that everyone else enjoys talking about but are secretly relieved they don't live.
I have been spending extended time with my niece and nephew. My niece's fondest desire was to have the Disreputable Cat sit on her lap and she finally got her wish. The cat barely fit but she was game and my niece has never sat stiller for anything in her entire life.
23 December 2007
Recovering my Equilibrium
Thank you all for your travel wishes...I feel like I've been traveling for ages. I started Thursday afternoon....first I finished packing up the rest of the house, then I cleaned it, a snow storm moving into the area with gale storm warnings all the way to Los Anchorage. I had those hard goodbyes, the kind that hurt but that you can't not do. Then a drive to Los Anchorage, snowy passes and dark oceansides. I arrive at my summer weekend neighbor's who really live in Los Anchorage. They are storing all of my stuff in exchange for my shoveling the snow off their boats and because they are sweet people. They made me a halibut dinner and hot buttered rum and then another friend picked me and the Disreputables up. First we took the Disreputable Dog and his buddy Ziegra on a long romp. Ziegra and the Disreputable Dog go back to puppyhood in Fairbanks. After that this dear friend dropped us all off at the airport. Out flight wasn't really until Friday at 1am. It seems every flight out of the state is a red eye.
We flew for hours...flying from Alaska to the lower 48 is often like flying to Europe from the conterminous US. The Disreputable Cat proved to be quite adept at attempting to escape from her kennel. It wasn't because she didn't like the kennel, she loves it, but she got bored. Eventually I had to ask the flight attendants if they had any tape and had to tape the openings shut to keep the paws and cat head from popping out of the bag. I couldn't really fault her - she'd been in the car since noon the day before and needed to stretch out. On the other hand it prevented me from getting some dearly needed sleep and by the time we had laid over for three hours and gotten on our next flight I was ready to pass out from exhaustion.
We arrived at our destination in the Western Lower 48 around noon. Amazingly all of my luggage arrived (I was quite embarrassed for traveling with more luggage then I have traveled with in my entire life). Then we had a drive over the pass with my niece in tow. My niece was delighted to be in the same car as the Disreputables. I think she has been talking about them since she visited this last summer with her grandmother. My nephew, who is more cautious about animals was happier to wait for the arrival of his great grandmother and to caravan up (in altitude) with her and his parents. Another snowy, icy drive and we only arrived at my parents' around 10pm. I was utterly exhausted.
The next day was mostly spent monitoring children (my niece & nephew) and the Disreputables with my parents' pets. My parents have a dog one year old then my dog an a 17 year old cat who is currently suffering from kidney failure. They've met the Disreputable Dog and he is no concern to either but the Disreputable Cat and the Parental Cat have had a few exciting standoffs which the toddlers find most fascinating and which they wish to get involved in.
Today is the first day that I have started to recover my equilibrium. I am still exhausted and jet lagged but the amazing brilliant sunlight helps immensely. There is a swirl of family chaos and holiday plans to be involved with and when I get overwhelmed I take the Disreputable Dog and the Parental Dog for a long walk or take the niecenephew out sledding on my parents driveway. I am still grateful to all of the people who helped me move and I miss two people from Small Town South of The Permafrost dearly. I wonder, where will I end up? Where will I go? But I don't worry too much. I have applications out and I figure I won't hear much until the holidays are over so for now I'm on vacation. And today, I finally check my email and see all of your encouraging wonderful comments and am grateful for you readers and look forward to finding time to catch up with your blogs again in the next days.
We flew for hours...flying from Alaska to the lower 48 is often like flying to Europe from the conterminous US. The Disreputable Cat proved to be quite adept at attempting to escape from her kennel. It wasn't because she didn't like the kennel, she loves it, but she got bored. Eventually I had to ask the flight attendants if they had any tape and had to tape the openings shut to keep the paws and cat head from popping out of the bag. I couldn't really fault her - she'd been in the car since noon the day before and needed to stretch out. On the other hand it prevented me from getting some dearly needed sleep and by the time we had laid over for three hours and gotten on our next flight I was ready to pass out from exhaustion.
We arrived at our destination in the Western Lower 48 around noon. Amazingly all of my luggage arrived (I was quite embarrassed for traveling with more luggage then I have traveled with in my entire life). Then we had a drive over the pass with my niece in tow. My niece was delighted to be in the same car as the Disreputables. I think she has been talking about them since she visited this last summer with her grandmother. My nephew, who is more cautious about animals was happier to wait for the arrival of his great grandmother and to caravan up (in altitude) with her and his parents. Another snowy, icy drive and we only arrived at my parents' around 10pm. I was utterly exhausted.
The next day was mostly spent monitoring children (my niece & nephew) and the Disreputables with my parents' pets. My parents have a dog one year old then my dog an a 17 year old cat who is currently suffering from kidney failure. They've met the Disreputable Dog and he is no concern to either but the Disreputable Cat and the Parental Cat have had a few exciting standoffs which the toddlers find most fascinating and which they wish to get involved in.
Today is the first day that I have started to recover my equilibrium. I am still exhausted and jet lagged but the amazing brilliant sunlight helps immensely. There is a swirl of family chaos and holiday plans to be involved with and when I get overwhelmed I take the Disreputable Dog and the Parental Dog for a long walk or take the niecenephew out sledding on my parents driveway. I am still grateful to all of the people who helped me move and I miss two people from Small Town South of The Permafrost dearly. I wonder, where will I end up? Where will I go? But I don't worry too much. I have applications out and I figure I won't hear much until the holidays are over so for now I'm on vacation. And today, I finally check my email and see all of your encouraging wonderful comments and am grateful for you readers and look forward to finding time to catch up with your blogs again in the next days.
22 December 2007
Happy Winter Solstice!
Happy Winter Solstice!
Don't believe when people tell you this is the first day of winter. It's really the hump day of winter; the begining of the end of the long dark night; the shortest day of the entire year. The day when darkness regins and the sun sleeps in.
And to my blogging friends & readers in the southern hemisphere (Hele, Gill, Parlance & Sally Forth and any others): Happy Summer Solstice!
17 December 2007
Still Moving
Eighty mile per hour winds are whipping through the streets of town and through my mind. I feel discombobulated. There are so many things to do all at once and the deadlines loom fast and permanent. I'm having trouble focusing on where to start. My thoughts jumble around the way various blown objects are jumbled against more fast objects, such as the chicken wire that came from no where and somehow wedged itself under my truck in a way that would seem impossible.
This weekend was exhausting but a lot got accomplished and I am very grateful to helping hands. I had one good friend show up and help me with the marathon packing nights. Another good friend rode with me to Los Anchorage to get the U-haul, then back to Small Town, then packing, then back to Los Anchorage, then unpacking, then back to Small Town. Two other friends showed up to help pack the U-haul in Small Town and they also took the Disreputable Dog out for a romp while I was driving it. Two other friends are letting me store stuff in Los Anchorage in their shed, another one showed up to help us unpack. Everything went to Los Anchorage this weekend.
My house is totally empty except for me, the Disreputables, their respective crates, and the couch which I am selling. We sit there in exhaustion...me on the couch, they in their crates, all of us half dozing. There is still all of the little stuff to get rid of and the cleaning to do and the wrap up of the things at work. I am back to where I started when I moved here...sleeping on a cot in my sleeping bag. I've spent more nights in that sleeping bag then any bed I've ever had to lie in. And it is a thing of comfort for reasons I cannot possibly explain. Like everyone else in town the wind makes it hard for me to sleep. It's not so much that it's cold but that it's terribly noisy and you find yourself trying to scrunch beneath the bedding (in my current case burrow into my sleeping bag) with the idea of cold. It is bloody cold out there. When I took the Disreputable Dog out for his evening walk I thought I might just possibly blow away, leaning backwards against the wind to try and create some ballast. Fifteen degrees Fahrenheit (approx. -10C) and 80 mph winds. The feel of one's nose freezing and the skin cracking.
I leave Thursday, the day before the winter solstice, for the Western Lower 48 and family and holiday celebrations. I will be stepping off into mid-air, not knowing yet where I will land but I will not worry about it for now.
This weekend was exhausting but a lot got accomplished and I am very grateful to helping hands. I had one good friend show up and help me with the marathon packing nights. Another good friend rode with me to Los Anchorage to get the U-haul, then back to Small Town, then packing, then back to Los Anchorage, then unpacking, then back to Small Town. Two other friends showed up to help pack the U-haul in Small Town and they also took the Disreputable Dog out for a romp while I was driving it. Two other friends are letting me store stuff in Los Anchorage in their shed, another one showed up to help us unpack. Everything went to Los Anchorage this weekend.
My house is totally empty except for me, the Disreputables, their respective crates, and the couch which I am selling. We sit there in exhaustion...me on the couch, they in their crates, all of us half dozing. There is still all of the little stuff to get rid of and the cleaning to do and the wrap up of the things at work. I am back to where I started when I moved here...sleeping on a cot in my sleeping bag. I've spent more nights in that sleeping bag then any bed I've ever had to lie in. And it is a thing of comfort for reasons I cannot possibly explain. Like everyone else in town the wind makes it hard for me to sleep. It's not so much that it's cold but that it's terribly noisy and you find yourself trying to scrunch beneath the bedding (in my current case burrow into my sleeping bag) with the idea of cold. It is bloody cold out there. When I took the Disreputable Dog out for his evening walk I thought I might just possibly blow away, leaning backwards against the wind to try and create some ballast. Fifteen degrees Fahrenheit (approx. -10C) and 80 mph winds. The feel of one's nose freezing and the skin cracking.
I leave Thursday, the day before the winter solstice, for the Western Lower 48 and family and holiday celebrations. I will be stepping off into mid-air, not knowing yet where I will land but I will not worry about it for now.
12 December 2007
Packing House
I'm surrounded by boxes. Tottering piles of closed boxes lie in piles and open boxes lie in half hearted heaps where the Disreputable Cat finds them both excellent to chew on and to play in. I'm moving house this weekend (although I 
will be here another week) and I'm at that point where I wonder if I will get it all done in time? The Disreputable Dog has moved more times then he is years old and he sighs sadly at the sight of all these boxes and takes refuge in his kennel where no random assorted pieces will fall on him and where I won't trip on him. He knows me well, he knows that I will both trip on him and drop things on him if he doesn't get out of the way but this space is so small the only place out of the way is his kennel. Luckily he loves it. The Disreputable Cat however has never traveled and never moved. She thinks we are playing a fantastic new game involving lots of interesting new hiding places and new toys. She loves nothing best then to sit in whichever box I am currently trying to pack and she loves shredding the cardboard. I admit I am anxious and yet I am also happy. I think I am happy to be leaving this small town. There are things that happened here that will always leave scars, memories that are sharp as broken glass. Yet I also love it here and I am nostalgic about leaving, as I always am on moving, often even for things I never particularly liked.
Today I packed much of my office. I wonder, those of you fellow scientists and other professionals, at what point do you not move all those papers you referenced for a project now past? It takes up so much space, so much weight, and yet, I feel a sense of obligation to take them with me. I've always been told how important it is to build up my own reference library of citations but is it really valid in a world where you can increasingly find what you need online? I have a strong temptation to build a bonfire with them but I still haven't published that last paper. So instead I'll store them in Los Anchorage and then go work on my paper in the lower 48. Does this make sense? I have no problem jettisoning things from other parts of my life but somehow the notebooks and the papers have different rules. What would you do?
Of course, I must admit that despite packing I took a little time out to indulge in making my favorite present
to give one and all at this time of year. Look at those fantastic little boxes! One year someone asked me what my idea of a perfect present was and I said, two chocolate truffles in a fancy box and right there and then I resolved to make such a gift for others and it has become a holiday tradition for me. They don't ship very well though so they only go to people who I get to see in person. Now....enough procrastinating! I must get back to my packing!
will be here another week) and I'm at that point where I wonder if I will get it all done in time? The Disreputable Dog has moved more times then he is years old and he sighs sadly at the sight of all these boxes and takes refuge in his kennel where no random assorted pieces will fall on him and where I won't trip on him. He knows me well, he knows that I will both trip on him and drop things on him if he doesn't get out of the way but this space is so small the only place out of the way is his kennel. Luckily he loves it. The Disreputable Cat however has never traveled and never moved. She thinks we are playing a fantastic new game involving lots of interesting new hiding places and new toys. She loves nothing best then to sit in whichever box I am currently trying to pack and she loves shredding the cardboard. I admit I am anxious and yet I am also happy. I think I am happy to be leaving this small town. There are things that happened here that will always leave scars, memories that are sharp as broken glass. Yet I also love it here and I am nostalgic about leaving, as I always am on moving, often even for things I never particularly liked. It is hard to remember the holiday season amongst my moving although my sister calls me daily, more excited about this holiday then I can ever remember her being before. I am glad for this. I am glad to hear her call me and ask a brief question, something about a special food or baking cookies or making a special birthday punch for my grandmother and can I bring more animal pictures for scrap booking with my niece and nephew like I did the last time because they had so much fun doing that with me? She also tells me regularly that she hopes I move closer which is another new thing. I am both surprised and pleased to hear her express it. But amid the family's excitement that I will come and be with them is the personal underlying anxieties of not knowing where I will be next, when a job will come through, etc.
Today I packed much of my office. I wonder, those of you fellow scientists and other professionals, at what point do you not move all those papers you referenced for a project now past? It takes up so much space, so much weight, and yet, I feel a sense of obligation to take them with me. I've always been told how important it is to build up my own reference library of citations but is it really valid in a world where you can increasingly find what you need online? I have a strong temptation to build a bonfire with them but I still haven't published that last paper. So instead I'll store them in Los Anchorage and then go work on my paper in the lower 48. Does this make sense? I have no problem jettisoning things from other parts of my life but somehow the notebooks and the papers have different rules. What would you do?
Of course, I must admit that despite packing I took a little time out to indulge in making my favorite present
to give one and all at this time of year. Look at those fantastic little boxes! One year someone asked me what my idea of a perfect present was and I said, two chocolate truffles in a fancy box and right there and then I resolved to make such a gift for others and it has become a holiday tradition for me. They don't ship very well though so they only go to people who I get to see in person. Now....enough procrastinating! I must get back to my packing!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
