Salmonamanwich's Blog

Well, blog world seems to be pretty quite these days. Justin has only written one blog this weekend, that must be a record minimum for him. Aaron just needs to write more in general and not blame me for coercing him to write in the first place. ;) Brad's in Anchorage for the weekend, so nothing from him. And Kate seems to have fallen off the face of the blog planet. :( I miss hearing from her. I hope she's having a great time at her new job. And I hope maybe she'll get online and talk to me. Or call. Or give me a phone number so I can call her. Oh, and Nick says he started a blog, but he's failed to send me the address. :P Grr... I need to make some friends here. It's been great talking to people online and on the phone, but I need some real interaction where I can see and at least potentially touch the people I'm talking to. :P Well, I'm off to a dance practice soon, which is a start, although there doesn't seem to be anyone near my age that dances around here. :P Alright, maybe I'll write more later. Leave a comment if you read this, I'd like to know if people are actually reading this blog. Otherwise I might get discouraged and quit writing. :P Good day everyone!

My dad's living here with me now, so we get to see how that goes. We usually get along just fine, so I'm not worried.

At work this week I get to interview each person in my department. The first one is right after lunch today. I know him fairly well and he was intern himself only 2 years ago, so I plan on using him as a sounding board to see if the questions I've written get me the responses I'm looking for. :) He likes to talk a lot, but he knows a lot too, so I've already learned a lot of things about investing and finance.

Well, back to work for me. Good day all!

That's a quick synopsis of what I've been up to lately. Now for the more interesting version. ;)

Friday afternoon I flew home with only one checked bag, an empty suitcase. The lady who checked in my bag said she thought it needed a "light" sticker.

Friday evening, about 2 hours after leaving Juneau, I arrived in Wrangell. My sister's graduation was only about an hour and a half away, so I helped her get ready (you know... all those "does my hair look ok this way?" and "which shoes should I wear?" kinda things) and then grabbed some supper before we all headed to the high school. There were all kinds of people I know there. It was great to see everyone again. A lot of the people I graduated were there and I got to catch up with them and what they've been up to. It was very sad to see how many people my age and even younger have a baby or are married or are just staying in Wrangell and not really doing anything with their lives. But there were others who are still in college and have big plans for their lives. So yeah, it was great to see everyone again. And the ceremony was good. Reminded me a lot of mine... seeing as they do the same thing every year. They even had exactly the same color robes and stoles. :P But it was still good, although I can't believe my little sister is old enough to graduate and go on to college. Another year or two and my brother will be doing the same thing too. That's really scary! I must be getting old. :P

Saturday morning I drove my mom to work and then my dad and I sat on the porch swing out in front of the house for quite a while and talked. I love that swing! Someday I'm gonna get myself a beautiful home with a nice porch and convince my mom to give me the porch swing. ;) And then me and my sweetheart can sit on it during the beautiful long summer evenings and talk and snuggle and just enjoy each other's company and the beautiful view. (There will be a beautiful view of some kind.)

Saturday afternoon we (my dad, brother, my brother's friend John, and I) went out on the boat for a 2 hour cruise. I love going out on the boat. The weather was perfect too. Smooth sailing and beautiful sunshine. I laid out on the top of the boat for quite a ways and got a little color on my face. It's kind of interesting how I haven't been very careful about being in the sun too much, but I still haven't burned or tanned. :P Oh well, it's probably for the best. Anyways the boat ride was a lot of fun and very relaxing.

Saturday evening we made an absolutely delicious fruit salad for supper. Then my sister and I were going to watch a movie, which we started. But only 20 minutes or so into it the power went out. (Not really a surprise in Wrangell. It tends to go out there semi-regularly.) So I started reading "The Fellowship of the Ring" and read until I couldn't see the words on the page anymore. (i.e. long after most eye doctors would begin cringing.) Now if I were still in Fairbanks, this would never have been a problem. (Besides the part where the power is a little more reliable there.) I probably could have stayed up all night reading by the light outside up there. But I'm a little farther south now, it actually does get dark at night down here, at about 11.

Sunday morning I flew back to Juneau without any checked luggage. (probably the only time that'll ever happen!)

Sunday afternoon I went to a dance practice session at the UAS student activities center. There I met in person the dance instructor I had been talking to via email, as well as his wife and some of the dancers. It was a beautiful day, so not many people were there, but we did some dancing anyways and it was a lot of fun. But what I found really very interesting and kind of funny was that the dance instructor, as well as a number of the dancers, is a biker! And I don't just mean someone who happens to like riding motorcycles. This something over 40, maybe 50, guy had tattoos all over his arms, long somewhat messy gray hair tied in a pony tail, skull and crossbones style jewelry and definitely biker style clothing. And at the bottom of all this he was wearing those beautiful black and white swing shoes. The nice shiny kind. (He took excellent care of those, btw.) I really was taken aback when I saw this. But he soon proved that he really did know what he was doing. He asked me to try a west coast swing with him soon after I got there and he was good. Different style then I'm used to dancing with Rulon or Matt or any of the other guys in Fairbanks, but still very good and not too hard to follow. I tripped up on occasion, but that always happens when I first dance with someone new. There were five of us there, so I didn't get to dance a whole lot, but it was enough to keep me happy for a few days. ;) After the dance session ended I drove around that area and found a beautiful little sandy beach with the Mendenhall glacier overlooking it. (I didn't realize Alaska actually made sand!) It was windy though, so I didn't stick around too long and insteaded kept exploring. Next I found a road that went back to a creek with a trail heading off beyond it. I might have to go hike that trail sometime and see where it goes. Then I headed out to the park at the base of the Mendenhall glacier, (which, btw, is named after a great great great ... uncle of mine, or something like that.) but there were a lot of people there so I didn't bother getting out. I've been there before anyways, so that can wait. ;) Then I headed home.

Sunday evening I'm sitting here typing away at my computer, both talking to people online and typing this blog. And I called Brad too. He seemed very happy to hear from me. ;) He was telling me about all the stuff he did this weekend. Basically he had too much fun without me. :P I need to find some people to hang out with down here. Yeah, I definitely need to meet some people, but I'm not sure where to look or how to start. :P Oh well. I'm hungry, so I'm gonna wrap this up and go find some food. Good evening all!

But I had fun getting it. ;) Today has been absolutely beautiful!!! When I got home from work soon after 4:30 it was 70 degrees outside and absolutely sunshiny beautiful. So I decided I had to go for a walk. So I changed out of my stuffy business clothes into shorts and a tank top (much more suitable to 70 degree weather :D) and headed out. Met my landlord on the way out. She's an older lady and seemed very nice. Then I headed towards town. My main goal was to see how long it would take me to walk to work in case I should decide I want to walk to work some day. I figured out earlier today that it is exactly one mile to my job, so I checked the time when I left. Around the curve, past a whole bunch of houses on one side and the beautiful mountain view on the other side, then past the high school and the city pool, past a few stores and business buildings and more houses and then there's the federal building to the left and Goldbelt Place (where I work) to the right. 15 minutes. Not so bad. I guess I could probably walk to work sometimes. Not tomorrow though... I've got to heal this blister first. :P So... a 15 minute walk is not nearly enough, so I decide to keep walking and see where I end up. I have a vague notion that maybe I'll walk to downtown if I don't get tired of walking by then, since I don't really know how far it is. So I keep following the same road (well, the name of the road keeps changing, but it still looks like the same road) past all kinds of places and things, over a water channel, past a grocery store, saw where Fiddlehead restuarant is (I believe it was Patrick who recommended that place. I'll have to check it out sometime.), past Bulwinkles (fond memories there :P), past Centennial Hall (yes Patrick, I now know where it is), past Goldbelt Hotel (is everything here called Goldbelt?), and here I can see the cruise ships lined up in front of downtown. 3 cruise ships. Huge ones. So I head down along the wharf all the way down to the end of all the tourist shops. Gosh those cruise ships are long. I briefly considered the idea of seeing if I couldn't somehow go on one of the cruise ships and look around a little, but by then I was starting to get my blister, so I figured I'd better stick to solid ground and possibly heading home. When I get to the end of the tourist shops, I cross the street and briefly sit down to assess my blister. It isn't really visible yet, it is merely announcing it's existence with pain upon every step of my right foot. So I decide to ignore it and start heading in the general direction of home. I do know where a little bagel shop is, however, (the Silverbow, another place Patrick recommended) so I head towards it. On the way I find a little used book store and so I stop in there and look around for a bit. In the back of the store I find a whole bunch of cookbooks that look interesting (I think I was starting to get hungry) but none of them quite interesting enough to buy, so eventually I tear myself away and head out. (Oh, forgot to mention... the guy sitting behind the counter in the bookstore was really, really cute. He looked like he was probably still in high school though. :P) The bagel shop is right up the street and around the corner. The door is wide open so I walk in and start looking at the menu hanging from the ceiling. The guy behind the counter (also kinda cute and probably a high school student) asks me what I'd like and I tell him I don't know yet. As I'm just about ready to decide he informs me that the place is actually closed, but that he can sell me a bagel. So I order an onion bagel with cream cheese. I then sit down (he informed me that he wouldn't be locking up for some time yet) and eat my bagel. It was very good with tons of cream cheese piled on top. I thought I put a lot of cream cheese on my bagels! After eating I thank the guy and head resolutely home. Same basic scenery just from the other direction, and this time with the sun shining in my eyes so I can't see much of it anyways. When I get to the city pool I make a quick detour to see if I can get a schedule of when lap swims are. I find one inside the door and then head home again. My blister really starts to bug me as I'm walking up the steep driveway. So I limp into the apartment and sit down. So here I am with my foot propped up on the coffee table and my computer in my lap. Hm... I'm feeling parched. I'm gonna go get some orange juice. Good evening all!

P.S. Wow... this is a long post... hope you guys can wade through w/o drowning! ;)

How cool is that??? My own office w/a window... into the hall, but I can look through the next office and see outside. ;) It's roomy, NOT a cubicle. And there's a computer w/a huge monitor. Since it's a government job I guess I'm not allowed to work more than 7.5 hours a day, otherwise it's overtime. But the cool part is my schedule starting next week will be from 7:30 to 4 w/a one hour lunch, so I'll get off early, even though I'll have to get up early too. :P It'll be good for me though, and as long as it's summer and there's light that early I'll be able to do it. Well, I need to finish eating lunch and then head back to work. Goodday all!

I think that's a good thing. That or I'm just tired and so I can't tell. *shrug* Oh well. Anyways, work starts bright and early tomorrow morning, so I'm off to bed. Goodnight all!

Well, I'm finally back to my home for the summer. This apartment is really nice and fairly large with an amazing view! It faces the water and the mountains on the other side. It really does look like you could reach out and touch the mountains... and there's still some snow up on top too. :) Still have lots of unpacking to do though, so good day all!

So I'm up an hour later than I ought to be because I was playing a game that I swiped off my brother... Worms World Party. It's rather fun and kind of addicting, although I don't think my brother will ever understand how I could possibly install the game and then not play it immediately. *shrug* I was too busy doing other things... like ripping cd's and installing other games. Yeah, ok, nothing really interesting. I didn't do all that much that was interesting at all today actually. :P I spent most of the day here in front of my computer playing solitaire, ripping cd's, and installing games. That's really about all. At least I was in the same room as everyone else. It was kind of a lazy day for the whole family. Well, either way, I need to get to bed. I leave for Juneau tomorrow. Goodnight all!

:D My mom decided she wanted to keep me around a bit longer, but she understood riding the ferry and getting into Juneau at 4 a.m. was not going to be a good idea. So we're getting a refund on the ferry ticket and she bought me a plane ticket that leaves here sunday morning and gets up there about 2 hours later. So I'm happy, I can still visit w/my grandparents and family and relax. :) Well, I need to go get a shower now so my mom can cut my hair. Whatever would I do w/o my mom??? Goodday all!

hm... now after sleeping on it, i'm seriously tempted to try to switch to the later ferry. i'll be in juneau all summer, i won't be here much longer at all if i leave thursday. and it's not that often that i get to see my grandparents or my family. *sigh* i don't like having to make decisions. i really don't want to get in to juneau only 4 hours before i'm supposed to be at work, especially when i'll have to dig out some nice clothes to wear once i get to the apartment and probably iron them, and then figure out where the place is too. yeah... i don't know what to do. :P i know my mom will tell me to stay here longer... she already has in fact. no one except myself is telling me it's a better idea to head out early, especially not with the 28 vs 12 hour ferry ride i'd have if i left earlier vs later. i guess i should just call and see if i can switch it...

Well, short blog since my mom wants her room to herself and this is the only place i can connect to the internet right now. Well, I have to head back to Juneau sooner than I had planned. :P One of the ferries grounded, so the one I was supposed to ride is being canceled so it can do a different route. So instead I get to ride the ferry for 28 hours (instead of 12) and I have to leave thursday instead of saturday. My only other option is to arrive in juneau at 4 a.m. monday morning. I have to show up to work at 8 a.m. monday morning, preferably awake. :P So I'll leave earlier. I'll be back down here for my sister's graduation at the end of next week anyways. I do wish I could spend more time w/my grandparents though. Cest la vie. Anyways, gotta go now so my mom can get some sleep. Goodnight all!

And I get to stay here for a few days at least. My grandparents fly in tomorrow! It'll be great to see them again. :D Well, I need to get to bed so I can go pick them up in the morning, so I'll have to write more another time. Goodnight all!

Well, I'm currently in my new home for the summer. It's a pretty nice apartment, quite close to town, but in what seems like a nice neighborhood. I got here at about 3 a.m. and I have to be back at the ferry terminal at about 6, so I'm just chillin' and letting my dad get a little more sleep before he has to take me out to the ferry terminal. So yeah, my brain isn't really turned on right now since I haven't gone to bed yet, but I slept til 1:30 p.m. today, so I'm surviving. I'm so glad I drove down Saturday though, since it gave me time to relax at Nick's house instead of rushing straight to the ferry terminal. Anyways, I don't have a lot to say right now. I just get to spend the next 12 hours or so back on the ferry heading to my next destination. Fun stuff. Alright, goodmorning all!

I'm at Nick's house now. And he's pampering me like crazy. :D I love it! Especially after a bit more than an 11 hour drive. :P But it went well, nothing major happened, no flat tires or any other mishaps. Well, minus the before leaving part... i.e. trying to fit everything in my car. That was fun. :P We eventually got everything in though, and then we took off. And don't worry Patrick, I did drive slow... until I hit the Haines Road heading out of Haines Junction. Then I just had to go fast... I was impatient to be not driving anymore. I was very tired and my allergies were killing me.

So yeah, I'm at Nick's and he's making me dinner and then I'm gonna soak in the jacuzzi for awhile and then maybe a movie and BED. And sleep until really, really late. :D I like having some time to completely relax. And this weird little midget (i.e. Nick) just announced that dinner is served. Goodnight all!

I hate allergies... and I hate allergy medicine... I can either sniffle and sneeze and have a horribly stuffy head, or i can mildly sniffle and sneeze and a have a mildly stuffy head while being basically dead to the world (i.e. drowsy). I almost feel like I have a fever. This sucks. Just because of allergies I can't wait to get down to southeast and some rain where I won't have to worry so much about allergies. Ah, to smell the scent of real rain again and to hear it's pitter patter on the rooftop and ground. I miss rain. I guarantee I'll have a different opinion at the end of the summer after 3 months of it, but right now I really miss it. Well, this "mildly stuffy head" is really getting to me, so I'm going to attempt to sleep it off. We'll see if it works. :P Goodnight all!

Well... the last 24 hours were fun and interesting... I've already discussed the few up until about 4 a.m. which is when I finally made it into bed. Patrick called me at 10:45 for breakfast, so I got up, showered (the only reason I was able to wake up) and we went out to his house for a very good breakfast... my second one for the day. :) Then we came back to campus and I crashed back into bed. It was a very much needed nap. Then I took my computer to the library to meet with my tax project group. We worked for awhile and then I left, quite brain dead. There was a bbq going on in front of the dorms so I went out there and waited in line for about an hour talking to Ryan. I was actually hungry enough by the time I got the boca burger that I didn't mind too much, 'cept it was kinda windy and chilly, but *shrug* oh well. After the bbq, Chris and I headed to the ceramic studio to look at some of the stuff he and others have made. He's an amazing potter! I especially loved the bowl he showed me which looked like tiger eye. It was awesome! It really did look a lot like beautifully polished tiger eye and I loved the feel of it too, especially the unevenness of the sides, I can't quite remember what he called it, but it was great. :) All the stuff he showed me was really beautiful. After that we headed back up to the dorms to get some more homework done. Then Patrick called me and asked if I wanted to head to Denny's w/him. Of course I said yes, partially cause Patrick's fun to hang out with and also because I could procrastinate on my tax project if I went. :D So we went and met up with Pat (Patrick's evil twin) there. So yeah, now I'm back and thinking I should head to bed because I have to get up fairly early, but I'm not incredibly tired cause I've been staying up too late too often lately. :P But I must get sleep so I can get everything done tomorrow. Last day of classes!!! Then I have 2 days to study for finals and 2 days to take finals and then I'm outta here on Saturday! :( Too soon. I don't want to leave everyone behind, but I am excited to go at the same time. I wish I could just take everyone with me, that'd be perfect. :D Yeah... that's not gonna happen though. Although Chris wants to come visit me in Juneau... that would be really cool. :D Maybe others will come visit too. Yes, well I'd better get to bed. Goodnight all!

Oh yeah, this evening was fabulous! I convinced Chris to come to the latin dance w/me tonight, since everyone else ditched me. :P But pooh on them, I had an absolute blast and I think Chris did too. :) I taught him a little merengue and bachata and we had a great time. :D I'd forgotten how much I love latin dances and club style dancing! Pooh on Travis for never wanting to take me. Kate, we're going to have an absolute ball next semester! :D But yeah, we had a great time at the dance and then afterwards we walked to the house of a friend of Chris and Chad was there. So we visited for awhile and then Chris and I went to Airport Way Family Restuarant and got an early morning breakfast. :) Now the sun is thinking about rising and I really ought to get some sleep. I'm supposed to go to breakfast at Patrick's house at 11, so I'd better get my beauty rest. Goodnight all!

That's a tough boy! Read the story here. The great part is that I know Steve Prysunka. He's a wrangellite like I am. Well, kinda am. That's where my parents live. I haven't been there for more than a couple weeks at a time for 2 years now. Yeah, as much as my mom doesn't want to admit it, I've pretty much moved out. Well, I still have a lot of stuff at home, but nothing extremely important to me. It's cool though, both of my siblings are gonna come visit me in Juneau this summer. My sister plans on coming up for a while just to hang out and my brother will be up there shortly before he takes off to silicon valley for a week or two. He wants me to drive him around Juneau while he's there... not sure why, but *shrug* oh well, I'll get to hang out w/him. :) He's a total geek. :P He puts most of my computer science geek friends here to shame. Yeah, he's smart. And my sister is graduating from highschool in a few weeks. She's going to UAA next year to become a nurse. She gets along with kids and people sooooo well. I used to babysit, but I'm not that fond of other people's kids. She, on the other hand, will walk into a room and every kid in sight will instantly crowd around her. Yeah, she'll make a good nurse.

Olin thinks I'm a hottie. :D He's such a hottie himself! He's probably the most ripped and buff guy I've ever personally met. If he just had a tan he'd fit into a scene of Hawaiian hot guys perfectly. Instead he's pale as a ghost (like me :P) and makes the best looking Alaskan you could ever hope to see. Ok... now I have to make sure he reads this, cause he's also one of the most modest guys you could meet too, so he'll kill me for writing this. :D Oh well, as long as he'll dance w/me again. He did a hustle demo w/me at a 70's dance a few weeks ago and we did some awesome dips and lifts. :D They're fun w/him cause I don't have to worry about anything. He's so strong he just kinda tosses me around. It's great!

Well, he's bugging me because he wants to know what I'm writing about now, and I ought to be doing hw anyways. Good day all!

i can't manage to write full sentences very well today. don't know why. went to a dance last night, taught some lifts and dips. that was fun :) you know what... i'll just paste kate's and my conversation in here and that tells you everything! ;)

sunshine says:
grr... i don't know why, but i'm staring at a blank blog post and can't think of a single thing to write
Cali Chick says:
lol
Cali Chick says:
write about how people won't take you clubing
sunshine says:
:)
Cali Chick says:
write about dancing last night
Cali Chick says:
any cute guys?
sunshine says:
lol... um... the ones i see all the time
Cali Chick says:
write about the disney films
Cali Chick says:
lol the one's you see all the time hehe..
sunshine says:
yeah... olin, matt, brad, patrick, and other than some older people and a couple girls, that's about all that were there
Cali Chick says:
yiipy
Cali Chick says:
lol

yeah... so that's what I should have just written about but couldn't get into words. I do miss watching more disney movies :P Patrick is too damn picky if he doesn't like disney movies just because they made a few crappy sequels. :P oh well, he's still cool otherwise. alright, i need to go get a shower and start the day. Good day all!