Here I go again not posting for weeks and weeks, leaving myself with a whole lot to post about. But! today is my catch-up-on-things-I've-been-meaning-to-do day and gosh darn it I will try!
So, let's see....
Snow in Portland was awesome and magical for about a day and then turned into a giant pain, because apparently this city knows less than Atlanta about dealing with winter weather. The week before Christmas Jon and I did about half the shows we were scheduled to do because of school closings. Thankfully we didn't get stranded anywhere, but we are both now a LOT more experienced winter weather drivers!
Apparently this kind of sustained snow is rare up here. It snowed on and off for a week, and then the Saturday before I was supposed to leave for Alaska, we got a good foot and a half, maybe two feet of snow. This put a bit of a damper on my plans for finishing up Christmas shopping, but I made due. LJ+Dave almost got stuck at SeaTac on their way to AK, but finally made it out on the last flight of the night (before they ran out of de-icer).
Monday morning brought with it even more snow and a small panic attack on my behalf. I was supposed to fly out at 10:30, and around 7:30 my ride said they didn't feel comfortable driving on the un-plowed roads, so I put on my long-underwear, jeans, and waterproof pants, 2 pairs of socks, mittens, hat, shirt, sweater, coat, and hat, donned my pack and trekked down Belmont to the bus. I thought I had hit the lottery when it arrived just as I did, but I realized after about 3 stops that I was going the wrong way and had to get off and wait 20 minutes for another going the opposite direction.
It was cold, but I was determined.
Also, since the switches on the MAX were frozen, I was having to take a bus to north middle of nowhere portland and wait for a shuttle to the airport. When the bus finally came it was driving with only one chain because all the others were broken. Awesome! After about 45 minutes we finally got to my stop, and then I had to trek about a quarter of a mile to the shuttle stop. There I was met with a line of about a 100 people also waiting for the shuttle. Waited in line... In the cold... Tried cracking jokes with my fellow que-ers... Finally a shuttle! but not enough room so had to wait for the next one... Did I mention the wind?
So finally I got on the following shuttle and about half-way to the airport, mom calls to tell me my flight has been officially cancelled. Okay! Did I mention I was determined? Early on (after I had a minor break down when I realized I was riding the wrong bus) I made the decision to take each leg of the journey as it came to me and be happy and optimistic and kind to those I encountered. And guess what? It actually worked! By the time I finally actually arrived at the airport a full 2 and a half hours after I'd left my house (usually a 20 minute drive) I felt like Rocky at the top of those steps in Philadelphia. I had made it!
Then I joined another line.
This one of Alaska Air passengers trying desperately to get out of town. The line stretched all the way back to security and doubled back. I told mom I was willing to wait 2 days for a flight, but after that I would go home. It was a zoo. There were people everywhere, sleeping, demanding, but mostly just waiting. While I was in line (about an hour) mom called and said that her boss (an Alaska Air Gold member) had called the airline and said that I was her niece and gotten me the last seat on the last flight out of PDX and the same out of SeaTac!
Sweet Jesus!
So then, I got to actually check in, and get through security. It was totally strange though because the gates were remarkably quiet, and deserted compared to the ticketing area. Also, neither of my flights were full, which I couldn't understand for the life of me, but was just thankful to be on them!
So! Christmas in Alaska! LJ+Dave and I drove to Seward my first day in town and went to the Sea Life Center there, and then had tasty fish and chips at a local diner. We saw moose and an bald eagle! Then LJ drove us back to Anchorage in a blizzard. She was our chauffeur the entire trip (because of the rental car insurance bs) and did great! Wednesday was Christmas Eve, and we spent the whole day watching Mad Men while mom was at work. Dave had gotten it (Mom did this present-a-day thing which was fun) and we all got hooked. Then when mom got off work, we went sledding! Super fun. Afterward we went to look at Christmas lights, and they were like no Christmas lights I had ever seen! The two houses that we went to each were transmitting a radio signal of Christmas music. Festive, right? But! They had also rigged some kind of program to make the lights dance and blink along with the music. It was like a Christmas light version of the visualizer in iTunes! Quite impressive. Then LJ+Dave and I staged a coup. Mom had planned to take us hunting for Northern Lights, but we just wanted a quiet night in. So I made dinner, Dave cleaned the kitchen and built a fire, and we watched It's a Wonderful Life, which is basically my idea of a perfect Christmas eve.
Christmas day we did the whole Christmas morning thing, and then ate tasty food. Bryon Harrington (son of one of momma's good friends) is stationed in Anchroage for the airforce and joined us for lunch. Then we got on the road and drove up to Talkeetna (teeny enclave of Alaska liberals. Town Northern Exposure was based on). We stayed at the Roadhouse there and saw a local production of a very funny sketch comedy show about the holidays called Home for the Hostilities. After a couple of beers with the locals at the Fairview Inn we all turned in to get ready for our adventures the next day.
DOG SLEDDING! That's right, we went dog sledding with a real Ididarod competitor. It was just about the coolest thing I have ever done. The weather was stunning, clear with fresh snow on the ground and trees, and the doggies were so excited and happy! It was amazing in the fullest sense of the word.
LJ and Dave that night at midnight and I spent the weekend hibernating with mom. Reading, movie watching, and eating tasty food. It was really nice to end on a relaxing note.
I flew back Monday morning with no hitches, and have been back at work. I cleaned and organized the office for two days! I think it was the first time some of the people at work had seen my OCD, and I think they were both amazed and slightly intimidated.
New Year's started with a fancy dinner at home provided by my illustrious room mate, Anna. Then I headed over to Goose and Amy's for board games. It was a nice low key way to ring in 2009.
2008 was one of my best years in recent memory, and I've got a suspicion that 2009 is gonna just keep getting better.
This year I make three resolutions:
1) To see my friends that don't live in Portland. It's been almost two years since I've seen some of you, and take note, you are on my list!
2) To finally build MY puppet show. This is something I've been talking about for a while. I'm gonna make it happen.
3) To focus. Sometimes I have a hard time getting things done because I want to do everything. I want to learn how to focus on the things that are important to me.
Alright, that's it kids. For those of you who have made it thus far, I salute you! You are a trooper and I appreciate your patience.
Love and blessings in this new year to all!
