I love this...

Summer Update

So much has happened in the past few weeks I don't know where to start. I'm actually in Fairbanks right now but I really don't feel it appropriate to blog about any of this stuff until I've caught all of my faithful readers up.

Oh! I know where I'll start. I'll start by describing the sick feeling I had in my stomach when I realized I had deleted ALL the pictures from this summer. I was at a very special event (keep reading..I talk about it in more detail) with my dad and was messing with my camera trying to figure out the most optimal settings to document the event. What then ended up happening was I realized I deleted ALL the pictures and movies and such I had taken up to that point. I feel terrible and I had some really, really, awesome pictures. Nothing I can do about it now though. I'll have a few more things to say about this later on in the post.

Sooo...where to begin....

Friends and Family

This summer has been PACKED with family and friends. It's been great to see so much of my brothers and their spouses and all their kids. My brother Matt is reenlisting in the Marine Corps and will be leaving at the end of this month for North Carolina. It's hard telling when we'll all be together again (my brother Dave is already in Iraq) so it's been great hanging out. Both Matt and Dave have some special ladies in their lives and it was so awesome getting a chance to meet and hang out with these kick ass ladies.

Campfires

I love campfires and this summer has been full of many nights sitting around fires with cans of beer and just talking. I attended my first summer campfire about an hour after I arrived home. There's nothing like sitting around a fire. It's the best. I also love messing with the fire. I call myself something when I start poking around and messing with a fire. However, I don't think that nickname appropriate to post in my blog. Messing with fires is a bad habit but I like burning things.

Cigar Smokin' With Matt and Dad
My dad isn't a smoker but he occasionally will smoke a cigar. I had a really great picture of my brother and my dad smoking their cigars...but I deleted it. I also smoked a cigar but could only get halfway through the thing. I then tried to quickly throw it in the campfire to dispose of it before my dad saw me. The only problem was I threw it not in the campfire but PAST the campfire where it rested on the ground right at my dad's feet. When he found it he gave me endless amounts of crap. Actually it wasn't too bad but he still gave me a bunch of crap because I didn't finish the cigar. He also gives me crap when or if I smoke cigarettes as well. Can't win with that man.

The Gile Flowage with Brian
Brian Rendall and I took a big trip to the Gile Flowage at the beginning of June. Macy and I met Brian in Bruce, WI at this amazingly awesome place called River's Edge Resort. My friend Brandon's dad just bought it and it's a pretty sweet spot. Dennis (Brandon's dad) and his wife were super sweet and let me park my bus in their yard while Brian and I were gone. After reaching the flowage we put all the camping gear in Brian's boat (I had some pretty nice pics of his boat but I deleted them) and drove around on the lake until we found a nice little spot to camp in the woods. For the next few days we fished, cooked, and threw sticks for Macy. The weather was pretty good and I think it rained only a small amount while we were there. Other than that the sun was shining and the weather was great. Not only did I leave the Gile Flowage with a pretty rad funk going on but I also left with a pretty not cool case of what I like to call "The Ivy". I apparently walked directly through a patch of poison ivy while exploring the woods around our little island. It has finally gone away but I had to get some medicine from the doctor to encourage it to leave my skin. Brian and I didn't catch much fish but we had a lot of fun making campfires at night and cooking awesome camp food. Macy had a great time as well and spent a lot of time trying to fetch sticks or rocks out of the water. I had some pretty amazing pictures of the lake and the beautiful scenery but...I deleted them.

GREASE with Heidi

My sister-in-law, Heidi, surprised me with tickets to go see the Broadway version of Grease. We knew it was going to be an awesome show when we were allowed to take a large plastic cup full of whiskey sweets into the theater. Even more amazing is that Taylor Hicks was part of the show. Both Heidi and I thought he was going to be Danny, the lead (John Travolta in the movie). When Taylor Hicks failed to emerge as Danny, Heidi informed me that he had been ill earlier in the week. I was a bit bummed...it's not everyday someone famous is three rows in front of me but I was having a blast (whiskey sweets, remember) singing along with the songs so I just shrugged it off. However, much to our surprise Taylor Hicks did make an appearance. He was the Teen Angel who sang "Beauty School Dropout" to Frenchy. After the show Taylor Hicks sang a song from his new album and then was signing autographs. I had some really great pictures of Taylor Hicks signing autographs...but I deleted them.

Matt's Going Away Party
Immediately after Grease, Heidi and I went downtown Kaukauna to attend my brother Matt's going away party. The party was in full swing when we showed up and it didn't take us long to catch up to everyone else (whiskey sweets, remember?). The party was great. Lots of people came. It was great to hang out with my brothers and cousins and even my mom and dad stayed out till almost 1 in the morning. See...Mary and Jerry still have it in them. I had some really great pictures of the party. My cousin Steve grabbed my camera when I was out on the dance floor and everyone made sure there were some really great pictures on there.

I think I was most upset about deleting those pictures. I'm not even going to make a joke about those...I really was sick about the whole thing. Here is a pic my brother posted on Facebook of us at his party.

President Barack Obama
I know this is what you all have been waiting for. This is the BIG event where I deleted all my pictures. President Obama came to Green Bay and I was lucky enough to receive tickets to attend the event. I asked my dad to go with me and although the President wasn't speaking until noon my dad and I went up to Green Bay super early to make sure we had great seats. Turned out we really did have some great seats. I was about seven rows back from the President and could see him quite well. It was pretty cool to be that close to a President. I also was only a few seats away from the young girl Obama wrote an excuse note for. Here's the video from CNN. If the camera had been at just a slightly different angle you would have perhaps seen me or my dad.

Here are some of the pictures I took.

Racing!

One of the most enjoyable things about Kaukauna are the Thursday night stock car races. I haven't gone to a race in quite some time and I was able to attend two this past summer. My friend Brandon calls the stock car races the "roundy round" races simply because the cars just go around and around. However, the last event every Thursday evening is the Figure 8 races and this race is loved by all. When those crappy, beat up Figure 8 cars come out onto the track everyone gets excited. What is even better is that all the guys who race are local guys so we know quite a few. Many also would frequent the bar up the road where I used to work so I know quite a few from my bartending days as well. My friend Liz's brother Danny races in the Figure 8 races and it's always great to yell and cheer for him.

P.S. Sorry for all the babbling and talking of me as well as other various people in the videos. Miller and Bud Light are common staples at these racing events. I think there is at least a three drink minimum when one attends races.

Windshield Wipers and Camping in Door County
The windshield wipers went out on the bus. The motor smelled hot and like burning so I disconnected it. The mechanic couldn't take a look at the bus until Monday so Jon, Chad and I decided to chance the rain and still take the bus to Door County. Jon and Chad arrived at my parent's house on Friday morning and we loaded up the bus.

Rocking the Poison shirt I intended to wear at last year's concert but never got the chance. Think I'd fit in with the ladies on Rock of Love?

Jon and Chad brought their bike rack and we loaded the bikes onto the back of the bus. I had never had a bike rack on the back and Chad and I were very worried the bikes were going to fall off. We decided to chance that as well. So, we drove the bus sans windshield wipers and with bikes dangling precariously off the back to the grocery store to stock up on all the necessary supplies. We then drove up to Pensinsula State Park for our weekend of fun.

Driving makes Macy tired.

That's one happy Pomeranian!

After getting to the park we took the bikes off the rack and set up camp. We then biked into town for some necessary supplies for Jon (John Lennon wasn't with us...Jon Schroeder needed the smokes). After arriving back home we had a nice campfire before hitting the hay. I got a chance to sleep outside in my new hammock although Jon tried to convince me not to. The hammock was super comfy and wonderful and I woke up the next morning refreshed and feeling great. As I cooked breakfast Jon, Chad and I had early morning cocktails and then we had some more early morning cocktails. We then went back into Fish Creek to meet my parents and my Uncle Dave and Aunt Cheryl for lunch.

My parents and me!


After a trip to an antique store Jon, Chad and I decided to sample some of that famous Door County wine. After securing our wine it was off to the campsite where all my other aunts and uncles were. We had a ton of fun there and let's just say it was an early night for all of us. The next morning we had our breakfast and coffee from the camp store then went for a quick little paddle on Lake Michigan. We climbed the look out tower and then it was off towards home.

Unfortunately we had to pull off the road due to the lack of windshield wipers and abundance of rain. We made it home though and it was a great weekend.

Birthday
I was actually able to celebrate my birthday at home with my family this year. My mom organized a little birthday party for me and my brothers and their significant others and kids all came over as well as Jon and Chad. Jon's birthday is the day after mine so the cake was for both of us! It was a great birthday and although I didn't want a party or any sort of celebration it was a really nice dinner. Thanks mom!

Ok...that's it for now. I have much more to talk about but this is shaping up to be the longest blog post ever. I still have the other half of June to talk about! haha

Home

After a long flight I made it home. The flights all went well, just long and boring. Brian and some other LKSD folks were all on my flight into ANC and it was nice to share a few drinks with people. My flight for Seattle left at about 1 am. I was hoping to snooze during the flight but just my luck I sat next to a young man who wanted to talk the entire time. Usually, one thing I love about traveling is meeting all sorts of people. I call the people I meet on planes my "plane friends". I once sat across the aisle from a mattress salesman from Fairbanks who, by the time we had landed in Seattle, was certain we were destined to get married and have a family. I had told him earlier in the flight I would buy him a coffee once we reached Seattle. I ran like hell when he went to have a smoke. Another time I sat next to a guy who was an amateur ultimate fighter. He was pretty cool. One of my most favorite plane friends was a young man who had just gotten back from Iraq. He had told his family he wouldn't be able to come home to Georgia for Christmas but was going to Georgia to surprise them all. He was nervous as hell about seeing his family and was all sorts of fidgety. At one point we started talking about Macy and as soon as the cabin lights went out we pulled her from her bag and he sat with her the entire flight, just petting her. Soon, he was calm and he fell asleep too.



So, I usually enjoy making plane friends. However, I was EXHAUSTED and just wanted to sleep. The guy sitting next to me told me he was from Seattle but had a very thick accent I couldn't place. I then asked him where he was from origianlly and he said Georgia. The accent though was definitely NOT a Georgian accent. Eventually it came out that his father had been in the military and this guy grew up in Belgium. This man, Serge, then decided that we needed to talk the entire flight. Not only did his accent make communication difficult but his low, mumbled, quiet voice made it near immpossible. He would ask a question and I would stare at him trying to process what he said. Then I would apologize and ask him to repeat what he said. He would repeat and, still not having any clue what he said, I would just smile and nod my head. He was a nice man but every time I was near the dozing off point he would ask me another question.



On my flight from Seattle to Chicago I made plane friends with a nice doctor and his wife. They were just coming back from Hawaii and after spending some time talking to them I know now where my next vacation is going to be. They were very nice and wonderful people and I enjoyed sitting next to them very much.



The final leg of my trip home included a bus ride from O'Hare to Milwaukee where my mom and dad were waiting to pick me up. After some confusion about whether Macy could actually ride the bus we were on our way. Turns out sitting about two rows up from me was a Site Administrator from one of the schools in the Barrow School District. He tried his best to get me to come work for him next year and he did pique my interest. He made it sound pretty damn nice. He and his wife were wonderful people and our conversation made the bus ride go by pretty fast.

I think my mom spotted Macy first in Milwaukee then looked to see who was holding her! IT WAS ME! haha...

Anyway...I'm home and it feels great! I'm looking forward to the next few weeks!

Last blog from Oscarville...

It sounds so sad...it really does. However, this is my last blog from Oscarville. Tomorrow I will be running around trying to get the rest of my stuff moved, mailed and packed for the summer. I have to take the boat out of the water and get that all stored for the summer. I still feel like there's so much to do but I'm at the point where I know I can come down in the fall and gather any stray items that I left behind. Then, I'm off on the evening flight to Anchorage and should arrive in Chicago sometime early Sunday afternoon. I should be home in K-town sometime that Sunday evening. It feels as if the last week or two has just been a blur.

I am so excited to get home. I cannot wait to see my family. I always look forward to my parents picking Macy and me up in Milwaukee. I think they like it too...the drive from Milwaukee to Kaukauna gives us some time to catch up. Although I sometimes just want to get home and rest I'm really happy for those two hours alone with my parents. My mom keeps telling me how big Claire and Marin are getting and I just cannot wait to see both of them. I can't wait to have a beer with my brothers and sister-in-law and I cannot wait to get to know, Melissa, my brother Dave's new wife, a bit better. I'm hoping for one or two fun and wild nights out with Jon and Lizzie while I'm in town. I have an appointment for my VW to get all tuned up on Tuesday and I'm looking forward to plugging my iPod in and going for a drive. I have a few camping trips with friends already lined up. I'm hoping to hear the roar of Steve's or Brandon's (or both!) Harleys in the driveway this summer and I hope for some long rides. I have a ton of work to do on my thesis and I'm itching to start a more regimented running program to get in shape. So far, it's shaping up to be a nice but busy summer. Although I'm anxious to get home I know I'm going to miss this place.

One thing I love about the spring and summer in the Delta is that the sunsets are amazing. Tonight as I drove from Bethel to Napaskiak I looked behind me and couldn't believe how red and how big the sun was. Now, as I look out my window the sky is streaked with pinks, blues and purples reflected on the water. I remember how during my first year here I would run out almost nightly to take pictures of the sunsets. I'm glad that I still find them amazing.This village is beautiful in so many ways that I hate to leave it. I have met and lived with some of the kindest and most generous people in the world. Although things always haven't been smooth sailing the last four years overall I've loved living here and loved the lifestyle in Oscarville. I've been fortunate to make some really, really good friends here and I know those friendships will last a long time. The kids are amazing. Smart, respectful (most of the time), and eager to learn. I know that a group of students like that is rare and I've been so lucky to have had so many wonderful experiences with them in the classroom.

These kids have changed and grown so much and it's been a pleasure and an honor to see that happen. I look back on the pictures from when I first started and we ALL look so much younger. I was a much different person then too and over the years I've learned how to laugh at myself more, take more risks and believe more in myself. I know that the kids and the people here influenced me just as much as I hope I influenced them.

It's weird...I thought leaving here would be more emotional and more difficult. Perhaps I've been so busy with all the getting ready to go stuff that the actually going hasn't really sunk in yet. I think tomorrow will be hard. I think that saying good bye will be hard. I know I'll be back to visit but it will be as a visitor. It already feels different. It's going to be hard to "visit" a community I feel so much a part of. I think that leaving here has been one of the hardest decisions I've ever had to make but yet one that I know I had to make. I know that I have to move on and that there are so many other opportunities out there. I need to do this.

This evening I was giving Brian and another teacher from Kong, Rachel, a ride back to Bethel. Rachel asked how I knew which way to go on the river. I sort of stumbled for words and said, "I've walked around a lot." It's true. I remember the first time I went for a walk in the wilds of Oscarville. I was petrified I would get eaten by a bear or lose my way and wander around and die. I stuck close to the trail and was only gone for about 20 minutes before fear made me turn around go home. Over time I became more confident that I would be able to find my way home and that nothing would eat me. I started to wander further and further away from home. One of the first times I went for a long walk I was gone for about six hours. As I approached home I could hear people yelling and screaming my name. I popped out of the willows where I had been walking and said, "I'm right here!" Apparently, my roommate at the time had alerted the locals that I had been gone for quite some time. I had arrived only moments before they called Search and Rescue. As the years went on people got used to me wandering around and consequently I got really familiar with this little island. Although it's a small little island there are many things that make it special. I've grown to love it more and more with each year.

Enough rambling. I need to get my sleeping bag out and get ready for bed. I packed all my linens and blankets and have been down to my sleeping bag the last few nights. I keep telling Macy that we are just practicing for camping this summer.

So...for my friends up here...I'll see you all in the fall. For my family and friends at home...I'm hoping to see you all on Sunday or Monday and...Mr. Rendall...I'll be seeing you tomorrow!

Captain Macy

My friend Iain snapped this picture of Macy last night on our way back up to Bethel. Macy gets super confused as to who is supposed to sit in the Captain's chair in our new boat. Every time I stand up she sneaks onto the chair and sits proud as can be. That leaves about one or two inches for me to perch on as I try to steer the boat through the water! Either that or I'm left standing as rain pelts me in the face.

Thanks so much to Iain and Brian for helping me move all my stuff. It was much appreciated. You guys rock! Thanks also to all the folks who have been riding with me back and forth between Oscarville and Bethel. I'm sure it's been quite amusing and fun for you guys to see my super novice boat driving skills in action. However, thanks to all the tips I've been getting from people I've been feeling much more confident now on the river by myself.

Ladies Night -- Bush Alaska Style

The other evening I invited all the ladies that I work with to go to dinner in Bethel in my new boat.

We dub nights such as those as "Ladies Night" (some, like this one, are more tame than others).

The evening started off a little after 6 when everyone arrived at our house. I had already went out and started the boat to make sure that everything was ready to go. I didn't want everyone to get out there and see me fumbling with switches and trying to figure out how to hook the gas up. I got all that out of the way before they came. That way, when it was time to go I looked like an old pro.

We all climbed in the boat and began our first leg of the journey...a stop at Barbara's house about a 100 feet away so we could get her life jacket! It was a short trip but one that was still fraught with anxiousness on everyone's part as I'm not so good at parking and unparking. I worry about slamming into the beach full bore ahead and can never seem to understand which way to turn the motor when I'm backing up. This worry then results with me cutting the engine too soon and someone having to stretch toward the beach or grass or another boat to pull me into the parking spot. This time was no different. I cut the engine and people stretched and yet everyone assured me that it was ok.

After Barbara felt secure with her personal flotation device on we were ready to go. I was told to travel up the slough and with my boat load of women I started to maneuver through the twists and turns. What I loved most about this trip was that the use of hand signals quickly became the norm and only a few minutes into the trip I saw Eliza Meier frantically gesticulating and pointing towards the left. Then I saw what she was seeing, there was something floating in the water. To me, it looked to be a stick and not one of the many logs that tend to float downriver at this time. However, with her wild gesturing and her years of experience in boats I quickly swerved to miss whatever it was. It was a stick.

Once we arrived in Bethel I parked at the hospital parking lot. This time I not only cut the engine too soon and we again have to drift our way into the parking spot but I also chose to park in the muddiest area. The ladies were all champs though and no one said a word as they tiptoed through the mud and onto the sandy areas.

Olga had the foresight to procure a truck for us and after parking the boat we trudged up to the hospital parking lot to get the truck. On the way, Eliza Meier received wonderful news, the seals her father had sent to her from Tununak were at Grant Air. Before we knew it, we were parked outside of Grant Air waiting for Eliza's boxes of seal.

After receiving the seals we picked up Daphne and Barbara from Daphne's sister's house and we were off to DINNER! Of course, no ladies night would be complete without a male and this time Eliza Joekay's husband joined all of us girls. We put him to good use though and he was our photographer for the evening.

Two of my favorite Joekay sisters...

All the ladies enjoying all the fine dining Bethel can provide...

After dinner we shared another common female bonding ritual...we went shopping. After our trip to Swanson's we were ready to get home. Barbara's husband was patiently waiting for us to arrive so he could go out hunting and I still had lots of packing to do at home.

We saw a beaver while we were waiting for Christina!


As you can see..cell phones have hit the Delta in a BIG way...



Still waiting but Daphne's loving the trip!


Here comes Christina after parking the truck!

The boat ride back was something else. Shortly after we were on the river the gesticulating once again started from the front of the boat. This time Eliza Joekay was waving to the left. I looked at Olga, who was riding shotgun, and asked, "Should I go over?" Olga said, "No. You're good." Still, though, the waving motions from the front of the boat continued, but much more persistent. Again, I looked at Olga, desperate for some direction. Again I was assured I was good. Almost immediately after this, Barbara joined Eliza in her gesturing and others started yelling. What I then saw in front of me was what I assumed to be a brown log but found out quite quickly that it was part of a large sandbar. I quickly swerved to the left and everyone held on for dear life as we skimmed past the sandbar. Once out of danger I started pointing at Olga and trying to pin the blame on her. As we pulled into Oscarville Slough we were all laughing.

You can see the boxes of seals...coffins as Eliza M's brother called them.

I parked the boat and we began to unload our groceries. All in all it was a great trip and I once again am amazed at how awesome all my friends are down here. In four years I feel like I've really bonded with the people in this community. It's great knowing that I won't be so far away from them! I'm sure going to miss these women. They are the cat's meow.

How I'm Spending My Last Day At Work

I'm drinking a lot of coffee and eating Trix. Occasionally I'm moving things so it looks like I'm busy.