Juneau and more

Again it has been awhile since a post.  

Just a couple of days after my last post I was sent to Juneau to cover the Legislature's 4th Special Session. I was there Wednesday through Monday. What a trip! Covering politics has never been something that I thought I would ever get into. Alaska politics, however, is a different story. Even after working and living here after about a month or so I knew more about Alaska politics than Massachusetts politics. 

And now, after spending several days with Alaska legislatures and staff, I definitely know more about how politics "work". This place is crazy! Between caucuses and coalitions and ulterior motives and appeasing this person or that...holy cow. 

It was fascinating to observe the Legislatures. Especially because the differences between rural Alaska and urban Alaska are so vast. Bush Alaska's needs are so different from urban Alaska's needs that it takes some real compromising from the Legislatures to see that all concerns are addressed. It's hard for me to describe, but it's truly intriguing to see first-hand how it all goes down. 

Many thanks to Chris and Gary for their constant stream of informed goings-on of processes and personalities. What a help! It's a lot trying to wrap your brain around some of the issues and the procedural process of the House and Senate.

I hope I get to go back Juneau to cover the Legislature at some point...perhaps not for the regular session, because that lasts 90 days. I don't know if I could handle a steady day in and day out of politics for 90 days, but the small dosage that I received was absolutely stimulating and intriguing. 

Until yesterday, I had not had a day off in 12 days. Small feat in Red Sox world, but to my new schedule and life, that's a lot! And of course I've been wicked behind in my editing (and blogging). 

Also, I come back from Juneau to see that I'm on call. I wasn't supposed to be on call until tomorrow, but because of scheduling changes, I came back from a trip to being on call. Such is the news business. Nothing crazy for me so far with on-call. Just one false alarm and then a trip in to the station to help edit Friday night's show. 

One thing I forgot to mention is that I'm sick. I could feel it just a tad last Monday and then by Wednesday/Thursday it was a full-blown cold. Coughing, aching body. Now it's a stuffy and runny nose, lots of coughing, no voice, sore throat and I'm tired. I think I only got about four hours of sleep last night. Just couldn't stop coughing. It SUCKED. Can't wait to get over this!

I have a couple of pictures of Juneau, nothing crazy though. I can't post them yet, because I left my camera at work. There aren't many pictures, as I was indoors in the Capitol for the most part and didn't really get out to see the town. It was mostly cloudy and rainy the whole time I was there anyways. From what I could see, though, the town was pretty much built directly at the base of the mountains. Geez, it's crazy. The mountain slopes just come right down on top of the town. Avalanches are major threats to homes there in the winters. It's just amazing see how close everything is to the scenery. I'm sure I'll get back to Juneau some day so that I can take some better pictures. 

Back to my tea and honey...and editing...

Temperature update: 56 degrees and sunny!

Alaska trivia: Juneau is often described as a little San Francisco due to its hilly setting.