Alaskana, Part I: Nuts and Bolts

So it's been a week since I last posted. That means there's a whole hellava lot for me to write about in this post. This may actually have to be a two-parter...

KTUU:

The first week went great. I learned more in this one week of work than I would have back home freelancing, or in six or more months of working at Fenway. Wow.  My co-workers in my department have been more than patient with me, answering all of the questions I pose, as well as really taking the time to show me the way certain elements are practiced at the station, and what is expected of me. 

It has really been a humbling experience so far, especially after watching the raw footage I shot on my first shoot ever at the station, last Wednesday. I'm realizing now that I've only shot footage about half a dozen times since leaving Fenway last May, and that it is going to take a good, solid several weeks (probably more!!) before I am up to speed with where I was as a videographer last year. Even the most fundamental techniques seem to have left my repertoire of basic camera operations. Pretty crazy, and like I said, humbling. I'm going into this thinking I'm going to be able to jump into this position with all of the skills I had when I left Fenway, and I learned quickly that that is just not the case. This all also means that I have to work even harder at learning the equipment and putting into practice what I'm learning and what I seem to have forgotten. 

Back to my co-workers... The staff of photographers here are really great, some better than others, but overall just superb. Most of them truly care about the product they are putting out on the air and will go the extra mile to make the story that much better. And much of this all seems to come second-nature to them. It's quite fascinating. Sometimes with stories they're "polishing a turd"; other times they're editing in natural sound pops (also known as Natsound, or NATS) to really bring a story to life; in some cases, that could mean the difference between an award-winning story, or just another piece of informational video.  Their work is quite refreshing.  It's funny to see the expressions on their faces when they happen to ask me, "Why Alaska?".  My answer always is, "You".  I hate to get ahead of myself and who knows what may happen in the future, but based upon my first week of work here I can honestly say that I have made the right decision in moving here for this job.  

Another note to be mentioned of my new co-workers: so far they are easy to get along with. There is a varying degree of "dwarf-like" personalities ranging from grumpy all the way to dopey. Not kidding. 

All around, they are a lot of fun.

The apartment:

Everyone I've spoken to has been asking me about the furnishings in my apartment...I have a ten dollar stool from Wal-Mart and the toilet that luckily came with the place. A co-worker is generously letting me borrow an aerobed, but I'm hesitant to use it because of Louie and his kitty claws. I think I'd rather not run the risk of puncturing a hole in it! Another co-worker was kind enough to pass along to me some general household items that were no longer needed at their home. Among those items: plates, large and small, and bowls (two of each), bottle openers, tupperware, tea, a knife set and some snacks. This naturally brings me to talk about the personalities and behaviors of Alaskans, and the type of people I've met thus far - but I'm going to hold off getting into that for now...  

My computer finally arrived last week. I now have everything that I was planning on bringing with me with the exception of two smaller boxes of miscellaneous office materials  I snail-mailed to myself. Not sure exactly where I'm going to put that stuff when it finally arrives. Check out the pictures at the end of the posting to see what I mean...

The Volvo:

I've tried getting in touch with the shipping company that supposedly has my car at this point. However, most of their office hours conflict with when I am at work and I missed them by a few hours when I tried calling this weekend. It also doesn't help that I've been forgetful with the necessity of reaching them and making sure that they are open when I try to call. As far as I know, my car reached the Washington (state) port a week ago Friday and should be on it's way to Anchorage. Depending on which ship it was put on, I should be receiving notification of the Volvo's arrival in port here sometime this week...keep your fingers crossed.

The "Iditarod: The Last Great Race":

The more I learn about this event, the more respect I have for it, the mushers, and the dogs. Traveling via dogsled through Alaska's frozen tundra, treacherous cliffs, blizzards, ridges, paths, frozen rivers, checkpoints and villages.  It begins with a ceremonious heave-ho of pomp and circumstance in downtown Anchorage, traveling through the municipality for approximately 13 miles (yesterday-Saturday), and continuing on with the "real" beginning of the race, today: 1,150 miles, 12-16 dogs, one musher and 9-14 days later the quest is completed in Nome. A few words that come to mind: perilous, stamina, determination, focus, survival skills, strategy, insanity. From what I've learned about this race (and I've decided already that I must buy a book on this topic), the one thing that I can possibly, and probably incorrectly, compare it to is that it must be like running a marathon...for a week straight.*

And Alaskans go ga-ga over this event. Spectators lined the route in downtown, cheering the mushers; supporting all 98 of them. And they all hope for the opportunity to be tossed a souvenir: a dog bootie. The mushers throw out the used, worn, torn and no longer usable booties that protect the dogs paws from ice splits (I believe that's what they're called). To the people here it's like getting beads during Mardi Gras...minus the bodily exposure. *there'll be another Mardi Gras reference in Part II of these postings. 

My work assignment for the event was to be situated in Mulcahy Park, off of 16th Ave, and to shoot footage of every musher that goes by. I was huddled there in "teen" degree weather, along with a fluctuating number of spectators and Trail Guards. Even after spending $200 at REI the night before on warm-weather wear, I was still freezing my bootie off and lost feeling in the tips of my fingers and toes. One of the Trail Guards was a spunky woman named "Frenchie". What a hoot she was. She was great. She helped me put on a pair of wind-breaking outer layer bottoms over my jeans and boots that were generously lent to me by a woman named Michelle who was leaving the spectacle early to enjoy a Saturday afternoon in the warmth of her home. Frenchie also tied my boots back up for me after putting hand-warmers in there to help keep my feet warm. Those hand-warmers came from a woman named Roseanne. What a sweetheart. She stayed in that one spot with me for the entire duration of the event, from 9:30am through 2:15pm. What a doll. She retrieved three dog booties for me, stating that as a newcomer to the state of Alaska, I had to have souvenirs from my first Iditarod. I felt awkward taking them from her, especially because I was working and I didn't feel it was very professional of me to accept them...she wasn't taking 'no' for an answer and I didn't want to insult her voracious generosity.  

I'm pretty sure most of you reading this right now will agree that Frenchie, Roseanne and Michelle are people who, in general, do not exist back in colonial, metropolitan, civilized New England. As much as I love that region of the country, my true home, I do not believe that I would find such generosity from strangers there, in my own backyard. As one of the Trail Guards, Aaron, said to me [loose quote], 'people here look out for one another'.

Thank you, Alaskana.

Part II will explore "Alaskana" more in-depth.

*If you find yourself interested enough, go to iditarod.com and view the video: 2008 Iditarod Preview. That will give you an idea of what I was trying to explain here. And for a little history on the beginnings of the race, the trail and what it commemorates, click here, and read the end of the article "Booms and Busts" by Don Bowers. If you feel like it, read the entire page. It's worth it.

Temperature update: 27 degrees F and party cloudy in Anchorage

Alaska trivia (in the spirit of the Iditarod): "A red lantern is awarded to the last musher to finish. The longest time for a Red Lantern was 32 days, 15 hours, nine minutes and one second by John Schultz in 1973. The quickest Red Lantern musher was David Straub with a time of 14 days, 5 hours, 38 minutes and 12 seconds" [that was in 2002]. Trivia credit: http://www.iditarod.com/learn/trivia.html

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An over-exposed view from my work post Saturday during the Iditarod:

If you look closely, between two buildings in the distance, a little to the left of the center, is a white strip - that's a street called Cordova and it's the hill that the mushers come down before crossing 16th Ave and on through Mulcahy Park, where I was situated.

The "settled in" look of the apartment:

A couple of shots from a quick Saturday afternoon drive around residential Anchorage:

"Only in Alaska"

Well, after an early start and a long day last Friday, Louie and I have successfully made it to Anchorage, Alaska. Even our luggage made it, which was a pleasant surprise considering the juggle and shuffle of flights upon our arrival at Logan. Jeff and I dragged my two over-stuffed and quite heavy suitcases, my backpack of tricks and the infamous Louie to terminal A for check-in at Continental Airlines, only to find out that my flight from Newark to Seattle (flight 2 of 3) was canceled because of the pending weather forecast for the Eastern Seaboard... Instead of boring you all with the mundane details of what happened next, blah, blah, blah...suffice it to say that Jeff and I were able to get me and Louie checked in at Northwest Airlines and to the security line (running very late at this point!!) After a tearful hug and kiss goodbye, our gazes fastened upon one another for the last time for at least three months as I turned and walked away towards the (thankfully short) security line, and, to the unknown.

Jeff told me afterwards that as I reached the security line he was trying to get my attention by whistling to me...I wish I had heard him. I would have loved to have seen his face just one more time. Louie and I were the last ones on the plane.

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It is currently Monday night, or your Tuesday morning at this point. In my three full days and one half day that I have officially been "living" in Alaska, and the unknown, I have witnessed: the inaugural "Running of the Reindeer"; foxes, wolves and wolverine skins hanging up for sale or to dry (not quite sure which); coworkers of mine perform some incredible, and in some cases not-that-great, karaoke; the live operations of AMP working their magic at an Alaska Aces semi-pro (or is it pro??) hockey game; referring back to the "Running of the Reindeer", seeing near-naked men in twenty degree Alaskan weather, English women wearing over-sized red hats and scarves, and red-suited men wearing long-johns and Santa suits, as well as many, many other characters who ventured out for the race. And to top it all off, for lunch today one of the reporters bought me Reindeer...I don't know what exactly to call it - all's I know is that it was Reindeer that I ate....and it was served in a sausage roll.

I'm pretty sure I can say that those are things that I never would have experienced in Massachusetts. Perhaps in Vermont (Kristy and Justin), but certainly not on the South Shore.

"Only in Alaska..."

So I thought this past weekend it would have been fairly easy for me to return at least several of the phone calls on the long list of people I've been unintentionally neglecting, however I was invited to several social and work-related engagements and felt I could not pass up the opportunities to get to know my new co-workers; who they are as people, in social situations, and of course, what they are like when they are in "work-mode". So far, so good...

It is going to take me at least a week I think to really get a good grasp of the schedule I need to keep up as far as being able to talk to all of you at decent hours of the night, or morning. Currently it's looking like so long as I wake up early enough I can make phone calls when you all are on your lunch breaks (hopefully). It's either that or I start phoning when I get home from work, typically around 6:30p Alaska time...or 10:30p EST. Take your pick I guess. I suppose that could be part of the reason why I started this blog - because the phone calls to and from home may be limited at times.

I hope I'm able to get in touch with all of you at some point soon. I look forward to it.

At the end of the posting here are some of the pictures I took of my apartment, as well as some other goodies.

Number of phone calls I need to return: 16

Number of emails I need to respond to: 14

Temperature update: 25 degrees F and cloudy in Anchorage

Alaska trivia: Nearly one-third of Alaska lies within the Arctic Circle

Descending towards the Anchorage area, shot through some very dirty airplane windows

...and my apologies about the neck cramps from the sideways pictures...

The new digs:










Louie wondering, "Where has all the furniture gone?"




The view from our balcony...










Until the Volvo ships in...


Sunset. Here, the sun sets in the Southwest

Music Moves Me.

As I pack away the few belongings that mean enough to me to actually be packed, I find myself reminiscing like I never have before.

You can thank Suzy for part of that.

You can thank Jeffrey for part of that.

You can thank Tim for part of that.

...most of all, you can thank my Family for, well, most of that.

As I look at the two suitcases before me I think, "Wow, is that all it takes for me to be comfortable? Is that all it takes for me to be minimally 'happy'? Is this really just, it?? Is that all it takes for me to 'survive' according to most Americans' terms?"  ...this brings me to think of my time spent in the Dominican Republic; of what I've been fortunate enough to witness there...

What I have in these two suitcases is more than enough for me to survive.

Anywhere.

More importantly, should these two suitcases be lost amidst my two layovers. Should the two packages I mailed yesterday lose their way. Should the three packages I'll send through DHL today get damaged...  I still have my Family. I still have my Friends. I still have Tim. I still have Jeffrey. I still have Suzy.  Not sure if I'm really conveying what I'm trying to say here well, but what I'm trying to say is even though you all won't be packed up in my suitcases, or mailed 4600 miles away, you all will still be with me. In my mind and in my heart. And I'm thankful for that. Out of everything that I will need when I reach my destination, it is you all that I will need most.

Thank you for being there last Friday night. Thank you for being there the past 26+ years.  I am honored and thankful to know that you are all as much a part of this move as I am.

Thank you, sincerely. Thank you.

Oh Good Times

This post goes out to everyone who has emailed, phoned and text messaged me to express their congratulatory messages, well-wishes, questions, and comments.  

Firstly, my apologies to all who I've not been able to respond to yet.  I will get back to each and everyone of you....soon....not sure how soon, but I will.  If it seems like I may have forgotten, please do send me another message gently reminding me of my forgetfulness. I have much going on at the moment, struggling to keep straight whether I've covered myself in transportation, expenses, food to consume or shelter above my head for the next two+ years of my life. 

Second, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, to all who have been in touch with me, in some way, in some respect, regarding this chapter of my life. 

Third, THANK YOU, again.

The past six days have been a complete blur. My mind is a jumbled jelly of what-to-do, when-to-do-it and what-to-prepare-for mess.  

So far I've had my taxes done, gone to the RMV to get my Drivers Record, had oodles of repairs and "just in cases" done to my car (many thanks to Gary and his entire crew at Gary Rondeau's Automotive in Hooksett, NH), tied up loose ends with my employers, booked the flight for myself and Louie, secured an apartment to move in to and the shipping company transporting my car has picked it up at my house to haul it off to Washington State, where consequently it will be put on a ship bound for Anchorage.

I've also had the pleasure of spending a little bit of time with Alyssa, Marianne, both of my Parents, some extended family, Jeff, Roisin, Scott, Suzy, Tracy, and Deanna. In the coming week I have to pick up my bridesmaid dress for Alyssa's wedding, take Louie to the vet, figure out the necessities to pack (bare minimum stuff!), sort out my banking and finances for AK, go to Town Hall to square away a couple of things, pack up and prepare my computer for shipping, and sort out my belongings in the bungalow. Speaking of the infamous bungalow, it has just recently been painted  -  check out these "before and after" pictures. 

What a difference!!

Too bad I'm not going to be able to enjoy the fresh coat. Next week my Mom and I will be cleaning out everything, sorting through my post-collegiate life and either scrapping or scrapbooking what is left, and all that will be left behind...that's a daunting task but it will be good quality Mother-Daughter bonding time. Especially good because when I do make a trip or two home, they will be so brief that I'm sure we will not be having much time to spend together. That's quite different from the lifestyle we are both accustomed to at the moment. So with the current state of the bungalow, I have to move before I move...there are more "before and after" pictures at the end of this posting...

Last night my Mother organized a small gathering of family at the house. It was a great time seeing everyone. We ordered some quality pizza from Venus (pickle pizza - amazing! Thanks Roisin!) We also had a few other eclectic delectables. Boy, I'm going to miss Venus... I wonder if the Moose's Tooth has pickle, baked bean or fried dough pizza...?  Many, many "thank you's" to my family members who stopped by for a few hours. It was wonderful seeing you all and being able to share some time with you before my departure. I look forward to seeing you all again on June 7th.

Today's goings-on included interviewing my grandmother, who lives in Halifax. She is my Father's Mother, and he went with me. It was interesting to hear what she had to say about growing up in the depression and the couple of places she's lived in her life. She lead a completely different life than many people I know today. Makes me wonder how I would've made out, had I been born in 1922 instead of 1981. There's a lot to think about right there. Much hypothesizing and contemplation and appreciation for where I am today...and why...?

Tonight Jeff and I are going out for dinner. His parents gave us a gift card to a restaurant for Valentine's Day; that was super sweet of them. I'm sure we will have a great time tonight and have lots to talk about with the move.

Jeff has decided that he wants to make the move with me.  It will be a great chapter of our relationship and a great challenge, as well.  The first few months are going to be difficult for us, as the distance will truly test us. Also, there is a lot he has to think about: where to finish his last classes for school and what to do for work being two of the big things. Then there is the figuring out of all the logistics - things that I've been dealing with lately. It can be stressful at times, but adventurous most. Differences between our moves are that I know that I have a job there, another step for my career. Jeff has quite the task of answering the question: "What do I want to do". I know that's one that I still have difficulty answering precisely. I have a solid idea of what I want to do and how to accomplish it, but it took me quite awhile just to get to that point. Jeff, I know that you can do it and I'll be waiting for you in Anchorage with a smile on my face and patience in my heart. 

For those interested, here's a look at the floorplan of our new 1 bedroom apartment in the midtown section of Anchorage. Decent size for just the two of us. 

And having a balcony is pretty cool too. The windows are on the side of the building that receives the most amount of sunlight, which will be good for the winter considering it will be dark most of the days and will help with keeping a "sunny 'tude". From what I've been hearing from the Alaska-ites, everyone's moods tend to dip in the winter months.  Hopefully having this extra sunlight will help us with that.  I'm willing to sacrifice and make adjustments for the extra sunny summer's light shining in late into the evening, over the despair of the dark winter. If anyone would like the new address, please email me and I'll gladly pass it on to you. As for my other contact information, everything will be staying the same.

I believe I've taken up enough of your time for this post. It's a long one.  Keep scrolling down for those "before and after" pictures of the bungalow...

Temperature update: it is currently 11 degrees F, with light snow in Anchorage (feels like 3 degrees)

Alaska trivia:  The state of Rhode Island could fit into Alaska 425 times.

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The Before... and The After...

 

Phew!!

My head is currently a never-ending spiral of appointments, things to do, people to call, emails to send, taxes to prepare for, car repairs and on and on.  I've had days in the past where I've felt that there have not been enough hours in the day, but the past three days have been ridiculous. I'm in a mode right now where I just want to crank through everything, get it all done and call it a day. Unfortunately real life is not working that way.  Tying up these loose ends is much more time-consuming than I ever thought.  It's tough because I want to try and kill as many birds with as few stones as possible, as soon as possible....I want to see as many people as I possibly can before I leave, as well as making sure that I am as prepared as possible for this.  Not to mention that on top of this I still have to put in some time at work. 

Time to run for another day of errands, work, phone calls and hopefully quality Jeff time.

Temperature update: it is currently 19 degrees F in Anchorage, cloudy (feels like 11 degrees F - not bad!!)

Alaska trivia: this one technically precedes the trivia from the last posting - In 1867 United States Secretary of State William H. Seward offered Russia $7,200,000, or two cents per acre, for Alaska.

Hours of sleep since Sunday, the 10th: 13 hours

Number of times I used the word "possible(y)": 4....not as many as it sounds based on the second to last sentence of the first paragraph.

quick clarification

To clarify, if it was not well-explained in the last posting:

I have not moved yet to Anchorage - I believe my departure date will be around the 21st-22nd of February.  I am currently on my return trip to Whitman after spending two and a half days in Anchorage.  I'm sitting in the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport for the second time in four days.

Temperature update in Anchorage: currently 7 degrees, feels like -5 degrees F - Mostly cloudy

Alaska trivia (many of you may already know this one): On October 18, 1867 Alaska officially became the property of the United States. Many Americans called the purchase "Seward's Folly". Come to find out during my trip, "Seward" is pronounced sue-ward. Maybe that one was just me...