Quest(ioning) Alaska
Yes, I know it has been awhile since I updated everyone. Basically, I have been in a state of personal change. Now before that scares anyone into thinking that I am learning how to run a team of dogs...hang on! I'll explain.
I'm on a Quest (without a Play Station 2).
For passion! For forgiveness! For courage! For unity! For truth! For justice!
Okayyyyy...what does this look like, you want to know?
Well, I don't know.... that is why it is still a quest! Lets just say that some days have been more painful then others. However, I am happier then I have ever been in my whole life! That is something to be undeniably relieved about, isn't it?
Now on to Alaska!
I've learned how to snow shoe exceptionally well. I've broken some trail and I've been left in the middle of the woods (“bush” in Alaska) with nothing but a prayer to get me back in one piece. It has been exhilarating and foolish, all at the same time. Yes, I'm learning to ask for directions and sometimes I even stay home and read a book instead of wandering into the Last Frontier alone!
I eat differently in Alaska and this is starting to show up in my general physical health. I feel undeniably great! First of all, I don't eat any junk food - they don't have dill pickle chips in Alaska and a regular bag costs $6.00 - there goes that carb-induced-endorphin kick! I can't find any potatoes that look like potatoes. I'm not sure where their potatoes come from, but they scare me. Really scare me! That leaves out french fries! I also don't know how to cook for two people (you go from being an old worn out woman living in a shoe to a single mom of one and see what you can stir up!). Alaska attracts some very interesting people - for example, most of the people I work with are vegetarians. What does this look like for me? A plate of soybean for lunch! And the scary thing is - it tastes good! Do they even have soybean in New Brunswick? I don't know - I was still eating potatoes that looked like potatoes. I've given up meat. Not because I 'm going to be a vegetarian but because I'm not sure where it all comes from. Was it moose number 285 on the road-kill of fame? Was it the leftovers from Alberta? Alaska is a dumping ground for Canadian beef with mad-cow disease! Frightening!
I dress differently in Alaska. I can wear pyjamas to the grocery store. I can dress like a “sk8ter gurl” (think Avril Lavigne) and nobody cares. I can look fashionable in a brown flannel shirt (I fit in!). I can wear jeans with the knees ripped out of them ("got caught on the wood stove, eh?"). I can wear socks that don't match and everyone knows that I forgot a load of laundry at the Laundromat (but it will still be there next week when I make my way back).
I think differently in Alaska. I'm no longer shocked by others who live without electricity and running water. I think it is perfectly normal for my coworkers to arrive at work in their pyjamas and take a shower in the urgent care decontamination unit. I am not surprised when people get from A to B by "snow machine" (a ski-doo or snowmobile in other parts of the world). I don't raise an eyebrow when someone tells me that they have stole fuel from their neighbour because they were cold. I've even adjusted to people carrying weapons in their boots. The only thing I have truly failed to understand is why they never plow the roads in Talkeetna - they just wait until enough people have driven on them and made a path.
I smell differently in Alaska. Not really…ha ha….just trying to get your attention. I still take a shower every day, but supposedly I could stop shaving my armpits and legs and nobody would notice. Except me!
I’m not there yet, but the Quest may bring other surprises.
Check out the pictures!
I'm on a Quest (without a Play Station 2).
For passion! For forgiveness! For courage! For unity! For truth! For justice!
Okayyyyy...what does this look like, you want to know?
Well, I don't know.... that is why it is still a quest! Lets just say that some days have been more painful then others. However, I am happier then I have ever been in my whole life! That is something to be undeniably relieved about, isn't it?
Now on to Alaska!
I've learned how to snow shoe exceptionally well. I've broken some trail and I've been left in the middle of the woods (“bush” in Alaska) with nothing but a prayer to get me back in one piece. It has been exhilarating and foolish, all at the same time. Yes, I'm learning to ask for directions and sometimes I even stay home and read a book instead of wandering into the Last Frontier alone!
I eat differently in Alaska and this is starting to show up in my general physical health. I feel undeniably great! First of all, I don't eat any junk food - they don't have dill pickle chips in Alaska and a regular bag costs $6.00 - there goes that carb-induced-endorphin kick! I can't find any potatoes that look like potatoes. I'm not sure where their potatoes come from, but they scare me. Really scare me! That leaves out french fries! I also don't know how to cook for two people (you go from being an old worn out woman living in a shoe to a single mom of one and see what you can stir up!). Alaska attracts some very interesting people - for example, most of the people I work with are vegetarians. What does this look like for me? A plate of soybean for lunch! And the scary thing is - it tastes good! Do they even have soybean in New Brunswick? I don't know - I was still eating potatoes that looked like potatoes. I've given up meat. Not because I 'm going to be a vegetarian but because I'm not sure where it all comes from. Was it moose number 285 on the road-kill of fame? Was it the leftovers from Alberta? Alaska is a dumping ground for Canadian beef with mad-cow disease! Frightening!
I dress differently in Alaska. I can wear pyjamas to the grocery store. I can dress like a “sk8ter gurl” (think Avril Lavigne) and nobody cares. I can look fashionable in a brown flannel shirt (I fit in!). I can wear jeans with the knees ripped out of them ("got caught on the wood stove, eh?"). I can wear socks that don't match and everyone knows that I forgot a load of laundry at the Laundromat (but it will still be there next week when I make my way back).
I think differently in Alaska. I'm no longer shocked by others who live without electricity and running water. I think it is perfectly normal for my coworkers to arrive at work in their pyjamas and take a shower in the urgent care decontamination unit. I am not surprised when people get from A to B by "snow machine" (a ski-doo or snowmobile in other parts of the world). I don't raise an eyebrow when someone tells me that they have stole fuel from their neighbour because they were cold. I've even adjusted to people carrying weapons in their boots. The only thing I have truly failed to understand is why they never plow the roads in Talkeetna - they just wait until enough people have driven on them and made a path.
I smell differently in Alaska. Not really…ha ha….just trying to get your attention. I still take a shower every day, but supposedly I could stop shaving my armpits and legs and nobody would notice. Except me!
I’m not there yet, but the Quest may bring other surprises.
Check out the pictures!
