Well, if you’re reading this, we made it through to the new year. I spent my New Year’s Eve like I usually do: hiding under the bed like a household pet. When the clock struck twelve, several residents of the village stepped outside and celebrated with their rifles. I wasn’t concerned much about the noise, although I was pretty sure someone was just outside my bedroom wall. I was more concerned with their ability to aim away from houses and point toward the Bering Sea. I know some may have been impaired, but they successfully missed our house. I don’t know about anyone else’s yet.
Monica and I spent six days in Anchorage over the break. We flew into Anchorage on Christmas Eve afternoon. Once we got checked into our hotel, we made a dash to the nearest Safeway. Monica was concerned that we should get some food, since everything would be closed that night and the next day. I was concerned that we should get to the liquor store in time, since everything would be closed that night and the next day. Luckily, the liquor store was attached to the Safeway, so both of our Christmas wishes came true.
For the next six days, we contributed heavily to the Anchorage economy. We watched a movie, bought a seal skin hat, purchased an iPhone, and visited several restaurants. We also bought more groceries and had them shipped back to the house. All in all we spent a lot of money but we did have a good time and are glad we took the time to visit the big city.
Since we’ve accumulated enough snow, we decided to get our snowmobile up and running. We’ve had a cold winter, but not a lot of snow. But the past few weeks, we’ve had a few small storms that gave us enough snow now. The first thing we had to do was get it started. It has sat since last May, so I wasn’t sure how easily it would want to fire up. Also, I have no mechanical ability whatsoever. If it didn’t start, my only option would be to mutter something about the carburetor, whatever that is, and go back inside and watch football. It started, so we took it to the gas pumps to get some gas and oil. Thirteen gallons of gas and two quarts of oil set us back $107. I guess we weren’t done spending money yet.
Well, since the new year is here, I have to look back at my resolutions from last year and see which ones I accomplished (none). Realizing that I’m not good at completing my resolutions, I resolved to lower the bar a little bit. I resolve to watch more TV and read less. I also put this one on last year’s list, last night, right behind something about stopping procrastinating. So far I’m doing well with this one. I am also resolving to being more aware of my surroundings and audience when I say things out loud. This should help not frighten the students as much. And not frightening the adults too. I’m tired of hearing people say, “He’s a teacher?”
With a new year, we all get the chance to start over and try again. This is my 46th new year and 46th time of trying to do a better job. Hopefully I will, even if it’s just a little better. It’s always worth the effort. I remember when I was two, I resolved not to poop my pants anymore. Boy, did that one pay off. Happy New Year.
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