It has been almost a month since I’ve written on my blog. The main reason
for the hiatus is that it can get pretty boring up here. I know some of you
think that being up here in Alaska is a continuous adventure; chasing bears
one day and then making socks out of seal skins the next. But no, most of
our time is spent in front of children, planning on spending time in front of
children, or thinking about planning on spending time in front of children.
Our evenings are spent mostly the same; eating dinner, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and then going to bed at nine so we can get back up at five. Our conversations typically go like this:
Me: (Right before finishing dinner) What should we have for dinner tomorrow?
Monica: Chili and rice.
Me: Didn’t we have that last night?
Monica: Yes. How about rice and chili?
Me: That sounds different. Can we put cheese on it?
Monica: Yes, you can put cheese on it.
Me: (At TV) Come on Sajak, give Vanna some extra time to walk across the floor!!!
Monica: Put your pants on, we have company coming over.
Me: My pants are on.
Monica: Put them on your legs.
I could go on with more examples of our stimulating conversations, but I’m sure everyone gets the picture of how mundane it can be up here. Don’t get me wrong, I love talking to people about what it is like up here. Hell, I’ve written over 100 blog entries proving that I can go on and on about my life. But, I see the weariness in the eyes of the unfortunate stranger sitting next to me on the non-stop from Denver to Anchorage. At first I thought it was their natural uneasiness of flying, but I’m suspecting it may be my 5 hr answer when they ask me what it’s like to live in the bush.
It has been cold since we sunk our snowmobile in the river and so the machine actually froze. Mechanical parts that should move have been stopped from preforming whatever it is they do. Turning, I think. I’m not mechanically inclined so that is as much as I know. Thankfully, a high school student is looking at it and hopefully in a week we’ll be able to go for rides. But at -20, we don’t feel like joy riding and he isn’t having much luck
Our evenings are spent mostly the same; eating dinner, watching Jeopardy and Wheel of Fortune, and then going to bed at nine so we can get back up at five. Our conversations typically go like this:
Me: (Right before finishing dinner) What should we have for dinner tomorrow?
Monica: Chili and rice.
Me: Didn’t we have that last night?
Monica: Yes. How about rice and chili?
Me: That sounds different. Can we put cheese on it?
Monica: Yes, you can put cheese on it.
Me: (At TV) Come on Sajak, give Vanna some extra time to walk across the floor!!!
Monica: Put your pants on, we have company coming over.
Me: My pants are on.
Monica: Put them on your legs.
I could go on with more examples of our stimulating conversations, but I’m sure everyone gets the picture of how mundane it can be up here. Don’t get me wrong, I love talking to people about what it is like up here. Hell, I’ve written over 100 blog entries proving that I can go on and on about my life. But, I see the weariness in the eyes of the unfortunate stranger sitting next to me on the non-stop from Denver to Anchorage. At first I thought it was their natural uneasiness of flying, but I’m suspecting it may be my 5 hr answer when they ask me what it’s like to live in the bush.
It has been cold since we sunk our snowmobile in the river and so the machine actually froze. Mechanical parts that should move have been stopped from preforming whatever it is they do. Turning, I think. I’m not mechanically inclined so that is as much as I know. Thankfully, a high school student is looking at it and hopefully in a week we’ll be able to go for rides. But at -20, we don’t feel like joy riding and he isn’t having much luck
in the thawing process. There is no shop or indoor garage in the village to
put a snowmobile into so it can thaw.
Now that we are getting more sunlight, maybe more adventures will happen for me to write about. We have basketball games and tournaments coming up next month. We also have our village’s potlatch the first part of April, along with our State’s annual testing. That may be a rant for a future blog entry. We can also start planning our summer out now. But until then, I’ll be working hard, putting my fantasy Iditarod team together. The new rule this year is that you may not have more than one Seavey on your team. It’s not as popular as fantasy football or fantasy South African cricket, but give it time, I’m sure it will catch on.
Now that we are getting more sunlight, maybe more adventures will happen for me to write about. We have basketball games and tournaments coming up next month. We also have our village’s potlatch the first part of April, along with our State’s annual testing. That may be a rant for a future blog entry. We can also start planning our summer out now. But until then, I’ll be working hard, putting my fantasy Iditarod team together. The new rule this year is that you may not have more than one Seavey on your team. It’s not as popular as fantasy football or fantasy South African cricket, but give it time, I’m sure it will catch on.
