Oh, Eddie Rabbit...you hit the nail right on the head with that song! Snaps and claps and, yep, "You know it makes me feel good!"
We had a fantastic rain shower in Bethel tonight! It almost reminded me of Oregon, except it didn't last for two weeks! It rained good and hard for about two hours. I ventured out as the storm blew out of town and was amazed at how quickly Bethel had shut down. Over the past few weeks, when I've been out late, I have been shocked at how many people were out and about. Even kids as young as 5 would be seen on the playgrounds as late as midnight.
Maybe I'm old-fashioned or something, but even in the summer I make all my kids have bedtimes. They're significantly better people for it and during school I'm very strict about them getting enough sleep. Research has shown that there is a direct correlation between adequate amounts of sleep and success in school.
So, tonight's shower brought a pleasant surprise...almost nobody on the streets at midnight! It was nice to be the only vehicle on the road and to not silently curse the absent parents that let their children stay out until the wee hours of the morning! Hopefully, they were all sound asleep in their beds and not waiting for the last of the rain before heading out!
09 June 2010
08 June 2010
Time X Light = No Sleep
A few weeks ago, Bethel Utilities Corporation (BUC) announced a scheduled power outage beginning on Friday at midnight (which technically would make the outage on Saturday, but nobody seemed to care or to point this out to BUC) until 6:00am. BUC claimed that they had to do this now to not have to do it later. This reasoning sounds suspiciously like the logic I sometimes have to use with my kids!
I was as prepared as I could be for the outage until I managed to forget about it altogether. That is, until I was abruptly reminded of it at exactly 12:00am Saturday! When everything clicked off at midnight, I just sat for a few minutes, realized I was not anywhere near being ready for bed and now I had no electricity powering my TV, the satellite dish, the modem. Nothing.
The thing is, until I moved to Alaska, I almost never stayed up until midnight. Okay, okay...I did every night until I had a wife, kids, and a job that required me to be there in the a.m., but for the better part of the last decade (save for getting up with babies!) I couldn't even stay up until 11, let alone well past midnight like I have been doing here in Bethel! On far too many occasions, I've watched the sunset and sunrise without having shut my eyes between. Granted that's only a couple of hours difference and it never really gets dark, but still...most people can't say they watch both sun phases on even a semi-regular basis!
The problem is the light. It completely messes with my brain. I look at the clock and know that I should be fast asleep, but my body is not even remotely ready to consider the prospect. People have suggested tin foil on the windows, blackout curtains, sleeping pills and other drugs, making a routine, blah, blah, blah, blah. None of it works. Period. There's something freaky about it being light outside that forbids my body from relaxing to where I could even consider trying to sleep. Honestly, it's maddening.
I wonder if I'll have the same problem during the winter months when it barely gets light out? I doubt it...knowing me, I'll relish every chance I can to take a nap or go to bed early! Of course, I'm going to need it in order to catch up for all the sleep that is evading me now!
I was as prepared as I could be for the outage until I managed to forget about it altogether. That is, until I was abruptly reminded of it at exactly 12:00am Saturday! When everything clicked off at midnight, I just sat for a few minutes, realized I was not anywhere near being ready for bed and now I had no electricity powering my TV, the satellite dish, the modem. Nothing.
The thing is, until I moved to Alaska, I almost never stayed up until midnight. Okay, okay...I did every night until I had a wife, kids, and a job that required me to be there in the a.m., but for the better part of the last decade (save for getting up with babies!) I couldn't even stay up until 11, let alone well past midnight like I have been doing here in Bethel! On far too many occasions, I've watched the sunset and sunrise without having shut my eyes between. Granted that's only a couple of hours difference and it never really gets dark, but still...most people can't say they watch both sun phases on even a semi-regular basis!
The problem is the light. It completely messes with my brain. I look at the clock and know that I should be fast asleep, but my body is not even remotely ready to consider the prospect. People have suggested tin foil on the windows, blackout curtains, sleeping pills and other drugs, making a routine, blah, blah, blah, blah. None of it works. Period. There's something freaky about it being light outside that forbids my body from relaxing to where I could even consider trying to sleep. Honestly, it's maddening.
I wonder if I'll have the same problem during the winter months when it barely gets light out? I doubt it...knowing me, I'll relish every chance I can to take a nap or go to bed early! Of course, I'm going to need it in order to catch up for all the sleep that is evading me now!
Quick Update...
This should be short and sweet, but once I get typing you never know! It's also going to be a bit random, since I have half a dozen single-theme posts started but not finished and too much going on to put a lot of time in on them. So, without further adieu...
We're moving again...Ugh! Only within Bethel, so don't panic/celebrate! I'm not sure I've mentioned how much I hate moving, but I really hate moving. Actually, I only hate the filling boxes part of moving. Once everything is boxed up, just stand back and watch the space-meister do my thing! As a visual-spatial intellectual, my gift is for solving puzzles and I view loading a moving truck as a giant three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle! When we moved from California to North Dakota, I had packed our moving truck so exactly that I didn't use any tie-downs and nothing shifted during the entire trip!
So, yes, we're moving to another house in Bethel. The owners of the house we've been in for the last four months are returning, so off we go again. Unfortunately, this means we're going to be "squatting" again. Probably 90% of "our" stuff is still in Portland, so we've been dependent on finding mostly furnished housing since arriving in Bethel. Squatting is awful! I feel like a hobo. Not that I really have anything against hobos, but I've spent too much of my life trying to avoid being one that it's very difficult to embrace a life living on other people's stuff! It would be like having to live out of a hotel room. Sure it's comfortable enough, but the coffee maker never makes as good of a cup as your old coffee maker back home! And the showers...don't even get me started!
The good news is I'm leaving for Oregon in less than a week! Only for six weeks, so don't panic/celebrate! I fly out June 14th and arrive at PDX at 4:03pm! I'm completely stoked to be heading home. I'm sure a lot of places are like this, but Oregon is, and will always be, home for me. I can't explain it, but I just feel more comfortable there than anywhere else I've been. As great as Bethel has been, someday I will probably move back to Oregon.
The good thing about Bethel, is that Bethel (is it Bethelites? Bethelonians? hmmm...) residents (I guess!) are used to a highly transient population. Many teachers and health professionals come to the YK Delta for their first jobs or to get the government to forgive some of their education debt. It's not unique to the non-native populace either. In just the few months we've been here, I've known many Yup'ik families that have moved into and out of (and sometimes both) their home villages to Bethel and vice-versa. I can't speculate as to why there is so much transition among Bethel (I really like Bethelonians!) residents, but it has made for an easier time for us being welcomed into the community. Aside from a few weeks of being "stared" at, we've felt more at home here than any of our other stops along our journey!
It is this transitional nature of Bethel that will be providing us with our next move (Did I mention how much I loathe moving???) as soon as I return from Oregon. Some friends-of-friends (Did such a thing exist before Facebook?) of ours are moving Back East (I think it's funny how we move "back East", "out West", "down South" or "up North"...) and have been unable to sell their house in Bethel. They've decided to lease it to us and we couldn't be more excited! It is a beautiful home! I mean exquisite! I can't be sure, but I'd say it's one of the nicest houses in Bethel! It's in the right neighborhood for our wants and has enough bedrooms and baths for our entire clan! The owners have done a fantastic job of creating a warm and welcoming space that will be perfect for our family! I can't wait!
See...nothing like a "quick" 680+ word update...
We're moving again...Ugh! Only within Bethel, so don't panic/celebrate! I'm not sure I've mentioned how much I hate moving, but I really hate moving. Actually, I only hate the filling boxes part of moving. Once everything is boxed up, just stand back and watch the space-meister do my thing! As a visual-spatial intellectual, my gift is for solving puzzles and I view loading a moving truck as a giant three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle! When we moved from California to North Dakota, I had packed our moving truck so exactly that I didn't use any tie-downs and nothing shifted during the entire trip!
So, yes, we're moving to another house in Bethel. The owners of the house we've been in for the last four months are returning, so off we go again. Unfortunately, this means we're going to be "squatting" again. Probably 90% of "our" stuff is still in Portland, so we've been dependent on finding mostly furnished housing since arriving in Bethel. Squatting is awful! I feel like a hobo. Not that I really have anything against hobos, but I've spent too much of my life trying to avoid being one that it's very difficult to embrace a life living on other people's stuff! It would be like having to live out of a hotel room. Sure it's comfortable enough, but the coffee maker never makes as good of a cup as your old coffee maker back home! And the showers...don't even get me started!
The good news is I'm leaving for Oregon in less than a week! Only for six weeks, so don't panic/celebrate! I fly out June 14th and arrive at PDX at 4:03pm! I'm completely stoked to be heading home. I'm sure a lot of places are like this, but Oregon is, and will always be, home for me. I can't explain it, but I just feel more comfortable there than anywhere else I've been. As great as Bethel has been, someday I will probably move back to Oregon.
The good thing about Bethel, is that Bethel (is it Bethelites? Bethelonians? hmmm...) residents (I guess!) are used to a highly transient population. Many teachers and health professionals come to the YK Delta for their first jobs or to get the government to forgive some of their education debt. It's not unique to the non-native populace either. In just the few months we've been here, I've known many Yup'ik families that have moved into and out of (and sometimes both) their home villages to Bethel and vice-versa. I can't speculate as to why there is so much transition among Bethel (I really like Bethelonians!) residents, but it has made for an easier time for us being welcomed into the community. Aside from a few weeks of being "stared" at, we've felt more at home here than any of our other stops along our journey!
It is this transitional nature of Bethel that will be providing us with our next move (Did I mention how much I loathe moving???) as soon as I return from Oregon. Some friends-of-friends (Did such a thing exist before Facebook?) of ours are moving Back East (I think it's funny how we move "back East", "out West", "down South" or "up North"...) and have been unable to sell their house in Bethel. They've decided to lease it to us and we couldn't be more excited! It is a beautiful home! I mean exquisite! I can't be sure, but I'd say it's one of the nicest houses in Bethel! It's in the right neighborhood for our wants and has enough bedrooms and baths for our entire clan! The owners have done a fantastic job of creating a warm and welcoming space that will be perfect for our family! I can't wait!
See...nothing like a "quick" 680+ word update...
02 June 2010
Memorial Day Chicken
We had a fantastic Memorial Day weekend! The temperature may have been a bit on the warm side (+70F) for those of us that suffered through the colder-than-usual winter we had here in the Alaskan Bush, but it was welcomed by all! The slight pinkish hue of my skin can attest to the sun's brightness and we had a perfect breeze that kept most of the mosquitoes at bay. If this is what Bethel's good side is like, then I may never leave!
On Saturday, Kid1 (plus her friend-who's-a-boy from the Lower 48) and I went hiking out to an abandoned Cold War era Air Force communications system originally designed to prevent another Pearl Harbor type attack. Operational in 1958, Bethel's White Alice Communication System (WACS) site also dramatically improved telephone functionality throughout Alaska. Before the WACS were completed, only one call at a time could be made between Nome and Fairbanks and residents of Anchorage had to make calls to the Lower 48 from only one location in town!
When we first moved to Bethel, the then unknown-to-us White Alice loomed large across the tundra from the airport and we couldn't help but speculate what it was. Curiously, nobody that gave us our official or unofficial tours of Bethel ever mentioned it, so we were left to our imaginations as to what purpose this superstructure could have served.
Speculation included:
- A crashed space ship?
- An odd skate park ramp?
- A ski jump?
- A now defunct Drive-In Theater?
In hindsight, the Drive-In Theater idea is the most absurd of them all! Sure, in the winter months, you could show movies almost throughout the entire day, but who goes to a drive-in during the winter? Especially during winter in Alaska? And, while the summer months seem (so far) to be nice enough with regards to weather, there's no way it would ever get dark enough to show a movie! Trust me...I'm awake every night past 2am watching the start of Civil Twilight (1:45am right now!) and occasionally until the end of Civil Twilight a whopping 2 whole hours later at 3:46am!!!
Having never seen anything on Earth even remotely like White Alice, I was hesitant to ask what that thing was on the horizon. Eventually, I overheard a couple of students talking about "visiting Old White Alice" and was able to discern enough that they were talking about the curious building on the tundra and not some crazy Yup'ik legend!
I mustered enough courage to pull one of the students aside and quietly asked, "Were you talking about that huge "thing" on the tundra?"
After a brief moment of exchanged confused glances and my futile attempts to mime the basic shape of the structure, the student begrudgingly admitted that Old White Alice was a bunch of abandoned buildings at the end of BIA Road (Bureau of Indian Affairs Road) where kids went to party and whatnot! I think the student thought they were going to be in trouble, but I only gave him my hypocritical "Don't Drink/Drugs/Sex When You're A Minor" look and set about making plans for my visit to Alice!
Over the following few weeks, I researched my quest to conquer the beast! I called upon my less-than-expert geocaching skills and plotted what seemed like a reasonable course. According to my students, everyone had been out there at least once, so I wasn't worried about getting lost and there seemed to be little concern about any possible "laws" that we might violate en route! I was stoked! All that was left was to assemble my expedition team and to find the perfect day!
Kid1 reluctantly agreed to tag along (Despite seeing me holding my handheld GPS unit...That's another blog post!) after I convinced her friend-who's-a-boy that it would be fun! We drove as far as we could on BIA Road and began hiking through the abandoned military complex. From one of the buildings we could hear some odd noises and I'm fairly certain I heard a dog barking from another, but we chose not to investigate. Graffiti marked most of the buildings and only the shattered fragments of glass remained in every window.
Our path was relatively easy and I enjoyed listening to Kid1 and Friend get reacquainted after more than 5 months apart. Theirs is a unique and mature friendship that I'm certain will stand the test of time as they become adults. It's amusing to watch and listen as kids grow up and these two teens are about as mature as they come.
After a decent walk over beach-sandy trails our inspiration appeared and we excitedly hastened our pace. Arriving at the oft-abused gate that stood between us and our goal, I was struck by Alice's sheer size and beauty. Her gently curved concave shape was finally visible and despite years of withstanding the best that Mother Nature could dish out, Old Alice still stands majestically on the tundra. To the right of the gate was a bullet-riddled sign purporting the dangers of asbestos inhalation. Apparently, Old Alice is hazardous to our health.
I debated turning around. The gate didn't look inviting for someone my size and there was the whole asbestos thing, but curiosity got the better of me and over the gate we went. The youngsters had little trouble climbing over, although I WAS definitely a better fence climber in the olden days of my youth. Today, my skills have depleted significantly, but I managed, barely, to squeeze, shimmy, pull, push and embarrass my way over without injury!
Once inside the gate, we were met by a rickety metal ladder that led to a small platform and entrance inside Old Alice. Again, we had to conquer our fears as we scaled the ladder. It's probably only 10 feet or so, but it wasn't the easiest climb. The top of the ladder is barely held in place by some thin gauge wire and a blue rope that didn't seem to be doing much of anything. Standing on the platform, we could see most of Bethel in the distance.
We climbed through the door and I was amazed at the sinewy support network of metal beams. It was beautiful in an eerie way. Dozens of people had signed their names having completed the same trek we had. Many were students that I recognized and it was comforting to have finally done something so "Bethel"!
At the far end of the structure, a vertical, narrow ladder led to the top of Alice. After staring up the ladder, I had to admit defeat.
Although it was perfectly quiet, I could just make out an odd combination of my mom's and my wife's voices yelling at me for what I was considering. Maybe it was Old White Alice herself talking.
Reluctantly, I withdrew from the dark and stood on Alice's platform admiring the view. I'll bet the view from the top is even better. Maybe next time. Maybe next time.
On Saturday, Kid1 (plus her friend-who's-a-boy from the Lower 48) and I went hiking out to an abandoned Cold War era Air Force communications system originally designed to prevent another Pearl Harbor type attack. Operational in 1958, Bethel's White Alice Communication System (WACS) site also dramatically improved telephone functionality throughout Alaska. Before the WACS were completed, only one call at a time could be made between Nome and Fairbanks and residents of Anchorage had to make calls to the Lower 48 from only one location in town!
When we first moved to Bethel, the then unknown-to-us White Alice loomed large across the tundra from the airport and we couldn't help but speculate what it was. Curiously, nobody that gave us our official or unofficial tours of Bethel ever mentioned it, so we were left to our imaginations as to what purpose this superstructure could have served.
Speculation included:
- A crashed space ship?
- An odd skate park ramp?
- A ski jump?
- A now defunct Drive-In Theater?
In hindsight, the Drive-In Theater idea is the most absurd of them all! Sure, in the winter months, you could show movies almost throughout the entire day, but who goes to a drive-in during the winter? Especially during winter in Alaska? And, while the summer months seem (so far) to be nice enough with regards to weather, there's no way it would ever get dark enough to show a movie! Trust me...I'm awake every night past 2am watching the start of Civil Twilight (1:45am right now!) and occasionally until the end of Civil Twilight a whopping 2 whole hours later at 3:46am!!!
Having never seen anything on Earth even remotely like White Alice, I was hesitant to ask what that thing was on the horizon. Eventually, I overheard a couple of students talking about "visiting Old White Alice" and was able to discern enough that they were talking about the curious building on the tundra and not some crazy Yup'ik legend!
I mustered enough courage to pull one of the students aside and quietly asked, "Were you talking about that huge "thing" on the tundra?"
After a brief moment of exchanged confused glances and my futile attempts to mime the basic shape of the structure, the student begrudgingly admitted that Old White Alice was a bunch of abandoned buildings at the end of BIA Road (Bureau of Indian Affairs Road) where kids went to party and whatnot! I think the student thought they were going to be in trouble, but I only gave him my hypocritical "Don't Drink/Drugs/Sex When You're A Minor" look and set about making plans for my visit to Alice!
Over the following few weeks, I researched my quest to conquer the beast! I called upon my less-than-expert geocaching skills and plotted what seemed like a reasonable course. According to my students, everyone had been out there at least once, so I wasn't worried about getting lost and there seemed to be little concern about any possible "laws" that we might violate en route! I was stoked! All that was left was to assemble my expedition team and to find the perfect day!
Kid1 reluctantly agreed to tag along (Despite seeing me holding my handheld GPS unit...That's another blog post!) after I convinced her friend-who's-a-boy that it would be fun! We drove as far as we could on BIA Road and began hiking through the abandoned military complex. From one of the buildings we could hear some odd noises and I'm fairly certain I heard a dog barking from another, but we chose not to investigate. Graffiti marked most of the buildings and only the shattered fragments of glass remained in every window.
Our path was relatively easy and I enjoyed listening to Kid1 and Friend get reacquainted after more than 5 months apart. Theirs is a unique and mature friendship that I'm certain will stand the test of time as they become adults. It's amusing to watch and listen as kids grow up and these two teens are about as mature as they come.
After a decent walk over beach-sandy trails our inspiration appeared and we excitedly hastened our pace. Arriving at the oft-abused gate that stood between us and our goal, I was struck by Alice's sheer size and beauty. Her gently curved concave shape was finally visible and despite years of withstanding the best that Mother Nature could dish out, Old Alice still stands majestically on the tundra. To the right of the gate was a bullet-riddled sign purporting the dangers of asbestos inhalation. Apparently, Old Alice is hazardous to our health.
I debated turning around. The gate didn't look inviting for someone my size and there was the whole asbestos thing, but curiosity got the better of me and over the gate we went. The youngsters had little trouble climbing over, although I WAS definitely a better fence climber in the olden days of my youth. Today, my skills have depleted significantly, but I managed, barely, to squeeze, shimmy, pull, push and embarrass my way over without injury!
Once inside the gate, we were met by a rickety metal ladder that led to a small platform and entrance inside Old Alice. Again, we had to conquer our fears as we scaled the ladder. It's probably only 10 feet or so, but it wasn't the easiest climb. The top of the ladder is barely held in place by some thin gauge wire and a blue rope that didn't seem to be doing much of anything. Standing on the platform, we could see most of Bethel in the distance.
We climbed through the door and I was amazed at the sinewy support network of metal beams. It was beautiful in an eerie way. Dozens of people had signed their names having completed the same trek we had. Many were students that I recognized and it was comforting to have finally done something so "Bethel"!
At the far end of the structure, a vertical, narrow ladder led to the top of Alice. After staring up the ladder, I had to admit defeat.
Although it was perfectly quiet, I could just make out an odd combination of my mom's and my wife's voices yelling at me for what I was considering. Maybe it was Old White Alice herself talking.
Reluctantly, I withdrew from the dark and stood on Alice's platform admiring the view. I'll bet the view from the top is even better. Maybe next time. Maybe next time.
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