There were a whole lot of positive vibrations swimming around and through me in Anchorage this weekend. I feel so revitalized! (Despite my having a head cold for the 1st time this school year. I was so close to making it the whole school year too!)
To start, Shaun & I made it to Bethel smoothly. My flight to Anchorage went as scheduled too (lucky me, b/c poor Shaun was in BET for 14 hours, but he made it!!). I flew with Era, which is grossly less expensive than AK Air & apparently flying more often too. Our plane only took 18 passengers. There was a row of seats, an isle, and another row of seats. This was a first time for me flying in that kind of jet. I've gotten to ride in 6 (maybe) different kinds of planes since I've lived here. Once in Anc. I had to get my license so I could rent a car, all of which took under an hour. Check out my driver's license photo. Do you see the lighting around my head, following my hair in parts. It was cloudy & dim outside. Yes, I recognize that the flash could have generated some sort of reflection. But, I'm sticking to the fact that it's super rad!
Friday afternoon, I was able to walk into a massage place 30 min. before they had the only opening for the night and Sat. was booked. While I was there I noticed that they do Thai massages too.
Come to find out, the person who does the massages is Thai. So, I asked about it at the desk and they said they're usually closed on Sun. but there would be one person there, Somsong. Of course, I went to see her & she is a great healer. I think it helped that I put myself into a mild state of meditation during the treatment too. For those of you nonbelievers who think massage is just a luxary; let me tell you again, it really is therapy! My body is much more balanced than before it. I was also able to eat at my favorite place for garb in Anc., Organic Oasis. And I finally bought Maus, a comic book long ago recommended. Maybe next time I'll listen quicker, Christina. ;-) Maus, originally pub. in 1973, is about the German invasion into Poland; you should definitely check it if you haven't already read it. I need to get the next one stat! I'm glad to hear that they are including it in Battle of the Books next year. This has also made me a fan of graphic novels in general. Oh yes, I almost forgot that Anc. had record snowfall at 22" on Friday alone. This is illustrated by the rental car I just drove into Sally's driveway. I kid you not, I took the pic. no more than 15 min. after I parked.Ok, back up to Sat. I had a nice talk with someone about before life/after life stuff. Out of the blue she asked me if I believe in psychic stuff. Once we got talking, she told me some way cool stuff about her son & his grandma who passed two days before he was born. Also, she remembers explicit details of things that happened prior to her birth, according to her dad. I'm currently reading "The Children That Time Forgot" (Harrison), which is about just that. Mostly preschool children recall experiences & have a language database way more sophisticated than their current circumstance. Most of the stories are dictated by their parents. This is a good one to check out if you like.
I was fortunate again in being able to walk in & get my hair cut on the spot, when usually they only take apts. I didn't really like it at first, but now I kind of do. Whew! Afterwards, at a coffee shop I had a lovely skimming the surface kind of conversation about gov't conspiracies, social justice, Warcraft, music, & nature. I appreciate getting insights from folks who are clearly passionate in their interests. He's worked on the "inside" & has had tons of experiences. Believe me I tried to get more details about the "inside" but he was tight lipped about certain specifics. I understand. This dude lived in his tent for 3 years, further North than Anchorage. The only gear he brought was the tent, good winter clothing, and his dog. He didn't bring a knife, rope, food supplies, etc. Amazing! (I won't mention your name here b/c I know how paranoid you are. :-) But, I'm bragging on you b/c you rock! We need to chat on Skype or something.
Onward Sat...I was able to see the slightest bit of the state NYO competitions going on at Sullivan Arena. I guess they were moving ahead of schedule, b/c by the time I got there they were at the end of the boys one-foot, which was the second to last event. I watched the beginning of the girl's seal hop, with one of our LKSD AllStars, Charlie. She must have gone over 100 feet. Another, Tanya Slim broke the state record for Alaska High Kick (or A.K.). The LKSD team took 1st in the state in overall competition too, out of 40 or so teams! I had to leave early so that I could meet a crew for a movie, yummy food & Kinwood Zen wine at the Bear's Tooth. We had a good, late night hanging out & catching up, as we live in 4 different places now. I love you all dearly!! {kiss, kiss}
Sun. was a nice day of the here & there's. I had that awesome Thai massage & it was fun talking to Somsong afterwards. She was telling me about what it's like being here for three years & some things about Thailand. Her name means something like uniform, all encompassing, collective. I take it as being able to gather healing energy, which is perfect in a massage practice being able to balance summing up healing energy, while not being a vampire & stealing others'. Sara, Shaun & I ran some errands.
After not being able to get together with Amy, yet again (we have to fix this pattern, girlfriend! :-) I decided to go to Girdwood. For those of you who don't know Girdwood... The drive is 36 miles South of Anc. on a road that splits Turnagain Arm with mountains. Incidentally, they are still covered with snow 1/2 way down! At the right time of year you'll see lots of wildlife. The tide must have been coming in during my drive down. I remembered that it was beautiful, but I was re-exposed to some of the lovely features of that short drive. The mountains, trees, runoff waterfalls, ghost wood forests, & curvy roads
make me thankful. Girdwood itself is a transient town that is quite small w/ quaint restaurants, bars, & shops w/ that underground vibe. I'm mostly familiar w/ the summer crowds, but there's a ski resort there for good times in winter. I went to visit Christian, who's been out here in the Bethel area for 6 years now. Oddly, this is only the 2nd time we've hung out. He's there now because of an injury that has required two plates and somewhere around 8 screws in the fibia, tibia area. He showed me some gruesome photos of during the surgery. I'm loving gruesome health science stuff more & more. It was a nice chill time talking about a variety of this & that. He just bought a military bus & might road trip this summer. His friend also told me some stories about the Aleskia Ski Resort there, of suicides & murders. I still need to make my way in there! I bet it has gorgeous architecture inside too. I also wonder if there are any ghosts roaming around. I just eat this kind of thing up!Mon. I went to a seminar on Differentiated Instruction by Jim Grant. There were about 15-20 familiar faces from LKSD there. Jim is such a dynamic person. I can only imagine how great he must be in a classroom full of kids. He was great with us! Unfortunately for my pocket book I walked by the resource table. I bought some really good resources though, that I think are practical for usage & easy to incorporate into lessons. I left on the evening jet & stayed with a friend in Bethel.
Upon my arrival in the classroom today I was greeted with a huge group hug. These kids are So sweet! Adults around who knew I was gone seem to be happy that I'm back too. It makes it nice to be back home again. Sidenote: We've been going outside to pick up trash & get fresh air & movement. There are already some red berries to pick, which are still mostly frozen, but yummy & tart. The kids always know these things.
Well, you've survived one of my loooong entries. Big hugs to you all! { _ }
OH! CONGRATULATIONS TO ELLEN & RORY, WHO ARE NOW ENGAGED!!!
Photo taken by the birds.
They're just beaming w/ love!
Photo taken by the birds.They're just beaming w/ love!
