So Singapore

After a basically stress-free series of flights, Lindsey and I arrived in Singapore.  The first stop on our monthlong trip.  It is hot here.  And humid.  The words “sweaty mess” will be repeated a lot in the coming month.  But for all that, my first impression is that it is very much like…Bellevue Square.  Yes, the mall.  It’s very clean, almost scentless, well behaved, covered in surveillance cameras, and it is all shopping, all the time.  I’m not really interested in shopping.  Singapore also has the somewhat privileged feel of BelSq, albeit with a greater range of ethnic/racial mixing.  And I have no idea what language anyone is speaking here.  We did spend an entire day in the Botanical Gardens yesterday.  Very lovely, and Lindsey now has a greater appreciation of frangipani.  We haven’t seen much in the way of the have-nots here.  No beggars, no touts.  Which is going to make the next leg in Phnom Penh that much more jarring.  Wish us luck!

Yes, Singapore Slings at Raffles Hotel.

Frangipani

"Cooling Stations" - big fans on the waterfront.  All I can say is, I'm glad we're not here in the hot season.

 In the gardens.

The Next Steps

I’ve been busy with life maintenance this week.  Rather a tricky transition.  I’m in Alaska for just the one week, then off to SE Asia, returning November 1^st.  My new job starts on November 4^th so I need to be somewhat prepped for that.  To wit, I have unpacked one week of “professional” clothing.  I have sorted out the bag of what is going to Asia.  I have gone to the DMV for my new driver’s license and license plates for Torsten the car.  The DMV gave me back my original license number.  I still have it memorized after all these years, so that makes things so easy.  I have found a dry cleaner.  I have opened a bank account.  I got a library card.  I am SO looking forward to having access to a library again.  But that will have to wait for November, as the check out period is 21 days.

Now that I am actually in Alaska I want to leap into all kinds of things, so it is odd to be turning around and leaving for another month.  I want to start building a social circle, scheduling events, skiing!  I’ve been on the road so long it’s hard to know where to start.  Having just moved all my stuff, I now have an enormous urge to nest and live with all of it!  I wouldn’t have saved it and moved it if I didn’t like it, so it makes sense.  So I will admit that despite enjoying my footloose time, I am perusing real estate porn.  Very dangerous and expensive.

My plan is to live with family and friends through March.  My mother the snowbirder will be in Mexico beginning December 26^th, and generously offered her condo to me for that period.  That will allow me plenty of time to find the right housing. 

But in less than 12 hours I am launching myself to Asia, a trip for which I have done minimal planning.  This should be interesting.  Stay tuned.

Adventure to Alaska

Adventure to Alaska

Packing up the UHaul was weird.  I hadn’t touched most of the things in that storage unit for almost two years.  It didn’t take long to get it all in the truck, tho having four friends help wrestle the six bulkier items was very helpful.  I don’t actually have that much.  When I do decide to nest, I’m going to need to pick up a few things.  Like a bed.

After filling the truck with my goodies, I drove it down to Ikea.  Although I probably should have bought that bed, and other things, I didn’t.  Hard to buy furniture for a place you aren’t yet living.  But I did buy three pages of things for my sister in law, and a few other items for my bonus sister.  Once you tell people you’ll mule to them in Alaska, this is what happens.  I will miss Ikea in Alaska.  But at least there’s Nordstrom.  And no sales tax.

Once the truck was filled up I took it over to the UHaul guys and they attached the trailer so my car could be towed behind.  All told, 42 feet of vehicle.  Rather terrifying to drive really. 

Trish hopped in the passenger seat and that was it – we were on our way!  Up to Bellingham to board the Alaska Marine Highway.  That’s the fancy way of saying ferry – the Malaspina to be precise.  We warned everyone at the dock – we don’t back up.  Not in this rig.  But of course, we had to.  Luckily only about 7 feet.  We were one of the first vehicles loaded and were handily located at the base of the stairs that went straight to our cabin.  Couldn’t have planned it better.

I’ve never taken the ferry before and it was a wonderful experience.  Sort of a stripped down cruise.  We booked an outside cabin which was perfectly clean, comfortable, and quiet.  Because we are just at the end of the season, the ferry was only carrying about 175 passengers.  The ship can carry about 500, so it made for a quiet ride.  Trish planned the foodstuffs so we had tasty snacks and healthy meals with us.  But we did buy fish and chips in the cafeteria for the experience.  We sat in the Observation Lounge most of the days: reading, doing crosswords, and watching for wildlife.  We were rewarded with Steller sea lions, porpoises, Orca, an entire pod of Humpbacks, and all kinds of beautiful scenery. 

We made calls in the ports of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, and Juneau.  For the most part it was sheeting rain so we stayed aboard and took a few photos.  Our destination of Haines was sunny and beautiful.  Unloading our rig was easy with lots and lots of coaching from the ferry staff.  Then we were on our way, driving north to the Canadian border, passing hordes of Bald Eagles.  I have to admit I was taken aback when we handed over our Nexus cards and the guard asked if we had been to Canada before.  They’re NEXUS cards!  The trusted traveler cards for the US-Canada border?  Why would we have them if we hadn’t been to Canada before?!? 

On through Haines Junction, seeing a big Grizzly on the road, stopping at a gas station run by Jim and Dot – super friendly folks – and on to Beaver Creek where we spent the night.  We had the trusty Milepost with us (http://milepost.com/) and Trish had insisted on staying at Buckshot Betty’s.  It certainly had adventuresome plumbing.

The following morning we hit the road early in our bid to make it to Anchorage.  From sun in Haines we were now encountering dustings of snow and the inevitable road construction.  Crossed back into the US (and back into Alaska time zone from Yukon time – very confusing), through Tok, and….40 miles out of Tok a man flagged us down and pointed out one of the tires from the car carrier was gone.  Not flat, gone.  So we went into the (thankfully close) Mentasta Lodge, called UHaul, and waited.  A very nice fellow from Tok arrived 2.5 hours later and had a new rim and tire popped on in 10 minutes.  On the road again, past Trumpeter Swans. 

Thanks to our unexpected pause in the journey, we arrived in Anchorage at 6:45pm.  Just in time to get to the UHaul joint before 7pm closing and have the car trailer removed from the truck.  Without that, much easier to drive!  Unloaded the truck the following morning, and now time to set about life in my new surroundings.

Oh man, I have to drive this?!?

Ghostly Canadian treescape

Tail-end of a whale

In Alaskan waters

Gorgeous autumn colors

And how quickly they change

Then this happened

Almost home!

Geography and Philosophy

I have struggled in the past months not over who I am – that part seems fairly well set – but with what I want to do.  Traveling has been wonderful.  Seeing so many places, meeting so many people, experiencing the richness of the world is amazing.  And I am not done yet, since the month of October will be spent in Southeast Asia.

But, for all that, I have decided to settle down a bit.  After long consideration I am moving back to Alaska.  My family is there.  My best friend Lindsey.  The mountains I love.  It is a beautiful place.  There are obvious minuses.  I have been accustomed to living in the more politically liberal Seattle.  As a feminist, environmentalist, supporter of LGBT rights, supporter of public transportation and healthcare and all the other –isty stuff, Alaska will be a challenge.  The machismo of many Alaskans can be grating, as they take their taxpayer-funded lifestyles and explain how Libertarian they are.  But in the end, I have chosen to return to my roots.

So, I’ll be starting a new job in early November and moving up before the snow flies. 

Uncle Jay

On 19 September my beloved Uncle Jay died.  He had been struggling with a recurrence of cancer for some time, but always expressed such cheer and optimism that the end came as a surprise. 

Jay wasn’t frightened as we all were gathered there in the hospital.  He was so delighted that we were throwing him one last party.  He sang along to the music we played.  Chatted about books and movies.  Talked to distant friends and relatives on the ever-present cell phone.  Laughed with delight when Jim and I danced clumsily around the room.  He was himself to the end.  And we were all so lucky to have had him.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/seattletimes/obituary.aspx?n=vincent-jay-broze&pid=167127418&fhid=12370#sthash.FuqFMX1H.dpbs

Time for an Update! Fun and Work

After returning to the Seattle area, I waited around a bit for some work to come up.  As I said when I kicked off this journey, I tried to quit my job and failed.  My company switched me to hourly status and let it open for me to come back.  Knowing I wasn’t ready for office work, I waited around for something in the field. 

While I had some free time I enjoyed some local touristing.  I did a Seattle architecture Foundation tour of Art Deco (http://www.seattlearchitecture.org/tour_deco.html).  A bit of hiking.  Spent lots of time with my Uncle Jay, including taking in a Mariner’s baseball game.  I re-met up with my crazy camera crew from France to give a small assist in a Seattle shoot. 

Once things kicked off, I went and did a 10-day stint in North Dakota in the Bakken Oilfields.  Survey work for a proposed pipeline.  The area is geographically quite pretty, tho sociologically a nightmare.  As odd as it might seem, this is the best article I’ve read about the impacts of the recent oil boom: http://www.buzzfeed.com/susanelizabethshepard/wildcatting-a-strippers-guide-to-the-modern-american-boomtow

Then I popped up to Alaska for my mother's 70th birthday party.  It was enormously fun, and I enjoyed catching up with everyone.  As I have traveled I have been reminding myself of what is important to me.  My family ranks tops.

I then headed back south and did another 10-day field session in eastern Montana.  Still more oil-related work.  Amazing archaeology, which I can't tell you about.  Confidentiality!