Falling into places

Big news today! I got hired in Alaska!

I talked to one of the guy who runs the kitchen today and got really psyched. It is just so different there. Magical. The place I worked is the only bar in Denali with live music regularly and independent ownership. I love it there. They have rules that make sense and they are all very strict, but not without reason.
They have a rule that employees can't have alcohol 8 hours prior to their shift. 10 or 12 if they are driving. I love that.
How wonderful. Alcohol is my biggest vice, though I have six other "close seconds."
I like working at this place (and the money is good enough), I don't even mind living in a shack all summer with no heat, electric, water, plumbing inside. Just a couple mattresses on a thin carpet and a sleeping bag.


What am I talking about? I can't wait to get there! I might switch shantys this summer, I scouted them out when I was there before. I might not. It doesn't matter when you are living in Neverland.

In other news, the plan to drive is out. It would be a wonderful stunt, yes, but in all, it was an expensive and time consuming endeavor. Too much to be classified as a stunt.

Dark Side of the Moon

What a weekend. Good, bad, ugly, sad.



I lost a friend. I used to babysit this guy. RIP Andrew Geyer. Tragic.


I dressed for prom, but didn't go. That was on Valentine's Day night. A bar was hosting an 80s prom party so I went to the Salvation Army, bought a dress and teased my hair. I also drank most of bottle of wine. I lost my nerve and woke up on Sunday to a beam of sunlight that found its way through the crack in my blinds and into my retina.


Really, I'm not too bummed about missing prom. A girl I used to work with is hosting an 80s prom party of her own this weekend. Round two, ding ding.


This girl who is hosting the prom party is also largely responsible for another episode of my weekend. I got FIRED on Thursday. Fucking Fired. I've never been fired, but I don't really care. Now I will have more time to write and will just have to cut costs so I can live within my means: unemployment.


In brighter news, I decided now that I have no job in addition to unemployment, but I am still being paid to do nothing, I will dedicate myself to writing with renewed vigor.


I attended my first freewrite with the Rehoboth Beach Writers Guild. If was awesome. They have 5 of them each week and now, they will be my workshops.

I think I have an idea for a book. They were really receptive to my Alaska stories at the freewrite. I want to write a novella of short stories based mostly on my own stories and experiences, mixed in with a little dramatic irony.

The book will be titled Dark Side of the Moon and the door to my shanty in Alaska will be on the cover.

Trippin'

Its February now. Time to pick up the pace with my plans. I should be getting a call to lock in my position in Denali and I really need to start planning this road trip.

For the first leg, Delaware to Oregon, I'm looking at:

Total Estimated Time: 44 hours 29 minutes

Total Estimated Distance: 2914.15 miles

Total Estimated Fuel Cost: $187.09

And this is before I factor in side trips/pit stops.

Haulin' it, we can make it in 4 days, averaging 11 hours a day. We will be traveling through/in close proximity to Baltimore, Maryland/DC; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; Cleveland, Toledo, Ohio; Chicago, Illinois; South Bend, Indiana; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Lincoln, Nebraska; Cheyenne, Wyoming; Salt Lake City, Utah; Boise, Idaho; PORTLAND, OREGON!!!

This is the first direct route Mapquest pulled up for me. I would love to go to a million different places, but I don't know if time will allow for those shenanigans. Probably not.

Depending on how we are doing, we might want to make it 5 days. We just have to figure out where to sleep. I'm not against sleeping in the car, but this is going to be a long 5 days and we will have to find some showers somewhere. We could treat ourselves to a hotel somewhere, but that will be a chunk of change I'd rather spend on something cooler.

In Portland, I have some friends who recently relocated and rave about it. I've been told it is a really cool place and somewhere I would fit well. Sounds cool. I was thinking of just completely going there after the summer in Alaska. I still might, but this time it will just be a stop to see my navigator's cousin and my friends, then we will be picking up with my friend from Fairbanks. He tells me he will be on his way back from a winter in Baja around the time I will be heading back to AK, so if at all possible, we will be doing a caravan for the second leg of the trip.

Portland to Denali National Park/Refuge

Total Estimated Time: 47 hours 6 minutes

Total Estimated Distance: 2610.83 miles

Total Estimated Fuel Cost: $181.19*

* In Canada, gas is AT LEAST twice the cost. Shit!

This is another 4 to 5 day haul, including crossing national borders, Twice! I will be heading toward Seattle, Washington; the crossing the border into Vancouver, British Columbia; then heading north through B.C., hitting up the Alaska Highway and heading through the Yukon Territory. From there, we cross back into the US in Alaska. Then there's only another 500 or so miles (abt 8 hours) to get to Denali.

Once again, I think the routes will be modified, but a sample itinerary may be:

Leg 1:

Leave (April 26) to Ohio/Indiana (600 miles?)

Day 2: Who knows... More to come.

Planning

I'm waiting for a call from my future employers in Alaska. It makes me a little nervous not to have things locked in, but I have to remind myself, it is still January.

The restaurant I'm returning to opens on May 9. That's roughly 3 1/2 months away.
I have some business to attend to.
So far:
*I've got my IPod.

This sucker is 120 gb! I don't even know that many songs, but since I'm really thinking of driving again, I will need to pack as many songs on there as possible. So far, I've filled up a little more than 27 gb. I have put 6152 songs on and I am out of CDs. I borrowed my friend's hard drive full of music and stuck that on too. That's where the bulk of the music came from, really. It was 2o gbs. I don't know how I'll fill almost 100 gb of space still left on the ipod. I don't care. It's there.

*I got my new computer.
It cost me roughly $1,000, but that's OK because it is a fine machine. Every time I look at the new computer-- a Sony Vaio I bought with a brand-new Circuit City credit card... Ha!-- it makes me happy. I'm sure the bills will come eventually, but I'll dispute the service pack since they are closed now. I'm also going to claim my new laptop on my taxes. After all, I am a freelance journalist, even if I lack the motivation to make a sizeable income from it.
I named her Sasha Fierce (yes, like Beyonce's new album, except fiercer!)

*I've already pulled my clips out of the thick STACKS of newspapers I wrote for, when I wrote for them.

I still need to:

*Put more of my favorite clips into PDF format.

*Contact the Fairbanks Daily News Miner re: freelancing in Denali.

*Go through inspection with my car? This way, in case I just keep roaming for a while after my summer in Alaska, I won't have to get my car tagged for another two years. This is reasonable, right?

*Get a new set of tires? I think mine are fine, but I'm not sure I shouldn't just go ahead and get another set. Alaska is pretty far away.

*Get rid of my furniture, but this is further down the line. I still need a bed to sleep in until April, right?*Pull my pictures off my old, demolished computer before I find a place to make that thing get out of my life.

I'm sure there is more, but I'm tired and this is enough for me, for now.