While reading a 1986 issue of Intercom, the employee newsletter for Standard Alaska Production Company, I came across one of those little space filler "joke" lists. This one was titled "You'll know things are messed up when..." Two items caught my eye.
- Gas station operators across the country wear turbans and speak Arabic.
- Getting elected to positions like governor will require not only that the candidate is a millionaire, but also that he or she has an acting background.
Fortunately, neither of these have come true in the last 20 years.
I've been fiddling around with my computer, trying to create a logo for Cold Fusion, my new tribal fusion dance troupe. So far, I've come up with three possibilities.
Option 1
Option 2
Option 3
So, which ones do you like?
Consider this picture a tribute to the fine photography skills of The Boy. I spent a little time relaxing in my friend Amanda's hammock on Sunday. Sure, I could update you on a busy weekend with a big hafla and silent auction, but I think you'd rather just imagine that I spent the weekend in a hammock.
Welcome home, Jacob.
Spanakopita in fridge.
Reheat wisely, sir.
...think there's nothing wrong with going skiing when it's 55 degrees F. Tom, evidently, has lived in Alaska a bit too long.
Although I secretly hoped he'd fall down on the hill (and his screams from the cold snow would echo across the valley), he managed to stay upright. As he flew down the trail, he called over his shoulder, "The snow really sucks. I'll probably be back soon."
A few days ago we were running, yesterday I was enjoying a pleasant bike ride, and today Tom is skiing. Ah, Alaska....
One month to go until the Gold Nugget Triathlon. So far, 921 women have signed up to run, which means in all likelihood I won't finish last. Especially if I can arrange to have someone take out one of the 80-year-olds, Tonya Harding-style. So, where am I with training?
- Swimming: Ugh, I haven't been swimming lately. I'm getting back in the pool next week to work on my stamina.
- Running: My ankle has healed and I've been working my way up in distance. I have been running 3-4 times a week, though I'm still not going the full distance. I know that this will be the toughest leg for me. Even if it were first, it would be tough, but coming last will make it a killer.
- Bike: I got my new bike last week: a shiny Giant Cypress DX (with a girly frame, since I lack a penis). I rode it to work yesterday for National Ride Your Bike To Work Day, which helped me get a few kinks out of it (which means I adjusted the seat so that the hils were not so painful.
I always bemoan the lack of Indian food in Fairbanks. Sure, you could see if Pizza 4 Less is cooking some up on any given day, but they have a very limited menu and the cook is rarely there. Whenever I go to Anchorage, I make sure to visit Bombay Deluxe, and I usually stuff myself with as much food as possible, hoarding up the flavors like a squirrel stashing nuts for the winter.
So I was very pleased to hear last week that Sunil Sethi, owner of Bombay Deluxe, is considering opening an Indian restaurant in Fairbanks. But he needs some convincing that the good people of Fairbanks will turn out for his food, so I'm putting the pressure on you: Send Sunil Sethi an e-mail telling him you want Indian food in Fairbanks!
Send Sunil an e-mail
The Alaska Press Club awards are out (well, most of them anyway), and naturally I scrolled down the list to see who won what. Those of you otuside Alaska or who don't care about journalism may feel free to stop reading at any time.
Best use of a story and photo by a journalist:
First place: R.A. Dillon, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Second place: Margaret Friedenauer, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner (Margaret, a former roommate, wrote a series of stories from Iraq. The paper didn't offer to send her, she offered to go, and spent several weeks reporting on local troops.)
Best long feature:
First place: Lynne Snifka, Anchorage Press
Best business reporting:
Third place: Diana Campbell, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner
Best education reporting:
Second place: Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News (Kyle is a former editor and writer for the News-Miner. He left for the Anchorage Press, then made the jump to the big leagues over at the ADN. OK, he started out in the Mat-Su beat, but he got out of there fast!)
Best crime or courts reporting:
First place: Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Press
Best health or science reporting:
First place: Lynne Snifka, Anchorage Press (Lynne won this for a great piece about emergency contraception. I may not need the stuff, but it was really well written.)
Best editorial cartoon:
Third place: Jamie Smith, The Ester Republic
Best page layout and design:
Third place: Jill Homer, The Homer Tribune (Not bad for someone who moved here recently. Plus, she's kind of crazy. No, really. Check out her blog. She does insane things like bike 24 hours straight.)
Best photography:
Many categories, but Sam Harrel of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner had another excellent showing, including Best News Photo (first and third place) and Best Scenic Photo (first place). Eric Engman and John Hagen of the News-Miner also won awards for Best Portrait (first and second, respectively)
Clearly, I care most about newspapers, particularly newspapers that I write for (The Ester Republic, Anchorage Press) or used to work for. However, on the televisin side of things, Rebecca Palsha, Kyle's lovely wife, also brought home some awards, netting a second place in Best TV-Crime of Courts and Best TV Business.
So, there I was, painting a fake apple gold, as most people are wont to do on a Monday night. And since simple gold paint wasn't enough, I was gently tap-tap-tapping a shaker of gold glitter over the wet paint. But it seems the shaker top was not secure, as suddenly I found myelf with a counter and floor full of glitter. Of course, glitter is not easy to clean up, and will remain in the grout indefinitely, leading me to wonder:
Dillon was warned that if he persisted in requesting pictures on this blog, I'd end up posting stuff of my cat. But he said he's not afraid of a little kitty (that's paraphrasing his dirty mouth, actually).
As you can see, Nibbles is completely aware that she, as the cat, must subjugate herself to the whims of her owner. I am not her toy, though apparently I do make a nice seat.
It's less than two months until the Gold Nugget Triathlon. Am I going to be ready? Well, what have I done to prepare?
- Swimming: I've taken some lessons, learned the flip turns, and figured out the best style for me (for the record, I plan to swim half the pool on my back, then flip to a crawl stroke so I can turn at the end and resume the backstroke). Right now, my quickest lap time is 55 seconds. I'll need to do 10 laps, so I need to wrk on my stamina.
- Running: My ankle still hurts from the incident a few weeks ago. Nevertheless, I've been forcing myself to go running. And, to be frank, I suck at it. I'm working on it, though.
- Biking: Well, I need to get a bike.... I've been using the stationary bikes at the gym, but they are no comparison to riding an actual bike. The fact that it's still snowing in Fairbanks is another factor getting in the way of my bike training, but right now my big issue is that I need a bike. Preferrably a Trek Hybrid.
In short, I am not quite ready yet. But I gave myself a day off of training yesterday and took stock of how far I've come since making this decision. I still think I can do it. I guess we'll see on May 21.
Today I discovered that there is a booming world on the Internet: the fantasy blog stock market. As of Feb. 20 (the last time it was updated), the stock for this blog had a valuation of B$4,896.46 and an outgoing link value of B$356.89. What does all that mean? I haven't the foggiest.
Check it out for yourself and see if you can explain it for me.
I don't want to sound paranoid, but there may be a virulent strain of pregnancy in the water....
Last night, Jen and Don told us they are expecting a baby. Congratulations, and don't forget that we get to name it for you! Zephyr? Gunther? Marla? We'll pick a good one.
I managed to sprain my ankle at Gretta's birthday party. I don't want to blame anyone here, but it's not like anyone warned me that doing an Irish step dance on bubble wrap was dangerous. Anyway, it's nicely swollen, so I'll be taking a few days off from my training regimen. I will try to get into the pool, though the hours may be limited because of spring break.
I've altered my summer plans: Instead of going to Nome for the Stroke-N-Croak mini triathlon, I've registered for the Gold Nugget Triathlon in Anchorage on May 21. It's a different course, with a 500 yd. swim, 10 mile bike ride and 4.1 mile run. It's also much more expensive than the Nome one, but I figure it'll be worth it. Nome usually has a field of about 8 competitors. The GNT usually has about 1,000.
When Tom and I got home from work yesterday, I convinced him that we should head out in the blowing snow for a run. If you're not familiar with Fairbanks, it is rarely windy here. When it is, it's miserable. If you're not familiar with me, I rarely run. When I do, I'm miserable.
Fortunately Tom was tired from biking home, so he could take it easy and run at my (painfully slow) pace. We only did about a mile, but it was good progress. The run portion will be the hardest part for me.
My last swimming lesson is tonight. No one else showed up on Tuesday, so I got some quality one-on-one instruction. It still amazes me that 9 days ago I couldn't put my face in the water, even with nose clips on. Now I can do flip turns at the end of the lane.
Love means never having to say "I'm sorry I dropped your favorite crossword pencil into the outhouse hole."
But just to be on the safe side, I'll say it anyway. Sorry, Tom.
After Tom told me that friends were asking him why I hadn't posted in a while, I realized that it's time to get my butt back on Blogger. I could give you a song and dance about what I've been up to, but let's just hit the high points here.
- I quit the library and started my new job (where I don't want to be known as Mary-that-girl-who-spends-all-the-time-on-the-Internet, hence the lack of posts). The new position is cool - plenty of editing and design, plus other stuff to keep me from getting bored.
- I was offered my old position at the library and accepted it. I will start on Monday.
- I started writing restaurant reviews for the Anchorage Press, the alternative weekly paper in town.
- It got really icy for a while, so I stayed in a lot.
- We got new satellite residents at Hidden Hill. Based on the last few dinners, you'll be seeing quotes from Sunna and Russ here quite frequently.
- Last Friday it started snowing and didn't stop until sometime Sunday, leaving my car rather buried. Those damn 30-degree days had spoiled me, and I thought winter was over.
- I decided maybe I should run more than one triathlon this summer, so I'm considering another one either in Fairbanks or Anchorage.
- I started swimming lessons and am now much less afraid to put my face in the water. This should help with the triathlon.
And speaking of swimming lessons, that's where I'm going right now.
