Patience and Cider

It's Saturday morning, I am slightly dehydrated from a bottle of wine last night sucking out my moisture but I sit here with my coffee with a splash of yummy salted Carmel Kailua.  I look out in front of me to the sun creepy over the snow covered mountains and I am happy!  This sun loving, gotta be by the beach girl is happy in Alaska!  Before moving here our friend Adam told Joe that Alaska will steal your heart!  He spoke a hard truth and we are grateful to have this experience.

We have begun to live with the belief that we must not fight life, we need to be open to it, embrace the moment, and not force something that is not working.  Neither one of us ever thought we'd be living in Alaska, let alone loving and embracing Alaska and all that she has to offer!

My work hasn't changed much but I am working on myself in that regard.  Instead of focusing on my frustrations and irritations I just do what I can, learn what I can, and be open to what I can do.  I've talked to some head people and they are aware of my frustrations and that I am eager to be engaged so that is all I can do.  Apparently I have started work here in an stage of change so roles and responsibilities are being clarified and tweaked.  it's a government job so nothing moves forward in a fast manner so I am choosing to embrace the situation and have patience.  I have no control over others or the process just myself.  That is something we try to instill in our clients as therapist but sometimes we get caught up in life and forget that truth ourselves.



Last weekend I had the blessing of volunteering at Survivor's Day.  It's a day, that is set aside nationally, for those people that have lost someone due to suicide.  It's was a touching day with movies, actives for remembrance, and of sharing of grief and strength.  This was their 4 year of doing it here in Anchorage, I believe, and when it started there were more volunteers than participants.  This year it has grown and there was a good amount of people.  It's good that the word is getting out, it's not strongly advertised, but sad at the same time.  The high schools here have had a hard year of students dying by suicide which was heart braking to hear about, and frustration to here that people don't want to talk about in the schools or take any preventive measures.  It does seem like with this year of loss, the the students themselves are making a change and there is also some change from the higher ups to address it.  So although the loss has been great, there are finally some action to help the kids.




This past Monday we had a fun night of cider and chocolate pairing at the local cidery.  They worked with a local chocolate shop and it was amazing!  9 ciders and 9 truffles!  I was a happy girl!  The hardest part was waiting while they set out the ciders and chocolates!  
Last night we had dinner with our other neighbors, a newlywed couple from Colorado.  We had an evening of finger food, good drinks, and good conversations!  Our condo is small, only four units and one is an air&b so it's awesome to me that we've made friends and broke bread with our neighbors.  





We have been here in Alaska for 2 months! We have done and experienced more than what we had in Florida, and we've interacted more with our neighbors!  I can't believe it's only been 2 months! We are just getting started!

Friends make things easier

In May of 2016, Joe came to Anchorage for work.  He met Michelle and her husband, Adam, at a work dinner.  Joe wasn't too excited to be hanging out with work people but hit it off with Adam and ever since then they have been talking back in forth.  
Up until moving here I had not met or talked with either one of them.  We met up the second night we were here and by the time we met up I was already a few ciders in, and it was at a club, so the conversations were being yelled and partly understood.  Either way I thought they had a good vibe about them and I was comfortable with them.
They have been helpful, giving us Alaskan pointers but also letting us find our own way.  They will be moving next year so that is a bummer :(
We met up with them last night for dinner at their place and the conversation was easy and we didn't leave until 11pm!  Talking with them and learning more about the area and the people just supports what we've already begun to notice, people are nice and helpful here.  
A book that I have given to some of my clients to read is "Tribe" and it's short easy but thought provoking read.  We have gone away from a collective society to being very individualistic.  I remember as a kid knowing our neighbors and my parents having friendships with them that have lasted.  Now, hardly anyone knows their neighbors.  In our apartment in Florida, we would say Hi to our neighbors but a majority of them didn't want to be bothered and would avoid eye contact.  We had one neighbor that we keep in contact with and Joe was just talking with him last night.  Making those connections in your immediate area, forming a tribe, keeps one safe and there are others who have your back, but it's important for accountability too!  Our neighbor from Florida reached out because a package was delivered to our apartment!  He is going to mail it to us here!  Something so small not other keeps those feelings of being connected to others but reinforces the goodness of humans.  
We've already met our across the hall neighbors.  A young couple, he's active duty Air Force and she's trying to find a job in the area currently.  If she can't find one she may go back to the east coast where the jobs are plentiful for her, she's a political scientist.  We probably won't be the best of friends but we have a comfort level now to touch base or let them know if we are going to be out for an extended period of time.  
We have become very divisive and to get back together requires conversations and being open to others!
In writing this and reflecting on last night it came to me that in harsher living situations people are more helpful and open to others.  Alaska, although has everything a modern city gal could want, is still a harsh area to live.  You're not really near anything, you can't just drive to another state.  You go a handful of miles outside of the cities and you're in the bush with no plumbing and limited available resources.  Even in the city, you have to be alert and aware of bears and other animals.  Adam and Michelle talked about helping a guy with a broke down motorcycle.  The guy still talks with them and invites them to his place and to motorcycle events.  This is what life is about, what being human is about... helping others in need and building connections.  
We are not meant to walk this earth alone.

Speaking of walking :P

There are tons of parks in the area and yesterday we picked one and went for a decent walk to get the blood flowing and get out of the apartment.  

It is beautiful here!  I'm adapting to the cold o.k. :P. I need to do some more winter clothing shopping and now I not as stressed because I finally got the firm offer for my job! I start orientation on 16 Oct!  I got the phone call and email when we were going to pick up Joe's truck from being shipped from Florida!  Everything is falling into place.  His truck is DIRTY!  It's going to take him days to get that truck clean to his standards ;). 
Today we are going to check out Alyeska.  It is their last day of their Oktoberfest festivities and it's should be beautiful drive today.  

not going to miss January

January has not been nice to me.  Prior to New Years I had a cough, a throat tickle that just lingered.  After the 1st it grew into a head cold that progressively got worse no matter what I did or medications I tried.  Around 14 Jan my teeth started to hurt with all of my sinus pressure so it was off to the urgent care to get some prescription meds.... oh and during this time is when I let Ms. Sami go :(  

With steroids and antibiotics on board my head cold started to clear up! YEAH!  I started to feel better to the point of that I starting to work out!  On the 18th I did some elliptical work and the next day did a PiYo workout.  I was on the upswing of a rough January and then it felt like I got hit by a Mac truck!  

I was sore, I knew I would be due to working out, but this was abnormal.  It progressively got worse on the 20th.  My whole body ached, my head was pounding, and I was running a slight fever.  I laid on the couch with a cool compress on my head and Joe asked "do we need to go to the ER", no.... let me make it through the night and see how I feel in the morning. He was concerned but respected what I said...and after I recovered he told me that I scared the shit out him that night :(  Thursday morning I woke up, still weak and in pain.  I slowly got up and when I looked in the mirror it looked as if I had a severe sunburn.  I had a solid rash from my neck down...I was having an allergic reaction to the medications.
I asked Joe to take me to the ER and off we went.  
Years ago I had a similar reaction to amoxicillin, so now I can add sulfa drugs to my "allergies" :(  I'm running out of drugs to utilize when I'm feeling sick :(
I'm on round two of steroids in one month and I'm not a fan. I'm grateful that they are clearing up my stuff, but I feel jittery and "off".  

In the midst of this crazy month for me my outlook and presence is still happy!  I have noticed it and I'm amazed with it.  This month has been a struggle, and there are things that I haven't listed here that are more of an emotional struggle with some family members, but my "practice" of being present, of being honest about my feelings and needs with Joe, being open to him when he does the same thing to me, accepting things, not judging or overanalyzing things, has given me a sense of contentment and peace that has lifted weight from my soul.  

My work is a place of fulfillment and frustrations, just like anyone's job, but I am grateful for this opportunity and I am finding my place in the workplace.  My initial job evaluation went well.  I have days where I feel I am doing well with my clients and other days where I feel that I'm missing the mark but I'm still growing, and always will, as a therapist.  I had a meeting with the Red Cross the other night which was good, was able to meet some of the other volunteers and get a better understanding of what will be expected whenever I get called out to a fire.  Joe and I were invited to meet with some of my coworkers for dinner this past weekend and it was nice to be invited and to see people outside of work :)  and yesterday I was invited to a Pampered Chef party.  Yes it's dorky but being new to a place, new people, it's hard to feel like you belong so it feels good that they feel like they can invite me now to functions outside of work!

Driving home yesterday after the sun was setting and driving over the bridge to the PCB side I smiled :)  I am blessed in this life and I hope I can share that with others!

Flight booked!

Moving out to the east coast I found out that I have a good handful of female friends out here and they were excited for me to in the area so we could meet up and visit.  Some of these "visits" have fell through for one reason or another.  People have their lives and they get busy, I understand that... 

When I first moved back to Utah in 2010 I had the great opportunity to volunteer with Made By Survivors in India for two weeks.  I flew out to India on my own, not knowing who'd I meet or who my roommate will be while there.  I lucked out and got the best roommate ever, Coleen.  We had a great time together and enjoyed our time in India.  We talked about meeting up but she lives on the east coast and I haven't spent a lot of time out here since 2010 ;)  Well, I shot her a message and this morning I just booked my flight to hang out with her for about 4 days!  I've never been up around Boston so I'm looking forward to being with her and checking out a new place!

Point of view

When I would tell people that I was moving to NC, I got a range of responses and they were usually to the extreme... either very negative heavy or positive.  To each their own, and I appreciate all points of views and concerns.  It is very possible by moving here I will have a delay in my career but it's not going to stop it.  I just heard today from a possible work connection that getting jobs with supervision here in NC is hard to do :( Well, guess I will focus my searching to USAjobs then :P  There HAS to be jobs with supervision in this state! Just saying.... so that could be my first job hurdle here but I'm not stressing... yet.

I will continue to look for jobs and enjoy my new surrounding.  I have yet to pick up the southern ear, and find myself saying "what" a lot due to them using words in different ways OR words I've never heard before :P  I did graduate high school in VA but that was eons ago and well, things change :P

The joys of country living comes with country driving.  I'm not new to the random tracker on the road that slows up traffic until you get to a spot that you can pass them.  They got some high tech looking farm equipment on the road here.  I snapped a pic but got a new phone so I'll get another one later so you'll know what I'm talking about :P

Monday I got to catch up with a friend from back in the day.  We were friends in the P.I. and we had no issues picking up where we left off :)  Good peeps!  We may be able to meet up at a beach house with her and her family this summer!  I need to find a picture of us back in the day for a comparison :D

Being a self proclaimed city girl, those that know me were concerned with this move to NC and to the country.  Although I am a city girl, I can totally appreciate the wonders of the country and being on the east coast with all of it's rich history.  I see the history everywhere, in the houses and in the "feel" of the place.  No, I'm not going to plant my roots here but I will enjoy the experience.  For example, this past Sunday Joe and I were sitting on the back porch sharing a bottle of wine while he tried out a couple of cigars from his cigar fest that weekend.  Nothing beats not being tied to electronics, sitting in the country air, sharing a good conversation, and when the sun sets watching the show that nature provides via the fireflies.  Yep, that's a great evening.

This pic is of course not of our back yard but we do have a row of tall trees behind our fence and I was amazed that the fireflies go all the way to the top of the trees!  I love the beauty of nature!  You can't capture that or buy that feeling or view!

This quote was from the natural science museum in Raleigh.  :D

We are not t.v. people.  We will watch movies, but we have no cable so we actually spend time with one another and we talk and share things with each other and listen.  It's truly amazing and I'm blessed to have this.  Just last night after Joe and I had dinner, one of his friends came by and it was porch sitting and talking.  I feel that living life is embracing one's environment and the people around it, not being sucked into technology.  It's so sad to me to see people, to see couples, glued to their phones in public :(  I don't want to be that couple and I won't be!

Tonight we're off to see Mumford & Sons in an outdoor amphitheatre :D  It's going to be awesome!