It's midnight, now Sunday morning, and I'm about 12 hours away from bedtime. My first night shift is tomorrow night, so I'm trying to reverse my sleep schedule. Thankfully, Cory is already a night shift pro (even though he hates it), so the two of us are planning to hang out all night together, go to church at 9:30am, then I'll go home and go to bed around noon to wake up at 5:30pm and get ready for work at 7pm. Actually, now that I'm looking at the plan in writing, it sounds like a really bad one. I think sometime between watching movies and TV, playing xbox (yeah, really.), drinking coffee, eating snacks, and surfing the web, I might need a nap. And maybe I should try to make it to bed sooner than noon. We might be rethinking church, unfortunately.
In the meantime, here are some random facts and opinions I've discovered since living in Alaska. 4 weeks already!
1. It's really weird being surrounded by mountains and seagulls at the same time. I've never seen both at the same time before now.
2. Speaking of birds, I don't think I've seen a single pigeon here.
3. I love street names here that you would never see in Phoenix i.e. Penguin St., Arctic Blvd., Misty Meadows, and anything ending in "berry."
4. Internet here is like phone data. You have to pay more to use more. Unlimited wireless in your own home is not an option.
5. Fire hydrants have tall poles sticking out of the tops so that you can find them when they're buried in snow. A very foreign concept to me. Yikes.
6. Don't expect to have paint lines on every street to distinguish the lanes. Most of the paint has been worn away by harsh weather. You pretty much have to follow the car in front of you or, if you're lucky, the tire grooves left in the road.
7. Mosquito bites are like sunburns. You're pretty much guaranteed to get them while you're outside in the summer, you don't really notice how bad they are till they're driving you crazy later on, and protective skin spray becomes your best friend. One crucial difference: mosquitos can follow you inside. So you're never really safe.
8. Alaskans react to sunshine like Phoenicians react to rain. It's like gold.
9. Bear spray is just as important to have as pepper spray.
10. Alaskan Lingo:
"Lower 48"=any state that's not Alaska or Hawaii.
"Alaskan windshield"=cracked windshield. More common than solid windshields.
"Snow machine"=snow mobile. "
"Summer"=anything above 50 degrees.
"The breakup"=spring. Referring to the ice that starts to melt and become slush. Not a favorite around here.
I'm sure there will be many more of these "fun facts" the longer I live here. Especially when it starts getting cold. That'll be quite a shock in itself.
Before I go and finish watching Lois and Clark with Cory, I have to wish my sister Julie a happy birthday! It's these times when I hate being away from home the most, but I did get to sing her happy birthday and watch her open gifts via FaceTime. God bless technology!
To top this off with photos...courtesy of Dad!
In the meantime, here are some random facts and opinions I've discovered since living in Alaska. 4 weeks already!
1. It's really weird being surrounded by mountains and seagulls at the same time. I've never seen both at the same time before now.
2. Speaking of birds, I don't think I've seen a single pigeon here.
3. I love street names here that you would never see in Phoenix i.e. Penguin St., Arctic Blvd., Misty Meadows, and anything ending in "berry."
4. Internet here is like phone data. You have to pay more to use more. Unlimited wireless in your own home is not an option.
5. Fire hydrants have tall poles sticking out of the tops so that you can find them when they're buried in snow. A very foreign concept to me. Yikes.
6. Don't expect to have paint lines on every street to distinguish the lanes. Most of the paint has been worn away by harsh weather. You pretty much have to follow the car in front of you or, if you're lucky, the tire grooves left in the road.
7. Mosquito bites are like sunburns. You're pretty much guaranteed to get them while you're outside in the summer, you don't really notice how bad they are till they're driving you crazy later on, and protective skin spray becomes your best friend. One crucial difference: mosquitos can follow you inside. So you're never really safe.
8. Alaskans react to sunshine like Phoenicians react to rain. It's like gold.
9. Bear spray is just as important to have as pepper spray.
10. Alaskan Lingo:
"Lower 48"=any state that's not Alaska or Hawaii.
"Alaskan windshield"=cracked windshield. More common than solid windshields.
"Snow machine"=snow mobile. "
"Summer"=anything above 50 degrees.
"The breakup"=spring. Referring to the ice that starts to melt and become slush. Not a favorite around here.
I'm sure there will be many more of these "fun facts" the longer I live here. Especially when it starts getting cold. That'll be quite a shock in itself.
Before I go and finish watching Lois and Clark with Cory, I have to wish my sister Julie a happy birthday! It's these times when I hate being away from home the most, but I did get to sing her happy birthday and watch her open gifts via FaceTime. God bless technology!
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