Ok, so it hasn't really been that many days. I'm just lazy right now and don't feel like trying to figure it out. I'm pretty sure I'm past the hundred mark. Time has been flowing like molasses lately. So slowly you can barely tell it's even moving. But there's only 3 more weeks until I get to go home.
I went to Portland Oregon for a science teacher conference last week, it was freaking sweet. I got to go to a research facility where they house 4200 monkeys for experiments and stuff. Monkeys are sweet
This week was Thanksgiving. We had a staff get together, lots of food and games. 4 days off from teaching. Nice break, though it could be longer.
Well, I should probably get some work done. Toodle-loo!
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Monday, November 10, 2008
Day 95
Hey, I'm 25 and still alive. Just sort of lost myself for a while in the little details of life. Not a whole lot new to tell, I've just been working a lot trying to teach some kids some stuff. The snow is enough to get everyone hopeful but not enough to go hunting on snowmobile. Or so I've been told. Basically no one has gone anywhere.
We had Halloween, that was mildly entertaining.
I think it was before that when we went out on a boat around in the bay, here's some pictures of that.
When we landed down the coast we stopped for some hot chocolate and coffee by a stream. That's Jamie LeCount, Tim LeCount, Me, and Andrea Olson. I think in my head I was saying something like "I can't put my arms down!"
Now this one is a classic. Can't tell who anybody is. It's like where's Waldo, except it's where's Tara. I will tell you that I am one of these lumps of insulation and synthetic waterproof material. In this picture is also Tim, Jamie, and Andrea. Like you could tell.
This is a picture I took of the other boat at some point. That's Jeremiah Steck, Andrea (yes, she has a rifle), Brenda Woolley, and Justin Olson (he is camouflaged). Sam Bourgeois also came on this trip. Steck, Justin and Sam all shot lots of ducks and they were quite proud of themselves.
I just had a birthday, turned 25. In Alaska. It made me wonder how the rest of the world was doing. Then I was happy to see who our new president elect is. Good birthday present. (But if you ask almost any Alaskan Native, Alaska is not really a part of the United States, so forget it.)
I also received very nice packages from my Mom, my brother's family, and I guess Grandpa, but I haven't gotten to the post office in a couple days to pick it up. I plan to go tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the cards and packages.
Oh, I guess I do have exciting news: I'm going to Portland, Oregon in 2 weeks for NSTA conference. It's always fun to be completely surrounded by other science nerds. (Though I do recall being slightly overwhelmed by this last year at MSTA). I got a $1000 PD stipend from the district, although it looks like the trip is going to go over budget and I will have to spend a chunk from my own pocket.
After that it's Thanksgiving then only 3 weeks til I come back to Michigan! I can just see the trees and taste the espresso now. I miss all you fools. Keep smiling.
We had Halloween, that was mildly entertaining.
I think it was before that when we went out on a boat around in the bay, here's some pictures of that.
When we landed down the coast we stopped for some hot chocolate and coffee by a stream. That's Jamie LeCount, Tim LeCount, Me, and Andrea Olson. I think in my head I was saying something like "I can't put my arms down!"
Now this one is a classic. Can't tell who anybody is. It's like where's Waldo, except it's where's Tara. I will tell you that I am one of these lumps of insulation and synthetic waterproof material. In this picture is also Tim, Jamie, and Andrea. Like you could tell.
This is a picture I took of the other boat at some point. That's Jeremiah Steck, Andrea (yes, she has a rifle), Brenda Woolley, and Justin Olson (he is camouflaged). Sam Bourgeois also came on this trip. Steck, Justin and Sam all shot lots of ducks and they were quite proud of themselves.I just had a birthday, turned 25. In Alaska. It made me wonder how the rest of the world was doing. Then I was happy to see who our new president elect is. Good birthday present. (But if you ask almost any Alaskan Native, Alaska is not really a part of the United States, so forget it.)
I also received very nice packages from my Mom, my brother's family, and I guess Grandpa, but I haven't gotten to the post office in a couple days to pick it up. I plan to go tomorrow. Thanks to everyone for the cards and packages.
Oh, I guess I do have exciting news: I'm going to Portland, Oregon in 2 weeks for NSTA conference. It's always fun to be completely surrounded by other science nerds. (Though I do recall being slightly overwhelmed by this last year at MSTA). I got a $1000 PD stipend from the district, although it looks like the trip is going to go over budget and I will have to spend a chunk from my own pocket.
After that it's Thanksgiving then only 3 weeks til I come back to Michigan! I can just see the trees and taste the espresso now. I miss all you fools. Keep smiling.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Day 73
It's October 18th, there is 8 inches of snow, and it's still coming down! The tundra with snow:
There's been snow on the ground for a few days now, but it's super deep today because it snowed all night. I woke up this morning determined to go out and enjoy the snow, and enjoy it I did! Upon walking outside I discovered that the snow is perfect for packing. After a short snowball fight with Dennis, I spent 45 minutes making a snow man of monstrous proportions. Dennis helped me pick up the heavy parts. Here it is all said and done:
Then Jon stopped in between running errands in the snow, I feel the need to document his ketchup and mustard getup.
My roommate and I went down the hill today, got gas, had no mail, and grabbed a few groceries. Driving in the snow is sweet!
I guess that's pretty much it, this week went a little faster I think. Had a couple long nights up at the school trying to get work done. I'm starting to feel settled, which is comforting. I guess the shock of the move is finally starting to wear off, thank goodness.
Oh there is one more thing that happened this week, I worked open-gym Thursday night (we charge people $1 to use the gym after school, we rotate through the staff for volunteers) and a kid broke one of the windows. I had to call the police and keep kids from cutting their arm off on broken glass. I found out later that it was a 2nd grader who broke it, for real. They have some tough kids around here.
Ok, on that note, happy day to you all!
There's been snow on the ground for a few days now, but it's super deep today because it snowed all night. I woke up this morning determined to go out and enjoy the snow, and enjoy it I did! Upon walking outside I discovered that the snow is perfect for packing. After a short snowball fight with Dennis, I spent 45 minutes making a snow man of monstrous proportions. Dennis helped me pick up the heavy parts. Here it is all said and done:
Then Jon stopped in between running errands in the snow, I feel the need to document his ketchup and mustard getup.
My roommate and I went down the hill today, got gas, had no mail, and grabbed a few groceries. Driving in the snow is sweet!
I guess that's pretty much it, this week went a little faster I think. Had a couple long nights up at the school trying to get work done. I'm starting to feel settled, which is comforting. I guess the shock of the move is finally starting to wear off, thank goodness.
Oh there is one more thing that happened this week, I worked open-gym Thursday night (we charge people $1 to use the gym after school, we rotate through the staff for volunteers) and a kid broke one of the windows. I had to call the police and keep kids from cutting their arm off on broken glass. I found out later that it was a 2nd grader who broke it, for real. They have some tough kids around here.
Ok, on that note, happy day to you all!
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Day 65
What do you say when someone says, "want to learn to make jam?" You say "Totally!" because let me tell you, you are in for a good time. This is what I did yesterday: I learned to make jam (which actually only took about half hour). Then we played dice for about 3 hours (I won both games, thus being named Zilch Queen), then we steamed for about 2 hours. So, want to learn to make jam?
Here's how Esther Thompson gets her jam on.
Measure out 4.5 cups of your favorite fruit, as Andrea demonstrates. (We have fresh cranberries.)
Then crush them with a slicer thingy, the kind that's kind of circular but has a bunch of blades on it and you go crush crush crush in a big ol pot.
Then you put the pot on the stove and add 7 cups of sugar.
Stir and cook until it's boiling violently like a "volcano" make sure it gets really "angry" then it's ready for 2 packets of Certa (stuff that makes it jell). Cook and stir until it is dissolved into the berry slurry.
Then comes the really intense part! You have to pour the slurry into jars as quickly as possible! This recipe makes about 4 jars.
We used a measuring cup to dunk in the berries and pour into the jars. Make sure the mouth and threads of the jar are clean, then put the lids on and turn them upside down. FAST! Go FASTER! Leave the jars upside down for exactly 7 minutes, then turn them right side up. Wait a little bit and the jars will seal themselves!
Woo! I'm telling you, that last step was frantic. But, the dividends were rich, we had delicious cheese cake (Esther makes some killer cheese cake!) topped with our fresh cranberry jam and we each got a jar to take home with us.
So, I have a lot of work to do today because I played all day yesterday. Bleh.
In other news, it's cold but deceptively sunny. We had volleyball games this weekend, I was a line judge, we got our butts kicked by the other village. We also had a staff volleyball game Friday night, it was awesome. School was crazy Friday, the kids were so full of it.
I bought plane tickets, I'll be in Michigan from December 21 until January 2nd. Let me know if we can hang out!
Here's how Esther Thompson gets her jam on.
Measure out 4.5 cups of your favorite fruit, as Andrea demonstrates. (We have fresh cranberries.)
Then crush them with a slicer thingy, the kind that's kind of circular but has a bunch of blades on it and you go crush crush crush in a big ol pot.Then you put the pot on the stove and add 7 cups of sugar.
Stir and cook until it's boiling violently like a "volcano" make sure it gets really "angry" then it's ready for 2 packets of Certa (stuff that makes it jell). Cook and stir until it is dissolved into the berry slurry.Then comes the really intense part! You have to pour the slurry into jars as quickly as possible! This recipe makes about 4 jars.
We used a measuring cup to dunk in the berries and pour into the jars. Make sure the mouth and threads of the jar are clean, then put the lids on and turn them upside down. FAST! Go FASTER! Leave the jars upside down for exactly 7 minutes, then turn them right side up. Wait a little bit and the jars will seal themselves!Woo! I'm telling you, that last step was frantic. But, the dividends were rich, we had delicious cheese cake (Esther makes some killer cheese cake!) topped with our fresh cranberry jam and we each got a jar to take home with us.
So, I have a lot of work to do today because I played all day yesterday. Bleh.
In other news, it's cold but deceptively sunny. We had volleyball games this weekend, I was a line judge, we got our butts kicked by the other village. We also had a staff volleyball game Friday night, it was awesome. School was crazy Friday, the kids were so full of it.
I bought plane tickets, I'll be in Michigan from December 21 until January 2nd. Let me know if we can hang out!
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Day 62
Well, look at that. I've lasted 2 months in Alaska. No Beaners. No movie theaters. No Meijer. Just teaching. And Theo's coffee. And beautiful scenery.
Anyway. It's October, which my boss told me, is the start of winter. I'm dressed in snowpants and down parka, scarf and hat to go anywhere.
Teaching seems to be going smoother. Most of the time anyway. I'm pretty sure that teaching is one of the hardest jobs you can have. You work millions of hours for mediocre pay and everybody gives you a hard time for not being a rocket scientist. Whatever. I guess I knew all this before I went into it. Sort of.
I don't know, it's been a pretty slow week, just kind of mellowed out, doing work for school, reading books, etc.
Went to the post office today, picked up a bunch of boxes for my roommate. Here's my ATV loaded up outside the apartment.
Oh, and here's that picture of the dents I made in the wall of the apartment building. Those 4 dents are from me running into the wall with a 4-wheeler. Pay special attention to how close I was to the water thingy.
I'm out.
Anyway. It's October, which my boss told me, is the start of winter. I'm dressed in snowpants and down parka, scarf and hat to go anywhere.
Teaching seems to be going smoother. Most of the time anyway. I'm pretty sure that teaching is one of the hardest jobs you can have. You work millions of hours for mediocre pay and everybody gives you a hard time for not being a rocket scientist. Whatever. I guess I knew all this before I went into it. Sort of.
I don't know, it's been a pretty slow week, just kind of mellowed out, doing work for school, reading books, etc.
Went to the post office today, picked up a bunch of boxes for my roommate. Here's my ATV loaded up outside the apartment.
Oh, and here's that picture of the dents I made in the wall of the apartment building. Those 4 dents are from me running into the wall with a 4-wheeler. Pay special attention to how close I was to the water thingy.
I'm out.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Day 53
Great news! I didn't get eaten by a bear last night! We didn't see any bears or bear tracks, that's probably a good thing. We also were fortunate not to wash away in the tide.
There were 8 of us that ended up going:
That's Justin, Brenda, Lisa, Me, Andrea, Jamie, Jodi, and Tim. Yep, Brenda brought a tripod. We camped on the beach right near a babbling brook. We took 6 4-wheelers and 3 tents. Me and Lisa shared the little blue one.
We built a fire, cooked some hotdogs and marshmallows, and took to our sleeping bags. I was pretty warm in my 2 pairs of wool socks, parka, snowpants, 3 hats, and sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees. But my nose was still cold. When we woke up this morning there was a layer of ice on the outside of our tents. Here's Brenda, she's pretty happy looking for just waking up.
Then you turn around and see the most amazing sunrise ever:
I love this picture of Jamie, pancakes can change your life. This is proof:
Andrea, Lisa and Brenda wait patiently for the most delicious food they will ever taste:
We had pancakes, eggs and coffee for breakfast. We packed up all the tents and gear and took to beach trail. On the way back I quickly stopped to take a shot of this waterfall, pretty impressive, right?
The trip went off without a hitch, but not without a few humorous moments:
-me, falling down trying to get Brenda's 4-wheeler to pull start.
-Lisa, falling on me when she was trying to get into the tent.
-the bunch of us jumping like spiderman to cross the creek
-Lisa, almost floating away in the river when we were crossing on our 4-wheelers
-me, my snowpants getting a giant hole burnt in them from standing right behind Andrea's 4-wheeler when it backfired. (I'm fine)
So there you have it, group camping trip that worked out great. No one died and everyone was pretty happy.
Now back to reality, I get to work for the next 5 days. Bleh.
There were 8 of us that ended up going:
That's Justin, Brenda, Lisa, Me, Andrea, Jamie, Jodi, and Tim. Yep, Brenda brought a tripod. We camped on the beach right near a babbling brook. We took 6 4-wheelers and 3 tents. Me and Lisa shared the little blue one.
We built a fire, cooked some hotdogs and marshmallows, and took to our sleeping bags. I was pretty warm in my 2 pairs of wool socks, parka, snowpants, 3 hats, and sleeping bag rated for 0 degrees. But my nose was still cold. When we woke up this morning there was a layer of ice on the outside of our tents. Here's Brenda, she's pretty happy looking for just waking up.
Then you turn around and see the most amazing sunrise ever:
I love this picture of Jamie, pancakes can change your life. This is proof:
Andrea, Lisa and Brenda wait patiently for the most delicious food they will ever taste:
We had pancakes, eggs and coffee for breakfast. We packed up all the tents and gear and took to beach trail. On the way back I quickly stopped to take a shot of this waterfall, pretty impressive, right?
The trip went off without a hitch, but not without a few humorous moments:
-me, falling down trying to get Brenda's 4-wheeler to pull start.
-Lisa, falling on me when she was trying to get into the tent.
-the bunch of us jumping like spiderman to cross the creek
-Lisa, almost floating away in the river when we were crossing on our 4-wheelers
-me, my snowpants getting a giant hole burnt in them from standing right behind Andrea's 4-wheeler when it backfired. (I'm fine)
So there you have it, group camping trip that worked out great. No one died and everyone was pretty happy.
Now back to reality, I get to work for the next 5 days. Bleh.
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Day 52
Sha-Zam! I'm still alive and feeling awesome! Life is good (besides the whole, I have to go to work everyday). I guess work is not that bad.
My neighbors got a Wee, so we had a party last weekend, pretty fun stuff. Then it was the week, which lasted 3 years. I've been practically living at the school, I think I should just start sleeping up there, for real.
The sunsets are really beautiful here, so are the sunrises, for that matter. Here's a picture of the sunset the other day.
Last night I went to steam again, I forgot to drink a bunch of water before I went, so I started feeling a little strange. My heart was beating a little fast and it was a little hard to keep my eyes open. Brenda saved me by letting me have some of her water. I'm just not very good at steaming yet, I guess. Anyway, one of the ladies said that last summer she picked 74 gallons of berries. I was very impressed.
Today I went to the store, and paid $5.50 for a half gallon of milk and $5.50 for 4 apples. They actually get some pretty good Gala apples in. Crisp. Juicy.
I went to the post office, I was very excited to get a box from my mom, it had a bunch of food in it! Life cereal, my favorite, and probably about 5 or 6 pounds of nuts. Now I think my diet is complete: berries, salmon, chocolate and nuts.
I guess we're going to have fresh salad greens in a couple weeks too. This is my roommate's neat plant growing contraption.
Justin Olson is working on trying to build a shed, he's going to use all this wood from the old school that's full of nails, so I've been helping pull nails this weekend. Fun stuff. It's really good weather today, so I'm happy that there is a project to work on that's outside. Though I should be at the school planning for next week.
Today I learned the Yup'ik word for white person, gosuk.
I saw the most beautiful bird today, it was huge, and all black with a big white V on it's back. I have no idea what it was.
Tonight we're going camping up the beach! I'm very excited. I borrowed a tent from Jon Sharp, who apparently has better things to do than sleep outside on the beach, in weather that might get down in the 20s where bears might eat us. Psh, yeah right. We're going to drive all the way up to 3rd creek, which evidently is passed 2nd creek, which is the farthest I've ever been up the beach. There might end up being like 10 or so of us going. About half of the school staff.
I'll leave you with yet another picture of the tundra at dusk. You can never really get enough of the tundra.
So, unless I get eaten by a bear tonight, I'll be posting more excited enthralling Togiak news later.
yo yo peace out G 5
My neighbors got a Wee, so we had a party last weekend, pretty fun stuff. Then it was the week, which lasted 3 years. I've been practically living at the school, I think I should just start sleeping up there, for real.
The sunsets are really beautiful here, so are the sunrises, for that matter. Here's a picture of the sunset the other day.
Last night I went to steam again, I forgot to drink a bunch of water before I went, so I started feeling a little strange. My heart was beating a little fast and it was a little hard to keep my eyes open. Brenda saved me by letting me have some of her water. I'm just not very good at steaming yet, I guess. Anyway, one of the ladies said that last summer she picked 74 gallons of berries. I was very impressed.
Today I went to the store, and paid $5.50 for a half gallon of milk and $5.50 for 4 apples. They actually get some pretty good Gala apples in. Crisp. Juicy.
I went to the post office, I was very excited to get a box from my mom, it had a bunch of food in it! Life cereal, my favorite, and probably about 5 or 6 pounds of nuts. Now I think my diet is complete: berries, salmon, chocolate and nuts.
I guess we're going to have fresh salad greens in a couple weeks too. This is my roommate's neat plant growing contraption.
Justin Olson is working on trying to build a shed, he's going to use all this wood from the old school that's full of nails, so I've been helping pull nails this weekend. Fun stuff. It's really good weather today, so I'm happy that there is a project to work on that's outside. Though I should be at the school planning for next week.
Today I learned the Yup'ik word for white person, gosuk.
I saw the most beautiful bird today, it was huge, and all black with a big white V on it's back. I have no idea what it was.
Tonight we're going camping up the beach! I'm very excited. I borrowed a tent from Jon Sharp, who apparently has better things to do than sleep outside on the beach, in weather that might get down in the 20s where bears might eat us. Psh, yeah right. We're going to drive all the way up to 3rd creek, which evidently is passed 2nd creek, which is the farthest I've ever been up the beach. There might end up being like 10 or so of us going. About half of the school staff.
I'll leave you with yet another picture of the tundra at dusk. You can never really get enough of the tundra.
So, unless I get eaten by a bear tonight, I'll be posting more excited enthralling Togiak news later.
yo yo peace out G 5
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