The things that cause doubt

Well, I am so far behind in everything that it's not even funny. No, seriously. Stop chortling and looking at your stacks of crisp, completed, peer-reviewed essays that probably hold the key to curing all of the world's ills inside their smooth pages. I'm tearing my hair out over here.


Saw an author speak last night, an incredible guy who made me stop and think and take deep breaths. Y'know how sometimes, a person will show you a painting (Andy Warhol) or lend you a book (Michael Ondaatje) that is widely recognized as being a life-altering work, something to discuss half-heartedly over a cup of tea and a fruit scone, and you just can't muster up the energy to praise it's merits. Well, last night was the exact opposite. This guy wasn't interested in talking about his muse, or writing practices. He would answer technical writing questions if pressed, but higher up on his agenda was making you laugh, and cry, and feel a vague sense of disgust, preferably in the same breath. I am not clever enough to describe it properly. He was wonderful.


Back to more mundane matters, I think I may have seen Somebody That I Used To Know on the bus today. I was completely engrossed in a boring book, but shaking inside. Uh-oh.

What are we reading?

As soon as these papers are done, this is the book I'll be curling up with.


Theme music: Josh Ritter's "The Temptation of Adam".

Happy Halloween

 

Go have a picnic, or something.

Oh, play that thing

Listening to Louis Armstrong and fast-forwarding songs to reach those places where he hits long, pure, lingering notes. Good stuff. I'm feeling antsy/lazy at the same time today; kind of a strange emotional mix. F and C are occupied watching A Knight's Tale, or something like that. Dr. Cook would politely rail against the historical inaccuracy present in the film; Dr. Eidinger would not-so-politely rant about the subjugation and stereotyping of medieval-era women, and probably connect it to her Jewish heritage, or something. Myself, I think there has to be an eventual recognition that an academic tendency to break everything down into smaller portions detracts from a bigger picture that's somewhat slipperier, and harder to define. But hey, there are no letters after my name (yet).


Disappointed by the lack of costumes last night, a lone duct-tape knight that went around tackling people and beating them with rolls of paper towel was not exactly what was expected.


Tonight, I think Mexican food and frequenting a few quiet pubs with the other two apartment occupants is on the agenda. I won't lie, it'll be nice to not spend so much time tiptoeing around in a few days from now. Man, do I ever wish I was working next semester.

Motto for the Day/Life: Be Nicer to People. 

We look good walking back to the hotel

There is a wine bottle full of pink carnations on my kitchen table. There is also a massive stack of books, most of them with dull covers that carry a faint dusty feeling. Their pages are full of information about:

1) The Fraser River Gold Rush of 1858

2) The deportation of the Acadian people from Port Royal

Also on my table is this book:

I'm listening to "Absinthe Party at the Fly Honey Wearhouse", by (who else?) Minus the Bear.

This is such a procrastination post.

Trying to figure out our lives

 

Yup. It's that time of the year again. My main prof is away at an ethnohistory conference, which means tomorrow is a class-free Thursday. I'm going to celebrate by showing up extra-extra-early at the library. And going to a talk about wolves later in the evening.

Planning on reading a book about Wildflowers of the Yukon soon and baking massive amounts of banana bread.

Still having trouble dealing with my Women in Canadian History prof, who cannot go a single class without mentioning vaginas and the degradation of Aboriginal culture, usually in the same sentence.

 

One eye on the sky and the other on the road

I've just returned from an island sojourn. The weather was wonderful; I saw whales!, admired a bat hibernaculum and an obese sea otter, and watched other people eat sushi. We also passed a woman posing for wedding pics in the middle of Stanley Park, which was a little strange because the pathway was crowded, man. I don't necessarily think I'd like having spandex-clad rollerbladers in the background of my wedding photos. 


And guess what? In a tiny, hole-in-the-wall Greek diner, the head chef from C Restaurant was cooking lamb slouvaki. Out of necessity, he was opening up this small offshoot until they could hire more staff. He fed me free pastry, recommended the best places to eat in Victoria, and looked up directions to a local pub on his iPhone. He also talked about sustainable seafood for a good long while, which was interesting and informative and slightly scary. 


Last night there was more country music than I've ever heard...ever, so it's currently being counteracted with a good dose of James Keelaghan. Nobody rode the mechanical bull.


The roommate left to get gas for her sister's car a good two hours ago, and hasn't been seen since.


On the Reading List: Downtown Owl, by Chuck Klosterman. Also the author of:

Violin

Still sick, listening to Vivaldi and reading about infusing vodka with bacon. Hmm. Also, there is a much more appealing recipe for orange-vanilla ice cream that can be frozen in a cake pan.

Should be camping right now, or possibly doing homework. I'm reading The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie instead. The roommate is curled up on the couch watching something amusing, and our apartment smells like ginger tea and Alfredo sauce. It sounds like yesterday was a fairly crazy night; I hope everyone has recovered with the minimum amount of aching heads and blurry memories.

Today, on the walk back from Wellburns, I passed by an impeccably dressed woman in a suit jacket and dark skirt, wearing full zombie makeup.

He runs just like clockwork

Here's the subject of my first research proposal of the semester. The first of many. I can't believe how quickly school has picked up, and how easily one can fall behind. Especially if they take the weekend off and attend a 3-day music festival and partake in huge overdoses of music and sun. Rifflandia was completely worth it, though; I've been listening to Jets Overhead for the past three hours straight. And the headache I had yesterday from being kicked in the head by a small Asian crowd-surfer still persists.

Last night, there was insomnia, man, and 2:30 am had me wandering around the apartment boiling water for endless cups of lavender tea and opening all of the windows and probably waking up my poor roommate. And being on the edge of being worried about assignments, but just a little too tired to be able to focus properly and do anything productive about it.

Why are so many books about the early BC fur trade missing from the library? Is that what all the cool kids are reading about these days?

A long hiatus

"On a small unlit boat at sea at night, our minds turned inward to gnaw at those memories until the appreciation of the beauty and the ache involved was more acute than it had ever been before we left. A pair more evolved than us might have been grateful for the opportunity but Don and I became caricatures of disconsolate self-absorption. We staggered around the Sea Mouse from berth to cockpit seat sighing grandly and staring off into the middle distance. We rarely spoke explicitly of one another's recent history, but it was at all times clear what we were thinking about. We each lost weight and grew preposterous-looking beards."-Kevin Patterson, The Water in Between

And that ain't even Jersey Shore, baby, that's just the news

Well, dear friends, this may be the final post for a little while. It's 9:05 in the morning and I have already made the long trek from the Fort to Vancouver, city of fog and rain that kind of hangs in the air, taunting you. And I will be heading even further north, into the heart of the Yukon. To do what? I don't know. No one tells me anything about the actual job.

The flight in was all excitement and butterflies and a grumpy 20-something next to me with cool clothes and cool glasses and cool technology, who visibly winced every time I blew my nose and coughed. Jeeeze, take a breath. Now I'm choking down a blueberry scone and Chai Latte served by a cheerful Starbucks flunky. And an apple that tastes like cardboard, for good measure.

There are 6 other people on the plane with me who are also flying to the same place. I may know them. I may make a friend. Wouldn't that be cool?

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Also, if this poor laptop manages to make it through the summer, I will be greatly surprised and pleased, considering the wear and tear I put it through.

To the top of the world!

The air is filled with smoke right now. My brother and his friend, having decided to burn the debris piles scattered around the property, have turned the sky outside completely white. My mother the environmentally conscious woman is berating them wholeheartedly. Hahahaha.

There was a thunderstorm today that cleared the air and gave everything the most delicate scent. I can smell so much more here in the interior, I swear. Coastal weather just doesn't seem to have the same bite to it, although I know that Some People would disagree. But they have never traveled here, so they can't properly compare the two.

Had tea with my Grandma today, and collected addresses, and drove around town, and bought rosemary and milk and mailed a birthday card. Almost packed for the northland, man, but it's a slow process. Still, I'm glad I started last week and therefore have the majority of things I'll need tucked safely away. I'm so excited! And, in the same second, I'm scared out of my wits! Ah! Huh!

Want a blog to follow? Try http://nakusiak.blogspot.com. A woman from Vancouver was here a couple of years ago participating in a Whitebark Pine study, and she's on a sailing expedition right now. She is also kind and intelligent and funny and a good writer and super adventurous and all that good stuff. So check it out.

FLYING TO WHITEHORSE ON JUNE 2ND, BABY!

So whatcha gonna think about that?

TODAY, TWO MASSIVE CUPS OF BLACK TEA AND AN AFTERNOON NAP. NOW HYPER BEYOND BELIEF.

I thought about posting some kayaking pics, but the home computer will not recognize my camera, so I got no further than thinking about it. Wistfully.

I guess responsibility is easier on the hands than dishwater

Man, I love his smile.

Today was on out-of-doors, gettin' your hands dirty sort of day. And they need to happen more often. Ate lunch (pea&rice&chicken soup) on the scaffolding, under the bright glare of a cloudless sunny day and read comic books. I feel University education slipping away from me already.

When I was dropping off Judo at her dogyard, the couple who own the property (there are several kennels-3, I think-on the same acerage) invited me in for tea. The tea was sugary and conversation hilarious. There were anecdotes like this:

"Dear, where did you put the eggs?"

"Somewhere, sweetheart."

"Oh. Well, that's helpful."

"I washed them, though."

and:

"Dear, when are you going to cook me some moose nose...like you've been promising to do for 44 YEARS?"

They are both in their late 60's, or thereabouts, and the perfect surrogate grandparents.

Take care of yourself. Take some time off. But not too much, lest it becomes a burden rather than a vacation.

Water, water everywhere

This picture accurately portrays how I've been feeling all day. Except rather than collapsing exhausted in a canoe, I've been roaming restless, getting nothing accomplished and snapping at family members. Since arriving home, I've turned into a bundle of frayed nerve endings ready to jump at the slightest provocation. So much for maturity.

Two cool things:

1) There were a pair of ospreys today fishing outside the house, so close I could see their black eye masks. They would soar and hover still in the air, displaying that characteristic predatory-bird stance. Suddenly, one of them folded itself up and hit the water with a tremendous splash. At first I thought it was in trouble, it was in the lake for so long, but it eventually surfaced, fighting an enormous fish. It was in the water for quite awhile before taking off again (the fish got away.)

2) This isn't so cool for some people, but a local creek has flooded...badly. People are scrambling to sandbag their homes, but unless we get more rain, the crest has probably passed by. Still, entire roads are washed out, and at least one house and numerous sheds and barns are flooded out. We drove out there to survey the damage, and it was LOVELY traveling with my parents ("Turn down this road, Laura. No, go left instead. Oh, just drive through this, it'll be fine. Hmm, go to the end and turn around. Oh wait, there's a LOT of water here, hey? Well, can you see where the ditch is? No? Oh, and there's just one more place I want to see..)

I love my family. But I really, really need to be somewhere else right now.

Here, there, and everywhere

Walked a Great Pyrenees. Drove to Prince George. Scared the living daylights out of my Mom. Fell in love in Wal-Mart. Saw a moose. Birthday party for a friend tomorrow. That was my day.

Also, I just misspelled "that" 6 times.

I'm a new driver, baby!

Camus, Sartre, Kierkegaard, and oatmeal

Hello, all. I've been slow to update posts lately, but you can blame it on slow Internet and general lethargy.

Man, there are too many good books to read, y'know that? I have been finding and devouring novels left, right and centre, which is a pleasant change from large history tomes. Still, I think I'll be glad to go back to Vic in September. Definitely the first time in my life I'll be excited about going back to school for reasons other than the opportunity to buy and sharpen a new pack of pencil crayons.

For today's post, I'm going to shamelessly borrow (steal) material from the blog of Joy the Baker, whom I love. Look her up or something. Anyway, this made me laugh.

Oh, no. Wait. I'm apparently not allowed to copy and paste stuff, so here's the link.

www.joythebaker.com/blog/2011/05/turning-twentyone/

Go and read it and have a good time.

I'm having an isolation party

Rain, rain, rain. I smell permanently of woodsmoke and lemons, which isn't too bad, I suppose.

Yesterday I helped to pack up camp (after spending a night on spruce boughs, having brilliantly forgotten my thermorest at home), showered, went to Vanderhoof for coffee, and came home to a BBQ. Fun stuff, but none of it is earning me any money, or getting me any closer to being up north.

I also keep having strange dreams. Very vivid ones, about people I barely know, and I wake up crying and breathless. It's more than a little scary.

If I complain enough, maybe people will like me

Today, I thought I would treat you to some pictures of rabbits that are not as graphic and violent as the picture in yesterday's post. Y'know, for a change.
I always hated this story. The Velveteen Rabbit was the most depressing book ever.

I used to have rabbits just like this. And yes, I did put them on leashes.

Today, I plan on sending off some e-mails and heading into the bush after lunch. We will make shelters and dig latrines and tramp around in the snow. Our original campsite has been vetoed, as someone dumped a horse carcass there a few days ago.

I know it's a little late, but Happy Easter

Oh stop, you're making me blush

Good god, it's warm here.

Back home. I'm goofing off on the Internet and my brother is doing his Grade 8 Science homework, so I feel pretty good. Also, A Star Called Henry is a new favourite read.

Today, I was moseying alongside the road and a silver car flashed past with a brand-new "N" sign on the back. I vaguely recognized the guy driving, but it was only when I had turned back for home that I realized he was ONE OF MY BROTHER'S FRIENDS!! That is not allowed! Why can't I get even the most basic of licenses? What the hell is wrong with me!?! As a result, I dragged my mom out of the house and spent the evening driving aimlessly around town in a fit of rage, that red "L" glowing on the back bumper.

Um. I wish I could think of something new to say that I haven't already written to the readers of this blog with an actual pen and paper. But life is quiet sometimes.

Electric, magnetic, energetic

Today was an awesome day. Had lunch at a quaint (That's correct; quaint. Art students can talk like that.) little cafe, climbed a tree and startled an owl, ruined a pair of shoes, walked to a secret lake, sat in the sunshine, kissed a boy, watched a terrible hockey game, ate guacamole and chocolate with a wonderful friend, participated in yet another good-bye group hug, saw my parents, and ate coconut-raspberry squares with strong tea while a corgi dozed in my lap. Whew. The one thing I was supposed to do was pack up my mounds of stuff, and that didn't go so well. But, hey; if I had been responsible, I would have missed out on all these experiences, and that's not so cool.

I also think that this chair would easily find a spot in my house, as a conversation piece if nothing else.

Save the nightime for your weeping

Exactly half an hour to the last exam of second year, and I'm hyperventilating. My hands are shaking. And the prof wants us to use mechanical pencils, to which I say, no, Dr. Baillargeon, I will not. Those things have all the discomfort of a pen with the additional bad habit of running out of lead at inopportune times. You can deal with real lead and like it.

Just finished reading The Woman Who Walked Into Doors, and sweet Jesus, that's a disturbing book. But at the same time, it's one of the few pieces of writing that makes you experience the emotion he's describing. I felt elated, desperate, and anxious by degrees. You can see why she loves her husband, even after he begins to beat her daily; you can feel it, a dull ache just below your breastbone. Powerful stuff.

My senses all seem heightened right now, I'm so nervous. The air is thicker, people move differently, the coffee I'm drinking is extra sharp. Bizarre. That is probably why I don't test well.

See you tomorrow, Sarah C.!

You'd better be scared right about now

I'm on a strange computer right now, feeling grumpy and overdosed on sugar. Just got back from SL's place, but she buggered off into the kitchen as per usual and left me to check out WS's awesome new 3D Nintendo game, with a touch screen and games you play with the aid of a yellow card on the table. I love having friends who are not technologically challenged. At the end, everyone participated in a group hug, even though I'm pretty sure I'll be able to see them again before I leave. It left me feeling strangely weepy and lonely.

I also scored a free iPod today, but remind me to relate the fairly hilarious story tomorrow, as I think it's almost time for bed. ER also reminded me tonight that it's J's birthday tomorrow, which is funny; I had totally forgotten. It's unlikely I'll see him again before I head up north, which makes me feel...disconnected, somehow. And frustrated. Not positive emotions for any kind of relationship.

One last thing; I have to do a shout-out to Heather M., a wonderfully talented girl from my hometown who has apparently read some of these ramblings. Your message made me feel happy almost all day; I would love to get together if we are ever in each other's general vicinity.

I wish the best for you

Here it is, 10:30pm, and I can't believe how exhausted I am. Good god, where's all this fresh, youthful teenage enthusiasm I'm supposed to possess?

Um. Today was my last day of work for awhile, which was both sad and a bit of a relief. I'll appreciate it that much more when I return, tanned and missing most of my blood from the north's vicious mosquitoes. I watched CT cut lumps off a dog and fell asleep on a Labrador's chest, which basically sums up my entire veterinary experience; nap wherever and whenever you can.

Forgot my Roddy Doyle book at MH and BM's house last night. Damn. Oh, and there's apparently a show on cable TV that just portrays couples in open relationships going to bars and scoping out other couples who may be up for having threesomes, after which they discuss their experiences. Wha..? Look, if that's what you want, fine; but please, for the love of God, don't EVER, EVER try to make a reality show about it! Not only does it make people uncomfortable, it cheapens you, your relationship, and likely embarrasses your family. "But Laura, why were you watching it in the first place?" Well, the remote doesn't work properly, and it was on the way to WWE. Which isn't much better, now that I think about it.

Hot chocolate would be wonderful right now.

"It is the mark of an educated mind to entertain a thought without accepting it."-Aristotle

A surprisingly hard word to spell

I got up bright and early this morning, took a shower, got on the bus headed for the library...and have gotten nothing accomplished so far. Except that my mom needs yet more tax info I'll have to hunt down, and I have no idea where it is.

This has probably been the worst semester so far study-habit wise. First year I concentrated solely on adrenaline and fear, and the first semester of this year I studied at odd hours when I couldn't sleep. This semester, I feel much happier and better-rested, but my work ethic has also taken a dive. Not something you should let happen in University, believe me. I should have at least a vague idea of what constitutes responsibility by now.

Ummm...yesterday I danced around a lot and ate a ton of food in between watching Northern Exposure and devouring books. I woke up in the middle of the night from a deep sleep and must have dragged myself into the bathroom, as I woke up on the floor this morning. Weird.

Finally made it up to Tofino this week, which was pretty cool. The beaches remind me of low water season at home, and the last place we explored had a creek mouth that could have passed for the headwaters of Tezron. The water was an endless green-black mess of whitecaps, and my sides ached from laughter by the time we got back to Victoria. There are some days when life is wonderful.

I really need to pee and go buy a coffee, so I'll leave you here. Take care of yourselves.

Let's go and take 9 shots, we'll just call it 50

The above is a Neitzche quote, in celebration of the Philosophy 261 final tomorrow that I should be studying for right now (hah).

What a waste of a day. I basically listened to rap music and struggled through half of an essay, and also read a collection of short stories, some of which made me feel disoriented at the end of them. So it was kind of hard to stick to a firm writing style, and I'm scared to read this paper when it's done.

Oh, yeah. I also picked up an awesome 80L MEC backpack for $25. The guy I bought it from had a 6-week old baby and was blurry eyed and not wearing any socks.

Grover's house tomorrow. I may faint with excitement.

Fill me with your poison

I'm about to head over to a sketchy-sounding apartment to meet a sketchy-sounding guy who is selling a Leatherman super-cheap because he needs money by tomorrow. How suspicious. Due to safety concerns, I'm dragging Sabo with me. She and ER are watching an eighties movie featuring Julia Roberts and a bunch of girls who are talented at screwing up their lives in interesting ways. One of the characters dumped a barrel of fish on her boyfriend's porsche, and all he said was, "Think you could give me a life home?"

Awesome Friday-night, end-of-classes get-together this past week. We drank a ton of wine and I broke a lightbulb and we finished off a bag of spinach after all the chips and chocolate had been eaten.

I can't dance. No, really.

Helllloooo, sunshine! Thanks for showing up. I have been mailing letters and writing the addresses on upside-down. When my new employer gets theirs, they're going to wonder who exactly they hired, and is there any way to get out of it? I mean, who can't even address an envelope properly? Sheesh.

I bought a new cookbook called "The Cooking Light Way to Cook", which shows you how to do things like properly cook asparagus as well as make a cherry sauce for duck breast. Awesome. I also picked up a copy of "The Queen" in a discount bin, watched it last night, and fell in love with Helen Mirren. Maybe I'll bully WS into seeing it with me sometime.

I'm also relationship-less again. Which makes me feel-what? Sad? A little lost? Sort of relieved? I don't know. However, I can honestly say that I don't really like the person I am with guys sometime. I'm awkward and I blush a lot and I never feel totally comfortable.

Sarah C., I was over at the house today and, even awash in sunshine, it seemed somehow...not sterile, exactly, but lacking some redeeming quality it used to have. The house misses you, like everyone else. Hope you have a good garden this year, though. I envy you that.

Relax

This is UVic in a nutshell. And so is this.



Thanks, girls. I enjoy your blog as well.

I'm in Finnerty's right now, getting nothing done. As per usual. And I need a recipe for pavlova, as my cookbook is at home and I'm not wasting an hour and a half to get out there. Maybe I'll just buy wine instead of making the chocolate cake and forget about a lasagna. Nothing like lowering expectations!

Yesterday, I listened to a lot of CBC radio and danced around eating strawberries and jellybeans and not working on my History papers. Later, after I had ruined the white sauce for the pasta and resorted to using the tinned tomato stuff, we watched It's Kind of a Funny Story. It was a really good movie, but I had drunk a lot of wine by then, so I'm not sure if I could give you an in-depth analysis. Worth seeing, anyway. It actually followed the storyline of the book pretty well.

I'm kinda nervous about the potluck tonight. I'll probably be the annoying host who runs around worrying about where people put their glasses and does the dishes while everyone is eating and generally ruins the atmosphere.

She had some trouble with herself

I'm at school way too early, and did that thing you do on buses sometimes when you fall asleep for a very short amount of time and have vivid dreams in the space of a couple of stops and wake up feeling groggy, confused, and slightly panicky at the prospect that you may have missed your stop.

Yesterday, my Writing prof was talking about language and how certain sounds denote specific feelings, and are represented in the way we express ourselves. For example, the "mmm" sound is usually present under passionate circumstances or in times of need. Which is really cool, because I think he has a point, and I was really impressed until he severly misquoted William Blake later in the lecture. That last sentence makes me sound like a pretentious literature snob, and I apologize. But still.

Let's all drink chai lattes and enjoy the sunshine and cherry blossoms and feel that deep sense of satisfaction from finishing essays on time, mk? And by finishing essays on time, I mean wasting the entire day reading fascinating literature that in no way connects to the subject matter in your essay.

Only Tuesday...

And we'll do anything when the time's right

Wow, do I ever need to clean my room.

I'm in a state of homework panic tonight, but it's 150% my own fault. Instead of coming straight home and beginning my essay (25% of my English grade, by the way), I went to the Gorge Point Pub with a friend. The food was delicious and she told some hilarious stories about her time in Africa, but I felt too sick to enjoy it and we had to leave early. Which sucks, because her cat just passed away and I think she's having a bit of a rough time. That may sound strange, but for so many of the people I work with, these animals are their surrogate partners. It makes them compassionate, dedicated technicians, but tends to detract from their, shall we say, sense of reality. Human relationships, family, friends, and otherwise, can be difficult, but in the long run they are well worth working towards. And there are my words of wisdom for the night.

Ok, Joseph Conrad. Let's do this.

Here's to bad high school rap that I will never forget. Thanks, Tech N9ne

Want to see some cool pictures of pencils?




Yeah, I knew that's what you wanted.

Interesting day today. Headed out to McKenzie Bight with a friend and hiked (well, walked, really) around Jocelyn Hill for a bit. Ended up at the bottom of a waterfall and played around on rocks, with the mountains scraping the sky behind us and the straight stretching out to nowhere. It was really lovely. We then went and ate Chinese food and talked about sex and the family dynamics present in our respective homes and went to drop off SL's phone and got lost driving to Tillicum Mall.

The moon is amazing tonight. Go take a look.

We believe no evil till the evil's done

Successfully managed to hide the fact that I was eating ice cream for breakfast from my ultra-fit, gym trainer roommate this morning. Accomplishment? I think so.

There's a new vet at the clinic replacing KO. She has crazy, Celtic-warrior-princess hair and is scarily thin, but I think she has a good sense of humour. I realized today that I'll really miss that place this summer. I'll miss talking about boys with KR, watching NL drink beer and moan about her beagles, and giggling with KG about the postal man's shorts. It's kind of like having a second family, complete with a shower and panini maker. Can't get much better than that.

English essay tonight; I'm going to get slammed on Tuesday. Ugh.

Actually, it's silver

Happy St. Patty's Day, everyone. Right now I'm busy being super lame by eating oysters with disgusting plain crackers my mom sent me ages ago and curling up next to the heater in this extremely cold house. No green beer for me, as I don't have any money due to a bank screw-up and a ton of assignments looming on the horizon. But life is actually pretty good at the moment.

Over a super-nice dinner of prawn curry last night, my date and I were discussing the weirdest things we had ever eaten, and his answer was 'a fig'. Which I thought was not very creative, until he explained that the crunch you get from a fig is actually the cremated bodies of very specialized flies. The females of this insect species crawl into a fig to lay their eggs, die, and have their bodies consumed by the fig fruit as it grows. How bizarre.

I miss Butch more than I thought I would. My dreams all involve large black giant shepherd dogs, who for some strange reason are wearing monocles.

I can't keep partyin' round with all these villains

Well, it's been a long time. I am, indeed, back in the midst of coastal weather and small cars. Just trying to mark some papers, but I'm not actually trying very hard. There is a small amount of bad news and good news. Bad news first: My dog is not doing well at all. The tumor on his neck has finally began to affect his breathing, and he may have a short amount of time left with us. I get antsy every time I answer the phone. And for the good news: I GOT THE JOB IN THE YUKON! Awwww, yeah.


I know these posts have been somewhat dog-centric lately, but its the middle of race season, and there are a lot of good stories coming off the trail. For example, in the 1000-mile Iditarod race in Alaska, past champion Mitch Seavey severed a good chunk of his index finger with a poorly folding knife and still wanted to keep competing; the race committee finally had to withdraw him from the event. And a close friend of mine was recently charged by a moose and escaped by shaking his sled at her and yelling. Startled, the moose veered past him, then turned and chased his team for half a mile. Intense.

Go metric just for the hats

Wow, talk about northern weather. We couldn't leave for Victoria because the roads were so nasty, and races ended up being cancelled yesterday because no one on the lake could see where they were going. EM and I ended up taking the mutts up to Sowchea Bay and running through some beautiful bush trails which were cushioned by a foot and a half of fresh powder. My poor little brother agreed to set a trail for us on his new snowmobile, but came back with frostbite on both cheeks. Yikes. The run went well, even if some of the dogs were pretty squirrley; we saw two big bull moose and blasted through some punishing willow bushes.


After the race, everyone headed over to TH's for some pizza and a slide show of the weekend's events. I met a couple from Tagish, Yukon, who train puppies all winter for a big-name sprint musher up in Fort Nelson. They travel all over the place to compete and do really well. The lady kept telling me to enjoy my life as much as possible, as she had almost died four times and now tries to just live in the moment. She loves her job, which is pretty cool, but they don't get paid anything and they have to give up their dogs at the end of each season. I don't think that would appeal to me. Plus, the guy they train for was just disqualified from one of the year's biggest sprint races for punching and swearing at another competitor as his team was passing.


Before E and C headed back to Revelstoke, C showed me how to bake German bread, which is heavy but delicious. Two slices of that stuff and you're good for the day. I really hope to see those guys again, and maybe go on a camping trip or something. I just don't want to go back to Victoria.

But I'm stumped as to how to go about it

I had a lot of cool stories to tell about the day's racing, but now I'm kind of antsy and don't feel up to it. I ran the four-dog heat today and finished a solid eleventh out of nineteen teams. Someday, I swear to God, I'll have a competitive dog team and won't have to rely on the kindness of other mushers. At the end of the ten dog heat, a wind picked up and snow started to fall. I was out on the lake guiding a tour sled with a couple of French girls and by the time we turned back, the trail had completely blown in. I laughed about it at the time, but I honestly had no idea where we were. It was a good thing that the dogs were able to guide us back. About the same time, a musher from Hinton got so lost we sent out a group of snowmachiners to guide her back. My brother promptly got lost in the storm and ended up on the other side of the lake, twice. Eventually, everything worked out and we headed off to eat lasagna. We'll do it again tomorrow.

I felt awful tonight, but don't feel comfortable writing about it on the Internet. This feels like too public a place, even though I'm pretty sure no one reads these.

You have to look forward, y'know. Don't keep running backwards.

Around midnight last night, I saw a pair of headlights sweep into my driveway. After pulling on fifty layers of clothing, a weak headlamp, and mitts the size of bear paws, I went out to meet Eric, his girlfriend Connie, and 18 tail-wagging, muscular, ill-mannered sled dogs. We exchanged greetings, took all the dogs out of their boxes to stretch, shoveled up after they had taken care of business, and drank beer under a cold black sky. They introduced me to Spock and Grizzly, the two accidental puppies, and displayed the interior damage that the big husky Chaos had done when left alone in their truck.


The Classic sled dog race began at 10 o'clock. I was in charge of dropping the flag, a bright piece of orange plastic stapled to a piece of rough wood. The sides of the race chute were lined with hordes of elementary school children out to watch the teams depart. As the dogs took off, one team ducked to the right of the netting barrier and barreled towards a group of students. I ran into the knot of children, yelling and shoving and probably doing more harm than good, as the team flew past us, crested the berm, and landed back on the trail. Crisis averted. Later on, I ran a small bunch of dogs while Eric and Connie followed with eight powerful hounds under a sky so heart-achingly blue it hurt to look above you for too long.


Racing begins again tomorrow at nine a.m. I'll be racing in the four-dog, four-mile class for sure, and may be running the ten dog class as well for a musher with back trouble. We'll see how things play out.

That bluebird sky above me

 

I just got back from a musher's meeting at the local elementary school, and I'm now supposed to be working on my History reports. Pre-race gatherings always have kind of a charged atmosphere; a lot of the people who show up train together and know each other at least by reputation, if not personally. There are a lot of men with beards wearing Carhartts and thin, wiry women with chapped hands and messy hair. Everyone is asking, and being asked in turn, about the races they've run this year, how their leaders have been, what training problems they've had, ect, ect. Competitors want to tell their stories, but are wary of giving too much away. Our race manager, who also happens to be the principal of the elementary school the meeting is being held at, shows up wearing moccasins and a massive parka, which he ditches in his small concrete office. One musher, a big solid guy who just got back from a huge race up north, captivates everyone with stories of armpit-deep overflow, fifty-eight below weather, and an incident where he could reach straight out and, from a standing position, touch the side of the mountain he was supposed to be climbing. I stood off to the side, feeling a little lost and taking pictures as mushers drew numbers to determine their racing bibs. Not having dogs is a major liability here. 

EM should be here around midnight with a truck full of mutts. The fun really starts tomorrow night, when droves of hyper-competitive sprint mushers will show up, with the scent of dog meat clinging to their clothes and sleds that cost more than a year's university tuition.

I drop the flag tomorrow at 10am.