TWEED POST! I HAVE FRIENDS! YAY!

Above pretty much sums up my weekend. Friday night I went out with some friends from the hospital. Saturday, one of the physicians I work with organized a tweed-themed gathering. I was looking forward to sleeping in before tweeding up, however, the gods of norske had other plans.

I awoke at 9:30 am Saturday morning to my building's fire alarm. Before I could be bothered by this inconvenience, I saw fire trucks outside of my window and hesitantly joined my neighbors outside in the parking lot while the fire fighters extinguished our building.

GOOD NEWS: No one was hurt, and the fire remained fairly localized to the laundry room on the 1st floor (I am on the 5th floor).

BAD NEWS: I had done 3 loads of laundry the night before that I'd left in the dryer overnight - I now have no whites, sheets, or towels. Completely not the end of the world, though it was a bit painful to towel off with my washcloth this morning! :/

Bright eyed for the day, I dawned by tweed knickers and biked over to the park downtown for the First Annual Tweed Ride. We played croquet and drank tea and bourbon.

We biked along the Coastal Trail and made a brief pit-stop at the Farmer's Market. We ended at a very posh wine bar downtown called Crush where we had reserved the outdoor dining area for wine and dinner. This followed by an outdoor Barenaked Ladies concert (I opted out early for a nap!).

IN OTHER NEWS: it is 1:30 am as I write this (I got home from work 30 minutes ago); it is twilight. I could read a book outside if I needed to. I doubt it will get any darker tonight, and in about 2 hours the sun will start to come up again. ~normal~

Come visit! Everyone!

Love, B

Seward: Where Heaven Kisses the Sky

At long-last: I have uploaded my pictures from my day-trip down to Seward AK! Seward is a small fishing town located 127 miles South of Anchorage, on the Southeast coast of the Kenai Peninsula. Population ~ 3,000. 

The drive from Anchorage to Seward (pictured ABOVE and below) is a breathtaking event in itself, and the road that connects the two cities - The Seward Highway - has been designated an All-American Road by the U.S. Department of Transportation. Notable points along the Seward Highway include: Beluga Point (where several pods of Beluga whales live and occasionally come up for air); Moose Pass (guess what people lood for there); Portage Glacier; resort town of Girdwood; and the Turnagain Arm BBQ Pit (a foodie favorite and National Icon).

Along the Seward Highway

Entering Seward

My little Sea Lion Friend (Seward Dock)

Boats in Dock at Seward

"It's really too bad about the location!"

Dumpsville Seward, AK

Future El Cabino!!

These signs were posted every ~10 miles along the Seward Highway outside of Seward AK
...I'm sorry, but if you DON'T know to run AWAY from a Tsunami... let Darwin's Survival of the Fittest Laws Apply!

Rough McGruff & Cell Phone Fluff!

Most beautiful places I've been to on this Earth: 

Redfish Lake, Sawtooth Mountain Range, Idaho

Cottesloe Beach Perth, AU

Seward Alaska

Obviously, of these three locations, Seward AK is the one pertinent to this blog, described to Mom and I by a local as "the place where the Heavens kiss the Earth."

If you look very closely at the picture of Seward (above), you can see a small white dot in the water; yes, that is a sea otter! And even still, this picture hardly does the area justice. What's more, the drive from Anchorage is perhaps a greater feast for the eyes than the destination itself.

**** **** **** **** ****

UNFORTUNATELY, those pictures are on my phone, and the gods of the Alaskan Wilderness wanted to first remind me that I am not on a 5-star luxury cruise. So to that end, they broke my phone 6 days ago (on May 1).

What's ironic is I LOST my phone the week prior (fell out of my pocket while running), but it was returned to me. THIS week: it spontaneously died while charging one morning. No water or falls; no faults on my part.

Day 6 of NO PHONE * WOW MOM!

Additional Obstacles:

• VERIZON WIRELESS DOES NOT SERVICE ALASKA. (Guess who my provider is)!
• This means NO Verizon stores, kiosks, help desks, or representatives in the entire state.
• No help on the website
• DO PAY PHONES STILL EXIST? Not at my nearest grocery store, mall, or hospital! 
• Using courtesy phones for long-distance calls: *Classic Poor etiquette.*
• Did you know: if you are on a FAMILY PLAN, your service providers MAY NOT BE AUTHORIZED TO SPEAK WITH YOU?! 
• Why is Katie an authorized user, but Mom and I are NOT? 
• Right, like my Dad will ever get on the internet to read this
• Yes, I am 27 y.o. and still on a family plan. Blah. Blah.

These fun obstacles have made for a really fun week. Today May 6 is now my 6th day without cellular service, and if I am lucky, my phone will finally arrive today. If I am not lucky it will arrive on Monday, at which point I will have spent over 1 full week without cellular phone access.

Now I can officially say: "I am Christine McCandless." Can I go home now? 

; ).       

IN OTHER NEWS: I can still do Crow's Pose, so that's pretty cool...

Much love from up here in the Wild North,

B

*FAIRBANKS * AK: Aurora * Oil * Polar Bears!*

Mom came to visit the first week of April (April 1-6). We spent the first half of the trip in Fairbanks (this post) and the second half of the trip in Seward (next post).

FAIRBANKS AK:  THE NORTHERN LIGHTS

For those of you who don't know, Fairbanks is much farther North than Anchorage; its latitude is 64° N. Anchorage AK is 61° N.   Minneapolis MN is 44° N.    Seattle WA is 47° N. The Earth's Magnetic North Pole is 83° N.  The Northern Lights are visible between 62-70° N.

We stayed at a great b&b called the Aurora Borealis Lodge located at the top of Cleary Summit, 20 minutes North of Fairbanks. The guest lodge (behind my mom and I in the photo above) contains 4 rooms, each with a Northern-facing window, ideal for viewing the Northern Lights from inside. The lodge has a walkie-talkie system that would seem to make Aurora-viewing fail-proof (however, we managed to miss it the first night).

We spent two days romping around in snow shoes searching for meese.

We had dinner at a great local brewery (both nights) and saw some spectacular Northern Lights (above). 

The Northern Lights (also called the Aurora Borealis) are a naturally-occurring phenomenon. Their explanation requires a vague understanding of geo-magnetics, so I dedicated a separate post to the topic.

NPR recently featured an interesting article on a 2-minute video of the Northern Lights recently posted on youtube; click this link for the article. Click this link (or the caption below) to go straight to the video.

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline (Also in Fairbanks)

The Trans-Alaska Pipeline runs a distance of 800 miles and transports a maximum of 2.136 million barrels of oil from the Prudhoe Bay oil fields (in Northernmost Alaska) to Valdez AK, a Southern port town. It was commissioned in 1977 by the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company (a partnership between major oil companies: BP, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil, Koch Industries, and Cheveron Corporation). 

We also drove down into town to check out the University of AK- Fairbanks; this proved yet another failed moose-sighting attempt; however, we did get some wild-life viewing in by way of ice sculpture. :)

The Northern Lights (AKA: Aurora Borealis)

The Northern Lights occur between 62-70° in the Northern and Southern latitudes. 

VAGUE INTRO TO GEO-MAGNETICS:
All things or particles (any small or large mass or substance) have magnetic fields. All things are magnets, to some extent. 

The Earth has a magnetic field with a North Magnetic Pole that lies at approximately 83° N. The smallest particle of oxygen (O2) up in the sky also has an infinitely smaller magnetic field with a magnetic North and South. 

The Earth's larger (and stronger) magnetic field pulls on all particles that also have magnetic fields; this causes charged particles up in the air to collide. The resulting collisions cause tiny explosions that can collectively be viewed at night (when most other light is absent). We call the natural phenomenon of these collective explosions: The Northern Lights (or, the Aurora Borealis).

MORE FUN INFO & LINKS:

Click on the captions below for an interesting article recently posted on NPR; or, go straight to the video.

Video footage of the Northern Lights

Article on NPR

March Meese (plural for moose?)

New Digs!

Upon my return to the tundra in March (after a brief visit home for a funeral) I was able to spend some time "settling in" to my new apartment and exploring the surrounding area. The picture below hardly does justice to my new building. However, those white peaks in the background are not clouds; they are mountains! As I am able to see them every day, I am one happy camper. :)

1601 Medfra Street Anchorage AK 99501

EARTHQUAKE!

06:19 AM AKDT on 3/25/11: We had an earthquake here in Anchorage! Just a little one - 4.3 magnitude - about 2 hours North of Anchorage, but it was large enough to wake me up from sleep at 6AM. It lasted 15-20 seconds and literally felt like two people were having sex on my bed. [Don't worry Mom & Dad - I'm only referencing what I've seen in movies]. I came to the conclusion that what I'd felt WAS an Earthquake (and not my neighbors); though I was not quite confident enough to ask anyone: "was there an earthquake this morning?"

I spent most of the day eaves-dropping on the nurses and tech's conversations at work - to see if anyone was talking about an earthquake. This was to no avail so I finally asked one of my scribes if there were ever earthquakes in AK/Anchorage. LUCKILY there are "All the time!"

University of Alaska-Fairbanks' Geophysical Institute runs an Alaska Earthquake Information Center tracks all nearby seismic activity, and recorded a report that confirms my story.

Meese Ski!

As the days are finally beginning to stay lighter longer by the end of March, I have been able to get some great twilight night ski's in before the sun completely sets (at around 9PM). Below are some beautiful pictures I took while stopping to suck some wind. 

 

I was very excited one evening when I saw a MOOSE standing literally on the classic tracks I was skiing on. He was just chompin' on some branches and so of course I took a picture. Moose can actually be fairly dangerous (despite my impression of them as being a bigger dumber version of a deer); as I began to wonder how I should continue on my ski, the moose casually moved on. :)

AS PROMISED LAST WEEK...

MOVIN' ON UP!

Brenna Bray

1601 Medfra St

Apartment #503

Anchorage AK 99501

Now that I have settled into a much more comfortable residence I can bear some snapshots of my previous dump (below). My new address (above) is actually a 2-bedroom apartment, complete with living area and kitchen. The CEO of our company was in town for our "go live" in February and she occupied one of my 2 bedrooms for exactly 1 week. She has since left, and I now have more bedrooms than I know what to do with. GEE, THAT WOULD BE PERFECT FOR VISITORS! ; )
                    
  

 My own bedding (on right) does little improvement...

*IDITAROD*

I am tempted to jump straight into the pictures; however, I feel obliged to provide a brief written introduction to this historic event. Think back to Jack London's companion novels The Call of the Wild and White Fang; or, recall the Disney adaptation starring Ethan Hawke circa 1991. Recall the Klondike Gold Rush at the end of the 19th century; sled dogs provided vital transportation, communication, and supplies to Alaskan towns and mining camps. Iditarod Alaska was one such mining camp seated along the Iditarod River, in the heart of the Iditarod mining district. Now a long-time ghost town, Iditarod is considered the half-way-point for the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race on the Southern Route.

 

The Iditarod Trail runs from the relatively populated southern city of Anchorage to one of Alaska's northernmost homesteads, Nome.

The Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race is held annually and provides the Alaskan people with an opportunity to celebrate their Pioneer roots. Anchorage Alaska typically holds a "Press Start" much like a winter carnival on the first Saturday of March (March 5th this year). Downtown Anchorage is put on pause for a day and downtown "main street"is transformed into a race start. 

Though I had a lot going on the day of the press start in Anchorage (work still hectic, upgrading my living situation, and preparing for an unfortunate flight home), I was able to catch a few token snapshots (below). I was also able to snatch up a fallen "bootie" from one of the sled dogs - perhaps it will bring good luck? :)

Hungry for Victory! ;)

UPDATE

The hospital I work at (http://www.providence.org/alaska/pamc/) recently changed from a paper to an electronic medical record system (EMR).

I have described the transition as similar to changing from a PC to a Mac; in reality, this has been more like advancing from snail mail to e-mail in one foul swoop (literally - this change occurred hospital-wide at 2AM on February 26).

YIKES!

This transition has kept me fairly busy, logging consistent 60-80-hour workweeks over the past month (not necessarily by choice).

I have managed to maintain some excitement though. To keep things short and sweet, I am going to “back log” and post several small posts this week with highlights from the past 2 months (sine my last update).

HIGHLIGHTS WILL INCLUDE:

• IDITEROD & DOG MUSHING
• MEESE! (pleural for Moose)?
• NEW APARTMENT!!
• EARTHQUAKE (HERE - NO JOKE)
• FAIRBANKS WITH MOM
• NORTHERN LIGHTS

Update

Hi All:
It's been a while since I've put up a post. Wanted to wait until I had some things to post about...

Topics below include: (please feel free to scroll down to whatever topic interests you):

• MY CURRENT RESIDENCE
• CARE PACKAGES
• SKI'S
• FRIENDS
• FAMILY NEWS
• PICTURES BELOW
• LOOKING AHEAD

MY CURRENT RESIDENCE:
My current studio apartment - in the McKinley Tower (mckinleytower.com) - is a DUMP, unfortunately. 


I actually HAVE some pictures, but am not going to post them until I move into a nicer place next month--they're that bad!


I went through my very first episode of home-sickness (EVER) last week right after Valentine's Day. Of course the first time I ever get home sick is when I'm someplace I actually have no access to home...


CARE PACKAGES:
Beautiful roses from the rents, and a great care package from my favorite auntie helped to cheer me up - Amy sent sunscreen, chocolates, pictures of sunny beach vacation spots, a Starbuck's card, a book, and a VHS video "Alaska the Wild." I was a bit confused by the sunscreen, upon opening the package. The note explained everything "What else is there to do in Alaska but eat, read, pretend you are someplace sunny, eat, and sleep? Annie felt so bad for you she even threw in her Starbuck's card!" My response to Amy: "You're lucky they have Starbuck's here!! I was confused by the sunscreen at first; when I saw the sunny beach pics I figured you were sending me on a much-needed vacation to Hawaii. I opened the card to look for plane tickets and read the included explanation. I got so frustrated I ate all the chocolate and now I have a stomach ache!" ;)


SKI'S!
REI had a weekend sale, and I finally bucked up and went there after work last Saturday to look at cross-country ski's. Having always gotten new ski's for Christmas in high school (and always having had  Dad on-hand to wax them), I'm a little bit of a baby when it comes to buying my own! I went with a pair of Fischer fish scales (the cheapest pair I could find but they look decent) with Madshus boots and NNN bindings. In truth - I don't even remember what other types of bindings there are, but I seem to remember NNN being surpassed as the "most up-to-date" in around 1997... 


$500-some dollars later, I am ready to hop in some tracks. Now I just need the motivation to actually get out and bear the cold (I thought the ski's themselves would do this, but it turns out I can be a lot wimpier than I thought)!!


FRIENDS!!
Got put in touch with an AK native - a fellow cross-country skier who is actually from Fairbanks but now lives in Anchorage - through a friend I studied in Australia with (who is also from Fairbanks, AK). 


Very excited to have a real friend in Anchorage! We had pizza and beer at Moose Tooth Lodge - an Anchorage cornerstone known for their great pizza and beer selection. Was like walking into a very crowded ski lodge - wood log interior, large fire place, friendly people, loud laughing environment, about 30 local brews on tap (!) and about 50 different kinds of pizza's. I had a Darque Delirium 2010 (which was VERY dark for my taste, but good), and a hard cider. For pizza we went with half "Summer Solstice" - chicken, sun dried tomatoes, whole garlic cloves (!!! I LOVED!!!), and some other good veggies and cheese - and half "Chipotle Ranch Steak" - quite spicy and very Delicious! 


Met a fellow Minnesotan - who later moved to Capitol Hill (not far from where I lived in Queen Anne, Seattle WA), and then up here to Anchorage - on one of my first days here, at the hotel bar. THIS local is a server/bartender and just took a new management position at Grapeleaf - a place I've heard to have a decent wine list recently. Got invited to a wine tasting event with him this Sunday. We "go live" on EPIC at the hospital at 24:00 this Friday, 2/25/11, so I anticipate a very busy weekend; an evening wine tasting should be a great way to simmer down!


FAMILY NEWS:
A very large CONGRATULATIONS to my very own mother who recently put in her 2 week's notice at the Department of Ramsey County Corrections. To those of you who voted for Pawlenty: BOO FOR YOU - it turns out he is quite the "a**-hole" (and my mom almost NEVER uses words like that!!). However, we all feel (at her suggestion) that this change will really be for the best, and all of my criminal friends downtown are VERY happy and excited to run rampant in the Ramsey County area for the next few years. 


Katie and I received an e-mail yesterday indicating that she would now be making U.S. rounds and visiting each of us for the next several months to help us get our lives in line. I think Mom thought this would be a good sarcastic joke, but Katie and I both responded with our excitement at the news. I IMMEDIATELY hopped onto petfinder.com (as I would now have someone to take a puppy out to the bathroom during my 8-hour shift), and Katie could CERTAINLY use a hand, as she recently fractured her wrist skateboarding several days ago. (Yes, surprise surprise: Katie did something completely wild and out-there...and ended up in the ER. Despite the painful ending, I say "Good for you, Katie!" and now you can bond with Bonnie at family dinner (who also suffered a severe wrist fracture last summer). 


PICTURES BELOW:

• Mostly mountain shots (I will never get tired of them!!)
• $25 for a jar of Almond Butter here - looks like I will be settling for peanut butter for the foreseen future!
• Ulu Knife - a native thing here ;)

LOOKING AHEAD:

Nick Peterson incidentally works for EPIC (the computerized charting system that Providence Hospital is switching to this Friday), and will subsequently be up here in Anchorage this Friday through next week to help accommodate the big switch. Pretty excited to have another friend up here in the tundra - I think that's a grand total of 6 friends in Anchorage now (though one is a scribe who felt bad for me when he heard my excitement about having one friend)...

MTK

Love, B

Mountain Views

On my way to work every morning :)

View from my favorite coffee shop window (Kaladi Brothers)

Don't worry Mom, I PROMISE I don't usually take pictures while I'm driving... ;)

WOW MOM!

That price below the Almond Butter - $24.99 - is NOT a mistake, and it also is NOT for more than 1 jar!!!
(Obviously, I checked)

Ulu Knives

Probably what everyone will get from me for their birthday! ;)

Why I am in Alaska...

I promised an explanation of why I am here: 
Briefly, I took a micromanagement position last July with ScribeAmerica (http://www.scribeamerica.com), helping to hire, train, and run new scribe programs in hospital emergency departments.

A scribe works one-on-one with a physician in the emergency department, and helps put together the patient's chart and medical record for the physician. The physician is thus able to spend more time with the patient (and less time charting), and can see more patients per shift, reducing ER waiting times. The scribe is able to gain valuable clinical experience that will help prepare him/her for medical school.

My first project was at Condell Medical Center in Libertyville IL (July 5-October 26)

My second project was at Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital in Roanoke VA (October 27-February 5)

My third project is here in Anchorage Alaska at Providence Medical Center (February 6-??? June I hope)!!!

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner!

Jill Carr is my FIRST follower!! YAY! Jill - what is your address? I will gladly mail you an Alaskan chicken dinner! ;)

Neighbors in the News

My neighbors in the news!!!

My Apartment Complex (pictures pending)

NEW ADDRESS:

Brenna Bray
Apt #403
337 E. 4th Ave.
Anchorage AK 99501

Pictures PENDING*** ;)

Funny story about my car... (Yep, that's my car)!!