Land Of The Highway Sun

This was what I saw in my rearview mirror as I drove back to Fort Res from Hay River, as the sun dropped below the treeline. I know one thing, the NWT certainly has some terrific sunsets, nearly every night.

As for this pic...I saw this sign each time I went to Hay River, and wondered what it was for. Just what is Nuisance Grounds...so I pulled in there yesterday and it is the town dump. Hmmmm...so who is the nuisance? The bears that hang out there? The huge ass ravens that flock there? Or the scavengers that pick through for salvage? I thought of going into the trailer on site and asking, but I didn't want to be a nuisance...

The Office

and no, this is not the set of that crazy television show. Two of the shots are of my own office, and two are of the main reception area. People just drop by all day long...some to see me, some just to drop by and get free coffee. Some don't even speak, they just come in, wander about and leave again. Those folks usually either don't know me, are looking for my boss, are drunk, or have mental health issues...or all of the above.

In any event, my office is cozy enough, but not at all sound proof. There's talk of us moving to a different building, but I'll likely be gone before that happens. I hear the guys in the bathroom, talking whilst they pee together I reckon. Those who have been in my various offices will recognize a few standards...the map of the world, my beenies on the monitor(I do not collect them...they just appear...and then disappear...or go on vacation...but that is a story for another day), the crafty sign my daughter made and is morbidly embarrassed that I still have, my degrees of debt...the usual...and that is an air conditioner in one of the windows in my office...I am seriously hoping it gets warm enough to use it here, particularly after the Yukon weather was such a let down last summer. There is another in the reception area, and all throughout the building, so it must really get hot I reckon.

New Blog for a New Adventure

No, relax, not changing this one again! But I have created a new blog for my African adventure this fall, and you can check it out here: The Year I Went To Africa. I'll be posting occasionally about my planning and preparation, however the bulk of the posting will be in the fall, once I begin the journey. I'm excited.

Snowmobile Parking

School buses and carpools are not the only method of transportation for local students in Fort Resolution. There are usually several snowmobiles parked at the school, and on breaks, they go riding them about town. The parking lot is not the only place they deposit their sleds...this fella parked his ancient Elan on the top of a snowbank. An Elan Skidoo (by Bombardier) is the first snowmobile I remember my dad having. The first I owned was a Tundra Skidoo. I miss it though, particularly all the time I spent driving one in Newfoundland. I think I would want to go with someone if I went around here. Damn cold, and lots of dogs around, not to mention the wild animals. Was talking to a fella today who was going out to check his snares...for lynx. Nice. Here kitty, kitty, kitty... And before the PETA Pushers flood me...fuck you give it a rest. I love fur, and your gross videos won't turn me.

Howling Curfew

I had heard there was a curfew for youth here under 18, but also that it isn't very strictly enforced. There is a special act for it in the NWT, called The Curfew Act (big surprise.) They even have a siren here. I had heard this siren at lunchtime, and often feel like I am in the quarry with Fred Flinstone...however, I have not heard the evening one, probably because I have the tv up too loud (music, typically).

Until tonight. I heard the siren very distinctly during a quiet tv moment, and then the dogs started in...I may have mentioned before the hundred or so dogs here...seems everyone has one, or two, or ten...and when they howl together, it is quite remarkable. I hear them from time to time, when one gets started, the others join in...but tonight, to have it follow the siren was just plain funny.

I remember sitting with my daughter on our bridge (deck) stairwell and singing to our dog, who would howl along with us. That was also just plain funny. No, Mel, I do not want another dog. (I just know your mind was going there...)

This One's For The Readers

Over the past few months, I've been catching up with old friends, former co-workers, family, you name it. And I've realized that many of you are reading along as I continue through my northern adventures, as trivial as they tend to be sometimes. I just wanted to shout out to y'all now - HELLO! I'm glad you're reading along. That was part of the reason I chose to blog, was to remain in the hearts and minds of my friends, and others I have met along the way...awwwww....

So keep on reading, I truly appreciate it, and would welcome any comments. Feel free to comment using the anonymous option, and just put your initials/name/nickname in the comment itself. You don't have to have an account to comment. I love hearing from any and all of you.

Happenings

• went to Hay River yesterday for a massage and shopping. Now I feel like someone beat the hell out of me. She was really good though...didn't hurt me too much at the time, but really worked the muscles. I hurt today because I was too lazy to take a bath in epsom salts when I got home. Not only lazy, but the tub is one of those small tub insert ones, so pretty cramped. My ideal bath would be in a whirlpool tub, or at the very least, a clawfoot iron tub, the really deep ones.
• I have unpacked the last box at my office. Yayy!! I finally have enough components in there to store everything. You see, my desk has no drawers, it's not much more than a table, so on Thursday that was rectified and I could actually unpack my stuff. I'm sure I'll get a photo someday to post...mebbe next week.
• was driving home from work for lunch on Thursday and managed to spot Matco Movers at the school, likely loading the photocopier I heard them talking about that wasn't working. So I hauled into the parking lot and nailed them to come and pick up my boxes. AND THEY DID. So now I can get into the shed again...not that I need to but the boxes had to go sometime and he was willing to take them so OFF they went. I have a couple of smaller ones still in the house, just in case I need to send something off or pack something away.
• I brought back the answering machine that didn't work (four days after I bought it) and when they asked why it was returned, I told them it made a screeching noise, so that is what they typed into the computer...skreeching...wtf...please get a dictionary dear.
• I finally found the filters for the tap water conditioner...only to discover that I didn't read the box properly and bought another tap water conditioner, complete with two filters...duh. So now I have two, but I couldn't be bothered taking it back to HR, and needed a new filter now. The old one was very yellowish brown...ick. I'll just send the new one home to NL to put on the tap there I reckon.
• it is still cold here...been -20C to -25C all week. Brrr. I am beginning to get sick of winter as we move towards the end of the fourth month...yes, we received snow in early October and the temp has not gone up much since. I haven't seen rain since September I think. Sad news is...spring doesn't come for another 4 months or more yet...ugh. I know, I chose this...
• I spoke to all of my student loan peeps and now have my loan payments up high again, nearly a whole paycheque worth...it hurts so goooooood...I just want to see the last of them!!! And for my friends who know how much I made on the east coast...one of my paycheques here is almost exactly twice what I took home back east. Nice.
• American Idol was THE show to watch this week as they exploited geeks mercilessly. I howled when I watched...it was THAT funny. Keep in mind, this is a reality show, meant to entertain and the contestants know this before going on. And Simon wasn't his asshole self for some of the more tender geeks....for a change.

Career Fair

I was invited to the Career Fair put on by some students at the local school. It was interesting and quite different from the Career Days I went to in KW, years ago. Those would have about 200 employers, and lots of displays, all the shizz. And I knew that going in, for sure. I thought it was good of the students to try, though was disappointed with the invited career people that failed to show, or even respond. So there we were, all 5 tables of us. RCMP had their two constables (we also have a corporal - he was back at the office, doing paperwork), there was a rep from the Fire Department, a rep for the local mechanic, a welder, and me.

I was only expecting the high school students, but they brought in grade 6 and up, so I had some younger ones. It was an interesting day. The younger ones mostly had no idea what a social worker was, or what they did. They did however, know kids that didn't live with their parents because they had problems and couldn't parent their children, so they were being raised by aunties, or grandparents. I had one little grade six girl who took the information I had printed up for handouts, and told me she wanted to be a social worker. Awwwww....cute. I also had two high school students who were interested in becoming a social worker as well, and took the information. I had a three page color write up about the social work career, and a list of the universities in Canada that offered a Bachelor of Social Work program. I was suprised at how many did, and there were many universities I hadn't even heard of.

The high school students were somewhat more interested, and I did get quite a few questions. I had spoken with a former colleague and friend of mine back east last night and she helped me sort out what to cover with the youth. Thanks G! The way they ran this fair was they brought in a class at a time, and sent 3-4 kids to each "station" for 15 minutes, then rang a bell and everyone moved to the next station. Kind of like how they run card tournaments back east. So I found what worked best, was to get a quick read on how interested each little group was by chatting with them for a minute and that pretty much determined what I would cover, as there wasn't time in 15 minutes to do a whole lot. I talk to a lot of them about what they wanted to do when they graduated high school, and there were some interesting answers, but quite typical of many kids - NHL Hockey star, a lawyer, a welder, a counsellor, an anime artist, and so on. Some of the teachers sat in with a group and had the usual questions - what inspired you, what's your favorite part of the job, what's the hardest part, you know. Some asked me how much money I made, heh heh...so I didn't tell them, but I did tell them how much someone could make in the north doing my position (the range), since that can be looked up on any job posting and the government website.

I talked to the police after we were done for the day, and they didn't have any potential recruits...so there. Nah na na na na nah na...they took it well. I have to say, we have some good members here, easy to work with, great sense of humour, and dependable. If I call, they ALWAYS call me back, typically within minutes, even if they are not on shift. I couldn't ask for more, and that sure is nice to have, particularly since I am on my own here.

Lots of the kids were suprised to hear that I lived here, and did not know that I had been working here for over a month now. (GAWD it seems like I've been here longer than that!) I got to put in a little plug for the youth program I'm to be teaching next month, and several of the girls were quite interested, so that's encouraging. The classes are rather small, and I'll only be teaching to three different ones - grade 9's, grade 10/11 split, and grade 12. The largest class has only 15, and the others each have 10, so a nice number to work with. I'm looking forward to it, and we begin in early February if all goes as planned, once a week for 6 weeks.

I am liking this part of the job, that's for sure.

Of Course

I got the government van stuck, pulling out of a driveway. I'm not used to driving this huge thing and misjudged my path and drove into the snowbank, cutting the corner too close. Of course it couldn't be some remote driveway where I could embarrass myself in private. It was directly across from the school. At lunchtime. When parents are picking up their kids. At least in my embarrassment, there were lots of folks to push me out again. Sigh. This town is gonna think I am a total nitwit...

Brrrr

Yet another day with the temp down to -34C. This is the thermometer I won last spring from UW's weather contest. Brrrr. Good day to stay in and play Playstation. I did go for a drive though, but wasn't quite sure where I was going, and I was driving the gov van, which is like driving a boat, so didn't want to find myself on a narrowing road where I couldn't turn around. Did I mention that this van beeps when it backs up? Very annoying but at least I hope it will warn anything that gets in the way...

These are the days when I am thankful for my warm slippers made by my friend J. from Whitehorse. Toastie tooties...

My Irish Cats

Talk about weird phenomenon...I have this tin whistle, which is kind of like a cross between a flute and a recorder (in my mind). You may have seen them, they often are brass colored, and have a plastic mouthpiece and about 6 holes. I got mine in Ireland, and it came with a book, and to this day, have never done much with it. In fact, I bought it for the non-resident daughter, and she didn't do much with it either. So it has sat on my shelving unit with the rest of my souvenirs for several years now, having bought it in 2001, which much to my surprise, is now 6 years ago.

So I picked it up today, book and tin whistle and thought I might just as well have a go at it. I don't currently possess any sort of musical talent, but I have always liked how the tin whistle sounds, and it is small enough to travel with easily, unlike a tuba or sax...well, I was not prepared for what came next.

Like the Pied Piper, these crazy cats of mine flocked to where I was, and began to crawl all over me and the whistle. Stormy is nosey enough anyhow, to be poking his nose around when something was up, but it was so much more than that. He kept wanting to make face contact with the whistle, and then Via was all over me, and wanting to touch the whistle. WTF? So then I thought, fuck it, I'm gonna walk around with it, and practice the scales...so there I was, in my pyjamas and equipped with tin whistle, marching through the trailer, up and down and the cats were following me from room to room, up and down the hall. I'm sure if anyone was watching, they'd figure me daft...I wasn't so sure that my cheese hadn't slipped off a little, to be playin the tin whistle to my kitties...but it was an interesting activity.

I'm not sure what draws them to the sound. It was the weirdest thing. Maybe my cats are Irish.

My New Ride

I can't even believe I got behind the wheel, but my new ride is a Ford minivan...ugh. Before you all gasp, I didn't sell my Toyota, but I was finally given the keys to the government vehicle, which happens to be a Ford minivan. So now I have two vehicles to look after again...sigh. I could just park it and not use it, but why not just use it, and park mine. I've been using mine to drive to work, and to clients homes. And now I have a client I'll be providing supportive counselling to while we drive, so she can have a little privacy. Around here, everyone is related and when you want to talk in confidence, and your sister/brother/grandmother is down the hall, well, its trickier to get that privacy. So we'll be taking a drive in the Ford van. And now when I go anywhere, I just leave my car running, as the short hops aren't good on the engine, and are never long enough to really warm up the car each time. (I know, bad for the environment...get over it, it's fucking cold)

Anyhow...it's damn cold up here this week, was -36C this morning. So now I have to plug two cars in. I have one cord. Hmm....so I went to the local North Mart...no cords...sold the last one today. Dammit! So I come home and try to plug at least one of them in, and the cord has ice in the prong holes...gotta thaw that out. I think I'll have to rotate for now...plug the van in at night and my car in during the day, so if I want to use my car after work, it's thawed...

I still can't believe I have to drive a Ford.

FORD
Fast Only Rolling Downhill
FORD
Fix Or Repair Daily
FORD
Found On Road Dead
FORD
Fatally Obese Redneck Driver

Shameful Blogger

I haven't posted in days....I know. Shameful blogger I am. Hasn't been much to report...I haven't been anywhere in days, hunkered down all weekend and then it turned cold this week. It's -32C tonight, perhaps even colder since I last checked. My tires are square with the cold and rumblebump as I drive off in the morning. I often drive around town a little just to get the frost off my windows. I'm too damn lazy to go out and start the car earlier...

The skies were clear and bright today, even if the sun wasn't up long...sunrise is at 10am, and sunset at 3:30pm...still driving to and from work in the dark. We have at least gained some daylight at sunset, but sunrise is creeping slower it seems.

Big news for those that know me...I had to cover up the air conditioner today because my office was too cold. Imagine..I was too cold. The frigid air is seeping around it and they left it in all winter, so I just put some of that plastic sheeting over it.

Now I am off to crawl into my warm bed (thanks to my electric blanket) with the felines...brrr

Team Building

I met my supervisor and YK members of my "team" today, finally. I've been working for 2 months and finally met my supervisor, lol. They had a short intake meeting, and then a staff meeting, so that was nice, to meet everyone. When I need to call up here, now I can put a face to the names.

We had I had a chance to get on the road with one of them today and drove to Dettah, which is northeast of YK they say. We drove on the regular road, which was in shitty shape, and slippery, and after we got there, did our home visits, we noticed that someone was driving on the ice road, so went to take a look and sure enough, it opened today, so we drove back on the ice road. It was smooth, clear, and not slippery...ironic.

After we got back from Dettah, I met with my supervisor for a short while and then a call came in about a nasty apartment. My new teammates and I went out (3 of us) to take a look. Nasty doesn't describe it. I'm not sure what does. Maybe my readers have a word for the scene we saw...maggots, worms, bugs, flies, shit, mould, sputum, rotten food, rotten diapers, rotten baby bottles, dirt...garbage piled about 3-4 feet deep, covering about 70% of the apartment. What would you call it? Particularly when two little ones under 2 live there...I don't think I can really describe the smell either...it clung to my clothes too...ick.

So I spent most of the day with my new team, even if they are removed from me here in YK. Nice.

On The Road Again

Interesting day. I drove into Hay River today to catch a flight, only to discover it was delayed. Actually, there weren't enough planes, so we had to wait until one was free. Yeah, I'll let you digest that one...

The highway in the photos is the Fort Resolution Hwy to Hay River. There isn't much to look at it on it other than trees, trees, and more trees, until about 20 minutes outside of Hay River when I was graced with this beautiful sunset.

The guy two rows back from me on the plane had an escort and a nice shiny pair of bracelets on...he was picked up at the airport in a marked car...



While waiting in Hay River for over 3 hours, two young girls decided to ATTACH to me, particularly the 4 year old. I was sitting off in the corner alone, watching my ER Season 6 that I finally got in the mail today from A. Was to be a Christmas present...glad of it today! But yet, I was a magnet for these girls. The 7 year old wasn't too bad, and openly advised me that she was permitted to watch ER, and she wouldn't talk during it like her sister was. I tried to watch it with them there, but there was too much chatter, and the 4 year old (a BIG 4 year old) kept trying to touch my computer and I had visions of a stray swipe knocking it to the floor, cracking the screen once again. She finally got the message and left it the hell alone. Did I mention that they both had very sticky fingers (OF COURSE) and were sucking on candy canes.



First Air is still my favorite airline, despite the delays. Where else can you go from "the plane is landing in 4 minutes"(meaning the one we were waiting for so we could board) to picking up my luggage less than an hour later in a totally different city. Ok, the flight was just 30 minutes, but in that time, they unloaded the plane and luggage, loaded us on, served us snacks, then drink rounds, newspapers, and then landed, luggage put off shortly after we got inside, all in the span of an hour. There are no tedious security checks, taking off your jewelry, shoes, coats, etc. The luggage comes within mere moments. The plane taxis for just a few minutes (not the lengthy ride you take in Toronto's Pearson Aiport) and there is no lineup to take off. We were off in just a few hundred yards (it seemed). First Air ROCKS!



Did I mention that First Air also ordered pizza for people who had to wait. FREE. And asked me if there was anything I didn't like on it before they ordered. Can you see Air Canada doing that? Um, no. They don't even feed you on the plane, let alone the airport...



So now my lists are prepared for shopping over the next couple of days, and hope to get in a few meals at some nice restaurants. My friend K. is away this time, but returning Friday, so we will get a chance to hang out as well.

Late Night Celebrating

Not in my house, though I was up until about 1:30am or so, watching movies. The fireworks/gunfire/car horn honking continued well past midnight, which I thought was fun. Then it continued past 1:00am. Hmm, ok, exhuberant people here, that's nice. Then it continued right through to the last fireworks I heard at 8:00am. Yes, that's right EIGHT O'CLOCK IN THE DAMN MORNING. WTF? Who sends up fireworks at 8:00am? I realize it is still dark, but dammit people, go the hell to bed!

And then there was the German Shepard next door who made it his personal mission to bark for about 3 hours - from 3-6am...I had to finally get up and get my earplugs, but even then, I couldn't shut him out.

There will be drug induced sleep tonight...arrrrgggghhh...

Happy 2007

all I can say is thank gawd 2006 is over...and hope that 2007 holds nothing but adventure and happiness. And debt relief for my declining student loans.

I make no resolutions, as I break them anyhow. I didn't go to the local dance at the community hall tonight. I was happy enough to be at home, chatting on the phone with my friend S. from Waterloo, as the New Year came in. I was standing in the screen door of my trailer, listening to and watching the fireworks across the back field. There were horns honking everywhere, and plenty of gunfire. There is still constant gunfire, firecrackers, and fireworks going off...so I have Foreigner in Niagara Falls on the tube...interesting mix. I wonder how long these folks will keep it up. The new year came in nearly an hour ago and they are still at it. Partying is one thing, but you usually don't see the fireworks and gunshot last this long. All I know is I shall be remaining inside...I have no desire to be out amongst an armed crowd of drunken revellers...

and because I'm all hopped up on sugar from the chocolate, fudge, and ginger ale...I think I'll pick out a movie and settle in on the sofa (not the usual loveseat because I spilled milk there earlier and the carpet is still wet) with the kitties. They are still a little unsettled with the banging and popping sounds.

Happy New Year all, and may this be a good year for us all.