I'm loving Anchorage more and more...it's like with the snow it's become 1000% prettier. Everything is fresher and cleaner looking-beautiful.
I want to get a working visa when I go to the consulate and try to get work so I can stay here, I like it that much.
Also I am kind of glad my laptop got stolen now. I'm a firm believer in everything happening for a reason and when it was first taken I couldn't think what possible good could come from it, but I see now that if I had it I would just be mooching about online and not getting to know anybody else around me. Because I have lots of spare time where I'm not obsessively checking my emails or facebook, I'm reading books and talking to people. Stuff that is more constructive, I think, than sitting online all the time.
I'm still yet to see a moose-I heard they were frequent visitors to Anchorage city in winter. I guess when the snow piles up a bit more they will wander in.
Apparently I'm a 'regular' at Kaladi Bros now :-) which I think is cool.
It's about -8C today and my fingers are really feeling it!
Take care and don't sweat too much.
-Lisha
Friday, 14 December 2007
Thursday, 13 December 2007
There's no aussie word for 'fender'...
Damn...I don't go online for a day or two and the emails really pile up. Who am I kidding-I love it!
I think I'm really getting 'into' Anchorage...I went out to a bar called 'Mad Myrnas' last night and it's a gay bar. It was pretty funny...I would have been the only girl in there, I reckon. Well-there were some people who I thought might have been women but they all had short hair and were wearing very baggy sweatshirts so I'm not sure. But it was still cool-the bartender told me to come back on Saturday because they're having a special show and he will be in drag.
Went back to the hostel and ended up talking to one of the staff for like 5hrs. He's a really cool guy-got lots of stories and we had similar opinions on alot of things but then other things we were calling each other weird for :-P And I was really surprised because he has been working at backpackers in England for like 4 years and even went out with an Aussie girl but it was like alot of what I was saying he hadn't heard before? Maybe he likes hearing the same thing over and over again or he really hasn't heard it before...I don't know. It was still a good conversation-I had alot of fun.
Tonight there is a meteor shower scheduled for 8pm, and by some miraculous stroke of luck the sky is completely clear! I reckon it would have to be the first time I've seen the moon here. (You guys down south have a similar astronomical show planned, too, apparently http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-meteor-shower-alert/2007/12/14/1197568227941.html)
The sky at night here generally is really pretty-a dark inky blue that fades to an aqua/bottle green colour near the south horizon and it stays like that for ages. But I am excited about the clear sky not just for the meteor shower (the Geminids, I think) but also because the Aurora forecast has been ramped up to 'moderate' and is supposed to be able to be seen on the low horizon as far south as Soldoltna, which is south of Anchorage to technically we are in with a chance of seeing it!
The snow hasn't come back from the other day, but it's gotten colder and that makes everything icy. So, so, icy. Touch wood I haven't stacked it yet...but it's coming I can tell. Today it's about 19/20F, but weather.com tells me it feels more like 10F. This means it's technically -7C but feels more like -12C. It's really not so bad-maybe I'm just getting used to it. I love this weather!!! My hair didn't freeze today so it can't have been as cold as it was the other week.
There isn't much else to say right now, I guess. There are a bunch of ladies at the hostel and they are all nurses working for...something to do with returned servicemen...but anyway one of them, Jan, used to live in Darwin when she was a kid and was telling me how much she misses Chiko rolls. Aaaah hahaha what a funny bit of home be reminded of! I'm going to try and find some spongecake so I can make lamingtons-nobody has heard of them!!! I was going to make sausage rolls but the puff pastry over here is expensive and while I would kill for a sausage roll I wouldn't spend my last few dollars on ingredients for them.
I'm having a lot of fun here now :-) I might change my booking so I stay at the Alaska Backpackers when I get back from Fairbanks...
Damn I don't know who's responsible for the music at Kaladi Bros today but it's all punk/ska. Blargh.
Oh, another thing, I need a new book. I found another Bill Bryson one on the shelves here (it was actually the other aussie girl's that she left behind) and it was about travelling in Europe...so it was ok but I found his descriptions of staying in Hammerfest waiting to see the Aurora quite amusing. So yes...another book...I will be on the lookout!
Take care!
-Lisha
I think I'm really getting 'into' Anchorage...I went out to a bar called 'Mad Myrnas' last night and it's a gay bar. It was pretty funny...I would have been the only girl in there, I reckon. Well-there were some people who I thought might have been women but they all had short hair and were wearing very baggy sweatshirts so I'm not sure. But it was still cool-the bartender told me to come back on Saturday because they're having a special show and he will be in drag.
Went back to the hostel and ended up talking to one of the staff for like 5hrs. He's a really cool guy-got lots of stories and we had similar opinions on alot of things but then other things we were calling each other weird for :-P And I was really surprised because he has been working at backpackers in England for like 4 years and even went out with an Aussie girl but it was like alot of what I was saying he hadn't heard before? Maybe he likes hearing the same thing over and over again or he really hasn't heard it before...I don't know. It was still a good conversation-I had alot of fun.
Tonight there is a meteor shower scheduled for 8pm, and by some miraculous stroke of luck the sky is completely clear! I reckon it would have to be the first time I've seen the moon here. (You guys down south have a similar astronomical show planned, too, apparently http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sydney-meteor-shower-alert/2007/12/14/1197568227941.html)
The sky at night here generally is really pretty-a dark inky blue that fades to an aqua/bottle green colour near the south horizon and it stays like that for ages. But I am excited about the clear sky not just for the meteor shower (the Geminids, I think) but also because the Aurora forecast has been ramped up to 'moderate' and is supposed to be able to be seen on the low horizon as far south as Soldoltna, which is south of Anchorage to technically we are in with a chance of seeing it!
The snow hasn't come back from the other day, but it's gotten colder and that makes everything icy. So, so, icy. Touch wood I haven't stacked it yet...but it's coming I can tell. Today it's about 19/20F, but weather.com tells me it feels more like 10F. This means it's technically -7C but feels more like -12C. It's really not so bad-maybe I'm just getting used to it. I love this weather!!! My hair didn't freeze today so it can't have been as cold as it was the other week.
There isn't much else to say right now, I guess. There are a bunch of ladies at the hostel and they are all nurses working for...something to do with returned servicemen...but anyway one of them, Jan, used to live in Darwin when she was a kid and was telling me how much she misses Chiko rolls. Aaaah hahaha what a funny bit of home be reminded of! I'm going to try and find some spongecake so I can make lamingtons-nobody has heard of them!!! I was going to make sausage rolls but the puff pastry over here is expensive and while I would kill for a sausage roll I wouldn't spend my last few dollars on ingredients for them.
I'm having a lot of fun here now :-) I might change my booking so I stay at the Alaska Backpackers when I get back from Fairbanks...
Damn I don't know who's responsible for the music at Kaladi Bros today but it's all punk/ska. Blargh.
Oh, another thing, I need a new book. I found another Bill Bryson one on the shelves here (it was actually the other aussie girl's that she left behind) and it was about travelling in Europe...so it was ok but I found his descriptions of staying in Hammerfest waiting to see the Aurora quite amusing. So yes...another book...I will be on the lookout!
Take care!
-Lisha
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Anchorage, Sweet Anchorage.
Ok back in Anchorage and it's snowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwing!!!!
It's been constant all day, at times it was much lighter-almost like a drizzle. What's a drizzle of snow called, I wonder...a snizzle?
The thing about snow, you see, is it's just like rain except it's solid. That might sound obvious but in the tv shows and movies the snow they use is of course fake, but snow in real life sticks to you and gets wet and gets in your eyes and sticks on your eyelashes. It's not so bad-just today I wore my volleys out and got stuck looking for the Alaskan Native Heritage Center (there was a sign but no building!!!) for like an hour and by the end of the hour my feet were frozen. So I think I will wear my Sorels from now on. Plus it means a little more space in my pack with them out.
Man this snow is so pretty. I'm sitting in Kaladi Bros Cafe again, right near the window and because it's dark the snow is all lit up as it drifts to the ground. I got covered in it today and you could actually make out individual snowflakes as they landed! I swear I saw two the same...
I made a snowperson, too. I'll put a pic up as soon as I can plug my camera in somewhere.
I hear there are big problems back at home with the weather? I'm disappointed I'm missing out on all the action! I hear Blacktown has been declared a natural disaster area? Hearing about all the hail damage makes me glad my car is in the garage-she's got enough hail damage as is!
This cafe is really cool-they're playing mad music (what makes me say that now is that The Eels - Trouble With Dreams just came on). After the solitude and eeriness of Homer it's great to be back somewhere where there is people and cafes open and....stuff. Homer had a distinct lack of *stuff* there. I saw some Bald Eagles which was cool but apart from that-no stuff. Only a 10km walk back to the Inn from Homer Spit.
I can't get over how pretty this snow is!
I'd really like to come back and see all this stuff again in summer-it would like going to a completely different place, I reckon...
Ok time is fleeting-this place closes at 7 so I gotta go somewhere else and mooch around instead. I miss my lappy so much :'( But I just finished reading 'Into The Wild' by John Krakeaur (or something like that) and it made me appreciate alot of stuff about my trip, and myself, I guess. It was all about this 20yr old guy who went to Fairbanks to live in the bush by himself, away from people...
Enjoying time by yourself and wanting solitude is perfectly normal, as is getting lonely. I shouldn't feel bad because I want to be around people, even though I like being by myself most of the time. I think that was my problem before...not understanding that craving human company when I'm on a solo trip isn't wrong/against the 'rules'.
Some crazy random guy gave me a t-shirt out of nowhere the other day while I was waiting at the bus stop. He's like "Do you like Coors Lite?"...I go "Ummm I dunno?" because I have no idea where he is going with it. Anyway he opens his jacket and stuffed on top of his shoulder (?) is a rolled up t-shirt and he says he got it from the bar because he bought a beer there. So I'm like "Ok if you're sure you don't want it?" then my bus came (yay) and I left. So random! He's probably not reading this but Dad: you're getting a Coors Lite t-shirt when I get home ;-)
I've bumbled on for long enough....I've got stuff to do, plus some mooching.
Stay classy!
-Lisher
It's been constant all day, at times it was much lighter-almost like a drizzle. What's a drizzle of snow called, I wonder...a snizzle?
The thing about snow, you see, is it's just like rain except it's solid. That might sound obvious but in the tv shows and movies the snow they use is of course fake, but snow in real life sticks to you and gets wet and gets in your eyes and sticks on your eyelashes. It's not so bad-just today I wore my volleys out and got stuck looking for the Alaskan Native Heritage Center (there was a sign but no building!!!) for like an hour and by the end of the hour my feet were frozen. So I think I will wear my Sorels from now on. Plus it means a little more space in my pack with them out.
Man this snow is so pretty. I'm sitting in Kaladi Bros Cafe again, right near the window and because it's dark the snow is all lit up as it drifts to the ground. I got covered in it today and you could actually make out individual snowflakes as they landed! I swear I saw two the same...
I made a snowperson, too. I'll put a pic up as soon as I can plug my camera in somewhere.
I hear there are big problems back at home with the weather? I'm disappointed I'm missing out on all the action! I hear Blacktown has been declared a natural disaster area? Hearing about all the hail damage makes me glad my car is in the garage-she's got enough hail damage as is!
This cafe is really cool-they're playing mad music (what makes me say that now is that The Eels - Trouble With Dreams just came on). After the solitude and eeriness of Homer it's great to be back somewhere where there is people and cafes open and....stuff. Homer had a distinct lack of *stuff* there. I saw some Bald Eagles which was cool but apart from that-no stuff. Only a 10km walk back to the Inn from Homer Spit.
I can't get over how pretty this snow is!
I'd really like to come back and see all this stuff again in summer-it would like going to a completely different place, I reckon...
Ok time is fleeting-this place closes at 7 so I gotta go somewhere else and mooch around instead. I miss my lappy so much :'( But I just finished reading 'Into The Wild' by John Krakeaur (or something like that) and it made me appreciate alot of stuff about my trip, and myself, I guess. It was all about this 20yr old guy who went to Fairbanks to live in the bush by himself, away from people...
Enjoying time by yourself and wanting solitude is perfectly normal, as is getting lonely. I shouldn't feel bad because I want to be around people, even though I like being by myself most of the time. I think that was my problem before...not understanding that craving human company when I'm on a solo trip isn't wrong/against the 'rules'.
Some crazy random guy gave me a t-shirt out of nowhere the other day while I was waiting at the bus stop. He's like "Do you like Coors Lite?"...I go "Ummm I dunno?" because I have no idea where he is going with it. Anyway he opens his jacket and stuffed on top of his shoulder (?) is a rolled up t-shirt and he says he got it from the bar because he bought a beer there. So I'm like "Ok if you're sure you don't want it?" then my bus came (yay) and I left. So random! He's probably not reading this but Dad: you're getting a Coors Lite t-shirt when I get home ;-)
I've bumbled on for long enough....I've got stuff to do, plus some mooching.
Stay classy!
-Lisher
Sunday, 9 December 2007
Random thoughts+pics
-Peter, the Russian guy (I think) was telling me in all seriousness that I shouldn't travel without a gun. His sisters do it all the time, apparently, so because I am also a girl I should carry a gun too.
-You know those yoghurt in a tube snack things they have in Australia? Well over here they have something called 'Fizzgurt' or equally stupid, and what it is, is 'fizzy yoghurt in a tube'. I haven't tried them because it's a waste to buy a pack of 6 for like $6 and then only eat half of one. Needless to say I bet they taste gross.
-On the topic of weird food, I was in the cracker aisle of the supermarket today (how appropriate?) and I saw their selection of rice cakes. In Australia we have maybe, 4 or 5 flavours. They have stacks-including ones like 'peanut butter choc chip' flavour. I bought some of the pple cinnamon ones. Very interesting-like all other grain products, they are laquered in sugar.
-Have I already talked about the rednecks in the van going down to Homer with me? Saying how they like rabbit stew (fair enough) but then saying they also enjoy eating squirrel...at least the driver had a sense of humour and made light of the conversation by interjecting 'They all taste like bald eagle to me...'
-The sand on the beaches here in Homer is black. Something to do with glacial silt or the 4 volcanoes scattered around the bay, I think. Either way it's pretty cool. And I'm not sure if it's just here or all over but the driftwood here isn't just the odd stick or whatever, it's a beach littered with what looks like old telegraph poles and tree trunks!
-The chance of seeing the Northern Lights in winter at Fairbanks is 80% if you are there for 3 days. I'm there from the 15th of Dec until around the 27th of Dec. Freaking awesome.
Another thing that is awesome-I have managed to get some pics up!!!
Nuff said. This is in Homer.
View from my window, Homer. Too bad I took this too late and the clouds had already rolled in. Still a nice view though.
![]()
Did somebody call Mr Plow?
More to come!!!
Thanks for stopping by,
-Lish
*as promised, here is that 'more'*
-There are these ads up here, for a place called 'Mattress Ranch'. It's a local business and the owner feels the need to make his own commercials, starring only himself. This isn't the actual ad that's on now but it's practically the same. In the new one he looks a bit older but he still wears the Spongebob Squarepants tie and dances around like a fool lip synching and holding a wad of cash (savings from buying his mattress from the mattress ranch, one infers). Apparently he just came out from a stint in jail for molesting kiddies. The creepiest part is, he has ads where he is dancing around with kids and stuff. Only in Alaska.
-Alcohol is unbelievably cheap, even up here...no wonder everybody gets drunk all the time. But I was in a bar and they didn't even have LEMONADE on their soft drink hose thingy. I couldn't believe it! They didn't have Blue Curacao, either. But they do have this stuff called Disaronni or something. Man it's good...
Sunrise. The sun actually rises at a respectble hour here. This shot wouldn't have been too long after 9.30am I think.
-You know those yoghurt in a tube snack things they have in Australia? Well over here they have something called 'Fizzgurt' or equally stupid, and what it is, is 'fizzy yoghurt in a tube'. I haven't tried them because it's a waste to buy a pack of 6 for like $6 and then only eat half of one. Needless to say I bet they taste gross.
-On the topic of weird food, I was in the cracker aisle of the supermarket today (how appropriate?) and I saw their selection of rice cakes. In Australia we have maybe, 4 or 5 flavours. They have stacks-including ones like 'peanut butter choc chip' flavour. I bought some of the pple cinnamon ones. Very interesting-like all other grain products, they are laquered in sugar.
-Have I already talked about the rednecks in the van going down to Homer with me? Saying how they like rabbit stew (fair enough) but then saying they also enjoy eating squirrel...at least the driver had a sense of humour and made light of the conversation by interjecting 'They all taste like bald eagle to me...'
-The sand on the beaches here in Homer is black. Something to do with glacial silt or the 4 volcanoes scattered around the bay, I think. Either way it's pretty cool. And I'm not sure if it's just here or all over but the driftwood here isn't just the odd stick or whatever, it's a beach littered with what looks like old telegraph poles and tree trunks!
-The chance of seeing the Northern Lights in winter at Fairbanks is 80% if you are there for 3 days. I'm there from the 15th of Dec until around the 27th of Dec. Freaking awesome.
Another thing that is awesome-I have managed to get some pics up!!!
Nuff said. This is in Homer.
View from my window, Homer. Too bad I took this too late and the clouds had already rolled in. Still a nice view though.
Did somebody call Mr Plow?
More to come!!!
Thanks for stopping by,
-Lish
*as promised, here is that 'more'*
-There are these ads up here, for a place called 'Mattress Ranch'. It's a local business and the owner feels the need to make his own commercials, starring only himself. This isn't the actual ad that's on now but it's practically the same. In the new one he looks a bit older but he still wears the Spongebob Squarepants tie and dances around like a fool lip synching and holding a wad of cash (savings from buying his mattress from the mattress ranch, one infers). Apparently he just came out from a stint in jail for molesting kiddies. The creepiest part is, he has ads where he is dancing around with kids and stuff. Only in Alaska.
-Alcohol is unbelievably cheap, even up here...no wonder everybody gets drunk all the time. But I was in a bar and they didn't even have LEMONADE on their soft drink hose thingy. I couldn't believe it! They didn't have Blue Curacao, either. But they do have this stuff called Disaronni or something. Man it's good...
Sunrise. The sun actually rises at a respectble hour here. This shot wouldn't have been too long after 9.30am I think.
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