Frosty Tuesday

It's Tuesday morning and I'm on cup'o'tea number two.... yikes! Must be the weather. This morning was our second morning waking up to frost. Winter is definitely on the way! I have some serious mixed feelings about this. First, I'm not thrilled with the frosty, dark mornings. It makes my bike commute a little uncomfortable and slightly stressful, mostly because I have to be on the lookout for moose. Second, I think the sudden onset of chilly weather is making me sluggish. Third, it means that summer is really gone, and this was a summer that completely got away from me. Sad.

But it's important to look on the bright side. Summer in Alaska is supposed to be this magnificent time of year that we all live for. But so far Alaskan summers have let us down a little bit. The summer of 2008 in Juneau was the rainiest Southeast had seen in years... and then Leigh and I broke up for 8 or 9 months! Skip ahead to summer 2011 and the first half saw beautiful weather but also a lot of health problems and a death in the family. The second half, when we were starting to pull ourselves together, was rainy and gross. Summer Fail!

Last winter, on the other hand, was pretty awesome. We took up skiing, stayed active, hung out with friends and made the most of the long, dark days. I was really proud of us. So even though Fall is kinda tough with it's in-between-ness, it means ski season is just around the corner. Leigh and I have decided to take part in some real, honest-to-God ski events this year too, not just playing in the park. We have from November to end of January to re-learn how to ski and get back into shape, then the season will end with some fun fundraisers and stuff:

• Feb 4: Ski for Women, a fun 4k that raises money to fight against domestic violence in our community (if you know anything about Alaska you know how important this is!)
• Feb 17-20: Renting a giant cabin with work friends for a weekend of skiing
• March 4: the Tour of Anchorage 25/50k
• March 17: Oosik Classic in Talkeetna 25/50k

Everyone at work is starting to make their annual travel plans. Like I mentioned before, my judge is running off to France for a month. The secretary is planning a handful of vacations with her family (Hawaii, Seattle, a cruise!) and I'm left to brainstorm my travel plans before I get sucked into a lifetime of being chained to a desk. Lucky for me, Condor has published their summer fares to Europe! Here's the plan:

• May 1, fly to Vienna, hang out a few days. See and opera, eat chocolate, drink coffee, take pictures
• May 5, take the train to Munich to spend a few days visiting a friend in Bavaria
• May 9, take the train to Paris. Spend one day in Paris.
• May 11, take the train to Taizé(!!!), get my prayer on with the monks
• May 16, take the train to Geneva to hang out with a Taizé friend and actually see the city without being limited by freezing temperatures and it being a Sunday
• May 19, fly back to Anchorage

This is the long version. If I can't get this much time off work I will start my trip in Munich on May 1 and come back on May 15 instead. The cost is the same, more or less, it's just a question of sufficient time off from work. Leigh is super supportive because she's amazing, and because she wants me to bring back presents. Next time I go abroad it'll be a trip for both of us, probably to the UK.

Speaking of travel with Leigh, June 1, 2012 is our 10 year anniversary (of dating, not marriage). So we are planning something big. Right now the idea is a trip to New York City. Initially we thought Montreal or San Francisco, but flight to New York are very reasonable and we know the city a little bit, so we can really capitalize on our time there. Basically we're going to visit with Leigh's brother, eat a lot of great food, party in Greenwich Village, and maybe see a concert at the Mercury Lounge or something. Simple stuff. It should be a blast.

In the meantime, we're still focused on our Christmas trip for THIS year. This means watching our spending right now to save for shopping and fun. It's kind of tough since I've barely gone anywhere since moving to Alaska, but once Christmas rolls around I'll have a lot of great things to look forward to for the remainder of my clerkship :-)

Ah, Paris, comme vous me manque...

Part of the reason I have my current job, that would be clerkship #2, is because I spent a school year working as an English teacher in Antibes, France. It was a glorious year of my life. I had limited responsibility and an entire continent at my fingertips, waiting to be explored. Though I was significantly limited by my income (about 800 euros per month, from which I had to pay rent in the South of France and eat in addition to traveling), I was able to do a significant amount of traveling. This blog really flourished during that time, as I constantly had new pictures and adventures to write about. So far I believe this to have been the best year of my life.

So how did this get me my current job? Well that year I was taking phone interviews for clerkships. I happen to be interviewed by a judge who loves to travel and is currently learning French as his primary hobby. I didn't get that job, but late that summer he called to offer me a clerkship to follow the job I was eventually offered. I took the job. I mean, have you seen the economy? Who would turn down a JOB?

So here I am, working for a very nice judge in the superior court who also happens to love traveling and learning languages. Every year he takes about a month off to attend a language school and do some traveling. During this month he works from his new location and his clerk stays behind in Anchorage to do some writing and editing while he is gone. I knew this when I got the job. I had resigned myself to staying behind and hopefully saving up for my own trip to Europe in the spring.

Then, today, my judge says [joking], "Emily, you should just come to Paris too. We'll run the office from there!"

PARIS..... lovely, glorious, magical Paris that stole my heart though I tried so hard to resist.....

Of course he was only joking, so I replied, "Hey, you buy me a ticket and I'll go home and grab my passport."

But no matter how deep in my bones I know that he was only joking, and how much I know that I can't afford to shell out $1,200 to go to Paris right now, of course this got me thinking. You know, Leigh can hardly mutter the name of a foreign city without me researching how much a potential trip might cost and planning a skeleton itinerary for some unknown future date in which we might have the time and money to make this trip. So how do you think a person like me would react to such an off-hand comment?

Well, I started remembering how pleasant I found Paris to be all THREE times I found myself there in 2010. Walking around aimlessly, enjoying the urban and park spaces, la Marais, le quartier latin, buying fabric at the foot of Montmartre near Abesses....

The FOOD......
The WINE..........

The chance to practice my French, to really experience this city that I've only had little tastes of, to meet up with old friends.....

Then I remembered that I'm planning my own European trip and how much I think it will cost me (about $1500 in transportation, including the overseas flight and getting between cities). Wow, that's a big chunk to spend on my little addiction. So wouldn't it be AMAZING to work, in Paris, during the week then fly to say Vienna for the weekend. Then fly to, say, Munich for a long weekend to hang out with a Taizé friend, then maybe take a long weekend and actuall GO TO Taizeé??? Or zip over to Geneva to see another Taizé friend, or down to Antibes to see some teaching friends and soak up the sun? With a home base and an income, all of these things are possible for just a little bit of money....

..... but my judge, he was only joking about Paris. So you see? It's just cruel to suggest such a thing to a travel-addicted but slightly impoverished clerk like myself. Both saddled with my love of exploring foreign places and a pressing amount of student debt while attempting to live off a modest State salary. So cruel, so heartless, so not funny...... I've decided it should be considered a terrible social faux pas to dangle a fantastic [and even worse, FREE] trip in front of a travel-obsessed person who is currently unable to travel due to various realities of life. My realities: my life and money, and the fact that if I bought my own ticket and showed up at my judge's Paris apartment with a bag in hand he might feel a smidge put out.

So I need to stop planning this thing that won't happen on anyone's dime but my own. I need to focus on my work, getting a permanent job for next year, and saving for my own European trip, where I'll do all of the above things, but on my own time and on my own dime.

Alors, Paris, jusqu'a la prochaine fois.....

Super Lame Blogger

Yep, that's me. I haven't posted anything in a few weeks. Not because nothing has happened, but because I haven't had time to reflect on anything long enough to determine if I should bother writing about it. Also, I don't have any pictures to share. This makes me think that I generally do not take enough pictures of my life. Lame.

Anyway, the past two weeks have been hella busy, but mostly just boring stuff: work and such. We have been working on a big case at work and my judge is mere days away from embarking on a month long vacation (lucky), so we're trying to clear up his to do list before he goes. Two weeks ago was busy enough and then I got a huge project on Thursday, which caused me to work through the weekend. Last week I finished that up and kept plugging away so at least I got to chill out on the weekend (and I really needed it!). Now things are getting back to normal, which is nice, and I've earned 23 hours of comped time off, which is super awesome.

I haven't been a total hermit either. The past two weeks alone I've been rotating friends to have dinner with and get the dogs together to play at our house. Even when I'm so busy I just want to sleep in my down time, it's great to have lots of social plans. They keep me disciplined, force me to clean my house, and provide a built-in mental break from work, errands, etc. Even so, Leigh and I have scheduled some serious down time for Friday evening. On Saturday we're doing dinner and a puppy play date with some friends, plus party planning.

Did I mention we're hosting a 1960s Mad Men themed party?!?!?! I've never thrown a theme party before so this should be interesting. Basically, it's an excuse to dress up and drink too much while listening to old music. I'm so excited!!!

Our house is still rocking my world, even though today our alarm system went on the fritz so Leigh and I rushed home from work at 11am to find nothing wrong. Hopefully that doesn't happen too often. Juneau Cat is her typical cutie pie self and Cannelle Puppy is growing and full of energy of course. Both are beautiful and perfect. Sometimes I'm amazed at how much I love those little girls.

Leigh is coming down from a very tough time of year at work. She pulled through her first truly busy season with flying colors. Now she can coast through until Christmastime when absolutely nothing big happens at her job. Speaking of Christmas and winter in general, my friend Joan pointed out to me that there's snow on the mountains as of this morning! Wow! Of course this means we're still several weeks away from snow on the ground, but still.... crazy! It's almost ski/sweater/snow boots/darkness 18 hours per day season.

Speaking of Christmas again, our vacation plans are almost complete. We have our flights booked and have arranged to stay at a condo near Orlando owned by my friend's parents. It should be amazing and relaxing and comparably warm. I can't wait! Now we just need to book a car, save some spending money, and we're all set.

So that's the general update. Hopefully soon I'll do something fun enough to take pictures of and blog about.

Weekend Away- Hope, AK

Our much anticipated Labor Day weekend away from Anchorage has come and gone. It was so nice to get away from our routine, the house, errands, etc. Don't get me wrong, we LOVE our house. We love our neighborhood, hanging out at home, etc. But everyone needs a break sometimes. It had been months since I'd even left town, unless that day trip to Seward counts, but I don't think it should because we barely got out of the car!

Last Friday was Leigh's last Friday where her office closed at 3. We went home and prepared to leave for Hope early the next morning. The drive down Saturday went well and, after weeks of consistently crappy weather, the skies looked promising. We arrived at the cabin and were pretty pleased with it. The cabin doesn't have plumbing or electricity, but it has a woodstove and a clean outhouse, plus a camp stove and lanterns. Rustic, yes, but it had everything we needed. A couple of people could comfortably spend a night or two there, especially if they have some camping experience. Cannelle Puppy was beside herself with excitement, running around the cabin and smelling all the trees and mushrooms. So cute!

We got a fire started in the woodstove (after much trial and error), then headed out for a hike. We wanted to hike Twin Lakes, which involves a rather long journey up a rough dirt road for about 10 miles. It took us about an hour to get to the trailhead, but it was worth the drive!

Twin lakes is a beautiful hike through a valley with rushing streams and old mining equipment here and there. The path is pretty sturdy with some rocky parts, but we felt secure hiking the whole time. A few other families were out enjoying the trail too, so we felt safe from bears and such. Plus this hike is above the treeline, so the likelihood of a critter jumping out at us was minimal.


That evening we were invited to visit one of my District Court judges at her "cabin" nearby. The word "cabin" is really just another indication of my judge's modesty because her place is absolutely gorgeous, complete with electricity, plumbing and a fire pit. The structure was brand new when her family bought it, so it's not wonder they are making the 2 hour drive to Hope every weekend possible. Another judge was there with his wife and their dog. We had a lovely time with a glass of wine and some homemade ice cream.
Cannelle had a great weekend too. My judge doted on her on Saturday night, saying how beautiful she is (like Cannelle doesn't know that!), and she snuggled with us in front of the fire pit. She got to play outside a lot over those two days, which made her really from Saturday evening until Tuesday evening! She also got to bond with us for two whole days, even sleeping in the same room. This meant she kept trying to wake us up at night to play with her, but it was a good experience all around.
On Sunday afternoon Leigh and I started feeling a little icky. Sleeping on hard surfaces had done a number on Leigh's back and, after two days of indulging in rich food, my stomach wasn't too happy with me. We decided to head home Sunday evening instead of Monday morning. So we gave up one pre-paid night in the cabin, but it's cheap lodging and sometimes it's better to just listen to your body.
We found Hope to be generally very relaxing and beautiful. It was the perfect escape from our lives in Anchorage and only about 2 hours away by car! We've already decided to go back for some snowshoeing over Thanksgiving. In the future though, I think we'll just plan to stay one night.