But let's back up to Saturday. I took three flights, kept getting interrupted while watching Django Unchained (never got to finish and then my rental expired), but finally arrived at FAI at about 5:30pm AKDT. My oversize bag didn't show up, and, as luck would have it, all my toiletries were in it. So, Josh (my supervisor) picked me up, took me by the grocery store so I could buy some more supplies, and then took me to the house I'm staying at all summer.
The family I'm living with, the Laughlins, are great. It's just a husband and wife and their very animated 12-year-old daughter (and a cat named Luke), so it's not crowded, but definitely doesn't feel empty. They live about halfway up Birch Hill, a large hill northeast of town that goes up a few hundred feet. Here's some crappy iPhone pictures of Luke and the view from their backyard.
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It's nestled in some trees on a well sized piece of land. When "go-green" happens, the white birch trees will bloom and join the spruces in greenery. And, of course, bring all kinds of wonderful allergens into the air. Yay for sniffles. (sidenote: this should have happened about three weeks ago; "breakup," when all the snow melts and the rivers thaw, is almost a month late this year because of unseasonably cold temperatures creeping into what should be spring's territory — it was 25 this morning and got all the way up to 33 this afternoon).
Yesterday, I slept late and spent the day getting organized in my living space, buying groceries, and prepping for my first day.
Got to work at 8am today when it was still freezing cold. I chose to drive the Laughlin's old truck to work since it was so cold. Once it gets above 35 or 40 degrees in the mornings, I think I'll dress warmly and bike to work. It's pretty close. I can bring my work clothes to change into at the office; I won't sweat that early in the morning.
(funny sidenote: we all were hanging out in the front office at 7:55, waiting for the overall supervisor, Adia (uh-DEE-uh, as I later learned), to arrive and start the training. She walks in at 7:55 and the first thing she does is stop in her tracks and say, "All of you are here at 5 of 8? ...what the hell?" and walks straight into her office. She has a funny, quirky personality, and she seems like a good leader.
All morning was a staff training meeting for the summer season, since today is officially the first day of "summer" season and summer hours. Even though the Chena River (the river that downtown Fairbanks straddles) out the window of the conference room is still half-frozen. Funny incident: a 55(?)-year-old new seasonal hire had some obvious cartooning skills, and during a team-building exercise during which we all drew pictures, he drew a beautifully drawn picture of, and I quote, "this is what happened to me this morning: my dog took a shit right in front of me as I took a shit in my outhouse, and I reflected on the irony of the situation and decided to draw it." Goofy guy. (sidenote: lots of Fairbanksans have outhouses since a lot of the housing in the greater Fairbanks area consists of "dry" cabins, i.e. cabins that have no water piping to them. This means outhouses and hauling water jugs to your cabin).
We had a staff pizza party and then did some touring of relevant places in Fairbanks. Adia walked us through downtown Fairbanks when it was 33 degrees outside, and she was the one who complained the most about the cold (I certainly would've liked to have complained about the cold; all I had on was a fleece jacket in addition to my button-down shirt and jeans; I hadn't anticipated a foray outside on just my first day). She calls snow "the s-word," and hates the cold. Even she wonders why she lives in Alaska. Funny how life works out sometimes, I guess. Anyway, then she drove us around in a GOV (government-owned vehicle, about which she told a funny story about a former volunteer drinking and driving in it with a minor in the car while on a staff field trip), stopping by all of our partner agencies (BLM, the NPS, DNR, Fish & Game, Fish & Wildlife, lots of other acronyms and names that aren't really relevant to my particular role with the organization...at all). But all in all, it was a nice orientational day to get myself acquainted with the FAPLIC and what it does.
But tomorrow, I take pictures. We have a staff field trip to Chena Hot Springs, about fifty miles outside of Fairbanks. Supposedly it's beautiful. It's also going to be cold, so I'm bringing warm clothes and camera-friendly gloves). Apparently we also can't go to Angel Rocks, which is another apparently beautiful place that is near the hot springs, but is 51 miles from the FAPLIC. We can't go anywhere over 50 miles away from the FAPLIC without filling out a travel authorization, which, in the government bureaucracy that is the National Park Service, takes a few weeks to get approved. Adia forgot about that caveat until a few days ago, which is too late. Alas, we will not be going to Angel Rocks.
Anyway, I have all my gear packed for tomorrow, they're giving us free lunch for the second day in a row, I cook myself delicious breakfast, and the Laughlins cook me delicious dinner. All's well up here.
Pictures from Chena Hot Springs to come next week. Because I can't get on computers at the office yet because IT is over in Eagle for who knows what reason. So that beautiful 27-inch iMac at the office will have to wait until next week. But, after then, I'll be churning out some (hopefully good, it's been a while) shots.
Love this place so far. It's so rugged, everyone is outdoorsy, athletic, and loves getting out and enjoying the beautiful lands all over the state. Can't wait to see what this summer has in store for me once we get out of the icebox.
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