Our Travels (cont.)

While I was getting the Boo and myself to our new home, my bride had been detoured across the country. In fact, although the counter agent at O'Hare airport said she was scheduling her on the flight to Seattle, a subsequent phone call to the Alaska Airlines reservation line showed that nothing of the kind had happened. It was a good thing that she called, and a big shame on you for the AA folks at O'Hare! Alaska Airlines apparently had a record of my wife's call to confirm our reservations, and the reservations agent immediately gave her a discount on her next airfare. Not good all around. (Except for the discount part).

She made the flights without problem, but she got into Anchorage at about 2 am, and did not get to Napaskiak until 9 am Monday morning. I urged her to get a little sleep, but she was too wired up on insomnia and caffeine to do so. So we started unpacking more totes, and eventually some fellas showed up to deliver our furniture (in unassembled states). We did get our bed delivered, so we left in the afternoon for Bethel secure in the notion that we had a place for both of us (and the dog) to sleep upon our return on Wednesday.

Off we went, back across the river for the second time in less than 24 hours. We delivered our dogs to the sitter, and I was a little worried about my little dog in a garage with a bunch of other dogs in the cold. Of course, I was being silly, and he apparently charmed both the pet sitters and their mom. He does that sort of thing frequently.

We got through two days of inservices that I actually found to be pretty useful, and returned on Wednesday night to a nice house, but no heat. That issue was sorted out in short order on Thursday, and we were able to get on with the task of setting up house in relative comfort. More inservices were in store for Thursday and Friday here in PKA, and the weekend was divided between assembling furniture and unpacking furniture, with a little work at the school thrown in for good measure.

Now, it is the night before school begins for the 2011-2012 school year. Most of us have worked long and hard today to get ready for tomorrow, and it still doesn't seem as if I am ready. I suspect that many of my compatriots feel the same way. All over the nation, beleaguered teachers are getting ready for a new group of students descending upon them. I wish them luck. We will all need it.

What Home Looks Like These Days...

I am taking a break from the travel update to post a few photos showing what our new apartments look like. Pretty nice, eh? They are a far cry from the old digs, that is for certain. Most of the boxes and totes have been emptied and put away, and the furniture has been assembled. There was a little glitch with the heat for the first few days, but it was quickly repaired. It was fortunate that the weather has been cool, but not cold.

We will be working for the next two days to get classrooms in order and lesson plans completed for the first week of school. Another year is upon us, and it will be interesting to see how things go. I hope that I have matured as a teacher, but that will not be immediately clear. The new group of kids will be interesting to work with, and I hope to get the new 7th graders on board with the program soon.

The Odyssey...

Ok, it wasn't that dramatic. I got back to Anchorage and Bethel without incident. I took the layover time in Anchorage to hit the closest Fred Meyer and stock up on a few groceries, with the help of a list that my wife thoughtfully texted me. It was a little tense, but my faithful dog accompanied me and helped me maintain composure.

I saw a number of familiar faces on the trip to Bethel, including our superintendent of schools. I felt the pull of the delta as we got closer to landing. Joe Bavilla was waiting for me at the river with his boat. Buddha and I huddled in the boat against the wind as we flew down the river towards Napaskiak. I actually made a windscreen for the little guy with a piece of luggage, as he had recently had a haircut and didn't have a bunch of insulation against the wind and rain.

Eric and Sara Jung had thoughtfully provided me with a twin mattress so that I would have a place to sleep. Not all of the furniture had been delivered, and that which had had not been unpacked or assembled. I was excited to get into our new place, and set about to unpacking and storing some of our personal items. The apartment was cold, and I turned up the thermostat, but did not notice any change in the temperature. This was to have unintended consequences for the neighbors as the evening went on.

After a couple of hours of unpacking, I finally unboxed a recliner so that I could sit down and balance my dog on my lap. It felt good to leave the chair and crawl under some warm covers atop the mattress on the floor...

We're Back...

Although there was a fair amount of complexity involved...we began preparations for our annual migration to LKSD in the week before our actual departure. They consisted mostly of a series of trips to the post office, so that we could mail as much as possible up here. I haven't assured myself that it is cheaper than taking totes on the plane, but, given the fact that we travel with three dogs, it is likely much less stressful. The process took us until Saturday to complete, the day that we left to see my sister in Chicago.

We had a wonderful summer, getting to spend some time with family and friends. We celebrated the entry into the world of three new babies, and I got to see one of them before my wife did, which aggravated her to no end, and entertained me to no end. We rode our bikes, and I got to ride my new bike, although probably not as much as we should have.

Saturday, August 6 was the day that we set for our exodus into the wilds of Chicago. In a former life, the challenges of the city did not require the adjustments that they do now after twenty-five years of rural life. Keep in mind that the rural life that I have been living for the past two years is especially rural by comparison with the setting in Cadillac Michigan. Our drive to Arlington Heights, Il was smooth and without incident. We got to see my sister Liz, and her new house, which is really nice. It has a park where we could walk dogs and do keen stuff like that. Our visit was very pleasant, and we look forward to future visits.

On Sunday, we made the 20-minute ride to the airport without incident. It was to be the last thing to go that smoothly for the entire day. I returned our rental car, and went to the terminal, only to find my wife still in line with a look of consternation on her face. She was being told that we did not have reservations on the airplane for the two of our dogs that travel in the cargo hold. She had previously made such a reservation, and had confirmed that a week or so before we traveled. Nonetheless, we were told that it was a no-go. She would have to take the dogs on a later flight that would take her through Seattle and into Anchorage at 2 a.m. As far as Bethel was concerned, she would not arrive there until Monday morning.

There had apparently been space reserved for Buddha, our little guy, to fly inside the cabin. We decided that I would take him, head for Anchorage, get some groceries, get to Napaskiak, get into the new house, and try to start making some headway on moving in before she got back. I managed to contact Liz, who was able to come over and pick up Chelsea before she went to work, and said that she could take her to the airport before her evening flight. Would it all work? What fate awaited the travelers on their way home? More clues will follow...

Preparations Continue...

We continue to get ready for our semi-annual sojourn back to Alaska. Packing and shipping continue, although we are mostly looking at small items, as the big stuff is gone. Word is that our apartments are ready for occupancy, with furniture assembly to be completed (we hope) by the time that we arrive Sunday night.

These last days find us focused mostly on trying to make sure that we do not forget any necessary steps in the process of closing up the house, and making sure that we see as many friends and family as is possible before we step onto the plane on Sunday morning.

As I look around town on these last few days, I am struck by how much it has become a part of my life. I came here as an adult, and have ended up living here longer than any other place during my lifetime. I will miss it, but I am looking forward to returning with cautious optimism. A new set of challenges await us, and I expect that we will be up to them. Life will take on a few more changes this year, but change in life is something that I am getting more used to...

Thunder and Lightning...

...and poor Dan is cowering in the corner. He doesn't much care for storms, and is getting to the point that he is very reluctant to even go out in the rain. I feel bad for him, as I understand that it has been raining consistently back home. He won't have much choice.

Word is that housing has been approved by the district, with a few minor corrections to be made tomorrow. Furniture will then be assembled and installed in the units, and our stored belongings will be moved in. With any luck, this can be done by Sunday, when we return. The irony of it is that we will be there less than 24 hours, and then we will return to Bethel.

At least we will have a roof over our heads that is something other than our classrooms...

The Summer Moves Towards Completion...

We have made it through another wonderful Traverse City Film Festival, which also means that our summer in Northern Michigan is nearly at an end. We saw eight movies, including the usual number of thought-provoking (and occasionally hilarious) documentaries. There was a focus this year on the challenges faced by working people in the face of continuing income centralization and inequality. It is clear to me that the world in which I lived as a child, marked by the existence of a solid American middle class, is no more. Those in this country who have the money have the power in a way that resembles most closely the Gilded Age of the late 19th century, and they are determined to use it to their maximum advantage. They no longer need American consumer spending in a "world economy," so their only concern is to make certain that the walls outside their gated compounds are high enough to keep out the troublemakers. Of course, this has been the truth for most of the rest of the world throughout the formerly halcyon age of the American middle class, so in some ways we are just catching up with the rest of the world.

Enough of my rants. We had a wonderful week between films, and managed to spend some more time with friends and family. We will keep working on that this week as we take care of the busy work that must be done to prepare for the trip to Alaska that starts on Sunday morning. There are totes to buy and pack, and some last minute dental work to get accomplished. We will be busy, but I think that we somehow enjoy being busy, even when we bitch about it. It is probably good to feel useful, and happily engaged in the world.

Looking back on the summer, I feel that I accomplished a few things that were important. I finished the classes that I need to get my professional license in Alaska, and I finished my AKT2 program, at least as I understand it. I am informed that we need to make mileage pledges for next summer's biking season, but that will take care of itself in due time. After all, vacation should include some serious leisure time in my estimation.

On to the new week and the renewed grapple with the challenges of life in the Bush...