Week 3

I know you've seen this same view about a million times now, but this is Juneau's downtown on my way to work this morning. The sun is rising so much later now, even in the two weeks since I've been here!


Do you see the light coming up in that little dip on the left side of Mt. Roberts?


Sitting on the couch at Caitlyn's, this is what I see out the window. Mt. Juneau! Lauren and I hiked that mountain last summer - maybe we'll get the guts to do it again, but really, the rain will be here non-stop, so I don't see that happening.



Today at work there was a little free time to be silly - and it was Katie's last day (every one is jealous). This is Lauren and Darlene. Lauren thinks she looks super tired and Darlene thinks she looks pale. Just for that I'm posting the picture so they can see how ridiculous those thoughts are. You ladies are gorgeous!


Below is Able. Remember the dude with the hurt foot playing the guitar a few days back? He is mostly better and back in action. He made that face special for me after the camera came out :)
This is the aforementioned Katie. She has been this season's trooper, being one of the only returning ops people from a previous year to be here at the beginning of the season. I've stories from May and June, and really, I don't know how she kept herself going to work. This is not the type of job one person can do, and training people to do it is a full job in of itself, let alone training and working! Katie, you are amazing! I'll miss you!


As for me, I'm holding up. Dispatching for 8 hours is so much more draining than driving 14! When driving there were breaks and only one person's schedule that I needed to concern myself with. Now I'm at the board almost non-stop and I have to keep 40 driver's schedules rotating in my brain. I'm pretty useless at the end of my shifts now. But, things will slow down, fewer ships will come in, and then I'll be back home - no doubt missing the mountain views and sea air. I need to get over this "grass is greener" bs and enjoy my time here! Everybody, just tell me to shut it!

So. With that, I will shut it.

Late start today

I have the pleasure of being the afternoon/evening MOD today, which means I get to enjoy a press of coffee instead of my togo cup's worth. Mac the dog is sitting under my legs between the coffee table and the couch and I'm getting excited for the next month. I need to look into some flights out of Spokane, now that my dad is picking me up in Seattle (in a month!).

Before I get all ramped up for leaving Juneau, I still need to make sure I do some things that missed out on last summer - helicopter rides to the glaciers! I have Friday and Saturday off this week, and I'm hoping I can get on one of the tours. If not, going for a zipline again would be amazing, and there is the chance to go fishing on Saturday out from Auke Bay.


These goons are some of the drivers that make it possible to operate a tour bus company. Don't they look like fun? Lauren was taking a break and shared some of the details about her new beau, and it was too funny not to take a picture. This one is a bit staged (I'm sure you can tell) but when I walked in and found them in a gaggle, I had to run back and grab my camera.

Lauren's beau works on one of the cruise ships, and she only gets to spend half a day with him every week. She is booking a vacation when the season is over and will be joining Wayne (the bf) in his home country of South Africa. South Africa! I excited for her!

And because I got so many messages saying my work space was too little, here is the half of the space you didn't see...

Juneau

(View from the plane on the way here)

I started work today - a whopping 9 hours of writing tomorrow's schedule. My brain hurts. Or, maybe I'm hungry. Or both. There is a lot of hostility in the office at this point. People don't want to help each other, things aren't getting done or getting missed. Its only been a day, but it seems like it's coming from the top down, and as it goes down, it gets messier.

It's great to see Lauren and Lev and the rest. Things pick up right where they left off, and that is wonderful. No awkwardness, no revving back up into the taunting and bull shitting. It is easy to be here with them.

Here are some images from my time here already.

Hilary! We were sitting in the driver's lounge waiting for Ms. Laura Rudy to be finished. A group crossword puzzle made this happen to her, but I don't remember how.

The front of Alyson's lawn, at the house I stayed at last night. You can't really see it, but there is a real back how bucket across the street.

Scenes from Tracy's Crab Shack - voted Juneau's can't miss eatery in some travel magazine, or travel site, or something. Lauren is the cashier (it's her fun money job!) and I feel a bit bad I caught her with this expression...but it's speaks volumes! I had a blast sitting at the little counter in front of the melted butter pot, chatting with her and drinking (free) beer. I also talked with just about every customer that came through the line, asking where they were from and such. We met two handfuls worth of Spokanites! Gonzaga toting locals. It was wonderful :)

This is the wonderful Erika. She Laura and Hilary are from Bellingham. They are upbeat and happy, and some of the best people I've ever met.

Laura is showing off her Alaskan car, complete with rusty wheel wells, a broken door hinge, and (when it rains) water filled floor boards.


Able hurt himself kicking a soccer ball. He can still play
a mean tune.
The Bellingham ladies + Stance Sampson (isn't that a great super hero name?) all showed me the newest shop in town where you can buy frozen yogurt, better known as froyo. It is DE Licious, as Dan would say.