Dark

Well, I'm flying, so no worries. My plane is in the evening; I'll be in Alaska by midnight. Hm, you know, I guess technically, I don't get there until Wednesday. My sister is keeping the car, which is why I want to make sure it's fixed up.

I am! I've been looking forward to this for 3 years. At least. I will send details when I can, with pictures!

Meanie Tuesday's the travel day, so I wasn't counting that one

So, the cat is totally freaked out. As of today, I've got another load for goodwill, some items for electronic recycling, and 8 boxes to mail. I'm not looking forward to the bill for those. Tuesday (the day before yesterday), I received notice from Alaska's department of teacher credentialing that I can now work, pending approval through the FBI (to make sure I'm not a child molester or anything ). What they're going to grant me for NCLB highly qualified status I don't yet know. Chances are, I'll have to argue some points, but I highlighted those in my cover letter, so we'll see. Tonight, I get to wash the cat. Tomorrow, I go to see my stylist. Levi. Mmm, it's such a shame that he's married. And straight. Ah, well, he's still pretty to look at. Plus, I have to mail at least 4 of those boxes. And mail my guitar (I decided to mail it). Saturday, the cat goes to the vet for his shots and health certification. I'll mail the rest of the boxes. Either tomorrow or Saturday, I have to drop off the recycling and goodwill stuff. Sunday, I am taking the car to get detailed and meeting my guitar teacher for lunch to hang out. Monday, the movers come. Then the cleaners. And then I get to drive down to San Diego to pick up my sister and come back home. Tuesday morning the car goes into the shop for a warranty issue I just got notified of. Plus, I'm gonna ask about the cruise control, as that just stopped working as of yesterday. Tuesday is also the day for any last minute things. There's always a few. And then... Then, at last... I go to Alaska!

So, moving day is in just over a week and I'm a little freaked by how much I still have left to do. And then I tell myself that the chaos is normal and I've still got time and I calm down a little again. Today was the last day of school. I gave my last final and recorded my last grade. I turned in my keys and emptied my desk. Also updated the stuff on the walls. We had our annual end of the year BBQ on Tuesday and my coworkers gave me a nice card with all sorts of good wishes inside. I admit I teared up a little. I got an Amazon gift card as well, which will definitely come in handy as my new coworkers tell me that Amazon and Costco are the way to shop out in Chevak. Graduation was yesterday. It was a beautiful day. I got to see many of my students from last year. I feel a lot closer to most of them than the students I have this year. I guess that sort of thing happens, but it seems odd. I'm glad I got to say goodbye. Today was awkward as I went around doing my end-of-year paperwork. Everyone wanted "just 5 minutes" to say goodbye or wish me well. It was nice, but a little overwhelming. I had specifically asked my principal to not make an announcement because I hate all the hoopla, but she did it anyway at the last staff meeting. Within an hour of the meeting, my students were asking me if I'd gotten fired. School gossip; yet one more reason I wanted to keep things low-key. The folks that cared already knew because I told them myself. I haven't heard back about my Alaskan teaching credential and I'm a little nervous about shipping stuff out to the school, but it's not like I can wait much longer. I did get notice that my beginning teacher portfolio (that horrible class I've been taking this year and last) passed its requirements, so I've applied (and paid for) my new California credential as well. Funny how government paperwork works, isn't it? I think the cat is suffering from anxiety. He's naturally affectionate but it's become extreme since my roommate left. He won't let me out of his sight and he's licking the heck out of his front legs. He's got a vet appointment for his health certification (to be cleared to fly) next week, so I'll ask them about his behavior. Anyone have any good suggestions about traveling with a cat? Never done that before, so ... I'm going down to San Diego this weekend to spend 3 days with my sister, her husband, and his kids who are visiting for the summer. We're going to the zoo on Saturday. I haven't been to the SD Zoo since I was ... 13? I think. Anyway, it's been awhile. Somebody stumbled upon my yGallery account this week and fav'd an old sci-fi ramble. I re-read it, of course, and it doesn't seem as bad as I remember. Still dunno if I want to post it here. It is old and doesn't really go anywhere. It was a play on that mpreg thing that was all the rage a few years ago. LOL I also wrote a little this past week. It's an alternate-earth type of setting and a young adult story starring a ninja-in-training by the name of Pandaren. I originally wrote this story as a round robin type of thing similar to how I created Waylon's Crossing and I'm eager to write more, but I need to finish The Return first. Now that I've the first chapter of Razi written, I'm going to concentrate on finishing my current story and editing TOIW. I'm hoping that I'll have plenty of time to write once the chaos of moving is done. So, I know that I'll be upgrading to a smartphone when I move and switch over to the new carrier. Since my school is an apple school, I'll be getting an iphone and my budget will handle an ipad mini as well, so that's the technology plan for next year. I've been resisting the smartphone craze for many years now and it's time to bite the bullet as it'll be cheaper (and easier) to tether my phone to my laptop for home internet than it will be to pay for satellite internet out where I'll be. I can't believe moving day is almost here.

Lovely to hear how you and Paya are doing after the big move! Stay strong! and call home if you're feeling tempted. It's amazing how the loved ones in our lives can give us meaning for things. I wonder if it's all about the expectations? Diet is a hard thing to manage no matter how healthy you are, so my hat's off to you. As far as re-engaging here, have you considered the author forums? The CAP saga can get pretty heated at times.

Pokes thread.

And that was in 2009. Wonder if he's still posting stuff and if we should invite him to update his list?

So, my sister came up to help me on Friday with my storage unit. We stuffed her minivan full of my boxes and hauled it all back to where I'm currently living. We pulled out the few units that will be going to my new home (the rest will go to storage in Alaska) and then we got to work on the remainder of my bedroom. The miscellaneous boxes I've been living out of the last 2 years are now gone. Funny how the room seems so much bigger. But it hit me as I set the last box on the stack that -- sweet Jesus! -- in one month I'll be back in Alaska! It's really happening. I guess the money I shelled out to pay off my credit card wasn't enough ... I'm practically itching to get going. Other things I realized this week... (1) I have cat stuff at my parents' but I'll need another set for Chevak (2) I have way more ebooks than I realized (3) I forgot to grab my bookmarks off my old laptop before handing it over to be purged (4) I still don't know where the controllers are for my PS2 (5) Flash drives breed On a different note, My sister and brother-in-law want my car, so that's one worry off my checklist. My niece and nephew will be out to visit their dad in June, so I'll get to hang out with them before I leave. I'll be accompanying them to the San Diego Zoo and to a waterpark. Not sure what else. My sister suggested I use google plus (?) as an alternative to Facebook in order to stay connected to friends down here in CA. Anyone know how to do that? I checked it out when I got home today and either I'm blind or it's not as easy to find as my sister made it out to be. Granted, it was part of a 5-second conversation as I was leaving her house this morning. BTW, she and her husband moved out of the hellhole they've been in the last year. Much nicer place they've got, and the house certainly has character! LOL. There's a pillar in the living room and all the doors are different colors. I turned in my final portfolio for my beginng teacher program last week, so that's a weight off my shoulders. Choir is officially over for the summer (as of today), so another responsibility bites the dust. Since my students are all working on class projects this coming week, I may actually be able to leave school before dark. I wonder if that means I'll be able to get some writing done? I've been plagued with visions of Dmitri and Mordred surrounded by pirates singing sea chanties. Anyone know of some good ones? Also, the latest Star Trek movie sucked ass.

Ben Kingsley! I love this book. The special effects look awesome, but I wonder if it'll live up to expectations.

Welcome and hello! I'm Dark and I'm moving to Alaska. We're an even odder bunch in chat.

So here I am trying to keep myself on track. This shall be my things I still need to do in order to get up to Alaska and my new job. 1. Transfer Credential -- ready to be mailed -- Application form -- status: filled out, notarized -- Fingerprints -- status: completed and in packet -- Transcripts -- status: located and in packet -- CSULB Recommendation Form -- status: received and in packet -- Test Scores (CBST, CSET) -- status: received and in packet -- Teaching Certificate -- status: downloaded and in packet -- PRAXIS Test -- status: passed Gen Science test taken May 4th -- awaiting official scores 2. Sorting/Cleaning/Packing -- storage unit -- status: ready, closed out account and items are not sorted and at the house -- home closet -- status: ready -- home bedroom -- status: ready 3. Donations -- clothes/shoes -- status: packed up, ready for delivery -- stuffed animals -- status: dropped-off Friday, May 3rd to SAFE -- books -- status: complete -- salvation army -- status: INCOMPLETE, 2nd bunch of junk ready for drop-off -- electronics -- status: INCOMPLETE, received back-up drive, old laptops with BiL for purging 4. Moving Company -- decision -- status: chosen Airvan, emailed rep -- goods survey/estimate -- status: survey done, awaiting estimate tally -- Alex (the rep) says he estimates 2500 lbs and 2 shipping crates, which would be approx $4500 -- pick-up/moving day -- status: scheduled for July 1st -- expected delivery -- status: UNKNOWN -- school supplies -- boxed and ready to take to school 5. Alaska Storage -- location -- status: uncertain, still need to convince parents I can store in a facility -- size -- status: unknown, see above 6. New Job -- Job Fair -- status: complete, job chosen: Chevak, AK -- resume -- status: complete -- job status -- status: conditional upon credential transfer, Praxis scores -- classes -- status: UNCERTAIN, but 8-10th grades, physical science, biology, and? -- school supplies -- status: IN PROGRESS, need a list of things already acquired and items needed to acquire -- current school supplies -- status: PENDING, need to mail ahead, begin after CST testing 7. Mom's Shopping List -- God, I love my mother, but I swear she thinks I'm going to freeze to death and/or starve and/or die from lack of entertainment. -- IN PROGRESS, emailed first draft, need to think of more stuff she can buy to make her happy

Ooh, hummus! I can't stand the taste of powdered milk, either. I think the biggest problem with the milk/cheese is the shipping, so definitely checking out other sources of protein is a must. I have to wait and see what kind of fresh fish/meat I'll be able to get. If I understand correctly, that will depend on the generosity of the natives, since I won't be able to get a hunting license out there. Not that I really want to shoot my own and drag it home anyway. Can one live without butter?

Oh, I hadn't thought about vegan recipes. Thanks!

So, I'm headed to a place where getting fresh dairy is highly unlikely if not impossible. I need some help finding recipes and things I can cook/bake that don't require milk or butter. I can get eggs, but I'm not sure about protein unless it can come out of a box/can. And please don't suggest spam.

Alas, I'm definitely going to miss this. I need to be out of my current place before the 4th of July and in Alaska. I desperately want the time with my family and prep time before I head out to my new job.

Wouldn't mind one myself.

Oh, and another one! Can't sleep? LOL. ... Must ... not ... give ... away ... secrets!

haha, my first reaction was Bruce? Now I got it, though. Yeah, I love that scene.

Very cool. For the dad: and, no, I'm not teary-eyed, there's an eyelash poking my pupil...

Wow, what a whirlwind the past few days! First, I ran out of school Wednesday afternoon and over to the Long Beach airport where I found out that our plane was delayed in Portland due to a mechanical failure. Time: 3:45ish pm. Flight departure time: supposed to be 5 pm. Since the plane would not be able to make it to us by 5, they sent a number of us to different airports for different flights. My group went up to LAX where the nice lady at check-in said, "Say, we've room on a non-stop straight from here to Anchorage; want to go?" I said (much nicer, of course), "Hell, yes!" As a result, I wound up in Alaska at about 9:30 pm -- wonderful when compared to the 2 am I was originally going to arrive. My picks me up, we go home, and get some sleep. Thursday, I went into town with my father and spent some time at a Fred Meyers picking up some forgotten essentials and then an Office Max making the copies of my resume and application packet. Hung out with dad at his office applying for some stuff and getting organized. Then we went to his meeting for the Alaska Air Association (not quite sure of the name, there) where they're gearing up for their big event this summer. It's the 100 year anniversary since the first airplane flew in Alaska, so instead of one big show like they usually do, the AAA are doing this "barnstorming" thing where they're going to take the planes from their airshow and fly around the state doing shows and talking about the history of aviation in Alaska. It sounds really cool and I'm disappointed that I'm going to miss it (it ends the week I'm due to arrive up there in July). After that, my dad and I took the dogs down to the park by their house and went ski-joring. Essentially this is your dog in a sled dog harness attached to you, and you're on cross-country skiis. Generally, really fun. Unfortunately, I ended up with my mom's dog (Merlin) and he was not having anything to do with skiing that night. I ended up towing him half the time. It was very annoying and exhausting. Cool thing was we started skiing around 8 pm and I could swear from the sky it looked no later than say 5 or 6 pm. The sun set around 9 pm and it got dark around 10pm. Thursday was beautiful and sunny with highs in the low 20's (in Fahrenheit). Friday's weather was more of the same, maybe a little warmer. My dad took me into town and dropped me off at the hotel where the job fair was being held. Most of the school districts were there and I got some disturbing news about the city of Anchorage and her closest neighbors: the school district is in turmoil due to a crooked school superintenant (and there seems to be more but I'm not sure if I understood what I was told). Anyway, some schools got closed, teachers are being laid off, and they're just not sure what's going to be happening next year. The short story is they're not going to be doing any hiring until June/July, if at all. The Mat-Su district was much the same and the Kenaii district is doing their usual mucking around, so I wrote them off, too. From there, I wandered around the booths looking for districts hiring science teachers. Pretty much everywhere I stopped, I was asked to interview. 8 interviews the first day between 9 am and 5 pm. Three of those folks offered me a contract on the spot, and a fourth guy is a current principal but will be taking over the HR position in his district. Super-nice, handsome (married) ... Mm, anyway, he was the third/fourth person I interviewed with and I had been at the booth chatting with the folks and they were looking at their schedule for interview times when Jerry (that's his name) walks up. They said, "Here," handed him my resume packet and told him to interview me now. I looked at him, he looked at me, I shrugged, he laughed, and off we went! I really thought the interview wasn't going particularly well, but at the end of it, he told me that I was going to have my pick of schools, but if I didn't find something I liked, then I needed to come back and he would find me a school to work at. I was blown away. At the end of the fair, he gave me his contact info and said that should my job fall through or something happen, then to still give him a call. I talked to him a couple times in-between those two meetings and sheesh! I want a man like that. So, in the afternoon, I had an interview go long (they were generally scheduled for 30 minutes, but I averaged 45 min each time) and I missed a subsequent interview I'd scheduled. This was for a place called St. Mary's. I had spoken with them 2 years ago (but not interviewed) and they remembered me and wanted me to interview, and I remembered them and wanted to interview, but I missed my scheduled time and was worrying I had just screwed up everything. At their booth, they had a sign saying they were currently interviewing someone and would be back, so I wandered around a little, trying to keep my eye open for one of them coming back, when I found myself talking to some folks from Chevak, Alaska, out on the West coast, but significantly south from St. Mary's. I found the people (Matt the principal, Rebecca his wife, and Skye-Michael the HR guy) endearing and fascinating and agreed to interview. In the meantime, David (the school superintendent for St. Mary's) had returned, so I rescheduled the interview for 5 pm and went off to chat with Chevak. The Chevak folks and I hit it off right away. We chatted for over an hour and I left the interview with a job offer and the impression that they were the ones I was going to say yes to. A couple of interviews later and I met with the St. Mary's guys. David was the main interviewer. The two elders in the community, Francis and Moses, didn't say much (Moses seemed to pay more attention to the phone book) but David described everything I remembered from before and I was as fascinated by it as I was a couple years ago. St. Mary's science program is very "go out in the environment and do stuff and then bring it back into the classroom and discover the science behind whatever." They have several trips that they do combined with the native community (ice-fishing, bear hunting, etc.) and it just sounded really really cool. And again a half-hour interview turned into close to an hour and a half and I had a job offer. I left Thursday wondering how in hell I was going to decide between these schools. Chevak is the most technologically advanced rural school I've heard of on the west coast of alaska. They have smart boards and document cameras, projectors, high-speed satellite internet, etc. etc. They also want to join some of the schools in the neighboring district in the state robotics competition, so they were really eager to hear that I was working part-time with a similar program at my current school. I think they're a grant away from moving to ipads at that school. Everything I heard about Chevak from the reps and from others was about their technology and friendliness. They also have a program funded through the state to develop teachers from the local native community, which is awesome. Skye-Michael told me that they want their children to be equally well-versed in the traditional subsistence life-style and the western culture/lifestyle. They want their children to go to college and come back to support the village, which is a very different attitude than most villages, who don't care if their kids finish or even enter high school, because they can live the traditional way with less than a 6th grade education. What fascinated me about both schools was in how involved the community and elders are with the school. In both places, the community and the school combine and do things together. The village elders teach the 7th grade science course in Chevak, which is all about the biology/ecology of their local area, the tundra. Both schools take their students out on trips where they live the traditional way and eat what they hunt/gather. They're willing to "adopt" new teachers and teach us anything we want to know about their culture and most importantly, if they like you, they're behind you 100 percent. Realize that in the native culture, the "elders" raise the children because the parents are out most of the day hunting/gathering to provide for the family. Beloved grandparents, great-uncles/aunts are the ones who comprise the "city council" and make things happen. So I went back to my parents' place wondering just what I was going to do. I of course googled what I could, but there's not much. St. Mary's is located off a branch of the Yukon River and is forested and hilly. Chevak is more flat, no trees, and 16 miles from the Bering Sea. Tundra is like wetlands in the summer but turns into what is called a "frozen desert" in the winter. The good part is there's not much precipitation (rain or snow) and the wind off the ocean keeps them warmer than places further north. On Saturday, I got a phone call just as my mom and I were leaving the house. The principal from Craig, a city in Southeast Alaska, wanted to set up an interview for a middle school math/science position. I said sure, because who wouldn't want to work in Southeast Alaska? Aside from the rain (they measure it in feet), the location is amazingly beautiful, Prince of Wales Island is the 3rd biggest island in the U.S., there's the Alaskan rainforest there, fishing, hiking, actual roads, a ferry system into Ketchican ... I could go on and on, so of course I said yes and went to chat with them before my interview with Nome at 9 am. I liked them; they liked me, so we picked another time later that afternoon to finish the interview. Meanwhile, I went and talked to Nome. Nome is a city of about 3,000 people and is the biggest rural town I interviewed for. They received a grant for this coming school year -- a three year grant for a project-based science program. The classes will be geared toward getting the under-performing students to grade level or beyond so that they can successfully pass the state's high school exam. It sounds like an amazing program and I can imagine that any teacher would love to do it; but the whole time I'm there I'm comparing them to the other schools and it didn't quite measure up. It was definitely interesting, but I liked the others more. After that, I decided I liked Chevak more than St. Mary's. Perhaps if St. Mary's had brought some of their teachers with them, this would be a different story. I told David how I felt and he said he was sorry I wouldn't be working for them because he thought I was their strongest candidate (they had offered me a contract the night before), but that he hoped I would be happy wherever I ended up and, who knows? I talked to him before two years ago. Maybe I'll be chatting him up again in 2 more years. Then I went and sought out folks who could tell me about Chevak and Craig, the school in Southeast Alaska who I was now trying to decide between. I chatted with Chevak a second time and got Skye-Michael's cell number so I could call him later that day. Then, at 12:30, I went back and talked to Craig for another 45 minutes. It was this conversation that I started to feel that the principal and I really wanted to different things. I asked about the community ties and they said something along the lines of, "Oh, well, we have culture days," and I was thinking ... Really? In Alaska, you're not trying to bring in the native culture on more than a once-a-year thing? Oh, they had a connection with the Alaska Forestry service, but I came to find out the city was a predominantly white community. Tourism is the biggest income and I was like, um, yeah, I dunno that working at a school similar to middle schools I find in California is really what I want. I know that their parent representative liked me, and the Language Arts teacher she brought with her liked me, but I got the distinct impression that the principal and I were not going to have the relationship that Matt and I already had. Then, at the end of the interview, she said they were going to be reviewing their notes as a committee (there were a couple others dialed in on a conference call) and making a decision Monday -- this is quite different than what they said that morning where she said they wanted to give the letter of intent-to-hire to someone that day. So I thought about it as I went home in the afternoon and realized that my heart wasn't there with Craig's goals/objectives, and I wasn't called to Nome, either. It really was down to Chevak and St. Mary's, and I liked Chevak better. So I called Skye-Michael (don't you just love that name?) in the late afternoon and told him I would love to come work for him next year and they were just ecstatic. My parents were taking me out to dinner, so we stopped by the hotel where Matt, Rebecca, and Sky-Michael were meeting up with the other new teacher they were hiring and I got the contract and newcomer's packet and union agreement. My parents were very taken with the folks as well and said that they had nothing but good things to say about me and while they were disappointed I wouldn't be living in town with them, they thought I would be very happy, and, oh, what an adventure this will be!! So, now it's time to give the state of California a kick in the ass and get my credential transferred and take the tests I need to tidy up any loose ends. I have to report for work no later than August 9th, which means, I really only have to suffer through 1 month without pay this year. I also get a sign-on bonus when the paperwork is finalized. With rent being $400-600 and tuition reimbursement due to being in a rural community, I have the possibility of walking away from there in 2-3 years completely debt-free. What a rush that would be! And with class sizes of 15 or less, I stand to have lots of free time to learn more about my home state and its people and to hang out with the other teachers housed at the school. This is going to be hard work, but I'll be teaching 8th grade physical science, 9th grade biology, and 10th grade earth science (9th and 10th may be switched, not sure), with an additional advanced class in chemistry or physics, I'll be able to take charge of the website, I'll essentially have free health care, and I'll get my own 4-wheeler, learn to hunt and fish the native way, maybe dance, and certainly get more physically fit than I've been in the last 5 years. So much to look forward to! More to come, hopefully soon, on the paperwork and shipping nightmares.

Thanks for reading and leaving some thoughts! I do have some ideas for a sequel... Perhaps I can start working on it next year when I get settled in my new job. I, too, see Bryce having a hard time parting with the baby. As for Kynan's naming? Bryce wouldn't have been caught dead back in the Demon's lair. (pun intended)

Don't be mean ... I'm sick. that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

I'd kiss you, but don't want to make you sick, so Happy (belated) Birthday, Lugh!