You come here?

Today I called erica to have her send me some sunflower seed butter because I can't get it here. Trader Joe's makes the best sunflower seed butter. I looooooove it. It's just like peanut butter, but made with sunflower seeds.
She put Tyler on the phone and he didn't even say hi, the very first thing he said was, "you come here?" Awwwwww. Poor little guy. I told him not yet, but soon. It's funny that he's at an age where he'd ask a question like that on his own. He obviously doesn't fully understand why I'm gone or where I am, but it's cute he'd tell me to come over. I should be home for his 3rd birthday in September, so that'll be good. He started to tell me about the firetrucks he saw at the 4th of July parade and then he hung up on me by accident. Got a little too excited about the trucks!

Oh, I went to eat at a good restaurant with Frenchy tonight. I'll write about that tomorrow, though, I'm tired.

A Restful Night of Sleep at last. . . Sorta

Sleep has been hard to come by. I'm getting better at sleeping in daylight. . . because I have to. When it's always daylight, you gotta sleep sometime! I've had several nights where I can't fall asleep until really late and then I wake up early. Kevin had some Ambien (prescription sleeping pill) so he gave me one to try so I can get at least one good nights sleep. Whoa! is all I have to say. He gave it to me the other day, but I figured I'd take it when I really needed it. I took it just before midnight last night and I could feel it knocking me out. The weird thing about it, though, was that it knocked me out, but for a while I felt like I was awake and asleep at the same time. It's like when you're in a very light sleep where you're sort of in a dreaming state, but sort of awake. It was very strange because I was thinking, but I knew I was asleep. I just remember knowing I was out cold, but still feeling like I was there somewhere, which made me worried that my 'sleep' would be like that the whole night. So, basically, I was worrying in my sleep.

I did get some good sleep, which is all that counts. I don't know if that weird feeling was a fluke or not, but if it wasn't then I definitely won't be taking any more sleeping pills! Anybody out there ever take Ambien before that's had weird experiences like that?

Fresh Meat

I feel like a piece of meat here!! I've never gotten this much attention in my life. I'm really starting to wonder what the hell is going on. I think it's because I'm from out of town. Yesterday some guys stopped by on an atv of some sort and were talking to Kevin and Ed. Later on I asked Ed what they wanted, or if they were just saying hi because they live in the neighborhood. Ed answered that they were saying hello, and Kevin yelled in from outside, "They came to meet you!" I laughed it off and he looked me dead in the eye and said "I'm as serious as a heart attack. Apparently the word's out that you're here." I still sorta didn't believe him, because, c'mon, am I really in an area that's so small-town that people are alerted when there's a new girl about?!

Today I got my answer. I was standing out front talking with Kevin and Ed when some guys went by on ATVs and one of them said, "there she is!" What the hell? Am I on display in a zoo or something, here? Look everyone, it's the fabled girl from Boston who's never been fishing. ooooh, ahhhhh!

I Schlagified the cabins.

Yesterday I replaced some doorknobs/deadbolts because the old ones were starting to stick. It was so bad that I actually got locked in one of the cabins once and had to take the thing apart to get out. When I went to Home Depot to pick up the doorknobs, Kevin told me not to get Kwikset, which was the existing brand. He said that brand sticks even when it's new, because it's crap! When I got back with my new Schlage hardware and went to work taking the old knobs off I was amazed to find that they were made of plastic inside!! I've never seen a door knob whose innards are plastic. I don't know if it's a common thing, but it just doesn't seem like a good idea! These seemed like older knobs, so I suppose they've stood the test of time in a way, but still. Plastic?

Oh well, they're working beautifully now, so that's all that counts. Now I know for the future to pay a little extra for Schlage. The inside of the Schlage knob/deadbolt was designed differently, too. I didn't have time to really check it out, but, like the nerd I am, I'll probably take it apart again at some point so I can see how it works/why it's different. Wow. I am so cool. I'm in Alaska, where there's amazingness all around and I'm looking forward to a time when I can take apart my doorknob.

Missing Things

For the first time in my life I understand what it's like to miss something. I really didn't understand before because I never really missed anything. I've always looked at it like it's no big deal because I know I'll see people again. What a horrible feeling this is.

Reading about how Sagan is meowing his head off while "looking for me," and about how Tyler says, "[tara's] in Laska, I can't find her," makes me miss home. I hate not being there for beings that don't understand why I'm gone, especially because it can't be explained to them. It's such a sad thought! It's also really sad to see fun guests go because I know I'll probably never see them again. I've learned what it feels like to miss something and be helpless and I hate it because it seems to have seeped into other parts of my life. I miss you people, damnit! Luckily it's not ruling my life yet. It would be in a sad way if I started counting down days until I can go home rather than savoring the number of awesome filled days I have left.

Smiley Rock Road

The unpaved road that connects my street to the paved main road is called Huske Rd. If you call it by name around here, most people won't know

what you're talking about. If you call it Smiley Rock Rd, they'll instantly understand. That's because of this little guy on the side of the road:

As if that isn't enough character, someone has recently been having a lot of fun on the road. First we just had a sign telling us not to feed the bears, which I assumed was from someone getting angry about people leaving fish by the river or something. Upon closer examination I realized it was a joke because it's signed by "Park Ranger McGillicuddy." Then there was a stuffed panda down the road a bit. Then someone added a moose to the tree the sign is on. Now there are stuffed animals everywhere. There are even two of them playing see-saw in the woods on a downed tree.

On the back of the sign it says "ya all come back now!"

It's too bad I don't have some sort of Red Sox stuffed animal I could plant someplace along the way. Why not, right?

I just wonder if it's one set of people doing it or if others have started to join in on the fun.

Sheet, Mang!

I've been folding and unfolding sheets for two days!! We've got a ton of them here and my project was to get them organized by size so that I don't have to fumble when I'm looking for a specific size. I think I finally have it all figured out, apart from a few queen or full size sheets that I may have misjudged. I'm really good at organizing, but not so good at keeping things organized. I'm working on it, though.

Today when I finally emerged from my cabin I helped the guys lift wall frames for the second floor of the new cabin. I spent the morning with my sheets project. I sort of like helping them out because I'm interested in the process. I'm not, however, looking forward to the framing that has to go up over the giant open space in the cabin. One of the walls is open from the first floor all the way up to the roof. That should be fun. I'm impressed with the amout they've done in just one week with only two guys working. They'll be putting the lam-beam up on Monday, which means the place will have a roof in no time. They definitely know what they're doing and I'm learning a lot from them.

They made fun of me because I was in my pajamas the whole day - baggy printed pajama pants and a giant hoodie. You know what, I don't think the sheets I'm sorting care what I look like! When I told them that they said, "the delivery guys do!" Huh?? Turns out I have a fan club here among the guys that have been delivering stuff for the new cabin. What's the deal here?!?! Do I have some special quality that attracts men from lumber yards? Alaska is a weird place. In Boston I attracted homeless people - here I attract men from lumber yards. There's something in the water here, I tell ya. I have to go to Home Depot tomorrow. . . wish me luck.