It Happens This Way Sometimes

No need to go into the terrible that has gloomed us for the past week (and longer). It's time to start moving forward, to find those things in life worth smiling about. Nothing ever stays miserable. What does that song say? "Life is a wheel in constant motion."

Anyway, to tell you the truth, the past few weeks that I haven't written have been fairly uneventful. I've been working, feeding the dogs, working, reading, working, being with friends, and, of course, working. But it's all worth it - my students are really what make this job so great. Sometimes I think they are the only reason I get out of bed and come to work in the morning. But that may just be my morning-ness.

I'll give a few pictures of things that I like. It is not an entirely all-encompassing story of what has dominated my thoughts, but it is something, hopefully, visually appealing.



The moose that Jake caught.



The moose that Jake caught.



Carrie's cat, Rijah.



One in a series of photographs of the Rijah.



My dog, Star. So happy together.



A good evening with friends - Adrianna: my #1 stunner, and the Lois to my Clark.



Janelle - last photo I have of her pregnant - and Daniel (DJ, Deej, booger, etc.). Janelle is in Anchorage getting ready to give birth to Jonah... October 2!!!! :)



I picture I sketched on Heidi and Damon's couch. Cool, huh? This is my new medium. Look out, big brother.

New Blog (Just for the Fun of It), Et Cetera

Because a particular friend will be spending so much time away from us, I decided to start making her videos (so she doesn't forget us) and sending them to her. The first one was quite funny, and Adrianna and I still watch it now and then. But I digress. Anyway... Unfortunately, these videos were clogging her inbox from receiving any other more important emails, so I had to find another venue by which to share the laughs that we have made just for her (well, and our, and now your) enjoyment. I hope that she and all of you enjoy watching them as much as we enjoy making them. Any home movies that I make and feel the need to share with my blog world can be found at my new Home Movie blog site:

homemoviesbykaris.blogspot.com

More to come on that front.

For now, I am just working, working working. What the heck else would I be doing? This week I will be in Anchorage for a couple of days. College Board is giving a free workshop for senior counselors, and since I have friends who are kind enough to let me stay with them for two whole nights, the district decided to give me the travel to get there. It will be a busy time, but I am glad I have the opportunity to go. I am hoping to get a lot out of the workshop, particularly scholarship opportunities and better ways to use the website as a resource for my seniors. But that's not really interesting to you. :)

I hope you all have been following the election. I watched some of the Republican National Convention speeches, and I watched some of the Democratic National Convention speeches, and I'm teaching the kids how to read media bias in newspapers and in magazines and on TV, and I am absolutely stoked for the debates. If you are curious about what the candidates' stances are on particular issues, here is a pretty sweet resource:

www.cnn.com/ELECTIONS/2008/issues/

I am doing my best to remain neutral for the purposes of teaching, and I try to play devil's advocate for both sides, but I know that students can hear my disdain about particular issues. My goal is to teach open-mindedness, perspective, and the ability to choose for themselves. Hopefully they are getting something out of it, anyway.

Just to point out some bias here, there has been unbelievable coverage of Sarah Palin, and hardly any on Joe Biden. Just throwing that out there.

John McCain and Sarah Palin - Presidential Candidates 2008 for the Republican Party



Barack Obama and Joe Biden - Presidential Candidates 2008 for the Democratic Party



Let's not forget the independents... The only ones you can vote for in Alaska are Baldwin, Barr, and Nader. I respect and admire their courage and determination.

Okay, end of the day, I'm headed out.

Cheers!

First Two Weeks!

School is in full swing now. And so far it's been great. Probably the best part about this year is that it's not my FIRST year anymore. It's so nice to be returning, to have experience, to have a clue! :) It's pretty awesome to be able to see my own growth.

So Unalakleet is good. I'm enjoying myself. The first week of school, for the high school, was planning our annual Leadership Retreat. We had a bit of a curveball thrown our way - Bible Camp was not available for our use, so we had to make some adjustments. It turned out pretty cool, though, and I think we all had a good time. :)



The kids were great - they all worked together, and we saw some awesome examples of leadership. They're fun, these kids. It's nice to be able to do something outside of the classroom with them, so we really get to know them better.



One of the activities this year was a survival challenge. Each group had to make a shelter (this is the senior class shelter, one of two) - this one I actually laid in. I would totally bring up my gear and go camping in this spot! :)



The other part of survival was building a raft. It was live wood, so it didn't float very well, but the seniors made it work, and we won the challenge! It was pretty hilarious to see one of my kids floating down the river on a homemade raft.

Speaking of floating down the river... One of the new people in the village is Susette, who works at the District Office. She's pretty much awesome, and has already told Adrianna and I that she's adopting us, which is totally fine by us. Not only is she super fun to hang out with, but she has a kayak and a raft. Last Saturday was an awesome day outside. So the three of us took a float trip down the slough and into the ocean.



This is Adrianna and I being Lewis & Clarky, rowing towards a sandbar... We pretty much rocked the rowing thing...



We also rocked the laying-back-and-doing-nothing-but-float thing. I'm pretty sure the best part was when her dog Ojo jumped into the water to experience her first (and second) swim!! We're not really sure what she was thinking...



This is Susette and A hanging out on the sandbar in the middle of the ocean (at low tide). It was a pretty cool view. We've already decided that we need to row down farther sometime and make dinner over the fire, and maybe even go camping. Sounds good to me!!



This week has been really good in the classroom. I'm feeling much more confident, although I hope I can maintain what I've got! I won't have a summer before every week to plan. ;) Anyway, I just got my new computer, and it comes with a camera, which is pretty cool. So this is me at Carrie's place with her cat. While she travels around for her sweet new job, I hang out at her place (where no one can find me), feed her dogs and cat, water her plants, and sometimes get a few things done (mostly reading and petting the cat).

One of the coolest things about this computer camera is the effects it can do. So this is a picture of me taken with my computer.



Anyway, things are going well. I'm taking a couple classes this semester, too, so that's keeping me busy. I think it's good, though - it will help keep me focused. And the new place? It rocks. Here's a view out my window.



Can't beat the Alaskan sky. :) Take care of yous. Cheers for now!

road bike, tundra hike

Last night I drew a picture of a man in my couch. This is what he looked like.



Today I went on a bike/hike with Carrie. We biked about 6 miles over to Powers Creek where we left our bikes and headed up the hill. It was very, very beautiful. :) From the top of the hill we could see the tundra hills and the Norton Sound - very cool.





Until it started to rain - well, it was still beautiful, but less so after we were basically drenched. Not kidding. It lightninged, and then a huge shocker thunder gave us both a fright. It was funny, at the moment, but then I started imagining a lightning strike on one of the trees we were walking around... Anyway, literally pouring rain (okay, not quite monsoon season), we walked through the tundra, still a ways from our bikes.



We ended up hiking for about 4 hours. It was quite an adventure - as always... We missed the trail on the way back down, somehow, but fortunately we are never, ever lost. So we went the Iditarod trail, and eventually we got to the beach. We walked up towards the Powers Creek station, and I never found even one piece of sea glass. Anyway. We found the mouth of the creek, and knew the road was close, so we looked over to see what we saw in the little river. It was basically plugged with logs... Carrie said we didn't have to put all our adventures into one day. But I thought, what the heck? Let's give it a go, cross the river, just for kicks, because we can, and so she agreed.




It was a little slippery, and it required lots of balance and concentration, and even a bit of teamwork and communication. But we made it to solid ground, hiked through waist high grass (that had already been smashed down by something...), and walked through (more) tundra. Then we found the road, which was a nice walking experience. If you've never been on the tundra, it's basically like walking on a sponge, and in some places you sink well past your knees. After a long, fun (as we concluded) day, I went home and had a long, hot shower. Thanks for the fun day before school, C!

Tomorrow... school starts!!! I can hardly believe it...

Technically Working

Obviously it's been a while. Lots of things have happened, and things are beginning to change. I'm officially back at work. I volunteered (okay, I also got paid...) for the Welcome Wagon. BSSD set up an opportunity for new teachers to meet veterans in Anchorage for some shopping and transition to Alaska. It was a good learning experience for me, very hectic, but definitely fun. I wish I'd had someone to meet me in Anchorage! I'm glad I was able to help offer that to new teachers this year. Plus I met a bunch of new people.

One thing that I did do while in Anchorage was give away my puppy. It was a very sad day, but I know that she is very happy in her new home. Debbie and her daughter Meghan are very sweet and very excited. And who wouldn't be??? She's the cutest puppy in the world! They have since renamed her Kiara, which is perfect.



Since coming back to Unalakleet, Star has been happy to go back to normal, though she seems more and more attached to me. I think she is mellowing even more (she's had puppies before), and definitely relaxing as far as food goes. Instead of inhaling, she is starting to save and bury food, which is very odd for her. But I'm glad. She's a happy dog.



I've also been able to spend some time with our two new teachers, which is awesome. Ming is the new middle school Math and Science teacher. I met her in Anchorage, and we came in together. It's been good getting to know her better! Her dog is beginning to settle in, also, and hopefully her and Star will be able to become better friends since we are neighbors. :)



Ryan is the new high school Math teacher. We've been hanging out, berry picking, fishing, etc.



Jake and Janelle have also been awesome at taking us up river. It's been really good to be back home with such great people again!



Janelle is looking very pregnant, but carrying the lovely pregnant woman glow (or whatever it's called). She's due in October, and we are all very anxious to meet Jonah!



Besides working at the inservice this week, Adrianna and I have been moving into our new apartments, along with everyone else in the 14-Plex. She's moved into the 5-Plex with some sweet windows. Some of us are a little envious... She was able to paint her place a nice restful green and get some new couches. It's been cool that her brother came up for a couple weeks just to help her do all that! I've also been in the process of moving. My new place is quite big, much bigger than I really need. But it's a nice spot with an ocean-facing view, new furniture, more counter space, a pantry, 1.5 bathrooms, 2 bedrooms, and my own washer/dryer unit. Pretty crazy, huh?? I don't even know what to do with myself in there!



I even have a mud room, so no more shoes in the house. Now... what to do with the dog? Since this picture, I've done a little more rearranging, with the help of Sandy, a new teacher in Brevig that is staying with me while she is in town for trainings and such.



The weather has been pretty beautiful for the most part, with a few foggy days here and there. We are enjoying the sun as much as possible while we can! Cheers for now. :)