• 16:06 Michael jackson died!!! :( I'm so sorry for him. #

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Ben and I had another weekend adventure these past few days. This time, we went to Seward and Homer all in one go (that's about 600 miles of traveling). Once we arrived in Seward, we ate gyros, then headed to the Seward Sealife Center. Ben was happy to be there, but I was absolutely thrilled! I've always loved aquariums (growing up with the New Orleans Aquarium of Americas -- I believe the largest in the world -- cultivated my love of observing aquatic life) and the Seward one was a brand new experience. What follows are all the photos I took during my visit:




Hehe, Ben and I played in the kids' boat....





Even for adults, we had fun with the little boat.





Ok, I've NEVER seen shrimp like this before -- they were creepy!





These everday fish are actually quite beautiful upon closer look.





Ben says the Irish Lord is an annoying fish that eats everything, but I think it's really beautiful in its own way.





This is perhaps the most hideous fish I've ever seen.
(And it's not an eel, they call it a "potato head.")





I love puffins.





Especially when they timidly peck at my camera lens!





The ocean is full of spectacular things we've never seen before....
There's still so much to discover!





Seagulls, I don't like so much.





The Tufted Puffin looks like the CEO of waterfowl.





Well, at least the Wolf Eel isn't as ugly as the Potato Head!



After the Seward Sealife Center, Ben and I went to the candy shop and shared gelato and taffy. Then, we took a tour of Seward before settling at our campsite that night in Chugach National Forest. We picked a remote campsite across the creek, it was beautiful there!






This sea otter was right outside of town near the road.





Here's our tent at Chugach National Park.
It's so peaceful to fall asleep to the pitter-patter of rain tapping the tent walls.





The rain yielded gorgeous alpenglow that evening.





In the morning, we packed up and crossed the creek back to the car.



After Seward, we headed to Homer so Ben could look at a kayak for sale. The kayak was the perfect model, but there wre some problems with the hull and we did not feel comfortable making the purchase. Therefore, we turned back and headed home (Anchorage) for the week. Perhaps next weekend we will find a more suitable boat.

Texas in June, 2009

Leave Without Pay
Consulting companies like us (AECOM Anchorage) generally enter a bit of a lull when summer hits b/c it’s that time of year when oil companies rethink their budgets and formulate new projects. As such, people like me - who are contracted out to oil companies like Eni and Anadarko Petroleum - find themselves with fewer hours.

I made do with small projects and requests for training. But after a couple of weeks, I thought it might be better for me to take time off and let a few projects build at AECOM while I tried to calm my nerves and settle the stress that had been building up. On Monday I went in to work…at lunch time I decided to take the rest of the afternoon off…by evening I had purchased a ticket to Texas to visit my family…and Tuesday morning I was on a plane headed to Houston.




The Magnolia House is especially pleasant when there aren’t hurricanes whipping about like during one of my visits!


Home Again
My family was overjoyed by my visit and happily paid for my ticket. They eagerly greeted me at the airport and brought me home to my room, unchanged (as if I’d never left), and treated me to a home-made meal and a piece of cake. In the morning, mom greeted me with a hot cup of coffee and we sipped our beverages on the front porch, together just like we used to when I lived at home.




Having coffee on the porch with mom and dad.


Girl Time
My brother, Chase, is taking summer courses so he was largely unavailable throughout the week. Dad had to work, though later in the week he decided to take Friday off to spend time with me. In the mean time, mom and I spent much-needed “girl time” together, something I don’t get much in Alaska.




Chase loves to share his music and I’m happy to browse through it.


On my first day, mom and I met with Chase for lunch. Then, I went next door to a salon for a haircut. “World Market,” one of my favorite stores (though not available in Alaska) was our next stop. There, mom bought me a multitude of teas and a bottle of malbec for dinner. After that, we hit up a couple of clothing stores and purchased a few summer outfits.




The back of the Magnolia House, facing the lake.


The New Jetski
The highlight of the trip was the new jetski my dad purchased a few weeks back. It’s a 140 horse-power Yamaha Waverunner -- capable of going 100 mph (we only ever got it up to 95 mph, which is blindingly fast enough)!




I was white-knuckling those handlebars during my premiere ride.


The first time dad took me out on the jetski, I was terrified. The way it turned seemed unnatural and I kept feeling as if we might tip over. But after half an hour riding on the back behind my dad, he let me take the “wheel” and give the jetski a spin. It was very big, very powerful, and left me feeling intimidated even after another half hour of driving it about the lake.




It’s a big jetski….


Surviving Chase
The next day, Chase joined dad and I in jetski escapades…That’s when things got wild! Chase basically scared me so bad that everything after riding with him seemed pleasant -- no matter how daring it truly was.




Here comes trouble!




If I were white-knuckling the handlebars before – that was nothing compared to the death-grip I had on the jetski during Chase’s joy ride.

Soon, Chase’s friend/roommate, Garrett, showed up and joined us on the jetski. Every wave sent me bouncing back and forth between Garrett and Chase like a ping-pong ball during a furious table-tennis match.




Jetski Sandwich – despite the bouncing – it was fun!


Water-skis? FAIL.
After a good bit of joy-riding with Chase and Garret, dad strapped on the water-skis for a whole new form of entertainment. Chase went first, and did really well.




Chase was an impressive water-skier.


I, on the other hand, failed miserably. After nearly an hour of trying to get up on my skis, I gave up. Then, it was dad’s turn -- that was entertaining! He made the mistake of allowing Chase to drive while I acted as the spotter. Chase took it upon himself to give dad a good “throw,” resulting in quite a bit of maniacal laughter. I too, could not help but laugh at dad’s facial expressions as Chase put on the heat. Eventually, dad mad a BIG cartwheel and skipped across the lake like a high-speed skipping stone. I was worried for a moment, but he came to the surface smiling.


Ski-tube? WIN.
The following day, mom and I purchased a ski-tube for those of us who could not water-ski (namely, me). After a bit of croquet in the front yard and delicious southern-style tea, we took to the jetski once again.




The weather was beautiful, though extremely HOT.


I was the first to give the new ski-tube a spin and enjoyed it immensely. Next, mom gave it a go and she too enjoyed herself. Thereafter, Chase leaped into the lake to “show us how it’s done.” Instead of sitting down in the tube or lying on top of it, he straddled it like a bucking bronco – and he rode it hard like one too. The tricks he pulled off were astounding and I thought for sure he might go airborne on more than one occasion. However, while the tube stayed in the water, Chase went flying out many-a-times. I laughed harder than ever.




Dad tried the ski-tube too.


Chase vs. Ginger
After observing Chase’s antics, I couldn’t help but try them myself. I should have specified which driver I preferred, but I had no choice when I climbed into the ski-tube over 50 feet away and discovered Chase at the “wheel.” I took a deep breath, straddled the tube as best I could, then tucked myself down low b/c I know that maniacal laugh meant trouble….

And trouble it was! I was hollering like a lunatic as Chase spun me one way, then the other, slingshot me across the lake at maddening speeds, set me into a dizzying spin, only to finish me off with an epic wave that sent me flying across the lake. But maybe Chase wasn’t the crazy one, b/c I had so much fun I climbed back on and did it again, and again, and again.

It was now a battle of how long I could survive Chase’s driving. He did everything he could to throw me and finally got his way with an EPIC slingshot that had me bouncing across the waves with visions of water-ski-water-ski-water…I couldn’t tell you how many times I cart-wheeled on my last fall!



We all took a good beating and returned to the house completely exhausted. Fortunately for us, there was an oasis waiting for us….




I slept for about half an hour in the ski-tube, hehe.


Cake and Scorpion
I not only cooked dinner (gyoza and yakisoba) for my family (and Garret) one night, I also made dessert too! I made a home-made Black Forest cake with dark chocolate frosting. But I wasn’t the only one in the kitchen that night!




I nearly stepped on that scorpion!


Excited by my find, I cupped the scorpion in a glass and placed it on the counter for all to see:




I love this photo b/c of the facial expressions.
Yes, mom was terrified and jumped a mile high
when Chase removed the glass and killed the scorpion with a shoe.



In all, I stayed in Texas for seven days and enjoyed every bit of it. Between the movies, jetski joy rides, croquet and shopping, I relaxed and de-stressed all I needed. I miss my family.




Not only do I miss my family – I miss this!

To Eklutna Lake
After the Portage Glacier incident on Saturday, Ben and I decided to visit a more peaceful destination for our Sunday-afternoon kayaking excursion. We were originally headed to Wasilla Lake, but as we passed Eklutna, I realized that Eklutna Lake would be the perfect place to paddle instead.


Waiting in Line
We drove 10 miles into the park and finally came to a gate lined with cars. I had never seen a line to enter the park before, so we curiously rolled down our window to ask one of the rangers what was going on. The ranger remarked that the park was full and we had to wait for a parking spot to open up before entering. Fortunately, we only had to wait approximately ten minutes before we were admitted into the park.


The Sanctuary of Nature
Excited by the beauty all around us, Ben and I unloaded our kayaks and walked them to the lake’s edge. There, we saw other kayakers floating about the lake, kids swimming, people picnicking and tourists exploring the area. Despite the crowds, it didn’t take long for us to paddle our boats into the peaceful sanctuary of nature.




The lake was much larger than I remember…
…and more beautiful too!


Ben’s boat, Joe, performed fairly well on the calmer waters of Eklutna Lake. I’m proud of Ben; He seems to have fallen in love with kayaking the same way I did years ago.




Ben and Joe :)


We kayaked well beyond the boundaries of the other paddlers in rental boats. We escaped from civilization for a brief time, where all we could hear were the creeks flowing into the lake and the sound of our paddles gently dipping into the water.




Navi and I :)


After several hours, Ben and I headed back to shore. We splashed at each other, played at running our boats into one another (though we did not, hehe) and basically flirted all the way back to the boat launch. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.




Eklutna Lake is such a beautiful and peaceful place!

I think this should work....

• 04:57 I'm in Texas! Decided Monday I wanted to see my family, grabbed a flight on Tuesday. #
• 14:16 I'm out jet-skiing with my dad! #

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Sea Kayaking with Ben and Jeff
This past weekend, I took Jeff for his very first kayaking trip. Jeff rented a kayak (named Bob) from REI, Ben rented his kayak (Joe) from UAA, and I took my boat (Navi) out to Portage Glacier. The conditions were beautiful and calm when we started....




Ben's jeep, loaded down with he and I's kayak.
(My car - in the background - carried Jeff's boat,
which had already been unloaded.)




Here's Jeff, all geared up and ready to go.




Ben, all geared up as well.


Jeff Learns to Paddle
After Ben's trip to Kenai Lake with me a few weeks back, he was much more confident in his paddling skills. Jeff, on the other hand - although eager - was ill-suited for the trip. His boat was the biggest available - but Jeff, being a rather large guy - was still too heavy for his boat which caused it to sit too low in the water. He took heed of most of my initial lesson, but I could see that after the first bit of paddling, Jeff was irritable and fearful. I tried to give him further advice, but I felt as if Jeff was too irritated to trust what I told him. I did my best to advise him and keep an eye on him.




Jeff kayaking in Bob.


The Lake Grows Choppy
It didn't take long for the wind to pick up and the lake to grow choppy. The Portage Glacier lake is 600 feet deep with icy cold water, so one can imagine our growing discomfort -- especially that of Jeff's. After hugging the shore in an attempt to avoid the larger waves, we decided it was time to turn back and skip any glacier viewing that day. It was about that time that the Portage Glacier tour ferry went by, which we were very thankful for in the ensuing incident....




This water was VERY cold!


Jeff Overturns my Boat
Jeff was angry when I told him we needed to turn around. I know he wanted to, but the act of doing so was too never-racking for him. Of course, there was no way we could do otherwise, for even trying to reach a calmer area for a turn-around was a danger in-and-of-itself. We needed to get back to our starting point, before conditions worsened.

Maybe I was asking too much of Jeff, maybe we were ill-prepared, or maybe we had a lesson to learn...whatever the case...the following incident was the very LAST thing I wanted to happen on our outing -- Jeff flipped over. He was turning into the waves - something I was telling him to do as quickly as possible and without pause - but unfortunately he paused and a wave overturned him before I think he even knew what hit him.

Thankfully, he came to the surface immediately, but what followed could have very well been worse than the initial flip -- he wildly grabbed at my boat in a panic and nearly overturned me! I was not only fighting the waves, I was using all of my force and body weight to keep my boat from turning over onto Jeff. I tried to calm him down but only one thing got through to him:

"Jeff," I said sternly against the wind and the sound of water crashing against my boat, "if you flip me I CAN'T HELP YOU."

He immediately released the side of my boat and grabbed onto the tip of the bow. That allowed me to navigate him toward the shore and push him to safety. The water was freezing and it wouldn't take long for Jeff to freeze and begin to drown.




This is the view from the bow of my boat,
before the waves got too big....


The Rescue Boat
As soon as I got Jeff to shore, I turned to find that the Portage Glacier tour ferry had made a 360 and was headed our way. Ben was busy grabbing Jeff's boat, paddle, hat and water-bottle and returning to shore, while I headed to the ferry for help. The announcer of the captain was calling out to me, but I couldn't understand him against the wind. It was not until a tourist on the upper level of the boat (among so many others videoing the entire event), called out to me, that I could understand what the captain was trying to say: "They're sending a boat -- hold on!" I waved confirmation, then turned yet again against the growing waves and quickly paddled back to Jeff's side.

By this time Jeff had crawled all of the way out of the water, but he was not in good condition. Later, Jeff told me he felt as if he weighed 600 pounds and couldn't feel his hands at all. To our great fortune, a rescue boat was there in a matter of minutes, and whisked Jeff away to the warm safety of the visitors' center.


Returning to Jeff
Both boats left Ben and I alone among the crashing waves and increasing winds. Ben ensured that Jeff's boat was safe, and I tried to stay as close to him as possible while we waited for the rescue boat to return. Eventually it did, they loaded Jeff's boat and asked if the other tandem kayakers (spotted earlier) were with us. I answered "no," so instead of returning to the visitors' center, the rescue vessel went straight toward the glacier in search of the other kayakers.

Finally released of the responsibility of Jeff's boat, Ben and I sped back to the visitors' center. The waves were nasty and while my boat carved straight through them, Ben's boat toppled over the crest of each and endangered his otherwise-steady paddling. Nevertheless, we made it safely back to the visitor's center. Upon arrival, the tour ferry was departing once again and happily announced something among the lines of: "Your friend is safe and all is well! Now! Back to our regularly-scheduled programming!" I smiled in spite of our situation and went ashore with Ben.


All is Well
Not long after our arrival, the rescue boat returned with all the tandem kayakers and their boats. Apparently, conditions were so bad that everyone was required to leave the waters. I was proud of Ben and I - even though we had met with disaster - we were the only ones that returned by our own power through the bad conidtions.

We found Jeff nestled in a fleece blanket and surrounded by paramedics. However, he had quite a big smile on his face when he saw Ben and I enter the room. I hugged him and asked of his condition: "A little cold," he grinned "but I'm ok." We spent the next hour with him as he warmed up and denied medical attention. It was just like the ferry captain said: "All is well." He even made us ratatouille that night for dinner :)

I finally broke out of my art funk with a quickie-project inspired by my boyfriend and his brother. I spent about an hour on it, felt good to loosen up and sketch again. Wish I had more art time, but I am trying to make some, for I have a much bigger project underway that will eventually see completion now that I'm not doing school while working full time.



Rave Serpent

30 on the 30th
My boyfriend, Ben, turned 30 on May 30th, 2009. He wasn’t too thrilled about turning 30 -- or about birthdays in general -- since his birthday is often forgotten among friends, and none of them have ever thrown him a party. Therefore, I spent most of last week preparing for “Ben’s Birthday Bash” which would launch on May 29th, 9pm, and continue until 3am on the 30th. I also treated him to dinner at Jen’s earlier that night (calamari, wine, rosemary bread, rockfish and lamb), which he thoroughly appreciated.




I made Ben this cake -- it's dark chocolate with cherry filling -- his recipe!


Ben’s Birthday Bash
On Tuesday and Wednesday, I cleaned the house. On Thursday, Ben made pasta salad, whilst I made a dark chocolate birthday cake. On Friday, Jeff returned from the slope and made baguettes with mozzarella cheese and prosciutto and helped tidy up the condo. At 9:15pm that night, guests started to trickle in.




Ben and Phil.




Ben and Adam, lol.


Food and Drinks
Within an hour, most of our guests had arrived – 16 people in all – and the party was well underway in our small condo. Like most of our parties, just about everyone brought drinks and we served up everything from screwdrivers and wine to Moose’s Tooth Beer from a local brewery. There seemed to be plenty of food and everyone agreed that Jeff’s baguettes, Ben’s pasta and my cake was delicious.




Part of the party crew, singing Happy Birthday to Ben.
(From left: Andy, Jeff, Matt, Phil, Arnold, Peggy, Cedar, Jeremy, AJ and Adam.)




Jeff and Phil, the dynamic singing duo.


All for Ben
Ben danced about with a screwdriver in his wine glass, whilst enjoying all of the company and attention. I was overjoyed to see him having such a great time. Later he thanked me profusely, but honestly, I was just doing something kind for someone I greatly care about. After all he’s done for me, this was the least I could do.




A birthday kiss for Ben!


Party Games
After filling up on snacks and getting to know one another (for the party was a fusion of Jeff, Ben and my friends), we all sat on the couch to play a card game called “Werewolf,” which Adam (the one with the Mohawk in the photos), introduced to us…For the record, Adam is the BEST guy to contact for gaming, he has all sorts of board/card games up his sleeve. Werewolf was a hit; it had us laughing, pointing fingers and cracking jokes for about an hour. Then, it was time for the game that everyone loves to play when they visit – Rock Band.




Andy and Arnold playing Werewolf with us.




Andy, his girlfriend and Ben, rocking out.


Phil, Andy, Jeff, Adam and Matt
Throughout the night, Phil had all of us laughing at his antics. Phil is a native Aleut who apparently brings his guitar everywhere. Within minutes of his arrival, a guitar mysteriously appeared at my doorway. I didn’t know who it belonged to until an hour later, when Phil picked it up and commenced with serenading us with just about every song conceivable (from Smashing Pumpkins and hard rock, to classic rock, pop and Michael Jackson too) for the remainder of the night. Andy (a native Inuit) also provided us with much entertainment, for he brought two cases of beer and acted as our main Rock Band guitarist. Jeff was not far behind, with his own Rock Band guitar and witty banter. And of course, we can’t forget Adam and Matt, who have enough cave-man and man-hand jokes (most directed at me) to sponsor their very own episode of Seinfeld.




Phil and Jeff can sing...but not after so many beers.
I would have been rolling on the floor with laughter, if not for attempting to video them instead.




Phil serenading us with his guitar.




Dawww, don't you just love Adam's little dimples?!


Crazy Late Nighters
Jeremy (Ben’s brother) and Peggy (a fellow anthropologist) didn’t leave until 3am. The last of our guests (Phil, haha) didn’t leave until 3:30 in the morning, after being “dragged” out by Cedar, who was his designated driver. Meanwhile, Andy was arrested, b/c apparently there was a warrant out for his arrest and he was caught while changing a flat tire on his girlfriend’s car. Jeff posted his bail in the morning and all is well. (I have respect for Andy and know that he’s getting his life back in order since the warrant went out nearly a year ago.)



Hands down, Jeff, Adam and Phil were the life of the party.
Yet again, I was trying to contain my laughter for the sake of video, but my gosh, they were hilarious.




Just dance!


Birthday Weekend
For the remainder of the weekend, I tried to do whatever Ben wanted to do, since it was what my family calls his “birthday weekend.” On Saturday, we played disc golf and went to both the new “Star Trek” film and “Up” (by Pixar). We had a leisurely afternoon and at 1am, went to see his brother (Jeremy) DJ at the Kodiak club. I was really excited, b/c I’ve never known a DJ before or watched them perform. Watching Jeremy was fascinating. We stayed for the duration of his performance, and then joined him on the club patio for chatting until Ben was ready to go. On Sunday, Ben, Jeff and I went to church, then visited Ben’s father’s place in Wasilla and shared lunch with his father’s wife, Penny. She was very nice. Thereafter, we all returned to Anchorage and Ben and I went to “I Love You Man” at the Bear Tooth Theater. We sipped wine that evening and I introduced Ben to Nintendo Wii, which he loved!

Ben went to the UAA student union for lunch today and found Ted hanging out as decoration!



When we brought Ted back to UAA after our kayak adventure, I told them the boat wasn't worth renting. They refunded the rental cost and also granted Ben his next rental for free.

It looks like they took my advice and retired Ted. Farewell poor, neglected Ted.