new (to me) car!

I've bought a car! One thing that is pretty much de rigueur here in Alaska is four wheel drive, so that was one thing I looked for in a car. I didn't even look at cars that didn't have it, because we will already have such a car when Chris arrives, as he's bringing ours.

I went through Craigslist, because I didn't have a ton of money to spend. I found a guy who flips cars, and bought from him, because even if what he had to sell wasn't pretty I was fairly sure that he had a reputation to protect. He had more than one car for sale, but the one I purchased was a 1990 Subaru Legacy wagon.

I actually found (and test drove) the car last week, and asked him to save it for me till I got paid (today). I guess he'd had trouble selling the car, because he agreed and even reduced the price on it. So today I met with him, gave him money, he signed the title over, and I've got a new car!

She's dark blue (except where's she's been reconstructed, which is that black anti-rust paint stuff), with a dark blue velour interior. The tag on the key fob the guy gave me says "Ugly Subaru", but she's not ugly to me. We've already bonded, and I've named her Morgen. I'm going to take great care of her.

Along with registering the car, I got my Alaska driver's license, so I'm now completely legal. After work today, I'm going to go buy a bed, and then I'll be set on the big stuff.

It's been sunny here all week, but today it started to rain. I don't mind; the sun was actually making me a little nervous. I think my co-workers are all a little annoyed at me though because I mentioned in a meeting that I was wishing it would rain. Oops.

speed bump

Well, I've hit my first really annoying bump. I knew this was going to happen sooner or later, because of course, I'd seen the notices on mail-order sites saying that they ship (certain items) only to the contiguous US.

I need to buy a bed. My roomie, when I first moved in, lent me an airbed (which leaks) but told me that when his houseguest (mom) left, I could use the spare bed. It later developed, however, that what he meant was that I could use the spare bed if he didn't have houseguests. He doesn't often have them, I guess, but he wants that bed available for when they're there.  And he does have some guy coming next month who will need the bed for a few weeks (I guess).

Well, that's fine, I'd been intending to buy a bed. I have back problems, so I decided on a new bed rather than taking my chances on Craigslist. So, because we have Prime, I decided to order off Amazon. I picked out a bed and a platform frame and I was all set.

Except I wasn't. I can't get those items shipped to me here. We put a man on the moon, but we can't ship a bed to friggin' Alaska. So I hopped in my roomie's car and drove to Sears, where I talked to a young man named Seth who found me a bed that I will be ordering on Friday. I forgot to ask if they'll deliver it or we have to pick it up, but either way I'm good because my roomie has a truck and has already agreed to haul it. So, bump navigated and it's all good.

In other news, I've also arranged to buy a car, a '90 Subaru Legacy. It's not in pristine condition, but it goes and I like it. My roomie's been letting me drive his Very Large SUV, but it's huge and makes me nervous to drive it. The Subie suits me, and it's a pretty dark blue.

Both of these things are happening Friday, because that's when I get paid. I hate having to wait (and I have to wait longer for the bed because it needs to be shipped to the store), but at least I have it all worked out. When I got here I had no bed, no car, and nowhere to live, and now I've got all three. Not too shabby!

a week in

I've been in Juneau a week now. I'd hoped, originally, to have explored a lot more by now, but unfortunately I came down with a cold toward the end of last week, so I've been spending all my free time resting. Viruses tend to hit me hard.

It's a pity, because the weather's been fabulous, fairly sunny and in the 60's. Fortunately, the house I'm staying in has a ton of windows and skylights, and so I haven't felt too shut in.

One of my colleagues from work met me at the airport when I flew in, and he told me that he had a room he was looking to rent out and I could move in pretty much right away. So after two days in the hotel, that's what I did. He's renting this house but looking to buy elsewhere in the area, which means the timing could work out such that when Chris and Dante arrive he'll be partially moved out and we could take over his lease. The house would be perfect for us while we're getting on our feet, so I'm hoping that it'll happen that way.

Anyway, this weekend I'm hoping to perhaps do a bit more exploring, although I'm not going to push myself too much if I'm tired. Definitely the weekend after that I'm going to be outside, rain or shine, as I'll have just gotten paid and I'll want to break in my first pair of XtraTufs boots.

Work has been great as well. I'm working as a contrator with the Coast Guard, doing infosec, and everyone's been very nice to me. My roomie has lent me a vehicle as well, until I can buy one, and so I'm pretty free to do whatever I want to do. So far I haven't used that freedom much, due to wanting to rest as much as possible, but I'm hoping to stretch my legs soon.

The house is actually in North Douglas Island, across the channel from Juneau. It's almost directly across from where I work, but there's only one bridge, so the commute takes me about 20 minutes. Still, that's not bad, and it's a gorgeous drive. I don't think I'll ever get tired of the scenery.

Here's a pic of our "backyard"...the Mendenhall Wetlands Preserve.

Nothing's quite as pretty...

My first morning in Juneau, and all I can really think about is how lovely it is. But first things first!

I'm staying at the Alaskan Hotel for my first few days, courtesy of my awesome Mom, but after that I'm most likely going to rooming with one of my colleagues. The Alaskan is charming, and currently I'm wishing only for some actual pots or even bowls in kitchenette-equipped room. I forgot to bring my camp spoon, so I'm hoping there's spoons at work so that I can make myself some oatmeal.

I didn't sleep too badly my first night (rare when I'm traveling), although the relative lack of darkness was a bit odd. Still, I'm looking forward to my first day here.

packing!

Today I took down my two rollerboard suitcases and started packing. Somehow, packing makes the trip seem real to me in a way that it hasn't, quite, up till now (although signing the offer letter definitely helped).

I think I bought these suitcases, which are definitely on the cheap side, when we still lived in Los Angeles. They're still in good condition because I've actually rarely used them, preferring to travel with duffels when possible. But I expect to do a lot of hoofing my first days in Juneau, and until/unless I find a housing situation for the first three weeks where I feel secure leaving my bags, I'd prefer that they be as easy to move around as possible. Even then, I wish I could restrict things to just one bag. If I can get it all in the checked bag, I may leave the smaller rollerboard home (I'm also taking a shoulder/briefcase bag). I'll probably need both rollerboards though, since until I find an apartment, the contents of my luggage is going to be everything I have.

I'm having a little issue with money; I thought that I would be able to sell my handgun (purchased in California, rarely used) and a couple of my guitars. Apparently, I already sold the guitar that's really the more valuable of the two (a vintage Rickenbacker). I don't remember selling it, but the particular time period in which I would have done so is kind of a blur for me for various reasons. So what I have left to sell are a couple of run of the mill violins (one a student violin) and an Ovation Celebrity Deluxe. As for my gun, I've mispI placed the key for the breech lock somewhere. I'm sure it's in a safe place, probably wherever I put its original case, but I don't know where that is right now. This means that I'm going to have to cut the lock in order to be able to sell the damn thing, which I really want to do, because it wasn't the right size for my hands anyway.

So if I can't offload those items, I'm a little at a loss as to what I'm going to do for cash. That said, I'm sure I will neither be out on the street nor starve, so while I'm nervous I'm not really freaking out or anything. I was just hoping to be in a much better position, cash-wise.

Back to packing, I guess. I'm generally a really good packer, in terms of just being able to throw stuff in a bag and go, but this is a little different. I've never really done anything like this before.