I’m heading out on a monumentally sunny 80 degree day (apparently consecutively sunny days are rare here) with some locals to go whale watching and halibut fishing.
I sure wasn’t doing this last weekend!
I’ll be excited to share news of the big catch later!
Oy vey! Searching the thousands of miles of Alaska for an internet signal still! It’s taken me 30 minutes on my phone to post this and my phone isn’t working that well. (I guess that’s to be expected here…) I’ll be posting photos and videos today though! As soon as I find a coffee shop with an signal I am going to buy a coffee and tell to keep it coming as I will be camped out for 8 hours. HA!
Thank you so much for being patient!!! 🙂
Normally I’d be totally fine with that, but right now I have WAY too many photos and stories to share!
Managing to get on here with my phone but laptop can’t seem to pick up anything yet. Ack!:(
Please hold tight and check back in the next short bit. Ill climb to the top of a tree to get a signal soon if I have to!
Oh my god.
Oh my god.
Wow.
Alaska I love you.
This is the best thing I’ve ever done. Period.
Posting from my phone and cannot wait to share stories and photos when I can get my laptop to cooperate/find internet service…
I’m seriously impressed by your consistency. I think the word fun was put in the dictionary after you came into existence. I will indeed be posting your story and photos soon. Hilarious!
Anyone who is lost on this see comments from this post.
What do you think of this one that popped in my inbox this morning? Pretty perfect eh?
Word of the Day for Saturday, August 7, 2010
mojo MOH-joh, noun:
1. Personal magnetism; charm.
2. The art or practice of casting magic spells; magic; voodoo.
3. An object, as an amulet or charm, that is believed to carry a magic spell.
4. Good luck or favor concerning an event or individual.
I’ve subscribed to Dictionary.com for 2 years and never seen this pop up before. Looks like some karmic force is paying attention.
You know that scene in Home Alone where Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) runs, slides and says “Yesss!!! Yesss!!! and pumps his arms because he had just successfully pulled one of his tricks on the robbers?
That’s me right now.
After being on the road in the middle of nowhere in central Canada all day yesterday, amidst my joy and anticipation of everything that lies the next mile ahead, there were (and are fairly regularly) moments of; What the bleep am I doing? What am I stupid or crazy? Where the hell am I going to work and what am I going to do with my life after this? We all know that even when we do things that feel so right, there are those little voices and things that pop up to make us doubt ourselves. Thankfully I channel the friends and family I have, what I believe I can do and keep repeating to myself TRUST THE PROCESS DIANE. (Thanks Astro.) I keep on trucking.
(This is where I side note this story and expose my short attention span.)
When typing the above and thinking about how to convey how I shut the doubting voices up, it reminded me of this great t-shirt I saw in a chocolate shop in San Francisco a few years back. It read:
‘There’s a skinnier me inside that’s trying to get out.
I usually shut that bitch up with a piece of chocolate’
I so should’ve bought that shirt.
Back to the story at hand…
So I have been offline for about 35 hours and that feels like decades for a road tripping, Facebooking, Twittering, emailing, trying to figure out where I’m going to stay in Alaska blogger like me. I’ve been jumping out of my pants to upload photos and share more stories. I have enough for a book from only yesterday, but to share an email that came in just now:
Read your blog the other day after returning from vacation. I love my family dearly, immediate and extended, and it is good to see them always, no matter the circumstances, but I’ve a larger itch to scratch.
You’ve converted me.
I have 12 days vacation remaining this year (maybe a couple more at Christmas, they don’t count too strictly then).
And, if I want to “scare” myself into a depression, I could count the vacation days remaining until I retire. It’s about 300. I’m sure I’ll gladly and happily use half of them on both wild and mild adventures with my son.
But, I refuse to use any vacation days doing anything I can squeeze in during the workweek / weekends I am in town. I will not take vacation to paint my garage, set up my workshop, relax, cycle, (although a cycling vacation would be different and is allowed), fix my car(s), do any home repairs / home improvements, etc.
Instead, I’m going places and doing new things. By myself, with my son, with others, all of the above, it doesn’t matter. After you left your visit through here, I tacked a map of the world on my wall as a symbolic reminder my world has grown too small. Who I know, whom I meet, what I try, experience, and risk.
I have more thoughts; stories from jury duty, vacation, etc., but will save for future emails.
Be safe. Keep pollinating.
You’ve converted me. I’m pretty sure you’re smiling right now.
SMILING?! Smiling?! You can say that again (Insert the Home Alone scene here.) That’s me right now.
This email is EXACTLY the thing that keeps me believing and trusting myself and that I’m doing what I should be. This is what shuts up those doubts I have. Words like these tell me I’m paying it forward without even trying. I believe that life is about paying it forward; Living and believing in what you love and always give back
The person who wrote this email to me is one that is kind, generous, smart, sweet, driven, honest, loyal and fun. Thing is, I’m not sure he knew this a few years ago, and I’m pretty sure he might doubt a few of those things now, but he’s getting there, and not because of me. To say that the look on the faces of people when telling them we’ve become close friends would be puzzlement is an understatement. We are so far different it is comical, but get along perfectly.
Somehow he’s trying to credit me with “converting” him. HA! Little does he know he has done way more for me than I could ever do for him but I guess that’s how things like this work. I certainly cannot take the credit. My credit goes to a student exchange program and two friend that aren’t here in physical form anymore. Those are the some of this big things I channel to constantly remind myself the world will always bigger than me, and that it’d be a sin not to laugh and love as much as possible every day.
So thanks G, but all I’m doing is fumbling through my life trying my best to keep the good in mind instead of the bad and respecting the gifts I’ve been given. I’m thankful you saw my heart instantly even though you met me at my rock bottom. I love that you’re taking life by the kahonas. You deserve it. Oh and did you hear? Apparently jorts are hip these days…and you didn’t think you were cool. Pshaw!
I know that not everyone that reads this blog is a “Follower.” Like my mom for instance. She’s so funny, still can’t figure out how to add herself after almost two years but always tells me she tries which is one of the bazillions of reasons why I know she’s loves me as much as she does. I know it doesn’t matter if my follower number is high, I have analytics, I can see how many people read here. BUT! I think it is awesome that I am now about to go over the 100 mark of people who actually want to put themselves and their photo on my blog.
Love! Support! Encouragement! Wahoo! Thanks guys!
After clocking 1,600 miles the past two days in the little Honda that could, the one added new follower since yesterday will help fill my bucket o’ energy for the next 1,600.
…so I decided to it. Now I am stinky and have slept in my car for the past 2 nights. Mostly because of budget, but more because it makes for good stories. Oh I’m so glad I had that itching sensation. Even happier I’m scratching it…
The word of the day is so fun when it pops in my inbox in and fits perfectly in the moment:
Word of the Day for Friday, August 6, 2010
yeuk YOOK, noun:
1. An itching sensation.
verb:
1. To itch.
I am a doofus, and just pressed the “reject” button instead of “publish” so I’m copy/pasting it here to share.
THANK GABI! YOU ROCK!
——-
Gabi has left a new comment on your post “1,779 miles down…”:
Hi, just caught up with your last posts on BLR, and right after that got my quote of the day and thought it fit perfectly:
“Perseverance is a great element of success. If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.”
– Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
We (your followers) hear you and will be here for the entire trip. And what I trip. I hope someone on the news finds out about you soon, I think this makes a great story. Then you’ll be able to post a “BLR on the news” link or something similar.
I feel the rush for your next part of the journey!
Good vibes to you and keep on with that strong mojo.
😉