Damn it's cold

For some reason, I don't remember it being so cold all the time last year. In the 2 1/2 weeks that I've been here, the temperature has been in the single digits most of the time. Right now it's 1 degree outside. The next few days will bring more of single-digit temperatures, with perhaps a dip below zero a couple times. Enough! When it's this cold, the snow gets too cold for skate skiing -- you get no glide with the typical wax. So there's really nothing to do except try to stay warm. Come on... temperatures in the teens, that's all I ask.

Passport hell: the saga continues

Just an update on the last time I wrote about my passport, which was last JULY. No, still don't have it. The story goes like this:

I attempted to request expedited service (ha!), which costs more, and mistakenly overpaid for my passport application. The application stalled, but they didn't tell me why. I called, and they told me I needed to pay the correct amount (they couldn't just give me change, or keep the extra 10 bucks), but I could pay the correct amount by credit card. So I do. But again, the application stalls. I call again, and they say that I can't pay by credit card, someone was mistaken when they told me otherwise. So finally, in August, I sent a check.

I go on my road trip through Canada, still no passport.

In December, they finish the application and send it to my former address in Anchorage. I'm in Chicago at the time, but I had informed the people who took over my old apartment to look out for my passport. FedEx won't deliver without the signature; the new tenants aren't home to sign for it; new tenants don't inform me or my roommate that the passport is there until it has already been returned to sender in Washington DC. It was so close, I almost had it.

I find out about all of this, and write a letter to the passport agency asking that they reissue the passport, this time to my parents' address in Woodinville. Today I checked on the status of the passport, and they tell me it shipped in early January. I check the tracking number, and they had delivered it to freaking San Francisco. There is no explanation for that, I haven't lived there for years. Again, the passport can't be delivered, and it is returned once again to Washington D.C.

And so that's where we stand. I've informed them to send the passport to me here in Anchorage, but you'll understand if I'm skeptical that they'll do it correctly. Holy crap. The passport I applied for in June... still thousands of miles away.

I'll be back soon with the saga of the lost luggage, another ongoing story of bumbling absurdity.

First ski

Finally got myself to Alyeska for my first alpine skiing of the season. The quick 45-minute drive was as amazing as always.





And once there, the skiing was nice. The snow was a couple days old, so it wasn't the best, but it was still pretty good.



And the sun even came out for a while.



Ah, Alyeska. I missed ya. A few more pics can be found here.

A new low

The worst thing about living in the cold is what it does to your car. Everything else is livable, if not pleasant. But when it gets really cold, cars just don't work as well as they should.

The battery loses power quicker; windshield wiper blades freeze in weird positions so they can't actually wipe the window; it takes 15 minutes every morning just to get the frost/snow off the windows.

The absolute worst is what it does to doors and door locks. My car doors often have one of several problems:
a) the locks are frozen, so you can't lock and unlock your door
b) the door latch is frozen, so you can't open your door
c) the door latch is frozen, so you can't close your door

For my money, the last is the worst. At least if you can't open your door, you can leave it somewhere and get it later. But when you've got an open door, and you can't close it, you're not going anywhere. You can't drive with an open door, and you can't walk away and leave your door open. You're screwed.

Like tonight. When the temperature is 9 with a wind chill of 0. It's snowing, and there's a blizzard warning in the area. You're leaving work, and you open your door. And you can't close it. Snow is building on the steering wheel.

I spend 25 minutes trying every trick I knew. Gently closing. Violently slamming. Jiggling the inside and outside handles. Locking and unlocking, with the key or from inside. Nothing. Door won't shut.

So I resort to getting out of my car, hunkering down to the door latch, and blowing hot air into the car door. Literally giving my car CPR. My first fear was that my mouth would stick to the cold metal, and then I'd really be screwed. (I can hear my new colleagues now: "Hey guys, our new associate is outside in the snow with his face stuck to his car door. Good hire.") But, to my immense surprise, it worked. A few invigorating breaths and the door was working again.

And so I guess that's it: next time my door won't close, I have to make out with it.

And I thought Nome was out there

My friend Rebecca went to Point Hope, AK, for business this week. You really have to click on the link to know exactly where it is; I can't even begin to describe it. She brought back some great pictures.

Sometimes I feel that I'm removed from the rest of the world up here in Anchorage, but this is New York City compared to Point Hope. And it's not just the isolation; the sun just came up there for the first time in a month.

What would it take to get you to move to a place like that?

"Some people just have an outhouse to make the yard look sort of Alaskan"

Yes, your yard is more Alaskan if there's an outhouse in it. This, according to a 16-year-old kid who builds custom outhouses to sell on craigslist.

"Alaska is one of the last places in the United States where I think someone can find a market for outhouses," says the guy who wrote the coffee table book "Outhouses in Alaska" (now in its 11th printing).

Alaska is ranked #1 in the country for "lack of modern plumbing." And proud of it.

Quirky Alaska video of the day

Ducks in Fairbanks forget to fly south for the winter; everything freezes except the water near the power plant; lots of hungry ducks hang out in one spot with no food anywhere; friendly Alaskan braves -25 degree temps to feed ducks.

It's all here.

Winter photos

After months of inactivity, Flickr is back with new photos. The winter months are represented by snowscapes and holiday cheer.

Lion outside the Art Institute:



The snowy bean:

Election season

I found this interesting little quiz the other day -- it tells you which of the candidates most shares your views on several issues. There are some big questions left out -- an important one for me concerns what kind of judges the president would appoint -- but it's a fun exercise nonetheless.

The first time I took the quiz I was shocked and amazed to find that my top three choices were Huckabee, Kucinich, and McCain. First of all... what? Huckabee? Second, how can this group of three find common ground on anything? Maybe it shows that, except for a couple big issues, Huckabee and McCain are somewhat liberal about a lot of things. Or maybe I'm somewhat conservative about a few things. But again, the quiz doesn't ask about judicial appointments, and I'm pretty sure Huckabee and I would disagree on judicial philosophy.

Running a close fourth and fifth for me were Obama and Gravel. I must have weird politics.

Okay, I'm back

I got myself a new computer, and I'm ready to rock. Expect a return to the old days soon. I've got several months of pictures to post.

For now, a quick update. I'm back in Anchorage again, where I've started working as an associate at Dorsey & Whitney. I started today, and there's not much to report -- orientation, paperwork, introductions, etc. You know what it's like.

But you might not know what it's like to start your car at 8:30am, when it's pitch black outside, and 8 degrees below zero. Holy crap that's cold. It was like that all weekend. So, yeah... welcome back to Alaska.

Okay, more to come later.