In which I mess up my nails, learn how awesome lube is, and feel like a huge idiot.

Ugh, blogger has changed my layout. I can't find where anything is. Dumb.

As most of you probably know, now that I have money (kind of) and have a sweet new truck and a sweet motocycle to go with it, (it's so hard to decide which one to take to work in the morning... ah the awesome problems I have!!!!) I have started doing what I do best: modifying them to make them more awesome.

I spent last weekend with the truck... de tinting the windows since I got pulled over for illegal tint (knew it was coming just was hoping not so soon) and putting in some sweet new headlights. The truck now looks pretty awesome and is legal to drive in AK. Anyway, this story is about my motorcycle.

Truck in progress

Truck done! Definite improvement :)

So I decided I wanted new grips for the bike. I have changed the grips on my dirtbike and know this can be a pain in the ass. Not too bad; it just takes a little determination and 15 minutes to do what should take 5. Anyway, I pick out some nice looking grips for the bike. They even have some aluminum rings on them for extra badassness. I ordered these last week.

I get home today from work today, do my thing, go play some catch with my friend, have a lovely time, and come home and check the mail. This is where things went wrong. My new grips came!  Cool!  It is 8, I am kind of hungry, but there is still light and this should take 30 minutes tops. I excitedly rip open the clamshell. (who invented sealed calmshells anyway. Even with a knife they are dangerous and really hard to open) The grips are as sweet as I imagined! To my credit, I do check the box for any directions. Nope, none. I decide to put them on now. Why not?

I start by pulling off the old grip. Of course this is not easy and I end up cutting it off. I start trying to work the new one on. It does not want to go on. Oh, I forgot lube. I can't remember what I used on my dirtbike but I have chapstick in my pocket. So I smear it all over the tube and the inside of the grip. I try to work it on. It will not go on past the first aluminum ring. The metal is making it too tight. I try harder and try twisting. The aluminum cuts up my hands and majorly does a number on my nails, which I just painted last night. This is why I never painted my nails before.... However, I kind of like painting them and I think my coworkers like playing "guess what color Anna's nails will be" each Monday.

Anyway, I get the grip stuck on. I go inside and look for more lube. Hmmm, I have lube for the chain on my bike. I check the internet and see if that will work. Yes it does!  Ok, good deal. I try to spray it on the inside of the grip. It goes all over my face, luckily missing my eyes. I really need to remember to wear safety glasses when I do stuff like this.... It still is not going on so I decide to take it off and try again.

I try putting it on without the aluminum rings on. They seem to be stopping the rubber on the grip from stretching. After much working at it, I finally get it on. The grip is too flimsy where the metal is supposed to be to be used without it. Damn. I am at my 30 minutes now and have made my bike un-rideable. I am hungry and want to give up but it is going to be getting dark soon. Ok, let's pull it off and try again.

I put the metal ring back on and spray chain lube all over the grip. I try again. After a fair bit of work, I manage to get it on. Unfortunately, the grip is rubbing on the handlebar and is making my throttle stay open. That is not safe, going to have to do something about that. Additionally, all this pulling is causing the metal to cut up the rubber in my nice new grip. Ugh. I take the grip off. Again. I notice that there is a diameter of 22mm stamped on the grip. Weird. I check the old one to see if it has any info on it. Nothing. Bummer.

I mess with the grip-less handle bar and get the throttle functional. Ok, one more try. After lubing it up a lot, I get the grip back on. Again. I get the grip on pretty well but am unable to get the second aluminum ring on the grip. Who needs that? Well, the rubber on the grip looks like shit at this point and damn it, I am giong to get that ring on there. I eventually force it on.

At this point, multiple people have left the parking lot and come back home to me still working on my bike. It is now approximately two hours later and the sun is starting to set. The sunset is pretty at least. My hands are also bleeding despite the fact that I put gloves on about 30 minutes into the procedure. My nails are also ruined.

I have the throttle working and the grip on. Kind of. Well the throttle is working but the grip is all stretched really weird and looks horrible. I decide to give up for the day. I pick up the other grip and take a look at it. The diameter on it is 24 mm. Fuck, I bet the handles are different sizes. In fact, I know they are since the other one does not have the throttle on it. Since the grip looks so shitty and I am going to have mis-matched grips for a while at this rate anyway, I decide to take the grip off and replace it with the other one.

I end up having to cut the damn thing off. Oh well, it was more or less destroyed at this point anyway. The metal rings make cutting it slightly ineffective since the part that is so tight and causing the problems is the metal. I eventually pull it off.

I lube up the 24 mm diameter grip and slide it on in about 30 seconds. Perfect fit. Awesome. I feel much better about riding with this grip on since it has no conflict with the throttle operation at all. Why did I not do this two hours ago?

Well, my grips are definitely going to be mis matched for a while now. I do not want to repeat this adventure any time soon. Even if I did, it would take a bit to get new ones shipped...

Anyway, it is now after 10. I am tired and hungry and my hands hurt a lot. Between the 2 hours of the friction from pulling on a stupid little grip and the metal cutting me, they don't feel to great. And they are all dirty like they always are when I touch anything that goes on a road and needs oil and gas to run... no matter what I am doing to it, I always get filthy.

Time to make dinner. I don't want to cook. I just want food to appear. I decide macaroni and cheese from a box can't be that hard to make. I boil the water, add the noodles, and wait. I finally strain them and add the cheese powder, a little butter, and some milk. I don't measure any of this. After stirring for a bit, I realize that I have put way too much milk in. My dinner turns out to be noodles swimming in cheese flavored milk. Ok, apparently this is not my evening.

Time to finish blogging, then wash the chain lube off my face, and finally go to bed and hope my hands heal some overnight. They really don't feel so great. :(

I would have pictures but my hands were so torn up and I was so hungry that I didn't take any. Too bad for you! But here is a picture of my sad mac n cheese

Yum... dinner....

One more nugget of wisdom learned on my trip to Chevak

When going through airport security back to Anchorage, make sure ALL your pockets are emptied... Including the ones that your work pants have that the pants you normally wear are lacking. Cell phones will set off the security alarm.

Also, do not forget to remove your first production super spiffy Benchmade knife from the computer bag that you threw it in. Security does not like them. That knife wasn't even supposed to come on this trip... Luckily i was able to check it last minute!

Chevak Pictures

Ok, a few pictures from the job!

Drill rig at sunrise

Me "supervising". Watch out drillers, here comes the girl with the mittens!

Where the magic happens. Uhhh, Trevor, is this sandy silt or silty sand?

They wanted a reference of how tall the pipes were... notice the huge mittens that cover half my arm

Drilling at 1 am...

It took most of a day to dig this stupid hole....

And a few more things I learned that I forgot yesterday...

Digging a 2 foot deep hole in frozen ground sucks. And takes foreverrrr

Even if they say the last plane comes in at 6, it is a good idea to wait to start drilling in th e middle of the runway until 9. The last plane really comes in at 9.....

Things I learned in Chevak

As you know, I spent the last few days in Chevak, Alaska. It is a decent size village in Western Alaska. This was my first excursion into bush Alaska so I thought I would change up my blogging style. I don't really want to write a detailed description of everything. Because I honestly don't remember each day well enough to do that. Sooo I will make a list!

Things I learned in Chevak:

Riding a snowmachine is a great way to cool off your coffee

Dumping antifreeze all over the Tundra should be avoided

Drillers are crazy. In a good way. In this case. But "their brains are weird"

Drillers will resent you a little for having a clean jacket... and will quickly remedy the situation by wiping their filthy hands all over it

...even though their own jacket is actually cleaner than yours

there is a huge difference between sandy silt and silty sand. The term "sand with silt" should not be used

If you manage to dump your coffee over three times and fall off the snow machine before 9 am, it will be a good day

the sun stays out until 11.

Working until 1:30 am is awesome

UFOs can be seen in Chevak (for serious)

finding Internet is a pain in the ass

...As is submitting a timesheet with no Internet access....

dirt in your eye hurts

do not ever eat silk worms. They smell like dirt and will probably make you vomit up the delicious dinner you just ate. it might be worth $100 though

20 degrees is not bad to work in. 20 degrees with constant 20+ mph winds sucks.

steel toed boots suck in the cold. No matter how insulated they may be.

Mittens are warm. Though the drillers will make fun of you for wearing them.

Snowmachines are extremely unreliable. Towing them is relatively easy though

a great way to warm up your hands is to stick them in a pot of boiling water.

Goggles are a life saver in the wind. Especially if you have contacts and your eyes bitch about being cold and outside all day. Like mine do.

It is not possible to go to the grochery store and spend less than $50.

sunrise and sunset over the tundra are beautiful.

Stomping on, and crunching ice is fun.


Ok, hopefully that gives you an idea of what my trip was like :) 

It was informative, pretty fun, and cold. Though it could have been a lot colder...

I might post a picture or two later... I don't have a lot. I did not bring a camera....

New Adventures: Alaskan Travels

As many of you know, I recently took a new job which will involve some travel throughout Alaska. I am just beginning my first foray into Alaska and figured I should share :)

As an almost completely brand new Geologist for the State of Alaska, my boss is trying to get me used to traveling in Alaska and get me trained. Lucky for him I learn fast and this seems to be going pretty well. Anyway, my first assignment involves little work on my end. I am accompanying a consultant-run drill team on the Chevak runway project. Basically, I am getting sent out to Chevak for the weekend to observe and learn and figure out how to work in remote places in Alaska. This particular job is especially good since there is going to be the installation of temperature recording canisters which I need to learn how to work with but we don't use often, as I understand it.

Anyway, to avoid 3 am flights, I am traveling to Chevak in two days, even though I will only be flying for a total of about 3 hours from Anchorage to Chevak. So I am staying the night in Bethal, which is apparently the "hub" to many western Alaska villages.

Anyway, my adventure begins this morning. I have spent the last few days in "wilderness first aid and survival" class. Today is the last day of this. I spend the day learning about cleaning wounds, how to survive falling in cold water, how to wrap up hypothermic people, and how to remove embedded fishooks. Basically people, you want me to come on all your awesome trips you are taking this summer for sagety reasons! ;)  Don't even ask me the secret to painlessly removing fishooks. I won't tell you... you are just gonna have to bring me on your fishing trips :)

At about 2, I leave the class a little early to head to the airport. The plane leaves at 5 and my boss wants me to get there in plenty of time. I pack the rest of my stuff and get to the airport around 3.

Okkk yay for being early.... now I have 2 hours to kill... I read my book and wait patiently. Cool, the plane leaves from concourse A.... I worked on this project last summer.  Looks like it holding up well, sweet!  A lady walks by on the phone "yeah, it's like 36 degrees in Anchorage..."  Um no, lady, it is closer to 50. This is practically summer time!  I am amused.

I read and wait some more before finally boarding the plane. I get on and am asked by the flight crew member (I can't remember his official title...my pilot friends would be dissappointed in me...) asks me to please sit in the front of the plane for weight reasons. Oh, it's going to be one of those flights. Myself and the two other people on the flight board. The crew goes through their checks and then asks us to please get off the plane. They have to call maintenance, but it will only be a few minutes. Ummm great?

The three of us go back into the terminal. 10 minutes later, we get called to board again. Well I hope nothing was actually wrong... that was really fast to fix it if there was anything... The plane fires up. It is really noisy. Note to self: bring earplugs on the plane. I would rather not completely lose my hearing.....

We have an unevenful trip twoish hour flight. I read my book and check the window occasionally. Interesting. Mountains, flat, mountains, flat with rivers, mountains, other physical features, flat, oh hey, we are landing already!

We land and I get off the plane. Uhhh, where do I go?  I pick a building and start walking... seems like the right one. I go inside and there are people and a tiny little garage door for the baggage claim. The other passengers follow me. Good, either I am going to the right place or they are lost too... A few minutes later, my bag and action packer appear. Ok, right one!

Now for getting a taxi.... I hope there is one sitting there... I have no phone numbers to call. I guess I could ask. I only have 80 pounds of gear to lug around. Walking all over sounds great! Luckily, I walk out the door and there is a cab sitting right there. The driver loads up my stuff for me and we head off. One of the guys from my flight is in the cab too. He asks me a few questions. Have I been to Bethal before, where do I live, what am I doing here.... The usual. We talk for a short bit and then he gets dropped off.

I continue on a short ways to the B&B I am staying at. The driver unloads my gear and drops me at the office. Ok, action packer, you are big and awkward, you are staying outside. Please don't walk off with anyone..... I go in the door and there is nothing there, just more doors. Uhhh. I read the signs. "B&B office up stairs." I pick that door and lug my laptop case and other bag up the stairs. I get to the top and am in what appears to be someone's house. I have never actually stayed at a B&B before so I don't know what to expect. "Uhhh, hello?" A man wanders over to a counter and helps me.

He checks me in and gives me info on cabs and other pertinent things. I leave and head to my room, lugging all my crap with me. This is going to suck when I actually have work tools I need to bring in addition to all my clothes and gear I need in general.... I open te door to the building. Great... more stairs! I take two trips. Stupid awkward sized action packer.... My room is pretty nice. Apparently it has the best view in town.  I don't know if I would say that since I have nothing to compare it to but it does have a nice view of the river (which is frozen and covered in snow) and the tundra beyond.  It is fun to watch the snomachiners go by. And, at 9ish, the sun is starting to set and the lighting on the snow looks really cool!  Too bad I did not bring my camera (stupid to forget! It is more or less indesctuctable and I have had it long enough that should I somehow lose it I won't be too heartbroken... It has been a good and faithful camera for many years) or my phone (intentional... would rather not lose or destroy in the middle of no where) I do have a work camera but I am kind of saving that for work.. ya know?

Anyway, I go into the room. It is completely covered in coat hooks. I count 26 different coat hook hangers and a few other wall hangings which purpose I can not determine though they kind of look like modified coat hooks.... Well, I guess I won't be lacking for a space to hang every article of clothing I brought... and my sleeping bag! 

Anyway, I wander down the street and get some dinner. My coworker told me there is a pretty good place just down the road. I find it without too much problem. It isn't too bad. I walk back to my room and pick a coat hook for my coat. All right, time for some reading and bed!

Reflections on my trip: the passage of time

While taking a walk to Fred Meyer today, I had some interesting thoughts. I remember taking this same walk before I left. I had some interesting trains of thoughts that I wanted to share. 

One thing that has always fascinated me is the passage of time. To me, once something has past it kind of becomes part of a huge collection of "things that are over and affect me now but can't be changed". It is over, done, and almost doesn't exist anymore. I mean, I remember it happening, but memories are kinda faulty, ya know? You ask 5 people who were at the same place having the same experience and you get 5 different stories of what happend.

I have experienced a similar feeling when I visited Huntsville after graduating high school after having been gone for a few years. I was back at the same place and it was really hard to comprehend how much time had passed. I mean, there were plenty of different things and many of the people I had known there weren't there anymore or we no longer had anything in common. But really, it was like I had never left. I was there before and I am there now so really, what is the difference?

Anyway, tying this in. I left Anchorage for almost three months ago and had an amazing time traveling around and seeing stuff. However, as soon as I was back in familiar territory, it was almost like I had never left. I mean, I go back to my same condo and go to the same store and see the same people and go to the same places. I picked up right where I left off. It was almost like the last three months didn't even happen. I mean, I know they did but being here, it is hard to remember anywhere else.

On the flip side, while I was away, it was really hard to remember home. I mean, of course I remember my family and friends and everything else. But not actually being there, it just seemed less real. It was weird being in a new place every week or day so. I have never had that experience before. I mean, traveling, yes. But I have always gone somewhere, stayed there, and then gone home. Not this ongoing journey deal.

I guess the point I am trying to make and to take away from all of this is that whatever is happening here and now at this moment should be enjoyed to the fullest. As soon as it's over, it's gone. And is never coming back. I mean, something similar might happen un the same place but it will never be exactly the same? At the same time, if whatever situation you are in is awful, it too will pass eventually. I mean, your experiences will always stay with you but the longer it has been since the actually happened, the less real they will become.

They say that time is the 4th dimension. I mean 1 dimension is a point, supposedly. So that is kinda like you. Just as you are without the world around you. Just you as a single point. Then there are to dimensions. So that is like a piece of paper. Kind of hard to relate to life I guess. However, it is kind of the way that (I think) a lot of people see things. I am lucky enough to be able to imagine (some) things in 3 dimensions but I know some people don't. So 2d is kind of like thinking. Or talking. Or writing I guess. If that makes sense. Then 3d is real life. I mean you can move in any direction you want, gravity limited of course.

Time is the 4th. Or so they say. I am not so sure that I believe that. Since we are so limited in our experience of it. I mean, other than now, we have no control over what we are experiencing time wise. in the 3rd dimension, we can be anywhere we choose to be, gravity permitting of course. Time, all we get is now. We can remember previous time, but can not go back. We can envision future time, but we can not go forward and whatever we envision, it never turns out that way. At least not exactly. Time has its own way of working way beyond what we can control. I would argue that time is more like the first dimension. I mean, all we can really control or see is a miniscule amount of time, kind of like a point. Oh well, anyway, this is getting too technical.

A few years ago, I totally didn't get this. I still might not totally get it, but I am moving in that direction. Seize the moment and make the most of it. If the moment sucks, it will pass. But really, most things really aren't that bad.

Hopefully, I am not too crazy and this is mildly interesting :)