alaska = good

That title about sums it up.
I have officially been here for 1 week and 1 day.
So far...

Work is decent (i'm carrying an envelope with a week's worth of tips in my pocket as we speak, but waiting to count it when i get out of the public eye).
My coworkers are pretty amazing, and within the past 4-5 days I have been making some of the craziest, most unique friends ever.
The scenery honestly could be one of the best parts, though. Everyday I step outside in 60-65 (or higher) degree weather and, if im not working, take an hour or two and just go exploring. For example, On Saturday before I worked I walked the entire perimeter of the Kenai resort and briefly walked up a nature trail marked DO NOT ENTER (due to numerous bear sightings)...then I got scared and ran back down because I kept hearing the bushes and trees rustling. I know, i'm a wuss...but then again I would like to keep my face from ending up in a bear's mouth. Afterwards I took a 2 mile walk and found a local Cooper Landing cemetary. You can even get buried for free up there if you inquire at the post office/community center. Go figure. The sun was out, which just made everything even more beautiful to look at, even corroded old headstones/tombstones. Nature has always mellowed me out in the past, even when I find myself going nuts from working 4 jobs while taking 5 classes during the school year. But there is something completely different about the atmosphere up in Alaska. I cant put my finger on it, but I will think about it for the next few months. There has to be something...i just dont know what.

I didnt end up going on a fjords tour like I was supposed to on my day off Friday, because they needed me to fill in for another busser. Boo. However, I have Thursday and Friday this week off and I plan on using them to the best of my ability to see EVERYTHING. Maybe on the river? Maybe by land? Maybe on horse? Who knows, and thats why I love this place...so much to do, and everywhere is the perfect start.

Plus I'm working out daily, starting out small but progressively getting better and better with it. We will see how that goes in the long run...but hopefully when I get back to the lower 48 (ha, love saying that) it will be noticed.

I'm working a split shift today (7am-1130am and 5pm-1130pm) and I'm running on 3.5 hours of sleep thanks to impromptu Anchorman showing in the rec room with Ryan (girl Ryan!), Kirk, Alex, Hurley, Andrea, and briefly Kyla. Yes I just name dropped some of my new friends, and I have no shame. Well maybe a little...but ahh well. Time for a nap...hope everyones having fun in the sweltering heat while I'm staying nice and cool (i'm even wearing t-shirt and shorts everyday and not freezing!)...PS: come up and visit, you wont regret it.

Taking it day by day,
-Yohe

PPS: IMPORTANT: if you are reading this and want a summer job until September or later, let me know!!! They are currently hiring and need people in the restaurant and housekeeping (among other areas) and asked me if i had any friends looking for work. All you need to know is housing is $15/day (includes 3 meals a day and a clean, nice place to stay) and they can help you find airfare. ALL OF THIS CAN COME OUT OF YOUR PAYCHECK SO YOU WONT HAVE TO PAY ANYTHING TO FLY UP HERE!!! Seriously, this is the chance of a lifetime...if you need a job, let me know.
yohe.9@osu.edu

...and so our story begins

Wow.
Alaska is amazing.

It's been 4 days since I arrived and it is still hard to believe that I'm actually here. The mountains outside my window and everywhere i look are the only proof i need, though. I can't even begin to describe how it feels to be up here. The atmosphere is incredible, my coworkers are great, and...well I'll try to start from the beginning because its been pretty eventful and I'm not even through my first week.

PS: if i get cut off, its because someone needs to use the internet...stupid employee yielding to the customer's needs.

So in a matter of 20 or so hours I made 3 flights: pittsburgh to chicago (stayed in a swanky 1 star motel for 7hrs), chicago to minneapolis, and then minneapolis to...canada??? Well not intentionally...but thats a funny story. I fell asleep for roughly an hour on the flight and I wake up to see the woman who was sitting next to me SLAPPING the woman in front of us yelling, "Barbara!!!! WAKE UP!!!" What the hell? Turns out she was having a heart attack. Terrific. Fortunately...the woman next to me is an RN (registered nurse) and then 3 doctors come running from the front of the plane asking to help. Then the lady 3 rows up and across runs back and says she is an EMT. Apparently we had an entire ER on our flight. But we had to emergency land in Edmonton, Canada for 2 hours to refuel, get her back safely off the plane, blah blah blah...and then i arrived in beautiful Anchorage, Alaska.

I was picked up by Jerry, one of the front desk employees and we had a great 2 hour drive with him making fun of me and pointing out inlets, mountains, birds, and eventually my final destination: cooper landing, alaska. That is where the Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge is located, obviously. As soon as I got there, I immediately thought of one thing: summer camp. IT felt like I was going to be at a summer camp. Well, except for the fact that people who are pretty well off come up here to enjoy all Alaska has to offer...so more of a rich summer camp. But everything is so beautiful up here, I honestly just stop and stare at everything around me half of the time I'm not working.

Speaking of, I started my job as a busser/host/server on Monday. Not too bad, I'm learning and catching on pretty quick but theres still so much to learn. Plus I have seasoned coworkers like Andrea and Emily to kick my ass into shape...its just tough love (i keep telling myself). But honestly, I have not met a coworker in any department that I did not like immediately. They're all very welcoming (i'm the new guy, almost everyone else arrived about a month ago) and I can already tell this will be an interesting summer...

Plus I made $21 in tips from helping clear tables in the bar last night for 25min, booyah! Some other highlights include helping out with a sled dog show, basically playing with 3 huskies! One is pure white and really relaxed (Kishu), silver and crazy (Cabo), and the big dog himself (my favorite)...BUCKEYE! Yes, I'm not kidding...Lorraine is one of the bravest women i've ever met, she is a sled dog expert and has done quite a bit of her own adventuring. She wants me to help out with the shows now!! This was my first night, by the way...how sweet is that?

Plus I'm learning new languages from my coworkers. So far, i've met employees from the following areas
-French Canada
-Bulgaria
-Russia
-Czech Rep.

and there are more, but its escaping me now.

I better head out for now, but tomorrow is my first day off and I plan on spending it on one of various actvities I get to do or see for FREE...could be historic carriage ride? Could be fjord boat trip? Could be glacier sightseeing? Who knows, but wherever I end up...i'll tell you all about it.

taking it day by day,
-Yohe

just days away...

So the school year is up (finally) and I am slowly but surely getting ready for my trip to Alaska. At the moment I'm relaxing, recamping, and packing all my stuff so I can make it to my flight on time tomorrow. My schedule goes as follows:

TONITE:
-absorb more cat/doghair and embrace it.
-maybe go to Denny's one last time while in the "lower 48". Any takers????
-rest and kick ass at Guitar Hero, my newest, guiltiest pleasure

SATURDAY:
-finish washing my life away and get it all packed up
-say my last goodbyes and spreading the word about my new baby (this journal) because lord knows I wont be able to call/txt/im you as much as I'd like
-airport to check in and make my 730 flight from PITT to CHICAGO
-get to my hotel and rest up (someone take me sightseeing instead!)

SUNDAY:
-7am flight to Minneapolis :-/
-9ish flight to Anchorage :-D
-arrive around noon (5pm ET) and meet Jerry, my limo/van shuttle
-2 hour drive to Cooper Landing, AK (aka Kenai Princess Wilderness Lodge)

and the rest will be history.

I'm sorry that I didnt get to say goodbye to everyone, and I'm hoping that they'll stumble upon this either from facebook or a friend of a friend. If this applies to you and you just found this blog, hope you keep up to date with what i'm doing because each weekend i plan on seeing EURRTHING.

oh and another thing. it just dawned on me that I might not have a reliable place to load my Alaskan pics onto webshots, so that is definitely on the iffy side for right now. My new goal, if they cant transfer my pics is to make it to a Walmart (there's one either in Anchorage or along the way? could be far though) somehow and put all my pics on a data CD and then upload from there. But we will see...any suggestions how to ensure me, my Sony cam, and my USB cord will be able to transfer everything to webshots??? Greatly appreciated if you got em.

Thats it for now, time for Degrassi!!! For everyone out there booing me, I boo you back.

taking it day by day,
-yohe

PS: who loves the eskimo profile pic? hint: ME

testing...1 2 3

Ok, so here's my feeble attempt at keeping my Alaskan trip/job as documented as possible. I am less than a week away from my departure and not anywhere close to being ready to go. Two finals left, so much packing and cleaning...not looking forward to that. Anyone out there have a fast forward button or something???

Anyways, hopefully I will have a somewhat secure source of internet while I'm in Alaska so I can keep this up to date. I've also created a webshots page devoted exclusively to my pictures of amazing Alaska.

http://community.webshots.com/user/yoheee

I know, original right?

I'll keep you all posted, promise. For now, its off to get myself more ready for this school year to be over...studying? Ha, probably should but moreorless doing something not as important.

rock on,
-yohe