Back.
That's right, people. After nearly a month of being on vacation, I'm back up here in Fairbanks. Apologies for not putting up anything for so long. I'd have liked to, but the fact is public net access in Homer sucks major amounts of ass. There were only 2 places I could go for it: the library, and the Mud Room. At the library (which didn't even open till the 2nd due to maintenance), I could only be online for 30 minutes each day, which gives me barely enough time to check email and go through all my usual sites. The Mud Room wasn't much better. While I could be on as long as I wanted, I had to pay a dollar for every 10 minutes, and also the connection speed sometimes felt like 56k instead of DSL. So basically, I never really had an opportunity where I could just sit back and not worry about time issues. But I'm here now, and I can guarantee this is going to be another whopper entry of mine.
Where to begin. I suppose the beginning would do nicely. On Dec. 21 I flew down from Fairbanks to Anchorage, and then from Anchorage to Homer. The flights down didn't go well at all with my stomach. On a regular jetliner plane I have no problems, but these planes had room for about 20 people or so. Not only are they noisy as hell, but it gets damned hot in there and for whatever reason it makes me feel airsick. I never actually threw up, but the whole time I felt like I could at any moment. Suffice to say, I made sure to take along some Drammamine for the return flight, which as a result was a pure breeze in comparison.
Anyhow, I made it in to Homer safe and sound and got picked up by my dad and a friend of his at the airport. At the time it was snowing out, which I thought was pretty damned awesome. Sad to say though, it didn't last that long. First off, on the same night, there were some really high winds that hit Homer and the surronding areas. A ton of people all around lost power, some for several days. Our hose was one of the lucky ones, in that regard. But the weather just got worse from there. Snow turned into rain, which made the roads slick as hell to drive on. That lasted for the better half of a week, then the rain stopped and the temperature stayed above freezing for a good while. Then, close to when I was about to leave, it got cold and snowed again. I really hate that shit. Not just the fact that it was raining and whatnot, but that it kept changing so I could never get accustomed to it for too long.
Christmas went pretty well. The night before I got invited to stay over with a friend of mine and his family (I get invited every year, but that's beside the point :), and then Christmas morning everyone got up to open presents. I was hoping to get a ride back to my house in order to spend the rest of the time with my dad, but due to the rain and the suck-ass road conditions I ended up staying another night there (which wasn't entirely a bad thing). As far as presents go, I ended up getting $40, a Far Side book, some cards, a bunch of clothes (including a couple of sport jackets), and some Pepsi. That doesn't sound like much, but it didn't really bother me since 1) I'd become used to not getting a bunch of presents anymore, and 2) without going into too many details here, my financial troubles have been remedied, at least up until I graduate this May.
New Year's was cool, too. I got together with another group of friends to do our annual Rifts campaign. This time I was able to get a lot more involved than I usually am able to. For one, I was there when our GM was given the idea (pirate campaign). For another, I ended up having to roll an insanity, which turned out to be an obsession with danger. That ended up making my part a ton easier to play. The only real downside (and the downside with all previous Rifts campaigns) are the battles. They take fucking forever to finish. Well, an hour is more like it, but that's still way too long. Fortunately, our group actually finished this one before daybreak.
After New Year's, the rest of my vacation was more or less uneventful. I pretty much killed time by reading some books and going through a few PSX games. The biggest event to happen was my getting contact lenses. Since I had some actual funds, I decided I was overdue for an eye exam (9 years overdue, to be precise). It turned out my eyes were worse off than I first thought, which wasn't that surprising since I wasn't wearing my glasses like I should've been. Anyhow, I've got contacts now, and man, they are a pain in the ass to put on. I still haven't fully got used to doing it yet. Actually, I'm not even wearing them now because of that. Taking them off is far easier in comparison.
As it turns out, there's a strong possibility that after I graduate and move down south, I'm not going to have a place to come back to. My dad plans to stick around and work in Homer for the summer, but afterwards he's heading out and moving to Slana, a place for which the term boonies is a gross understatement. And when he's gone, the house that we're living in now goes back to the landlord, who will do with it as he pleases. It sucks, because I have a fair amount of friends in Homer that I won't be able to see again, but there's nothing I can do about it. My dad says if I want to come back up and visit him I can fly to Anchorage and take the bus up from there. While this is true, it's going to be a bitch and a half to actually do, which is why I don't particularly see myself doing it that often. Of course, there's no telling what's going to happen to me after I land in Seattle.
Today I bought textbooks for my classes, which came to a whopping $482, almost the same amount that I paid for my eye exam/contacts. As luck would have it, I couldn't get any of them in something other than new condition. Oh well, it had to be done. Classes start up tomorrow. I've got 3 on Thursday, then my other 3 on Friday. That's the most I've ever had to take during my entire time up here. I'm not too worried about it, though. Last semester I took 4 classes while procrastinating heavily and did reasonably well: 1 A, 2 B's, 1 C. I should be okay as long as I remember to get started on assingments the day I get them and not put them off until the night before they're due. I think I've got plenty of motivation, knowing that those 6 classes are the only thing standing between me and my degree. Well, I'm going to find out soon enough, anyhow. And for anyone who's read this whole thing down to here, you deserve a medal.
Where to begin. I suppose the beginning would do nicely. On Dec. 21 I flew down from Fairbanks to Anchorage, and then from Anchorage to Homer. The flights down didn't go well at all with my stomach. On a regular jetliner plane I have no problems, but these planes had room for about 20 people or so. Not only are they noisy as hell, but it gets damned hot in there and for whatever reason it makes me feel airsick. I never actually threw up, but the whole time I felt like I could at any moment. Suffice to say, I made sure to take along some Drammamine for the return flight, which as a result was a pure breeze in comparison.
Anyhow, I made it in to Homer safe and sound and got picked up by my dad and a friend of his at the airport. At the time it was snowing out, which I thought was pretty damned awesome. Sad to say though, it didn't last that long. First off, on the same night, there were some really high winds that hit Homer and the surronding areas. A ton of people all around lost power, some for several days. Our hose was one of the lucky ones, in that regard. But the weather just got worse from there. Snow turned into rain, which made the roads slick as hell to drive on. That lasted for the better half of a week, then the rain stopped and the temperature stayed above freezing for a good while. Then, close to when I was about to leave, it got cold and snowed again. I really hate that shit. Not just the fact that it was raining and whatnot, but that it kept changing so I could never get accustomed to it for too long.
Christmas went pretty well. The night before I got invited to stay over with a friend of mine and his family (I get invited every year, but that's beside the point :), and then Christmas morning everyone got up to open presents. I was hoping to get a ride back to my house in order to spend the rest of the time with my dad, but due to the rain and the suck-ass road conditions I ended up staying another night there (which wasn't entirely a bad thing). As far as presents go, I ended up getting $40, a Far Side book, some cards, a bunch of clothes (including a couple of sport jackets), and some Pepsi. That doesn't sound like much, but it didn't really bother me since 1) I'd become used to not getting a bunch of presents anymore, and 2) without going into too many details here, my financial troubles have been remedied, at least up until I graduate this May.
New Year's was cool, too. I got together with another group of friends to do our annual Rifts campaign. This time I was able to get a lot more involved than I usually am able to. For one, I was there when our GM was given the idea (pirate campaign). For another, I ended up having to roll an insanity, which turned out to be an obsession with danger. That ended up making my part a ton easier to play. The only real downside (and the downside with all previous Rifts campaigns) are the battles. They take fucking forever to finish. Well, an hour is more like it, but that's still way too long. Fortunately, our group actually finished this one before daybreak.
After New Year's, the rest of my vacation was more or less uneventful. I pretty much killed time by reading some books and going through a few PSX games. The biggest event to happen was my getting contact lenses. Since I had some actual funds, I decided I was overdue for an eye exam (9 years overdue, to be precise). It turned out my eyes were worse off than I first thought, which wasn't that surprising since I wasn't wearing my glasses like I should've been. Anyhow, I've got contacts now, and man, they are a pain in the ass to put on. I still haven't fully got used to doing it yet. Actually, I'm not even wearing them now because of that. Taking them off is far easier in comparison.
As it turns out, there's a strong possibility that after I graduate and move down south, I'm not going to have a place to come back to. My dad plans to stick around and work in Homer for the summer, but afterwards he's heading out and moving to Slana, a place for which the term boonies is a gross understatement. And when he's gone, the house that we're living in now goes back to the landlord, who will do with it as he pleases. It sucks, because I have a fair amount of friends in Homer that I won't be able to see again, but there's nothing I can do about it. My dad says if I want to come back up and visit him I can fly to Anchorage and take the bus up from there. While this is true, it's going to be a bitch and a half to actually do, which is why I don't particularly see myself doing it that often. Of course, there's no telling what's going to happen to me after I land in Seattle.
Today I bought textbooks for my classes, which came to a whopping $482, almost the same amount that I paid for my eye exam/contacts. As luck would have it, I couldn't get any of them in something other than new condition. Oh well, it had to be done. Classes start up tomorrow. I've got 3 on Thursday, then my other 3 on Friday. That's the most I've ever had to take during my entire time up here. I'm not too worried about it, though. Last semester I took 4 classes while procrastinating heavily and did reasonably well: 1 A, 2 B's, 1 C. I should be okay as long as I remember to get started on assingments the day I get them and not put them off until the night before they're due. I think I've got plenty of motivation, knowing that those 6 classes are the only thing standing between me and my degree. Well, I'm going to find out soon enough, anyhow. And for anyone who's read this whole thing down to here, you deserve a medal.