The end is near, so near.....

Today I saw the final work schedule for the 2012 season at the McKinley Chalet and it had an end date listed for me. As of 12:30 ADT, on September 15th I am done. One for the record books. At this point I guess I should state, "Wow, where did the time go?" But not so, the last 1/4 - 1/3 has been a struggle, at times a Sisyphean struggle, and at least for now, not a sweet/bitter sweet experience. To be sure working as a Sprinter driver has been a fun and at sometimes engaging experience. But was it worth the  5+ months commitment of my life? Especially now in the "premium time" of our life?

Living in Alaska has provided the setting for wondrous adventures, all be it safe-calculated adventures. We traveled most of the highways and visited many "wide spots in the road" and of course have seen some amazingly beautiful sights. Getting to see grizzly bears closeup eating and snorting.... heart stopping beautiful scenery of every ilk, getting an idea of how vast, vast can really be....

Grizzly bear grazing among the rich autumn colors in Denali National Park

Truly they have added to my cache of life experiences. As have the negative experiences, in fact I would say here is where I have really learned / reaffirmed some truths about my core being and the inertia of same.

My space, yes a very limited commodity these last 5 months, is very important to me. I like not having to share a fucking bathroom with people whose culture is clearly differently wired w/respect to personal hygiene and hygiene habits. Is this so pathetically American or what? Flushing and wiping clearly are important to me, perhaps too important. I will never choose to live somewhere that I have to share a bathroom as a condition of residence.

I apparently have a limited need for people in my life and this is really an odd one for me. I feel happiest when I'm with people, being active and engaged, yet I seem to also dislike (at time very much) the same...  A common thread is that I am suspicious of people and what they want from me. As if I have something of values that they want (and may take )from me. I've always been troubled by this from as far back as I can remember. It can be very limiting in any relationship.

I have a limit of how many times I can do something after which I really struggle to continue. I call it the breakfast cereal syndrome.... I love the breakfast cereal, I eat it every morning, in fact I wake up excited to eat it for breakfast and then one morning half way through a spoonful I can't swallow it, it been too much....  it has now become something that I no longer like and is now just repulsive....

I really have a problem with authority, especially authority that appears to be incompetent. Enough said.

The list is growing longer than I though, I'm just getting started and already I feel quite petty so perhaps it's a good time to end this part and just sum up by saying that I have a need for more control in my life than less.

The positive of this experience has been "the spirit of adventure" that we seem to have developed. I hope it continues as we leave Alaska leading us on new and grander journeys... And that's all I'm going to say for now.

It's been a month "workin fo the man"

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a bananas..."

 A quote from somewhere inconsequential


A month ago I reentered the workforce, kinda at the lower end as a shuttle driver at a resort lodge in Alaska near Denali National Park. I chose to do this simply as a means of living somewhere else in an affordable way, and perhaps to make enough money for additional adventures along the way. So 1/5th through the season all seems to be going well, at least with respect to being a working man again.

First I must be honest, this is an easy job, basically sit for 8 hours and steer a "Sprinter" around a 1.1 mile loop with some promise of extra trips "down the road". I get to meet people from all over the world, most of who are pretty happy to be here and anxious to squeeze out all they can in their 1-3 days in the area.

And of course the company I work for tries to squeeze out as much money from said guests as possible during the same time and in the process give them an experience of their lifetime and smoother them with courteous kindness. Our company motto is, "be the difference".  I've really bought into this, and have been doing my part, mostly because it just comes natural to me, of making our guests feel welcomed and going the extra measure to make their stay the experience of a lifetime.

I do not want to dwell on the many opportunities for irony that I encounter on a daily basis such as what low expectations most guests have for what should be their experience of a lifetime and the best way to spend their precious hours/dollars in paradise. Naw, that's just low hanging fruit that has little value other than to stoke the fire of personal rage of how poor our adventure spirit really is, etc. A topic for another blog for sure.

Instead I just want to celebrate my month of employment, making the bucks, doing my part, making a difference; did I mention that I won some formal recognition for my effort? Kinda cool, really, I do take pride in giving my employer value for the money they spend on my labor.

Like all enterprises that require effort, it is worthwhile to evaluate the cost/benefit ratio of said enterprise. What would I have been doing if had chose to stay home in SUT and just ride MTB? Ugh, ride my MTB's obviously and bitch about how hot it is and how there is no place to go and wah wah wah. No, the real value is that of adventure, striking out on a journey to somewhere new and maybe somewhat unknown; we have done that and it is good. Bottom line this last month was very well spent both for the immediate value and hopefully as an example for future adventures.

Random thoughts about going back to work
Tomorrow we will get up earlier then usual, check out of the Extended Stay Inn and drive from Fairbanks, AK south on Alaska Highway 3 to about 11 miles south of Healy, AK to the McKinley Chalet. We will check in with HR and by sometime in the afternoon we should be full-time seasonal employees of Aramark, Inc.

Wasn't it just a little time ago that we had loaded up our truck, rental van and car, closed the Livermore house for the last time, dropped of my Lab badge at 7000 East Ave and headed East? March 29, 2008 if my memory serves me. So four plus years ago, my how my need for a job to define who I am and provide the daily structure to keep me honest has faded. I've worked pretty hard these last four years to push past those constraints and take me to the next level. I have failed. I say failed because I have not accomplished anything grand and suiting of such a luxury as not having to work for a living.

Now I have really enjoyed these years of few constraints and even fewer commitments. I think I have grown as a person, if only because I've allowed myself to take the time to think about what is going on in my life and not reacting to every little brush fire. At least that is me at my best, I can still be incredibly petty about certain things but I honestly think I have some real insight into what motivates and more importantly de-motivates me.

So with that noted, tomorrow, it all changes. I will re-enter the work force at a pretty low level, a bus driver, just like Ralph Kranden (Jackie Gleason of the Honeymooners for you young'uns). I will have that job that I used to dream about when my work-life was a little too demanding and confusing; a job with a beginning, a middle and an end. Every day I will drive a Dodge Sprinter around a couple of miles of narrow private road, ferrying passengers from the Chalet to their rooms and back. A simple route, a routine that should prove to be easy enough to do with minimal stress, and a chance to interact with humans from all over the world whose relationship with me will be as ephemeral as the Yukon Spring. And of course the chance to meet 460 or so others who will be doing all the other tasks necessary for Aramark to extract the last cent possible from our intrepid land-bound sea-faring cruisers.

I'm excited, I'm hopeful, I'm confident that all will go, wellllll and come September 20, Lis and I will have a treasure trove of experiences and friendships to compensate for a sightly over minimum wage income. Cut short here because the TV wins out.... Ah did I mention that is one of the pluses I'm looking forward to, no TV in our room.