June 1, 2007
A friend sent the following email this morning after I told him I was going to move into the cabin in Talkeetna:
Holy sh*t, you're out there. At the foot of snow-capped mountains, next to a river.
Apart from the contiguous 48 states. Wild animals at your back door. Are you ok? Everything alright?
FREAKING AWESOME.
Look, I don't think you should ever cut your hair or shave until you rejoin us, ok? LMAO
June 1, 2007
I've been sick today -- my allergies have wailed on me again -- and ended up laying around the hotel room all day, which gave me plenty of time to think.
After all this thinking, I sent the following email to the owners of the cabin in Talkeetna:
May 31, 2007
The insurance situation hasn't gone away yet. I now have to take a letter that the insurance company mailed to me (which was then faxed to me here in Anchorage), and send it to them with a cover letter stating that I want to apply for the Kentucky Continuation Plan. WTF! This is the same insurance company that I have insurance with today.
May 31, 2007
The house-hunting has gone better. Here's what I have ATM:
May 31, 2007
After receiving the email earlier from the owners of the cabin in Talkeetna, I tried to call them a little while ago, but had to leave a message. So, I decided to follow that call up with this email message:
First, sorry, this is a little long-winded. I'm just trying to explain my situation.
May 30, 2007
Quote of the day from someone trying to rent me a place:
"The ceiling isn't collapsing, it just looks like that."
Price: $1,250 per month.
May 30, 2007
One friend wrote and suggested living in an RV this summer if the rental stuff doesn't pan out. Here's my reply to him:
Yep, an RV is definitely looking like an option. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I think I've sent over 20 emails so far this morning. I have to go look at another scary place shortly.
May 30, 2007
The people living in the cabin in Talkeetna are really trying to help get me moved in there, so they've offered a little bribe (letting me have some furniture).
Here's my reply, which shows my state of mind, as well as the state of the rental situation:
Thanks for the offer, I'll think about that bribe part. :)
May 30, 2007
4:00 p.m., I just got back from looking at a few more rentals, and received an email saying the rental in Talkeetna will now be available this coming Sunday or Monday, am I interested? Wow, something changed with the current renters there.
May 30, 2007
I'm currently in Anchorage, sipping on a pitcher of maragaritas. I worked harder to get into Seward, but it was still a no-go, so I've been focusing on Eagle River, Palmer, and Wasilla, three towns just north of Anchorage, and closer to Denali. I've sent out at least 20 emails, maybe 30, with an additional 10-20 phone calls.
Working the leads, the next two options are north to Fairbanks, or southeast to Sitka. (Sip, sip, gulp.)
May 30, 2007
Standing in line at a pharmacy here in Anchorage, two conversations are overheard, almost simultaneously:
Man on cell phone: "You stole something?", then quietly "What did you steal? Where are you? Oh god..." (he leaves)
Pharmacist to guy that looks like he's from India: "You have malaria?! Malaria???"
I promise I don't make this stuff up, I just report it.
May 30, 2007
The ongoing tour of The Places That Scare Me (aka, rentals in Alaska) continues. The housing situation looks very bleak, with no relief in site. Today's tour included:
May 29, 2007
A 12-pack of Diet Coke cans should cost:
a) $3
b) $5
c) $7
If you chose 'c', you were a little low, the actual retail price is ... drumroll ... $7.19.
I've been out of the lower 48 for a while, but that seems a little higher than I remember.
That price comes from a "Fred Meyer's" grocery store in Anchorage, comparable to (and owned by) Kroger. I think I can drink tequila for the same price per ounce, so I'm going to look into that as an alternative. :)
May 29, 2007
I found the end of a landing strip for the Anchorage airport tonight. My hearing hasn't been the same since. (What???)
There's a 12-mile walking/biking trail in Anchorage, and somewhere along the line I found the end of the strip.
It's neat to watch the planes come in one after the other. The 727 wasn't too bad, but the plane w/ the four engines on the wings was incredibly loud. After that one I found some cotton in an aspirin bottle and plugged up my ears.
May 28, 2007
Dateline: Anchorage, Alaska, Sunday, May 27, 2007.
5:00am-8:40am: In the hotel, it's light out, so I have periodic thoughts about getting out of bed. Manage to fight them off.
8:50am: In t-shirt, sweats, and slippers, slowly walk down a very long hall to find a cup of coffee and a cookie. Think about shaving, but manage to fight the urge.
10:15am: Drive downtown. Don't feed the meters, do give money to the homeless. (There are a lot of them. One is still sleeping (or dead) on a bench.)
May 27, 2007
Apparently there are a lot of Greeks in Alaska, which at the least pleases my stomach. A woman at a Greek restaurant in Seward told me there's a big Greek festival is in Anchorage in mid-August, and she said it might be the largest of all festivals in Anchorage this year. I'm looking forward to more gyros, and maybe some flaming saganaki!
May 27, 2007
Bummer, I just learned last night that I'm not a sourdough. It turns out that a sourdough is a Yukon/Alaskan old-timer. Instead I'm a cheechako, a newbie. Maybe one day I'll grow up to be a sourdough. :)
May 26, 2007
Well, Seward was a bust, and I'm now in an Extended Stay hotel in Anchorage. I have this room for seven days, which is nice, because I can't seem to find a place to live(!).
(Message from Old Al to renters in Seward: Please return my phone calls.)
Argh, time to get to work, hit the phones, and see what I can find. I'm going to look at that cabin in Talkeetna tomorrow. That's cool, I haven't been to Talkeetna since 2003.
It's 55 cool degrees here. I hope to go for a long walk later, once I get through these calls.
May 26, 2007
craigslist seems like the best way to find a rental up here. There were a lot of ads for rentals in Anchorage, and I just saw an ad for a nice-looking in cabin in Talkeetna. With rental options scarce I sent them an email asap.
Here's my message to them:
I just saw your ad for the cabin in Talkeetna on craigslist. Is there any type of internet access available in the area? If so, this sounds like exactly what I'm looking for.
May 26, 2007
Here are a couple of pictures as I head out of Seward. First, the Seward Saloon, a favorite old stop, but boo-hoo, it's now for sale:
