New Blog

http://jmjdgreer.blogspot.com/

I'm back....sorta maybe?

Well the last the blogging world heard from me I was in Alaska. which was almost 8 months ago now. I originally stopped blogging because multiple people in Alaska had run across my blog. I thought it would be best not to blog while I was stuck on "the rock". Things were dramatic enough without me blogging about frustrations. I'm not sure why I'm blogging again. Probably because I have some new free time and less people read this blog. So here's whats happened since I last blogged...

I went to Alaska and worked, played, and had a general good time. I no longer want to live there for multiple reasons.

I came back and got a job working at Lutheran Social Services in Sioux Falls, SD with crazy little delinquent youth.

Due to changes in the program at Lutheran Social Services I decided to leave even though I was offered a lower paying job? yea its weird.

I'm moving out of my apartment in Sioux Falls and hopefully into a new apartment and a new job in Brookings, SD. (now you may be wondering why south dakota? it all has to do with my wonderful girlfriend Jamie, you can read her blog to the right of this post)

Ok I think thats up to speed? Now for future plans!

Future Plans:
Get engaged(I'm not telling you when Jamie)

Get married(dun dun dun dun!) that was the wedding march not a sound of dramatic pause.

Go to Busan, South Korea and teach english! (looks like Jamesters and I will be there for 1-2 years were looking at leaving in Sept-October) Our main reasons for going are paying off some big chunks of debt and experiencing and being in a new culture. So if your looking for a Korean adventure in the fall let us know! My cousin Chris is already there(in Seoul) and we've been talking to some other folks who may or may not go with us.

So what now for this blog? I have some videos from Alaska I imagine I'll eventually post. I also looking forward to blogging about South Dakota as an outsider. There's just some funny anomalies that take place. Stay Tuned.

2 weeks ago today...

I arrived in Alaska. I took a taxi from the Anchorage airport to the Spenard Hostel. I slept surprisingly well I guess I was tired. The next morning my boss Bud picked me up and shortly there after we boarded a plane to head to the lodge. The last two weeks have been very busy trying to get things ready for opening day. A few things that stick out that I've done are: shovel snow, drive around on snowmobiles, drop a water pump in the lake so we could have running water, haul 180lb. bottles of propane, hang out in Dillingham, AK, eat moose stroganoff, eat halibut, put motors on boats, riding around in float planes, seeing the largest loons I've ever seen in my life, haul AV Gas in a rickety old truck with a trailer, put together tents, launch and receive float planes, falling in icy cold lake water, and go to sleep with the sun up and wake up with the sun up...

So I was wondering what I wanted to do with this blog while I'm in Alaska and I haven't decided yet what i want to do. So I thought I would explain my new blog title. yes the sun really is up at midnight. Right now the sun usually sets around 1am and comes up at 3am or 4am, at least that's what I'm told I haven't been up to see it. Whats even crazier is were not even at the summer solstice yet.

So yea, things are going well. We put in about 10-11 hour days of work 7 days a week, but its good and things are moving as we get ready for guests to come. When I first got here there were 5 of us, now there are 16 or so. I really love being here and can't wait until I have a day off to go explore.

Time is slowly fading

A week from now I leave for Anchorage, Alaska. I spend the night in Anchorage and I take a plane trip to Dillingham, AK. From Dillingham I fly by float plane to my job in Wood-Tikchik State Park. We land on Lake Tikchik and I begin four months of work at Tikchik Narrows Lodge. I am going to be the grounds crew/lodge worker. I will be doing everything from fixing stuff, to cleaning fish, to loading float planes, to welcoming guests and grabbing luggage. Wood-Tikchik State Park is the largest state park at 1.6 million acres and makes up 15% of state park land in the whole U.S. Its also one of the least visited state parks in the Nation. I will be surrounded by Grizzlies, Black Bears, Wolves, Porcupines, Coyotes, Salmon, Fox, and about a couple billion mosquitoes....and I can't wait.

Once in a while you find a place on earth that becomes your very own. A place undefined. Waiting for you to bring your color, your self. A place untouched, unspoiled, undeveloped. Raw, honest, and haunting. No one, nothing is telling you how to feel or who to be. Let the mountains have you for a day…

-- Sundance

Day at the beach...

so today it was a beautiful day and we went to the beach and here's some pictures:
beach pictures

So far since i've been here we've gone to the beach twice, gone to Joe Patti's seafood market twice, eaten shrimp twice, eaten soft shell crab, eaten shrimps with their heads on, eaten snow crab legs, eaten mahi mahi we cooked on the grill, and went to the Naval Air Museum. Gotta love florida. Tomorrow...not sure what were doing, but i'm sure it'll be fun. We might go back to the beach or go find some cheesy touristy t-shirts. you know the kind that says florida and have palm trees and lots of neon pink and orange colors on them.

Pensacola

In Pensacola for another 9 days...
These two pictures pretty much sum up how I feel right now (I did not take them, but they were taken at Pensacola Beach)

What I've learned about myself during my time in Colorado...

1. I need community(family, friends, etc.)

2. I enjoy snowboarding, but hate wiping out.(i guess this is true for everyone)

3. I don't enjoy scrubbing toilets, but I do enjoy making a bed.

4. I don't ever want to work night security again...ever....ever....ever.

5. I like living in a big city or near a big city so I can escape and try new things.

6. I like the low cost of living in places like....KANSAS!

7. I enjoy riding on the bus and listening to foreign languages even though I have no idea what they are saying.

8. I want to live someplace beautiful(mountains, oceans, etc.)

9. I have a higher tolerance for cold than anyone I've ever met.

10. Losing weight is fun!

11. I enjoy having four seasons and NOT the seasons which exist in colorado which are summer, winter, and mud season.

12. I'm someone who has trouble living in the present. I often look to and plan for the future and on occasion enjoy reminiscing(sp?) about the past.

13. I'm excited to come home to Kansas. I may travel around and live in many places, but Kansas will always be home.