Work is..well, work. It's the usual fare working in an acute care hospital that's also the biggest hospital in AK and the only trauma hospital in AK. They will medivac people via helicopter from all over the state...and have you seen how big the state is? I've already met people from various areas of this vast state...Nome (the end location of the Iditarod, about 1100miles from Anchorage), the Aleutian Islands (that tail that extends west of the main part of the state), Pribilof Islands (two small islands in the middle of the ocean north of the Aleutian Islands - look it up, it's amazing that people live there), Fairbanks and places in between. I actually met a patient who lives in a small cabin that doesn't have running water, he uses a port-a-pottie for an outhouse and showers at the local laundromat (he lives in a cabin a couple of hours from Anchorage). It's amazing to me that people still live like that - and he loves it!
So the temperature in the last 3 weeks has yo-yod (?spelling) from -17F to 42F which melted all the pretty frozen ice off of the trees as well as the packed snow on the roads and sidewalks which covered the several inches of ice beneath. This created havoc on the first day of the warm spell during which it rained. It was a compete mess because the roads were so icy that cars couldn't make it up some of the hills around town and would slide down or it was scary coming down those hills. There were over 150 mishaps of cars sliding off the road (nothing serious - mainly into snowbanks) and plenty of accidents for the police to handle. The buses weren't even running for a couple of days because of the icy conditions so one day I ended up walking and the next day I was lucky enough to have a co-worker pick me up on the
way. I had to eventually break down and buy these stabilicers which go over the soles of my boots so that I can walk on the sidewalks without feeling like I'm slip sliding away! And I bought them at the REI store here!For those of you who can relate, the -17F (about -26C) is so cold that your nosehairs freeze when you breathe and you can't expose your hand for more than 30seconds without it feeling like it's frozen. Now it's about 20F (-7C) which is very comfortable for winter weather.
I've joined some meetup groups here in town so I've met up with some gals for drinks and dinner and am going to learn some co
oking techniques from a professional chef. I've already visited a local bar for dinner and drinks and was supposed to visit another but I flaked because I was too tired and it was past my bedtime. And that was on a Friday night! Boy, am I getting old! I walked around the downtown area a couple of weeks ago and saw these awesome ice sculptures honoring the 50th anniversary of AK's st
atehood (1959-2009), visited the Anchorage
Museum (which showcases amazing pictures, crafts and artifacts chronicling the the city's and state's amazing history) and saw the souvenir shops.Since it's so cold, I've joined a local gym to take fitness classes. For those of you who know me, know that treadmills, stationary bikes, weight machines and I are not the best of friends. I have to have someone telling me what to do and others to egg me on (if they can hang in with the class then so can I!) A little internal competition never hurts. The gym's expensive but it's necessary in this weather since I can't exercise outside. I'm not about to go out and get all that ourdoorsy equipment just for a few months, although I did buy a pair of ice skates for $10. I had a New Year's Resolution to lose a few pounds and to have fabulous abs for this summer. I'll let you know how it goes.
I've also gotten my library card which will come in handy. That's something I like to do everywhere I go. The selection may vary but it never hurts to have some books to read, no matter what the genre.
Well, that's all for now, folks. Will keep you posted.
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