Spiders in the kitchen

Arctic life lesson: Remember that I am only mostly invincible.

I thought of this as I watched frost crystals bloom across the sweatshirt covering my chest and felt the moisture around my mouth turn to ice. I had been running with what I thought was a gentle wind against my back but when I turned around it exerted a bitterly cold force almost greater than the speed I was running. Walking wasn't an option as I was somewhat afraid of my sweat freezing and and then I'd have to consider the implications of being 'mostly invincible'. Arctic Wind: 0, Jesse V: 1

Go further

There was a big snowstorm here a few weeks ago. I'm told it knocked out all communication systems but fortunately not the power. The implication of this is that people had no access to any form of money or even information of the world at large for several days. Most people were able to open a tab at the grocery store but some had to borrow from those lucky enough to have actual cash on them. The remnants of the blizzard seem to have been piled in front of the Learning Centre.

One day, maybe soon, I will climb the pingos I can see from the window at the Learning Centre. Today was kind of crazy at work. There hasn't been an instructor here for several months and it really shows. I'm going to approach this with the same mentality I've used with running: it can only get better.

Bound away

View Tuk in a larger map

I've only been here for a day but I feel comfortable saying that life in Tuk is remarkably different than Inuvik. For starters, I feel like I'm living at the edge of the world (in a way I guess I am). As well, there's something unsettling about living in a climate where trees can't grow. I took my camera out this morning and it was so cold that it stopped being able to function (it was fine after being inside for a minute). There are two grocery stores (one deals mainly in dry bulk goods and frozen goods). Food prices are steep -$12.00 for 2 litres of milk and that's with the ice road open. Produce is, unsurprisingly, not in great shape (it's like it tried to go a few rounds with Mohamed Ali); the diminished state doesn't translate into cheaper prices. In a bigger city I'm pretty sure most grocers wouldn't even try selling what's available up here.

At this point I don't miss booze but it is different that I can't buy some whenever I want. My roommates asked that I bring them some wine - most of which has already been put to good use. Another difference I'm sure I'll miss in the future is that Tuk is without a restaurant. Fortunately I seem to have hit the jackpot and ended up with housemates that like to cook (and cook well).

Tomorrow is the first day of my new job. There are a lot of unanswered questions about what I'm doing and what's been happening at the Centre in the absence of a teacher. I have the key to the building and my supervisor is a 2 and 1/2 hour drive away. I guess I'm up to bat.

come on and wake me up

Wasiata.blogspot.com is now: unpaused.

A scant two weeks ago I was in the Bahamas with Capital M for the wedding of Hamesy and Dyson (nickname approval pending). The wedding was a blast though I'm still off rye and liquor in general. It pains me to say this but I think teenagers handle their booze better than I do. In my defense I was trying to help the newly wedded couple get the most for their money at the open bar. Yes, gentle reader - I drank for the noblest of reasons.

Shortly after arriving back in Toronto I was offered a short term contract with Aurora College - this time in the smaller, more northern community of Tuktoyaktuk. The job offer had been a long time in coming (I applied before Christmas) and it explains the view from where I am currently sitting.

From the window in the kitchen I can see the Beaufort Sea (Arctic Ocean if you'd rather) and a lone pingo in the distance. What I don't see are any trees or anything more than the tips of grass poking through the snow. The thermometer outside the window reads a temperature thirty degrees colder than the weather in Toronto. I share a home with 4 other people (I never thought I'd have housemates again) and have already been treated to what may have been the finest bowl of soup this side of the Arctic Circle. Housing in Tuk is extremely limited and I'm actually lucky that this place had a spare room.

I start my job on Monday - on Tuesday I'm having an open house so if anyone is interested in seeing the Learning Centre please come by (seriously).

Jazzy good times

I'd like to apologize to anyone I may have drunkenly tweeted, excessively praised, or stopped in the street on New Year's Eve. My memory of that night gets pretty hazy a couple of hours before midnight and totally blanks out before the ball dropped in Times Square. I guess it was a fun night though I'm still hearing new and embarrassing stories of things that I did. Fortunately I didn't do anything illegal or amoral and I don't think I'm barred from returning to the home at which the party took place (thank goodness they have hardwood floors). I did fall to the floor while trying to dance (I may been have doing a solo but for all I know I could have been with the cast of All That Jazz (maybe I thought I was)).

What better time to write up the best of 2010 than in the aftermath of its last booze fueled night.

Best movie:
I saw a lot of movies in Inuvik – on my computer (there is no movie theatre in town). I’d have to give the “best movie I watched on my laptop, on my lap” award to Moon. It sort of reminded me of Cast Away but set on the moon, and it had a robot fond of emoticons, and clones.

Best Movie in a Theatre:
I'm not sure someone didn't plant this in my dream but I'd have to give it to Inception. (Pa Rum pum pum). Wait, did Hames already make that joke?

Best book :

Hands down the best thing I read this year was Scott Pilgrim by Brain Lee O'Malley. Six volumes filled with everything I like: friendships, love, video game, pop culture and music references, a great sense of humour and a thoroughly enjoyable story.

Best regular books:

Into the Wild by Jon Krakauer. I know I know - it's non-fiction. The story of Chris McCandless is an intriguing one and I'm glad I was able to get over my usual disdain of real life stories.

The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. I have to read this one again - someday. Here's a tip for first time readers - remember that there is such a thing as an unreliable narrator. Don't worry I didn't ruin anything.

Best music:

This is a tough one but I'll give it to Forest City Lovers and their new album Carriage. A very close runner up would be the latest from Magneta Lane - Gambling with God. I'd recommend Constellation and Castles respectively.

Most memorable concert:

A friend invited Capital M and I to see Helmut and a few other bands perform at Lee's Palace (a venue that is also featured in Scott Pilgrim). The scene was set when the drummer of the first band burned about 25,800 calories during the 25 minute set. The crowd didn't get as intense as the Juggalos that attacked Tila Tequila but for a guy who has listed the above albums as his favourites of the year it was pretty intense - in a good way.

Best snow experience:

Chi and Cha. I don’t think I’ll ever forget those commands for getting sled dogs to turn right or left. Some quick internet research has told me the commands are Gee and Haw - maybe this will explain why the dogs never responded to me. Regardless, dog sledding up north stands out as one of my favourite experiences in a very long time.

A very close runner up would be driving on the Arctic Ocean when M and I went to Tuktoyaktuk.

Best café:

If you find yourself in Whitehorse, YK, I'd highly recommend checking out Baked. They may not have a website but they do have some excellent recipes for scones, and soups and lots of other stuff that looked really good.

Best game:

Heavy Rain by Quantic Dream for PS3. This was an altogether different kind of gaming experience. It wasn't without its faults but did an excellent job of forcing players to answer the question - how far would you go to save someone you love?

Best camping moment:

No biblical rainstorms this year but water does factor into the decision. Anyone looking for massive waves in Ontario should check out the area around Turkey Point, Lake Erie.

Best travel experience:
Maybe one of the best things about travelling is the chance to reconnect with old friends. Seeing Hamesy and Danielle (nickname coming soon) in Vancouver was the highlight of a trip filled with memorable moments.

Danielle gave us a behind the scenes tour of the Vancouver Aquarium:

I was kissed by a Fur Seal - how cool is that!

Hamesy was chalk full of fun facts about Vancouver. He also introduced me to Rye and Ginger - a drink that reduced me to a drunken, rolling on the floor mess a few nights ago. Here's a new fun fact - Jesse can't handle that much Rye.

I think that wraps up the greatest hits from 2010. I wish everyone all the best in 2011.

Merry and bright

Ah Christmas time. The onetime of year that my body shrugs off natural inclinations for sleep and I find myself wide awake at 5:00am. It doesn’t seem to matter what time I go to bed the night before or how tired I may have been. There’s only man I know who willingly wakes up at that time (to go to the gym no less) - that’s great for him but I’d rather be sleeping. Instead my mind races with all kinds of thoughts- most of them inane.

Today’s sleepless thoughts:

Friday, November 23rd, 2007 – I have two weeks to start and finish my 14 term page paper. All I have to do is write one page every day and it’s done.

Friday, November 30th, 2007 – Okay, one week to go – two pages a day – no problem

Thursday, Dec. 6, 2007 – Why have I done this to myself? One page an hour – I can do this. Better still I have 16 hours before class – that means I have one hour of free time now and maybe one easy-time hour after page 8. Let’s see if I can beat my best time in Mine Sweeper. I don't even like mine sweeper but if I do this now I'll be more focused later.

Friday, Dec.7, 2007 – These experiences (there were many) sure make me appreciate being able to sleep. I’m really glad that once school is finished I won’t have any reason to be awake at or by 5:00am (wink).

Sorry I’ve been gone so long.

Home

I just wanted to give a big thank you to the swans and ducks for their help in tonight's "Operation ask M." She said yes amidst moonlight reflecting off gossamer feathers. A short time later and they were gone - but the memory will last forever.

(photo taken at Lower Dewey lake in Skagway, Alaska)

going home, eventually

View North West West Coast Adventure in a larger map
Here's my trip home. I'll update more when I get back to Toronto. This was my first time using My maps in Google. It's a cool program but not entirely user friendly.

Dawson

Do you know who lived in this cabin? Robert Service - the man who penned "The Cremation of Sam McGee" and other hit poems.

Dawson city's streets aren't paved with gold - they're not paved with anything at all. The city has dirt streets and wooden plank sidewalks. How cool is that?

This gives me an idea for a new tv series, "Little House on the River." It could be about a girl named Nora Tamer whose father inexplicably built a tiny cabin on the Yukon river.

Canada Day in Dawson. A boring photo but gives a sense of the town. The road in this picture is paved because it's part of the highway.

From Inuvik to Dawson

The Demspter highway is not for the faint of heart. This isn't to say that it's overly perilous but it is an altogether different kind of driving experience. The road varies between 1 -2 lanes (the two lane sections are usually designated as emergency landings for aircraft) and it's entirely unpaved. The shoulders tend to be soft which means that a driver has to be alert in order to avoid a calamitous accident.

It was a rainy kind of day when we left and the roads were very muddy. For the most part it was fine but the areas before and after the 2 ferry crossings and another section by a work camp had some deep ruts that made the going pretty tough. Interestingly, the driver of the car told me that it's better to have the roads muddy because the alternative (when there's no snow) leads to dusty roads with poor visibility.

This is some sort of cotton flower. They're all wet in this photo but when dry they look and feel just like cotton balls.

Here's a view from the Dempster highway. At times I felt as though there should be a woolly mammoth or two wandering about - they would have fit the setting perfectly.

This was taken on the way to Whitehorse at a place called "5 finger rapids." It's famous because many would be prospectors sailed hand made rafts down the Yukon river and found themselves with 5 different channels to choose from; only one of which is passable.

hot in here

I leave tomorrow (the day timer is off) for Whitehorse. I'll be travelling with Capital M for a couple of weeks and then heading back to Toronto in mid July. I still have a few photos and thoughts on Inuvik that I'm going to post in the coming weeks. Until then my faithful readers I hope you have a wonderful summer.

Masi Cho (thank you) for all your comments and support while I was here.

Jesse V.

The cold winds blow

I did not go Into the Wild like Chris McCandless but I think we both came to the same conclusion about life in our respective Northern experiences. When asked if I would like to renew my contract for next year I declined.

Happiness only real when shared - Chris McCandless

So far from home

Laptropolis the Third suffered a crippling blow to its primary power source. Knowing that it would take some time for a replacement part I thought I'd try my hand at fixing the problem. I cut into the plastic coating of the power chord using both patience and a soft touch (and a pair of scissors). Only a few of the wires were severed from my efforts and I thought I may actually have a chance at patching things up. Thoughts of MacGyver ran through my head - Mac evading armies of red ants, escaping from wine cellars, not getting blown up by land mines. Then it occurred to me that I'd never seen him fix a broken wire. The few severed wires in my hands seemed to be mulitplying (thank goodness I'm not a spinal surgeon) and I thought that maybe it would be a good idea to cut through the wire entirely and start again in a new location. It turns out that there's another wire wrapped within a wire (at least with my power cable). Surely even MacGyver would have been stymied by a development like that.

So I've had to go computerless for the past three weeks. Kind of bad timing considering how much has been happening. Here's a quick recap:

• The Learning Centre had a completion ceremony at the end of May. It was nice to see most of the students get dressed up. I presented an award and told a joke (I take no credit for the joke - I read it somewhere on the internet) What do you call a bear with no teeth? A gummy bear. (Slap knee now)
• I taught my last day of classes shortly after that - Thank sweet baby Jesus. The weird combination of animosity and apathy I felt from my English class never went away.
• I've had to listen to couples fighting almost every night for the past month. It's terrible and it makes me feel kind of sick.
• The Relay for Life went really well. It was Inuvik's first time in the event and I think the town raised $56,000. Thanks once again to everyone that supported me.
• I won a dance contest during the relay. I was told I had a funky way of dancing - I think what they meant was that I was one of the two guys who went up on stage and even though I moved my body arrhythmically to the music they felt they had to give me something for my efforts.
• Lastly, this is actually from last term but I've been saving it - the last inexcusable excuse from Aurora College 2009-2010:

Student has an earache, fought with her ex, and had to borrow food

I think she was going for a scattershot effect - I guess none of them hit.

It's my shadow from the night of the relay. We'd trade off walking every now and then when one of us got tired. The cool cape effect is actually an Aurora College flag that I tied around my neck. Some of the other participants took to calling me 'Super College.'

Just after my computer died the weather turned unseasonably (and unreasonably) warm. I kept my window open during the coldest days in winter (this building is excellent at trapping heat). Unsurprisingly, when the weather went above thirty degrees Celsius my apartment was unbearable. I left my place at 10:30 pm with the intention of reading by the river (above picture). Unfortunately the mosquitoes were out in full force and I instead went for a very long walk (which is probably better for me anyway). The bugs around here are a great motivator for exercise. I couldn't stop for more than 10 seconds (which made taking pictures difficult). Whenever I paused for too long they'd swarm me.

A picture from the completion ceremony. I helped make the balloon arch - even though I had to face my nemesis: High Float.

I took this during the rely at around 2:30 am. Shortly after this the fog rolled in and the temperature was just a little above zero. My body really struggled with thermoregulation between the hours of 5-7am.

Just around the corner there were kids bouncing on a trampoline, people having footraces and others just hanging on the porch. It was close to 1:00am when I took this.

Fundraising

On June 18th I'll be taking part in the Canadian Cancer Society's Relay for Life. If anyone would like to sponsor me you can click this link. I would greatly appreciate any amount contributed but please know that I'd be just as happy to be in your thoughts that night.

Sincerly,

Jesse V.

to care for animals

No more ice.

Though the water level is high I've been told that it's actually much lower than normal.

I took this yesterday. Normally the entire is swamped for several days.

I took this today. Not only is the water level lower than usual; it's also receding faster too.

but in the mean time

The big news around town is that the ice is breaking up on the MacKenzie River. This means the Dempster highway will reopen earlier than expected. My plan was to take these pictures in the early morning hours on the weekend but I'm glad I went out after work. By the time I returned home a lot of the ice was already gone.

I'd like to know where that root came from. It's also interesting to note just how far the ice gets pushed up on land. It's possible to see this process in the video.

I've seen the ice melt on rivers before but never like this. The noise heard in the video is the sound of the ice shards hitting each other in the water. It's a bit muffled in the video but it sounded like rubbing ice cubes together.

My apologies for the poor camera control.

-one last thing - it's possible to click on the pictures to get an enlarged view

I'm here for the money

I can never quite get the midnight sun on film but this is what it's like around 12:00am. There's no more actual darkness - even in the small hours of the morning. I find that I have no trouble sleeping with the light but do have a problem with going to bed.

Last weekend was the convocation ceremony for some of the students of Aurora College. Though the graduates were few the event was attended by the Premier of the N.W.T. and several other prominent figures. The Learning Centre will have a completion ceremony in two weeks. The word 'completion' is misleading - it's actually an event recognizing that students have participated in a year's worth of classes. It is unlikely that any of my 13 math students will finish their math course. Similarly, many of my English students aren't going to pass because they haven't turned in a single assignment.

If you were to take off the"+ gifts" the sign could be grammatically correct; though odd.

This isn't a mangrove. The melting snow and ice has lead to rising water levels and it's now impossible to walk around Boot Lake without getting wet feet. I've been soaked on more than one occasion. Speaking of H20 -the colour of the town's drinking water is now a mellow yellow but still tastes like dirt.

If the movie Cast Away had a volleyball for Chuck Noland's island stay then I think it's only fitting that there would be an old stump for the Arctic Circle. I don't talk to Gwen too often.

handstands

"Okay, so we're going into the canned peach business?"

"With a brand name like 'Success' we can't lose."

"You make a good point but there is some tough competition out there."

"I know - we'll only provide can sizes of 2.84L. We'll offer the public something the competition doesn't and fulfill the prophecy of our brand name."

"Hmm, maybe. But what section of the public is going to want almost three liters of peaches in pear juice from concentrate? And we came up with 'Success' through focus group testing - don't get all weird on me now."

"You're overlooking an often forgotten segment of the general population - sailors, hunters and those planning for the apocalypse."

"You my friend, are a genius."

my boat is sinking

One thing I forgot to mention in my earlier post - a recent inexcusable excuse:

Have to stay home to watch kids. Babysitter is having a baby.

shadows wandering off somewhere

Posting is hard when you feel like you're dwarfed by giants. It's also harder when morale is flagging. However, I just had some coffee and either the sugar or the caffeine is giving me a boost. Or it could be my shorts. The weather has finally come to its senses and warmed up. For about two weeks there was a very angry wind - perhaps bitter about the absence of snow. I think the wind wanted to prove that even though the snow was gone winter wasn't over. Well done Wind - you did it. I watched Boot Lake thaw and then refreeze in the span of two days. My toque and scarf came out of retirement - they complained they were getting too old for this. You know what toque and scarf - so am I.

But today it all changed. The air is warm and the wind gentle.