Oh my gosh. Uber update ahead!
I was scheduled to fly out (as that is the only way to leave town, by the way) on December the 12th. Of the two airlines that come in, one was canceled, and the other one, mine, (Canadian North) was delayed by about two hours. Cue me panicing, since I had a connecting flight in Yellowknife to catch. Luckily the held it back, as there was a lot of us trying to get on that flight. I finally got to see The Man that night in Edmonton. Wheee! (This is after about 4 hours in the air, not counting waiting time)
More flight delays abound in Edmonton that night, but we managed to get to Nova Scotia only an hour late. I don't ever want to take the red eye again. Ugh. Its convenient, but geez. It makes the 6 hour flight seem even longer. Yuck. Plus you get in early, but you're tired all day anyways.
I hear a few days later from the women looking after our house, that my plane was the last to get out of town. Nothings been coming in due to weather (which means nothing gets out, of course. Planes don't stay in town - too cold) So I guess the stores and the pharmacy were in pretty bad shape for a while there. And also, late the night of the 12th there was a plane crash! One of the private airlines went down about a mile from the airport. There are a lot of stories going around for cause, but no one was hurt at least. Just banged up a bit.
So, Nova Scotia! Warm weather yay! The Man actually ended up having his kids full time the first week, so we were driving them to school. The Man had wanted a cabin in the woods, so we rented this place about an hour from my parents, and an hour 1/2 from his, so we'd be in the middle of where ever we were going. Course this meant we had to leave the house by 7am to get the kids to school. It wasn't too bad though. They were pretty well behaved for it. And the place where we were at was more like a small house. 3 Bedrooms, Kitchen, Dining room, living room, fireplace room, 2 baths...It worked out pretty well.
I also managed to have Four Christmas dinners over the break. One at my Parents on the 20th, with my parents, my stepsister and her girlfriend, my grandmother (Mimi) myself and the Man and his kids. @_@; It was very interesting. haha. The next dinner was just myself and the Man at his parents on Christmas eve. Of course, I need to explain that one a bit more...
The Man needed to drop his kids of in Truro, at Noon on the 23rd. So we get up early and drivedrivedrive (eat breakfast, stop off at the best friends house, visit too long) drivedrivedrive...finally get there an hour late (due to said visit) No problem. This was about a 3 hour drive there and back. Give or take. Not counting shopping. Then, Christmas eve, we drive from our cabin to his parents house (1 1/2 hours) Except, there power goes off at 11am. Kind of put a cramp on dinner. However! They somehow managed to pull everything together on the wood stove, and it probably ended up better than if they hadn't, since they tend to cook things for quite a while. It was all very tasty, and by candle light! We drove back to my parents house that night. (2 1/2 - hours, the weather was getting icky)
We had a typical Christmas dinner that day, with friends of the family over. The man drove down to his parents place to pick up his kids, and back to the cabin. (4 1/2 -5 hours).
Boxing day, for the 4th and last dinner, we have everyone over at the cabin, my parents, his parents, his sister & her husband and son, etc. We did a themed dinner- Chocolate! the Man and I made Chocolate Chicken (really yummy!) And Chocolate Salmon with Caribbean Mango Chutney (super, super YUMMY)
So much driving and eating. Nomnomnom. Anyways, much fun was had by all. And on our travel back we had about as many or more delays than I had getting out. We ended up flying in that nasty blizzard on the first, and then our flight was canceled in Yellowknife. Wheeee. But we made it back.
And I'll do a present list later tonight maybe, for now I must get back to work!
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling:
sick
Feels like Monday morning on a Tuesday. Bleh.
I've been absent from LJ-land the past little while - the Man left yesterday for work travel, I won't see him again till the 12th, so most of the last few days were spent with him and getting stuff ready. I've been reading posts, just not commenting a lot. I'll try and catch up today. :)
Yesterday was our Municipal Election - Advanced Poll. We actually had about 25 people show up - which is triple how many people showed up last year. Whee.
I'll do a proper update later - work eats my soul.
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling:
busy
This years been a bit better though, I know what to expect, and it seems like the weathers been nicer too. It's been warm, hovering around -20*C, and clear. Last year was cold, stormy and cloudy.
On another note, I'm annoyed greatly with CBC. They did a story a few nights ago about 200 Narwhals being trapped in a northern community, and that they were going to be slaughtered, since they wouldn't survive, and that the Fed's have allowances for such things. They made it out to be a big deal, really. By trapped I mean that the open water they have to breath is shrinking (freezing) and there isn't room for all of them.
Now, actually looking into it, there are about 50 narwhals trapped, not 200. The Inuit hunters of the town have to go out and kill some of them, to give the others room to breath, and the rest will hopefully be able to move on. The meat from the animals will be used, and the ivory, or whatever it is, will be used to make carvings, etc. Also, they get a certain number of tags per year to hunt narwhals, they have about 35 left. So, they won't actually be going over their quota for the hunt.
I think CBC was WAY out of line with their comment about slaughter. The Buffalo was slaughtered, and left to rot on the praries. Narwhals, not so much. So of course, on the CBC website, the southerns all get outraged, saying that more should've been done blahblahblah. I'd like to see those people come up here in -30*C weather (with windchill's of -50 at times) and "get more done". There are a lot of things that I don't agree with, like the fact humans seem to think wildlife needs to be managed, but I mean really. The meat will be eaten, its not like they're going to kill them and leave them there, unlike, say, fishermen with a by-catch. Why is that acceptable and this isn't?
- Where I am:at work
- Feeling:
grumpy
My alarm didn't go off this morning, so I was late to work. Well, let me clarify, it went off, but the radio station I had my alarm on was silent. -_-; Oh Cambridge Bay. This is why I don't leave it on the local radio station, but the Man was getting annoyed with being woken up but very loud speaking Inuit, or singing in Inuktitut. Which I understand, but at least it wakes you up!
My weekend was pretty nice. Saturday was a cuddly lazy day. We went to the store, for lack of anything to do, and cause I wanted flavoured cream for my Mochas. I got Irish Cream, cream, so my mochas taste like I put Baileys in them, without the alcohol. Score!
The Santa Clause parade was on Sunday, so I watched that, and then we put up Christmas lights in the windows and on the deck outside(in -20*C, I may add) I'm not one for the religous aspect of christmas, but I love the songs, and the lights, and the general feel-goodness of christmas. Being up north, I miss out on a lot of the commercialization of it too, which is awesome.
The only other thing of note for the weekend is that the Man (ee, usually I don't mention him so much, sorry!) started recording a few more of his songs. I think he wants to get a CD burnt for christmas. And who's the techie that does all the work? hehe. ^.^;
Hi to all the new people I've friended recently! *waves* I'm gonna try to keep with the updates. Poke me if I start to lapse or something. ^_^
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling:
silly
Sparked by this (m-tothe-at.livejournal.com/177482.html)post on Polar Bears and endangered species, I started to comment and it got too long.
Polar bears are a really touchy subject up here. They tried to limit the quota for polar bears in the Baffin Region, but due to time constraints,(ie: by the time they got to it, the 100 and some bears probably would've already been hunted) it didn't happen this year. WWF is flipping out.
However (I can't believe I'm saying this) from an economic perspective, its kinda a bit deal for Inuit, in addition to a valuable food source. I totally don't agree with commercial hunting (southern people paying huge money to come up and kill a bear) but traditional hunting, eating, and then selling the pelt? On the list of bad things? Kinda low there in my opinion.
Also, according to Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (shortened to IQ: Traditional Inuit Knowledge) there are actually MORE polar bears than before. Now, I don't know if I 100% believe that, climate change is changing the north drastically, and bears are moving. So it may be that they're coming closer to communities in search of food. Just recently Arviat was in a panic as there were 4 or 5 bears IN TOWN. I wouldn't want to see that out my back window. And Arviat is the most southern community in Nunavut.
At the same time, the Inuit elders have been around a long time, and they have history here, and have seen the trends. Maybe there are more bears. So I don't really know where I'm going with this, but there's way more to the polar bear story than just the WWF's TV ad's showing Polar Bears on a thin iceberg surrounded by water.
Oh look, I am alive. It must be time for my quarterly update! Oh dear.
I haven't been doing to much online lately, besides reading livejournal and the news (Elections everywhere! The States,
Work is nuts. My department is okay, well, that’s cause I'm the only one in it....but another department is well, stressed out I guess. And I've ended up being the office "councilor" that everyone talks to. It’s very draining. And I try and stay out of most of the mess, but it’s a small office. But things keep moving, as always.
Speaking of work, I can't believe its October already? WHERE DID THIS YEAR GO? Seriously.
June-July-August-September just went ZOOM.
- June I was in
- In July the man's kids were up here in
Oh, and we got a Dog. Her name is Nala, and she's half Husky, Half Lab. She has one blue eye and one brown. She wasn't being looked after very well. She a sweetie! We've started bringing here in the house, but she chews things a bit, if we leave them out. Whoops. She's getting better though. She's in heat right now too, which...is not fun. Do Not Want. She'll be fixed once we have the money to send her out of town, and she’s out of heat. No Puppies, kthnx?
- August was busy as we were busy trying to find a place to live!! The owners of the place we were renting from were coming back, so we had to find somewhere else. The place The Man's work found for us was outrageously expensive, rent every month, plus all utilities! AND they wanted a two year contract. Sooo we decided nuh-uh. But what happened was his work got the contract from the landlord, and the landlord wanted it signed by
- September was just busy with having a house things, unpacking and setting up the bills, and the Man shipped his cat up. Meow. Course, we still don't have TV - we're waiting for the satellite dishes to arrive. Grr. And the internet box hasn't come either, we're borrowing one. Blah. So we've been watching TV on DVD - House and Buffy and Heroes.
Sun's disappearing here again, really quickly too. Setting around
Thanksgiving this weekend! Yumyum
Christmas is coming soon too! I'll be going to
*****
DISCLAIMER: I am not Inuit, nor do I profess to "know" Inuit culture! These are just things I've picked up by living here, and I make no claims to there accuracy. All the definitions are my own.
Words/Phrases to know
"The South"/"Down South" : Anything south of the tree line. Example:
"The North": Any Inuit Community.
"Inuk": Noun. A member of the Inuit People. Inuit is the plural form.
"Nunavummiut" Resident of
"Country Food": Traditional food, such as caribou, musk oxen arctic char, arctic hare, beluga whale, ptarmigan, muktuk etc.
"Muktuk/Maktaq/Maktaaq/Maktak": Seal/beluga skin and blubber - the edible parts. Eaten Raw.
"Kabloona": Inuit Word for white people. Sometimes used affectionately, sometimes not. Depends on usage and tone.
"Bannock": Very Yummy traditional bread.
Nodding and shaking of the head are not part of the culture here. Even saying the words yes and no. Instead there are facial clues. Raised eyebrows mean yes, or amusement, and crinkled noses means no or displeasure. That’s a weird one to get used to for sure! But you do. Also, "Reeeeeaaally?" Is a common phrase, said drawn out like that. And "Not eeeeeeven" is also common, though not as much.
I'll try and update more often (don't I always say that?) really! I do read LJ almost every day, so I'm keeping updated on my flist, but I forget to post. Eep. I heart you all!
- Where I am:My HOUSE!!
- Feeling:
calm
- No Update on the cruise front yet. Need to get to work on passports etc. Bah, Government paper work.
- Living Situation: There may be something in the works there, though at the moment it's looking expensive and ick. So we'll see what happens. People up here are nuts.
- Tentative dates for travel in June seem set. I'll be in Toronto for Canada Say it seems, which will be cool. The last time I was in Toronto I was probably about seven. I vaguely remember looking up and seeing the CN Tower. Ya-huh, thats my story.
![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif)
lustychan, Amazon.com is having on a select few Disney DVD's. Probably ones you have, but still. (Lilo & Stitch, Dumbo, and Brother Bear) Plus there sequels. :)
(Psst- the weird spacing is due to my layout being cranky and I haven't figured out how to fix it yet)
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling:
awake
Waaaay too many decisions to make. Such as: (Crossed out those that have been made)
Where EXACTLY are you going? (Ports of Call)
When are you going? (January 2009 maybe?)
What's your budget for on the ship?
How much time to you intend to spend in your room?(Could change previous answer)
How much to budget for outside the ship? (Souvenirs for people, etc)
What type of cruise expedition things do you want to go on, and how many?
How are you going to get to the Cruise Port?
What exactly do you need to pack?
How much do you pack?
Do you need to get foreign currency?
Is your passport valid/up-to-date/do you even have one you lazy sod?
Its not as bad as it seems once you start crossing things off the list...except I know I'm forgetting a lot. Hopefully it will all fall into place(I know it will!) I just need to get on the phone with a cruise agent and book the darn thing! Then worry about the rest of it. And Squee.
But I'm tired, so I'm just going to go read some fanfic now, or something. @_@;
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling: amused
- Music:Typing
- Feeling: nauseated
I've been looking at cruises lately, trying to pick out. Oh, yes, did I mention? I'm going on a cruise. I'm quite determined (and I seem to have gotten Mike excited as well).
I just can't decide on a cruise line! There are way to many choices. We've already decided on going to the Carribean, and I know sort of the time frame and places I'd like to go. But which line? Originally it was Carnival all the way, but the more we read about it, the more...upbeat it seems. Which is good! But we want to be able to relax too. So then we thought Celeberty, which is kinda high class, but of course is quite a bit more expensive. Uuugh! It's fun looking, but we need to stop looking and book, otherwise the prices will just go up the closer to the time. Eeeee.
In other less fancy travel news, we'll be going back to NS at the end of June, probably. I need to check with work, and then book the tickets (omg the cheap right now!) but yeah. End of June goodness. Hopefully I'll manage to visit peoples.
This post is sooo disjointed. Kinda like my brain right now.
A big hello to anyone who's added me recently! Sorry I'm not too exciting in this post. Brain fried from work. It eats my brain. And then some.
- Where I am:work
- Feeling:
indescribable - Music:typetypetypetypetype
I was pretty productive until this moment, yay posting! Now however, I can't remember what I was going to post about. That sort of defeats the purpose though, doesn't it?
I'm surprised at how awake I am, considering how hard it was to go to sleep last night. Switching your body from sleeping from 4am to 2pm, to regular sleeping hours of say, 11pm to 7am, is a taaaad difficult. Ah well. Sun's back January 12th!! Everyone do a dance with me!
- Where I am:Work
- Feeling: productive
- Music:typetypetype
- Went on multiple class trips to various places and had a lot of fun doing so
- Worked my ass of in College
- Graduated College, and recieved my diploma
- Got together with a wonderful man( ... )
- Moved out of my parents house
- Moved to Nunavut
- Got a job working in the field I trained for
- Learned to Fish
- Went Fishing, and ice fishing
- Saw MuskOxen, Arctic Hares, Arctic Foxes, and Northern Lights
- Made new friends
- Cooked my first Turkey
- Had my first Christmas away from home
- Learned much at work, and organized more files than should be allowed to exist
- Ate Pickles (I wanted to reach 15)
- Where I am:Home
- Feeling: chipper
- Music:Hell's Kitchen on TV
2008. Oh my. When did that happen? Time moves so quickly sometimes. I had a pleasant holiday.
I had things to post about, but since that was last year, I don't remember them. hehehe.
New year, but I haven't made any resolutions, though I probably should, like 'omg clean the frickin' house' etc, but no. The only thing I'm doing is making sure not to buy any junk food - at least until what we have is gone. lol. And maybe to start doing food mail, cause that'd be much cheaper. @_@;
Other than holiday things, not much going on here, but I expect that'll change once work starts up again. That'll be interesting to say the least. An Appeal to go through, a Community Plan & Zoning Bylaw Public Meeting to get through, a new boss, wrapping up the fiscal year, etcetc. I'll be kept busy, I'm sure.
Holidays mean preeesssents! And things about the presents I need to talk about.
So, over all, there were some up and down times, mostly up. And by up I also mean sleeping as well. Holy geez. Since I'm not working, I don't have to get up in the morning, so I've been staying up late and later and later. So of course I'm sleeping till the afternoon. My internal clock is some messed up, having no sun. The first few days of work are going to be really really tough.
The sun starts coming back over the horizon on Jan. 12th, however. Lets everyone do a dance with me. *dancedancedance*
This Babbly post was brought to you by chocolate milk, pickles, and the number 13. But not all together. Separate, very separate. Chocolate & Pickles = No.
- Where I am:Home
- Feeling:
restless - Music:Iron Chef America on TV
All comments are screened to protect you from Holiday stalkers. ^_^
- Where I am:Home
- Feeling: giddy
- Music:Celine Dion - So this is Christmas
There's a few more things on my list to make, such as chocolate truffles, a few different kinds of fudge, butterscotch squares, etcetc.
Does anyone have any suggestions for things I could make? (Preferably nothing involving cherries.)
- Where I am:Home
- Feeling: chipper
- Music:Dar Williams - The Christians and the Pagans
The 24 sun seemed easier to deal with, in a way, since you could shut it out with blinds and foil on your windows. Lack of sun on the other hand, is strange. Not "depressing" like everyone likes to push on me, but strange. I mean really, if I had a dollar for every time someone said "Ohhh, you poor thing, no sunlight, that must be so DEPRESSING" I could build an igloo made out of loonies.
It's just strange. When you wake up, you expect to see at least some light. But no. The horizon brightens a bit, but not really enough to make much difference. It really looks like things are covered in gray.
And then, so you walk to work in this gray, and you walk home from work in the dark. In the beginning its weird to see all the flurry of activity going on when its that dark, but its after work, so everyone is rushing to the store, going home, etc.
The Elders (Inuit seniors, usually over the age of 55 or so) keep saying that it doesn't get as dark as it used to when they were younger. I had heard this before getting up here, so I kept an open mind. But having been here in the dark for a little while, I really think it's due to the street lights. I'm not sure if they understand that street lights block your ability to see stars, etc. The moon is very bright at times, and casts an erie glow. But in my opinion, it's still very obviously nighttime, not this bright night they're talking about. Street lights weren't as abundant when they were younger. It makes it difficult to believe them, though they are very adamant about it. It's just one of those things you can't change someones mind on.
Regardless, I am looking forward to the 24hour night, as strange as that may seem. It'll be interesting at least. It'll last until the end of February. I hope I do too.
- Feeling:
thirsty
So...last two years I was in College, taking GIS and Planning, I would've gotten honours first year, but I got lazy and stressed with all the work. Second year the bitchy Map Graphics teacher marked only two of our projects at the beginning, and even though we did a ton more projects, thats what carried us through. >_> Oh lets not talk about her.
Regardless, I graduated, YAY. So I'm already out of school, and working in the field I trained for. :P I win.
I do plan at some point going and getting a degree though, after I've worked a bit more.
Speaking of work, I now work for a municipality in Nunavut. MmmHmm. Me, in Nunavut! Bit of a shock eh, seeing as it didn't appear like I wanted to leave NS right away. :p The weird things people do. Work is cool though, even with the cranky people, and...well you know. :) Our office is finally starting to fill up all the vacant positions though. So that helps a lot. And the job I have is pretty cool, I'm the Planning and Lands Administrator. Basically I review peoples development permits, their land leases (As no one can own land in Nunavut, except the Feds, The Commissioner(Territory) or the Municipality, individuals or company's have to lease the land from those people) etcetc. I'd make maps and things, but the software I have at work isn't exactly conductive to map making. Boo. :(
Nunavut is really nice though. I'm so glad we got here in the summer to see the niceness! There's been snow on the ground since September. September! It's insane! Ice fishing happened by the end of September, and the ice on the lakes was about 6inches thick.
Still, the cold isn't that bad. Even being -20*C in October...hahaha. It's different than Nova Scotia though. Dryer. Very very dry. I need more moisturizer. :( Parka's were bought...$600 for a coat. But they are oh so warm. And Sexy dontcha know. ^_~
Summer is beautiful though. Hardly anyone works in summer, everyones out on the land. Which makes sense. Go while you can. There are arctic hare, and arctic foxes all over the place. (In winter too!) The last time we were out, we watched a pure white arctic hare running past us (we were on an ATV and it was going faster than us!!! I think Mike was racing it) Anyways, it ran and ran, and then a white arctic fox started chasing it up the mountain! Really neat. I don't think the rabbit survived though...:( I've got to see all kinda of neat things like that. One night we took a walk down the shore, and all these little tiny fish kept breaking. And when I say tiny, I mean like, a couple inches long. There must've been hundreds. Arctic Char were probably around feeding on them. And there are all kinds of birds! Annnnd the musk oxen. They're pretty neat actually. And oh boy can they run! You wouldn't think for such a large animal that they could run so fast. They're pretty cool. And MuskOx Jerky is tasty. Way better than beef jerky. Artic Char is good too. Char jerky is like Candy. Yumyum. And I tried dried caribou the other day. It was..different. O_o; But I guess caribou is really good. We'll see I guess. I don't think I'll be trying muktuk though. That's seal blubber. Nooooo thanks. Ew.
Flying is the only way to get out of the north, since it's so remote, and I think planes have been canceled at least three times this past week. Just a fact of life I guess. But what I wouldn't give to go shopping. I'm craving shoe shopping! I've never really wanted to go shoe shopping, but damn, do I ever now!
Hmm...lets see. What else. A pumpkin costs $52.00. Just a bit insane. You kinda learn to stop looking at the prices after a few days. That one is a bit much. @_@;
Those of you with Facebook will have noticed my partner status. Some of you may know the story behind that...regardless, I'm not going into that here. Anyways, we're still together and I'd say doing great. And I do believe Mike agrees with me on that. :) Funny, I was always cautious of people who would move in with a partner when they haven't been together that long, and what do I go and do? Oi. -_-; Still, bad me, but it's gone well. Though both of us have a problem getting the dishes done....hahaha.
I could probably add a lot more about stuff that's gone on, but I should probably end it soon. I have made a few friends at work, and we've had people over a few times, but it's hard up here. People are always leaving or coming in, so you never know when you've made a friend thats going to leave, and people are distrustful of you till you've been here a while. Also, the Inuit culture is very...different. It's hard to explain unless you've experienced it. It's not bad, but...frustrating at times. The expression up here is "Hurry up and wait" People want things done, but no ones willing to do the work. Oh it's crazy. You're generally lucky if you have someone who comes into work and doesn't play solitaire all day. In some buildings (I won't name names) which employ a good 100 people, those getting paid for 40hr weeks...you're lucky to get 10hours work out of some of them. I'm not just talking Inuit here either. The North attracts a lot of....interesting people. :s Very high crime rates too. But lets not talk the negatives though! There are a lot of good people here too, you just have to look for them, and I think we've found a few. :)
That's about it. What's everyone else been up to? ^_^ hehehe.
- Where I am:Home
- Feeling:
cold
Visroth:(British, attempting a Canadian Accent) Aaaaricul- Aaagri-Aaailture-Aaaarilute-Aaaaa.... dumbass hick.
Kala: You'd fit right into Canada. XD You win.
- Feeling: amused
- urufu came over for 5 weeks. Was good. Could've been better. I ended up getting a really demanding job while he was here, so unfortunatly I didn't have much time for him. We still managed to have an alright time though.
- Job. Got a job. Woot me. I love it. I'd probably quit college and do that the rest of my life...but I like money, and hate where I live. :p
- Started college. Love it some days, indifferent others. Studying GIS (Geographical Information Systems) Basically I organize the data and make it make sense, before giving it to a Cartographer(who makes everything pretty). I'm doing alright in it. Its a TON of work.
- We got another cat! Sophie. About 6 years old. She kyoot. She's finally started moving around the house, instead of just staying in 2 rooms.
Election soon. Woot? I hope Harper doesn't get in. I've heard a few people label his party "Republican lite" It made me giggle. In a horrified way, as its close to the truth. I don't think he will win. And even if he does, I highly doubt it would be a majority gov't. *waves little NDP flag* Thoughts on the election anyone? *pokes*
- Feeling:
blank
That is all.
(And no, it has nothing to do with you. Or you. or you either. :p:p)
- Music:Dope - Die motherfucker Die
