two pics from home

Three ridge top walkers lit by the sun.

Nothing makes me happier than a clean damp cookie in a towel.

Happy January Day

I'm back and all brand new, that's correct- I'm writing from the airport again. This fine morning, (I can't tell how fine it'll be since it's still dark out) finds me in Columbus International enjoying the Fuh-ree internet connection, Did you hear that SEA-TAC?! and waiting to board the planes that will carry me west back to Juneau.

I've got lots to say, but don't I always? If people would only listen! The time at home flew by as always, and I can't believe it's time to go back, it's 2008, and classes start on Monday. I enjoyed my home time a lot, so that's good. And I'm actually excited for the next semester, though antsy nervous as always, so that's good too. I'm taking less credits so I can focus on being a good student and understanding my math homework, which equates to only 4 classes! Weird. I have Proofs with Blitz, which should be fun. Calc 2 with Seater, should get exciting (or scary). History with Noon, which should be awe-some, and Residential Wiring with a teacher I don't know. All in all it looks like a good schedule and as always I have high hopes for becoming a more perfect being in this new year. I guess we'll just have to wait and see if I make good on any of my goals.

I'm trying to stop cursing, and am semi successful so far. It's funny because when I do slip up I do the 12 year old reaction of grabbing my mouth as if to get the word back before I get punished. The difficulty I'm encountering though makes me realize it's a good thing to get in hand now... maybe my potty mouthed siblings add to the problem. ;)

I have lots of pictures of being home that I may post di-rectly. The hollow was lovely as always and for January it was SO balmy at times! I was walking around in a tank top, quite a contrast to the slush I'm returning to now.... I cut my hair recently, and it's been so long since it was short, I forgot how much fun it is to have it light and taking care of itself.

"I'm not there" came to Charleston of all places, and I'm missing it by leaving today! Oh the agony. I guess I'll just have to wait til it comes out on dvd.. as I already was... so to have it so close, stings!

This is all over the place, maybe because I'm sleepy and waiting to board. I'm feeling a tad scattery anyway... I'll leave it for now, then maybe come right back at you when you're least expecting it! tales from home later and a report of the new semester soon.


xoxo

a

Merry Christmas From Sea-tac

That's right. Merry Christmas from the Seattle Airport, where Kirsa and I now find ourselves about 5ish hours into our monster long layover. (It's probably only like 20 hours)- However, we are feeling the first waves of serious delirium, as my hand shakingness has reached Harry Carry status, and everything seems seriously hysterical. My cell phone is dying but I can't find an outlet, and we are in the market for a good place to have a little lay down. We have dined already, perused a Hudson News, and are very thankful for the 7 dollar 24 hour internet connection, and my handy lap top computer. It is actually not too bad at all thus far, we just made the mistake of staying up all night on Christmas Eve, and so we are (or at least I am) super super super duper tired. Like a dog. That is tired. Very tired.
Corin is flying solo, somewhere in Dallas now I think, but the benefit of his flight is that he will end up with mom and pops in Columbus *tonight*. I ain't complaining, I'm very very happy and excited t o be going home, I'm just a red hot wreck right now. So merry wishes and holly jollies from yours truly, more to follow soon.
xo
-a



PS. Travel on Xmas is TOTALLY not any slower than any other day, there are just a lot of crazies, and a lot of christmas attire.

What's going on?

1) Currently in rehearsals for The Eight: Reindeer Monologues- The next show on the second stage, a delightful adult Christmas comedy, directed by yours truly.

2) Classes winding down, with a pretty good idea of exactly what's expected of me in the next few weeks, which should make the doing all the easier, but somehow, it's still oh so easy to slip into paralysis, like I'm doing right now with a paper that I've put off for far too long


And I have a head ache, but I'm happy, and tomorrow is thanksgiving, so have a happy one where ever and who ever you are. I hope mine is good, it kind of has a lot to live up to based on previous juneau years.


Oh, and if anyone wants to sponsor me going home for christmas this year, that would be great.

more soon.
xo
alicia

In Lieu of Words

Me Presenting the Glacier, where I had gone to be alone with the thoughts of DY/DX in my head. Cramming the Calculus and then putting it in perspective with natural splendor is an enjoyable activity.



Oh you, Clouds.



Corin is just brimming with this brim.




Pretty Prom Princess is feeling a little bashful. This was a serious contender as a head shot.



Nuff Said.


If anyone knows anything about golf I would be more than happy to receive advice on my atrocious swing.
Oh, How I adore her.


I guess this was actually chock full of words. But I've got more for you yet. Later.
xo

This post got stuck in the space time continuum

This post was from Wednesday, and then when I got on here today, Blogger told me it decided to leave this guy waiting on Wednesday, and give me the option of publishing it someday in the future. Since it had been languishing for days, im giving it the go ahead, but be aware that this is from the 17th.

It's so beautiful here again today. Sunny, good smelling, awesome.

I for the first time this semester skipped class when I wasn't forced to. I made the call that I could miss it to catch up on 1.5 hours of sleep, and when I woke up to Sly and the family Stone on kirsa's alarm clock, it was so obvious that it was worth it.

Then Adrienne did also skip class to go get thai food lunch with me, and it was delicious!

I sat on a rock in the middle of the court yard at school for a few hours and got sun and did homework, wrapped in a fleece blanket, and that was great too!

I'm wearing shorts over leggings today, and I love it! I think if more people dressed like dancers from Chorus Line every day, they would all feel energized and happy. The ability to bust a move in style at any moment right now is definitely enhancing my day. So, expect more Juneau.

The moral of this story is some times it pays to sleep in, get thai food, and sit in the sun in a blanket dressed a little differently.

Lessons learned: 1) Don't skip class except very occasionally, because those days will be awe-awesome. 2)Wear shorts over leggings all the time. 3) Bring Two fleece blankets to school tomorrow. 4) listen to bob dylan in the learning center when you're writing a mid term english paper, because it tunes out the background distractions and annoyances, and it's really good.

Hoo-ray for today!!!


xo

-a

Sunshine Sunday

Wow, where does the weekend go? I spent Saturday sleeping in, til about five thirty evening time, and you know what? I deserved it! I needed it! I'd been waiting for it! and I am now seriously much more myself, because I was stupid last weekend and didn't get a ton of sleep, so I was running a serious debt. So I slept alot yesterday, missed most of the beautiful day regrettably. Looked at some calculus, and then went to say good bye to brad and josh, who are just a few drops in the wave of people who are moving away from juneau, ALL AT THE SAME TIME! I'm going to do a creepy pictorial tribute once everyone is gone. That was a very nice time, then we went (We = kirsa and I, who were actually strangely matching in attire last night, in a very nice way if I looked at all as good as she did) anyway, we went to Jaded to farewell the writers of the fabulous YEAST NA-TION! who left today back to more eastern climes. They were such a pair of nice, sweet people, it was really a treat to have them in town so long. Anyway, lots of theatre cronies were there, as well as salsa music and my bruzzer, so we stayed there for quite a time, until going to docs to eat and go home. It was a very nice night, and maybe I'll say more someday when I have the time, but have I EVEN mentioned that I have a calc test tomorrow, and it's sunny outside, and I'm outie, immediately!

xo

Stealing Glasses: Success

Jesse's Thick Frames definitely look best on him.

Mark definitely gets points for rocking Harry potter frames and doing it well.

But I think I probably like these frames best of all. The thick top gives me the strong brow I never had.

Really , Wednesday? Seriously...Wow!

In that way I mean, the things the day is giving me, not the day itself, or rather- I'm addressing the day by name, not the fact that it IS the day itself.

So, early this morning the sun came up, I was lying in bed. And then later, getting ready for my communication class, I was rummaging in the garage, and would you believe that I felt a very painful pain in my foot, left, heel region. The sort of feeling that my mother would describe as "extreme discomfort". Well,folks, I picked up said foot to examine, and there I found a flat faced tack, embedded quite flush with the flesh in the foot. GROSS! I started to pull it out, which was hard to get a grip of, but the pain was terrible, worse even then the initial stab-a-doo. So, I steeled myself, gave the washing machine a firm grasp, and YANKED! out it came, no worries, off to the rest of the day.


Classes fine, Wednesdays are my days to catch up on homework- I did some reading/writing out on the boardwalk again, my new favorite spot! There are no yahoos being too noisy or annoying, but there is a beautiful lake, and lovely tree, and fresh air. And in my mind, the friendly Grammar Bear who lumbers by to give some friendly advice and shoot claw shaped commas into my paper.

Speaking of Papers, I should be writing one, RIGHT NOW! Why is it easy to write here and not there? Perchance dear reader because you don't tell me that my writing style is overly wordy, stylistically awkward, overly full of information, but technically grammatically correct. (I put more effort into grammar when it's homework) If you should get the urge to tell me however, feel FREE!!

Ok, so id better get back to it, but all in all, i am a happy enough camper-Rooney! Superbly duper even.

Plus, you know what? Every G.D.M.F I know wants to open a bakery, or a bike repair shop, or an organic something, or jc. crimminy people! Expect a rant on this, SOOON!

ok, ciao ciao for now!
xo

And then it was Wednesday

And I thought, wow... I'm already half way through the week. Thank Goodness. It hasn't been a bad one, but not doing alot of homework on the weekend, and in fact doing zero tends to make your first half of the week a little more busy-intensive-y. Word. So, I did in fact see the aforementioned charming Barcelona on Saturday night. They were G.O.O.D!!! I realized as I was headed to the show, that I did not have any idea about the quality of the music, just the brief encounter with the people, and I left with a tee shirt and a cd and a pin, because they were Fantastic. I'd describe it as a mix of Coldplay- Keane-ish sounding jams, with a heavy taste of Travis mixed in, but with a little more fist pumping beat driving it. Right up my alley. Good live performers, and their onstage banter had me seagulling it up. We hung out with them a bit downtown later that evening, and they are some really delightful individuals. In a sentence, Check Barcelona out! (they are the Barcelona from Seattle, apparently there is another band with same name. And the new album is called Absolutes. (www.myspace.com/wearebarcelona)

Shew, ok, shoutouts and plugging accomplished, I'm pretty much just trying to keep enough homework going that I can make it to another weekend and get ahead a little bit. We're working on Derivatives in Calculus right now, and they are the bomb diggy bomb bomb! I'm seriously loving calc so much this semester it's ridiculous. Just wait til it burns me, and then maybe I'll be singing a different tune, but the subject matter is suh-weet. As for other classes, well, wood working will be enjoyable tonight I'm sure, and acting is great, (if a little rough on the tongue muscles), but I'll save my rant about comm and english for another day.

So. There you have it for a time. Until we meet again. but it looks like i might be getting back in the blogging habit.

Some images and captured souls

The jess Rehfield in question, oh so fair.






Any night gets better with Sara,




I love him because he hates me, and sometimes he beats me, it's cool though..







Levi: One of Alaska's greatest treasures,





And sometimes you have to get dead face for a night on the town. Noble, yeah?

Blue Sky Saturday

It is SO beautiful today, Glory be! there's nothing nicer than waking up on a Saturday and hearing Kirsa and Corin murmuring in the living room, all the windows open, cool breezes blowing in, sun drenched everything... ahh weekend, you are so sweet today.

Last night I went to Zen, where I'd never gone before and had dinner with kirsa, johanna, and our dear friend, Miss J Rehfield, in honor of the fact that we needed to hang out with her, and she's moving to Fairbanks soon. It was a true delight, the food was quite good, we had a delicious bottle of chardonnay, it was a pleasure all around with a lot of laugh time. Which was awesome. Corin stopped by, and we went to check out a bluegrass band up from Canada, who were playing at the Alaskan. They were super nice. Kirsa had to split to go fill in for a radio show at KTOO, we stayed bar bound. I was dancing to a beautiful melody when i realized partway through that they were singing about West Virginia, which was quite the little heartwarmer, great song, great sentiment, it even shouted out Honey Suckle! All good things. I probably had too much to drink, probably slapped a few too many people (in a funny way), but it was a very good night. I enjoyed myself much, and it was what I wanted after a longish week. The laughter was the perfect antidote to earlier tension in the day that really was dogging me, so... good. It was also a fittting celebration to getting our first Calc tests back, and I got a .... 82! not an (A) I know, but I was more than happy with it, and I'll aim to get an A on the next one. No really I was very nervous to get it back, so I was seriously pleased, though I think our dear teacher was a bit generous with the class, however it was our first test of the year, so whatev.
Speaking of Teachers, and school, allow me to make the following brief outburst:

A NOTE ON TEACHING, BY ALICIA SKYE HUGHES SKANDIJS

When teaching, it is important to maintain control of your class, classroom, and students, this focus and healthy learning environment will enable optimal information retained. The following should be discouraged, texting during class, talking to other students at full voice over the teachers, taking phone calls in the middle of class, and cutting up silently for the benefit of other students- Is that so fecking difficult to maintain? I say this because I love all of my classes this semester, but I can not tell you how much I do not love the majority of the students in my classes, they are straight up ignorant y'all, for the most part. It kills me... and though I haven't taught in an academic setting, i have taught for multiple years, and I feel there are some common principles between the two, and I really wish some teachers would start cracking some skulls..... alright, that's good enough for now.

So, Hopefully I can join flag football late this sunday, I didn't realize they already were off to a start. Tonight I have a few too many plans, so we'll see which actually emerges as the real one. I met a charming band, Barcelona, last night, and they're playing tonight, so I'm going to try to keep the weekend of music going. I'll check back in again sometime I hope.

xo

-a

In August, In West Virginia

There is much skin to be shed, at an astonishing rate, daily. There is much sweat to be sweated off. There are warnings from officials on days like today not to do anything taxing, as the temp. mixed with the humidity makes it feel like it is 107 degrees outside. (Fahrenheit, of course)
It is lush and green and lovely outside, I love the way the forest smells here. And so, here I sit, about to brave the outdoors again maybe, or to try and convince people to go swimming, How is it August already? Oh! the time flies. Preparations must be made to transport three young scholars (ha!) back north to their chosen university, how it will shake out in the end is any ones guess.

It is good to be home.

The 33rd Alaskan Folk Fest

That would be the reason why my string of blogging every weekend was broken. That and the fact that I didn't work at Perseverance last weekend. But those two reasons went hand in hand.
I had such an amazing time at this folk fest, it was just fantastic. It's also so hard to describe. The general cheery attitude of the town, the jamming of musicians all over, and the never ending party in the alaskan hotel are three things that made me happy. I took as full advantage of it as I could, since I had to work some night shifts during the fest. I listened on the radio, (another fantastic element of the dealie is that you can hear it anywhere on the internet radio, which my parents on the east coast were happy to do, and my homesick friend in new zealand was able to do last year)
I went to the dances, and worked the mutha out! That is such a good venue to get your dance on, and boy did I get my dance on... but good. And I went to the hotel every night, with varying results. hahah. No, I kid- every single night I enjoyed the hell out of myself. It was truly truly truly one of the best couple of days in my life, even though I racked up a vicious sleep debt to enjoy it. I went home from the hotel a sample of three days, at 7am, 11am, and 6:30am. And the band kepta rolling all night long. What I feed off of in those beautiful old halls, beyond cheap watery beer and grabbing cute anonymous bluegrass bum, is the absolute passion of the musicians, who just keep on jamming in corners, in bedrooms, on sidewalks, on rooftop, until their fingers are literally bleeding, their backs aching, and they need a nap before they can do it all again the next day. Which they will, in the morning, get a bloody mary for breakfast, maybe go snowboarding during the day, and then do it once more with as much enthusiasm. And I love that. I love how joyously they do it, and what a good time there is to be had. Thus far the only way I've particpated in the scene with such fervor, is as a dancer, which I will surely keep doing, but do I now take part in a new way? Read to the next post and find out!

*Additional observation before the next post: There did seem to be a greater number of "fans" than musicians this year- which is the first time I have ever witnessed that... it wasn't necesarily bad, just different...
*2nd additional observation: There is no real reason for breaking this post into two, other than I felt like it.

It has become abundantly clear to me

I wear plastic latex gloves at Full Circle. I wear plastic latex gloves at Hope. It is clear that I must start wearing plastic latex gloves at Perseverance. How much creepier would it be if I was typing and answering the phone with gloves on? wait, that implies that it's already creepy. Which it's not.

I dyed easter eggs last night, thanks to carley bringing over the eggs and the dye and easter decorations from mama lowe. It was very nice. I created a hobo egg, and a few others that I was proud of- kirsa and carley created their own stunning contributions as well of course. We took pictures of them, perchance when I get home I can show you what they look like, before they suffer a deviled egg grave. (since kirsa is crazy for the d.eggs) ( I mean crazy yo.)

The headache didn't stop, so after the eggs I did enjoy the face full of pillow- and sleep as it turned out was the only cure for it. I feel cautiously head ache free this morning.

So now today, Woah! I was about to say it, but it should have been the first thing i said:

HAPPY EASTER!

some would say, Have you heard the good news? And then others would say, He has risen.
But that's kind of my year round line, so I don't really want to use it on Easter.... not that I use it in a blasphemeous sense or anything- it's just more unexpected the rest of the year. Anyway, so I went to work at 8 this morning, had an hour break and then came to work here- so now I'm just riding out the last 2 hours. Corin came by to visit, which was very nice- but then something he mentioned made me sad, so I'll just sad it out in the office for a little while, and then get out and enjoy this juneau moisture. And I do mean Enjoy.. beyond people being excited about snow leaving, or spring coming, I also really do like the rain being back... I think. I mean, at least it's like having someone get back into town.. I feel like "Hey mist and drizzle, how have you been?" I bet only the first hour of travel pictures and chat is exciting, and then you spend another half hour with just the two of you stirring your coffee around, until you can plausibly be all "Oh, I've got to go pick up my kid, but great to see you!" and you're both relieved.

Right?

Oh what a world we live in

Rufus Wainwright sang that, and I've gotta say- I feel you rufus, big time. What a world indeed... I'm not even sure what context I mean that in, but let's just say I mean it in several different ways, which is true. And we all like the truth.. or something along those lines. It really looks like having a job where I sit in front of a computer for hours is the way to keep me updating my blog! this has been like 3 weeks in a row, crazy. And once a week is probably good so I don't start whining too much. I feel like that's a recent development, like all at once last week I started complaining all the time, and I really hate to do that- so I've made a major effort to stop my groaning, even if people ask how I'm doing... the thing is- I don't think my life is that much harder than anyone else, far from it even- but I'm kind of in a bafflement because I think I must be really mismanaging my time or something- and I need to write everything I do down and then overhaul it- because it is seriously crazy... *that was dangerously close to whining, so I'll leave off*
Overall things have been going pretty well... this week was still pretty, and like spring always does, it seems like suddenly the snow has melted overnight, and there are all kinds of lawns and trees downtown that are making their presence known- not green yet, but the potential is there. Last night was Gallery walk, and so I first friday-ed all about the town... it's so nice to see people walking around everywhere, and I got to gallavant with johanna for the first time in a long time, which was a delight. There was good art as usual, and most especially I enjoyed seeing Rory's show, "Processim" at The Canvas.. Really awesome oil paintings, and I love the philosophy behind it, to look at the whole process rather than the finished product.. or put another way

"If both the keepers and the tossers were beautiful. If reducing the process to its result was not the acomplishment. If the entire creative process was the art instead of the art itself"

a little snippet there from the program/artist statement/whatever for the show- anway, definitely worth checking out- the green one and "The jester" were my fav-o-rites. What a talented little guy.
Johanna and I joined forces with Levi and Corin and went and checked out KTOO after that- a nice time, nice walking around weather yesterday.. there were some cool photos there, on the capital transit bus, and out the windows of the bus... that stuck my fancy, as I've always been enchanted with the blue lights during the night rides, and am a regular rider myself from time to time- OH! there was also another exhibit at KTOO of bear pictures that were too adorable, and quality as well. So to sum it up, before the exhibits are over, go check out KTOO, as well as The Canvas. After first friday I stuck myself like a bur or a seed that needed to travel into the long flowing locks of mr. fiehler, and went and saw TOMMY again. And no, that totally does not make 8 times, in case you're wondering...... it makes half that. Ha. It was a really good show- I thought the band was particularly rocking, and that deaf, dumb, and blind kid truly did play a mean pinball. Miss Rachel Landon, who portrayed Mrs. Walker really impressed last night, but she's always a great part of the show. As I sit here selling ticket after ticket, I warn you Juneau, see this show, or regret it all your days! (as you will if you miss any perseverance show, because they're all good) (except for the ones that aren't) (but they've been all good for so many in a row now, you've gotta catch them all, like pokemon back in the 90s)
Well Gee whiz, this post is just full of plugs, but I only recomend what I really like- so do listen.
anyway, I had a headache last night, and I did also have nearly half a bottle of wine, but I had a shower, ibpfofin, and half a vicodin this morning, and this headache seriously will not leave me alone... Zounds. I think I'm going to keep enjoying this "champagne of mangos" mango that I got in my box this week, and read the seagull for my last hour of work... a break and then more work elsewhere tonight... maybe a party in the valley... or maybe a face full of pillow if the headache doesn't stop. Until then....

And the train keeps rolling all night long

So, another weekend- which means another week is over, and it's actually Sunday, so this weekend is even over pretty much. It blows my mind how quickly time goes by, and it's a bit more tangible style relevant to me right now, because it means school is coming to a close and I have to decide what to do with my summer. How to make it all shake out, I don't know. It was a good weekend. Two absolutely gorgeous days, clear skies at day and night- apparently there were even some good lights out last night, but I didn't see them. I felt kind of bad sleeping in today instead of going outside, but the late night called for a late morning wake up time... and beyond that, getting to sleep in and actually have a weekend is such a novel thing to me that I don't mind just appreciating that... and I was actually appreciating the blue skies from my bed in between bouts of sleeping.
Last night was the $500 kareoke constest at the Rendevous, which was well deservedly won by Salissa. The whole pack of singers was extremely enjoyable though. Highlights included Cody and Zach taking "Footloose" to a whole new level, The Herminator owning "Bust a move", DCG's mastery of "wicked game", and Corin as usual stripping down to his underwear.
It was an especially nice time because it was such a convergence of people all out at the same time, people getting back into town, people who don't usually go out and so on. So all in all, a lovely night.
The pictures below are thanks to the beatiful Sara. As you can see for yourself, Jeff is quite the fancy pants dancer. PJ joined Kirsa and I in a very special version of "I think I love you" By the Partridge Family, delightful. Kirsa actually brought her camera out as well, so maybe later I'll put some more photos up.
As for now, I'm once again just enjoying the sun like a house cat would, and answering the phone occasionally... I was feeling the itch to see TOMMY again, even more so because I hear they've been rocking out and Corin is going to see it tonight, but I'll have to wait til next week because tonight is john leo's clown show, and i've got to go see that insteadsies.
that's all i got.

And Singing

There was dancing

I believe my own eyes

When I look at the moon and the sky. That's also the name of a song from TOMMY, which is why those words are floating about to a tune in my mind, but back to the sky.
I just came home a bit late after a good time had at a friends house- and I had to turn off Egan into old glacier on the way down town just so I could look at the moon and what it was doing to this cloud, illuminating it.. the first cloud strip of stretching on, hanging all the way down the channel and actually literally hugging the hills that crest just below the base of the bigger mountains on the douglas side of things, breathtaking! whist enjoyment of this was occuring I realized that there were stars too, but also because I have class of trig in 5 hours I had to keep driving down town.
When I got here, I parked the car and stood on the icy street for a bit to enjoy it more, and as I kept cycling through trees, cloud, moon, star, trees, cloud, moon, star, trees, cloud, moon, star! I looked back behind me and saw that the moon was also illuminating the avalanche path in a gorgeous way, and the snow against the dark was just striking. And all at once I felt like me standing there on the street, I was between the mountain and the moon hanging over the channel, and they were obviously having this silent very wise conversation.. and as soon as I felt that feeling of being the third person watching two other people talk, the presence of both just got more and more tangible, and so I said goodnight (secretly wishing I could just fly on the wall the two of them and watch them talk all night and they wouldn't get weirded out) and went inside. They're not the sort of people you can give the good night kiss on the cheek to, but the sentiment was definitely there.
and so, now class is in 3 hours and 40 minutes roughly, so I better get some shut eye. Wonder if the tests will be graded yet, I hope so! that's the most fun in a while ive had taking a math test, so i hope that bodes well. I watched goood night and good luck in history today, pretty good actually. ok, enough! love love!