Eagle River

As I'm seriously thinking about moving back to the Lower-48 at the end of this year, I thought I'd make a list of things I'll miss about Alaska if I do leave:

I've been very busy lately, and haven't taken the time to write any blog posts in a few weeks. The reason for my busy-ness is that I've created a new computer programming company in Alaska, Valley Programming.

I just did a little research to try to learn more about the Iditarod race route, and found this information on the official Iditarod website. I don't meant to plagiarize their content, but to share this information, so if you'd rather read it on their much longer web page, just follow this link to the Iditarod website "learn" page.

That being said, here's the specific Iditarod race route information from that page:

Wow, twice lately I've tried to go shopping, and the local stores are just packed. The first day I assumed we had a bad weather report and it was going to snow or ice, and everyone knew it but me. (I don't listen to the radio or watch television.) So when I went to the grocery today and the stores were packed, I had to ask what was going on.

It turns out the PFD checks (Alaska Permanent Fund Dividend checks) have come in, and everyone is rushing to spend them.

I was just thumbing through a local newspaper, and saw a notice about a Zen meditation meeting in Anchorage, Alaska, and it got me curious about whether there are any Zen centers up here or not. After some poking around, here's what I've been able to find out about "Zen in Alaska".

The house-hunting has gone better. Here's what I have ATM:

One friend wrote and suggested living in an RV this summer if the rental stuff doesn't pan out. Here's my reply to him:

Yep, an RV is definitely looking like an option. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I think I've sent over 20 emails so far this morning. I have to go look at another scary place shortly.

I'm currently in Anchorage, sipping on a pitcher of maragaritas. I worked harder to get into Seward, but it was still a no-go, so I've been focusing on Eagle River, Palmer, and Wasilla, three towns just north of Anchorage, and closer to Denali. I've sent out at least 20 emails, maybe 30, with an additional 10-20 phone calls.

Working the leads, the next two options are north to Fairbanks, or southeast to Sitka. (Sip, sip, gulp.)

The ongoing tour of The Places That Scare Me (aka, rentals in Alaska) continues. The housing situation looks very bleak, with no relief in site. Today's tour included:

Dateline: Anchorage, Alaska, Sunday, May 27, 2007.

5:00am-8:40am: In the hotel, it's light out, so I have periodic thoughts about getting out of bed. Manage to fight them off.

8:50am: In t-shirt, sweats, and slippers, slowly walk down a very long hall to find a cup of coffee and a cookie. Think about shaving, but manage to fight the urge.

10:15am: Drive downtown. Don't feed the meters, do give money to the homeless. (There are a lot of them. One is still sleeping (or dead) on a bench.)