Chapped chaps

Thanks for the sympathy. I guess maybe pms doesn't help the situation but it's not like I didn't know it had to end sometime. We talked yesterday and he says he just can't see it going on forever. But I never could so maybe that's where we're at odds. I was happy to enjoy it while it lasted and he was looking at our future.
Do people actually go into relationships assuming that they are going to last forever though? Like 8 months is a long time to be with someone as is. Maybe I'm not old enough or something.

Anyhow everyone is trying to ply me with liquor. Basically I just wanna drink eight beers and doze in the sun on a beach the whole day after. Good thing camping exists.

Men are Dogs

Shiiiit, that sucks. Ritch. All of it, from the blister to the boy. I will ply you with wine in a few short days and we can talk about everything but relationships, if you want. And if you continue to feel super shitty, a doctor's appointment might be a good thing to spring for...

Heading down to the island in the next few days and not looking forward to the drive. Should be in Dease Lake tomorrow, followed by the Fort and then further points unknown. An enthusiastic Newfie will be taking our place, which is good to know. Got my car fixed in Whitehorse in preparation for the drive and provided everyone at the Honda dealership with conformation that I am a clueless mechanical moron. Ate at a baller Mexican restaurant, got assaulted by wind in the Walmart parking lot. Will be sad to leave this area, where there are rivers and lakes and people that wave at you with two fingers when they drive by on the road.
 

Radio Silence

So I guess I've written on this thing about twice in the past eight months. Just realized I haven't even really checked it since last post.
It's nice to hear your adventures Laura. You sound happy.

I got dumped today, which was a bit unexpected. I've had this really nauseous head ache for about a week and it has been making it hard for me to concentrate or interact properly with other humans (met a very nice bull dog named Stella on Wednesday. We got along). Anyway I guess Myles thought I was mad at him or ignoring him out of spite and came over to end it this morning. I was sort of angry to begin with because despite the fact that I had been telling him all week that I was feeling ill it didn't really seem to register with him.
I'm just writing this down because I know I'm going to be asked why we broke up and I'm still not really sure myself. I thought we were working on communicating but I guess not.

Anyway. Going to a party tonight. Probably not a good idea since I haven't eaten much today but I'm hoping I'll be able to talk about other things to strangers.

Also spent about an hour organizing the poster wall at Open Space which earned me a blistered thumb and too much time to be alone and think

Maybe it's time to think about grad school

Because science

If by some weird quirk of fate you are ever offered undercooked black bear meat and told not to worry about it, trichinosis only affects grizzly bears,
DON'T EAT IT.
I am serious, people. A woman just came in today and told me that she has been eating rare bear steaks for a year because she believed this snippet of advice from a community elder (she doesn't live here.) Which is startling and worrying. Yes, traditional knowledge has a lot to offer, but don't accept a pronouncement lock, stock and barrel when acting on it can put your life at risk. People are people, and people make mistakes. If you don't believe me, read this guy's story:
http://www.adn.com/article/20121025/dinner-black-bear-leads-rare-trichinosis-infection-nikiski-man

All the good stuff at the very very end

Opened the door to a dark corridor today to find my manager, maniacal grin on his face and vacuum attachment brandished menacingly. But we all know that I deal with sudden surprises in a manner that is cool, calm and collected.

The word on the street is that I got a small scholarship for writing an essay that was utterly off topic and some research work for a nice professor. So things are looking up, but also very busy. There are all these things I feel that I should be accomplishing, but they will not happen without hard work and the time and motivation is not there, man. For example, apparently Jon is a killer filmmaker. And web designer. And carpenter. And photographer and researcher and historian and cook. All of these things I have learned through pure coincidence, so who knows what other talents are yet to be discovered. I have four years to develop some type of competency in life. This is one of his completed projects: http://avenuehistory.org/.

A group from Washington came through the museum yesterday. One of them, a wildlife biologist, was quite put out that he wasn't able to find a book of Mammals of BC and and/or buy the wolverine skull we have on display. Actually, I was kind of taken aback by the book thing as well. Anyway, turns out that both of the guys had worked for the Smithsonian for years. After working in a tiny museum, I'm not sure how well I would function working in a larger institution, where there are rules and people have assigned roles. One of the charms of this place is that you can move from exhibit design right into squirrel trapping and no one bats an eyelash.

I miss you girls. It is my hope that the mental vibes I have been sending the two of you will pay off some day and I'll awake to a flood of posts and adventure updates. 

Why is it raining so much, all the time? 

For her, life was a test to be passed

Ambition = low at the moment. My hands are doing a frantic dance of their own accord, thanks to Our Good Friend Coffee. Woke up this morning to low clouds and mountains, with eyes glued shut due to oversleeping and a bathroom that smelled like ravioli. There is a small merlin hawk that has taken to perching on my deck and glaring severely through the window. On the drive in to work this morning, I passed two young men standing mournfully by the side of the road, almost dwarfed by the oodles and oodles of baggage between them. I was going the wrong way to offer any assistance, but I have to admit that it intrigued me. There are an alarming number of bumblebee-yellow bikers laboring their way along the highway recently, tires wobbling as RVers from Texas swoosh by. Went to the dump yesterday to find out how I could safely dispose of a half-used box of taxidermy "skull bleach" and a box of asbestos. Was told that Cole at the shop would know what to do with it. New task is to find Cole and the shop.

So cool

So I'm just gonna keep running with this

because I don't have any appealing reading material at the moment, it's my lunch hour, it feels good to write again.

My brother was in a car accident on a logging road a few days ago. He was driving behind a loaded truck in a dust cloud, and it pulled off to the side to let him pass. Thoughtful, but unfortunately he couldn't see it at all and it suddenly loomed up at him out of the haze. He swerved to the left and tore the passenger side off of the work truck. I called my parents, thinking they'd be in a panic, but they were oddly calm about the whole thing. Now that I know he's ok, I have free license to feel slightly smug. Because the person in the family who is always getting targeted for not being a fast/competent enough driver by her little bro sure didn't get into an accident when she was 16.

There is another Emma in town at the moment. Museum Manager Jon's girlfriend flew up a few days ago to join in the Yukon excitement. We were at a beach party and everyone was worried because she was wearing a light summer dress. The comments about their upcoming camping trip all included references to jeans and warm clothing. She took it in stride, though. They are a gentle and kind couple whom I like very much. Jon shows his affection for her by placing freezing cold water bottles against her neck at surprising moments. The 50/50 Arts Collective is showcasing her photography at the moment right now, in case either of you are interested.

A woman came back this morning and bought four jars of homemade jam. When she inquired as to what highbush cranberry tasted like, I told her that they smelled like rotten socks. Her eyes went wide as saucers and it was time for some hasty reassurance. The salesman gene apparently does not run rampant through my bloodstream.

Much of the free time here in Teslin is spent climbing a hill/mountain to get cell service and drinking a beer at the top. There is also a system of back cat roads that are simply referred to as "Ned's trails." He was an older fellow with a bulldozer who was convinced that there was gold in them thar hills. Apparently he washed out enough placer to keep himself dirt poor but happy, and his ambling tracks have reverted to a fairly wild state. I often steal a little husky named Mougli, who delights in roaring around at top speed.

Kory is attending a "sports car party" right now. I don't even... 

Holy shitballs, look at where I am living right now.

Pretty sweet, huh?

The mountain/lake cabin that has become my current home comes with a patch of strawberries in the front yard, a dock which is floating on goodwill alone, and a resident black bear. After a young couple from Ontario evicted me from the townhouse that was to be the summer lodgings, I was pretty angry. But, y'know...somehow, I've gotten over it.

To weigh in on the relationship terminology argument. Partner is a good word, really. It implies that you are in a mutually respectful engagement with another person. You are merrily skipping down your life path with an amiable hanger-on who is not repelled enough by your personality quirks to strike off on a solo adventure. And that is my two cents. Although a very polite couple from California did inquire as to what my girlfriend did for a living the other day. So there are drawbacks too, apparently.