the grind

As all those that are smarter than me know, once the novelty wears off, it turns out that daily life is a grind here. All manner of things conspire to create "grind" living. You just have to be tough to survive the Arctic I think. I'm not sure I'm all that tough.

Take for instance the machines. There are no garages. With the continual snow, the machines have to be dug out daily. Then, they have to be started well before you think you want to leave. Oh, is it really cold? Gotta change the spark plugs so the machine will run. The tires lose air in the cold so you gotta pump those up. Oh, did your door ice shut and you can't get out of your house? And this is just the beginning of winter. And, I don't have to worry about any of those things. I just show up and get a ride. And, all this is to say I'm a big wimp. What brings that into even clearer focus is a story that gripped the community this week. A man and his cousin, a 13 year old, got lost traveling from Igloolik to Hall Beach by snowmobile. They left Sunday night and weren't found till Thursday evening (though it should be noted they weren't actually ever found....they walked themselves to Hall Beach...and were seen walking). They survived for 4 days with no supplies, food, water, or shelter. !!! Then, they WALKED to Hall Beach. Igloolik is 70 km (44 miles) from Hall Beach. I have no idea how far they were when they got lost in the blizzard. All I know is that I don't think I'm that tough. I got tired shoveling my porch last night. Not sure how I'm gonna move 400lb fuel drums next field season, but cheers to blindly moving forward!! (Here's a link to the article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/survival-st…)

I did get a wonderful surprise this week. The group of ladies whom I went through a volunteer program that taught us how to tutor illiterate adults with sent me an amazing care package. It was such a blast to open it up and see all the different things packed in there! I felt like I did on Christmas as a child. (even brownies were included---and my friend Nikki knows what a sucker I am for those!!) All the things we take for so granted down south and can't get here.....it's amazing. I even dreamed last night about fast internet....the kind where you click and the page loads immediately....like you don't see the little loading circle ever.....!!! That's the stuff of my fantasies now. I also dreamed the day before that I had to taste test a bunch of desserts and cupcakes. .....I might be going insane.

Anyway, back to my point of thanks on Thanksgiving......I know folks see the news and might think that humans suck, but my personal experience is that I feel like I sucked all the good people out of the cosmos and surrounded myself with them because my life is so enriched by those around me. I don't know what I did in a previous life to deserve such caring and thoughtful folks around me. Being in this position is really humbling. I hate feeling so needy, but I am so damn thankful for everyone's calls, texts, comments, emails, and care packages! Maybe this is why I've been doing so well up here! If I didn't have such a fantastic group of humans taking care of me remotely, I would probably be crying in my non-draining bathtub right now.

In other news, I cut the back of my hair this week. The rat tail was getting out of hand. My hair was flipping on my collar. Has anyone tried to give themselves a layered pixie cut in the back? Me neither. It's hard. Especially when the second mirror I was using to see the back of my head was from a broken compact. I don't want to make anything too easy. It was slow going and required some wrist contortions, but in the end, it's not the worst thing I've ever seen. Now, when the top and full back have to be done....it's gonna be an undertaking. I can't see anyone's hair now that it's cold. Everyone has hats on so I can't ask who cuts their hair. I wanted to find a short haired lady and inquire. Oh well. Necessity is the mother of cutting your own hair.Read more