My Most Eventful Trip EVER - 1 Year Later

   Yesterday, February 28th, was an anniversary for me.  Exactly one year ago yesterday, I sustained a pretty serious injury that required surgery, and a big rehab.  More on that later.  It also is one year since I was last at TribalCon, one of the biggest bellydance festivals in the country.  This trip was amazingly wonderful, pretty painful (physically and emotionally), and certainly very eventful.

View of ATL from the airplane.  Added bonus: it's pretty warm in February (for an Alaskan, anyway)!

   Myself and other members of The Sovereign Collective dance troupe traveled to Atlanta, Georgia for the second year in a row to attend TribalCon, and perform a piece choreographed by our ring-leader, Donna Mejia.  If you have not been to a bellydance festival before, they are amazingly fun.  At this festival, there are haflas with performances and food, workshops by some of the best teachers and performers in the industry (Donna included), and lots of shopping!  Vendors sell their wares day and night: skirts, veils, coin bras, jewelry galore, pants, belts, hip scarves, zills, CDs and DVDs, shirts... everything you could want for practice or performance.  Suffice it to say, I came home with exactly what I could afford: a couple pairs of amazing pants, a choli, and the coins and bits to make a proper coin bra on my own.

Yes, I am a sucker for soft leather.
I would have bought this if it fit me!

Gorgeous skirts I could not afford.

I got a choli (bra top) very similar to this.
Note all the amazing jewelry in the background!

Beaded, blinged & bedazzled bras!!!

   Besides the great shopping, dancing, music, and learning, TribalCon also happens to be in a cool place - Decatur.  The 2010 and 2011 TribalCon trips were my first and only forays into Atlanta, but even before going, I knew I would like it there... probably because I listen to OutKast and Goodie Mob almost daily.  I even asked a gentleman at the hotel if he knew what "SWAT" meant because I hear it so frequently in OutKast.  He did.  It means South West ATlanta.  Thanks, random hotel worker!  Although I was only there for the weekend of the festival, and thus did not get a chance to explore Atlanta much, I did get to go to some cool spots.  The festival was held right in the heart of downtown Decatur, a pretty hip area of ATL, so when we had down-time we went out to eat, or for a beer after a hard day.

This place had great pub fare, and a ridiculously hot Irish bartender.

Amazing grub, from southern fried chicken bites (YUM!) to mac 'n' cheese
to salad.  But the beer list was seriously OFF THE CHAIN!  Tons of locals & imports.

Oh, and the menu was leather-bound.
Did I mention that I love leather?

   Not far from Decatur by car is another cool area called Little Five Points that has some amazing shopping, including funky boutiques and consignment shops.  Some of my fellow dancers went, and picked up some cool dresses on the cheap, but I was busy oogling the coin bras.  And the handful of hot guys who go to TribalCon; you know who you are!

Annie & Christa modeling their
fashion finds in our hotel room.

   But the main attraction is not Atlanta herself - I need to go there sometime to REALLY explore, and go to a club.  The point of TribalCon is getting swept up in the world of the professional and semi-pro bellydancers, and their fans.  Where else can you meet people called "Darbuka Dave" and "The Mistress of Mayhem," learn Romani folk music, stay up until 4 or 5 am with some accordian players, and have some of the best workouts of your life (usually only a few hours later)?

   This particular festival is held in the Marriott, and all the performances, vendors, workshops, and food are in the building.  So, if you are a performer with a room like us, it's pretty freaking convenient!  On Thursday night there is a lecture to kick off the celebrations, which last year was given by Donna and was about the various cultural appropriations that often happen in "tribal fusion" bellydance.  It was thoughtful, well-informed and researched, and very well received.  Then, in order to prep for a full day of grueling physical workshops, most people got hammered at this point.  :-)

   By early Friday morning, all of the vendors had arrived and set up just outside the workshop space.  All of the dance workshops, and some of the music ones, are held in the same large conference room.  There is a small stage that is set up in the center - which is CARPETED, much to my dismay!

Donna Mejia teaching a sold-out workshop in the main room.

   After a full day of classes on technique, stage presence, drumming, improvization, and any number of other topics, there is a short dinner break, and then it's time to party!  The main room is set with chairs and tables all around the stage, a buffet is set up in an adjoining room, and the performers retreat to get ready.

   Friday night's show is set to live music.  All of the dancers are expert at improvising, and work so well with the the musicians, who are all amazing.  Some improvise, but many of the dances are choreographed in advance.  Most of the performers on Friday night are soloists, but there are a few exceptions.  Some of the performers that dance on Friday to live music also have pieces (usually with their dance company) in Saturday night's show as well.  After a rousing hour or so of dance, during which all the dancers in the audience are shimmying in their seats, everyone is ready to party.  The hotel staff make short work of clearing some tables out so there is room to dance, the ouzo gets passed around, and the musicians - God bless them, every one - just keep going.  And going.  And going... until either no one can stand, or until enough people collectively decide that they need at LEAST three hours of sleep... because there is that amazing 9am workshop that they are signed up for.

Pacita Prasarn giving a stunning performance during the Friday night show.

The beginning of a lovely evening!

Aaron, a member of Alternacirque - it was his birthday!

The amazing Christy Smith, modeling hats with
The Sovereign Collective's own Megan Morrow.

This is what fuels the musicians into the wee hours!

An impromptu performance of a piece by
Awalim Dance Company.

Myself with Kira Disén, another Sovereign Collective dancer.
Photo by Dave Stagner.

Flying High - Photo by Dave Stagner.

  So Friday was great.  Saturday was great too, for the most part.  The day started with the usual fun workshops, great shopping, and general joking around with all of the Sovereign Collective company members that had come on that leg of the tour.  I even surprised them all with a T-Shirt that I designed & had custom made for us - kind of a tradition since Kira & Kendra started that trend at the Rakkasah Spring Caravan festival back in 2009.  We were all psyched and ready to rock the Saturday night show, the biggest of the two.  I felt very strong in my body, and we all had the choreography that we had been working for months deep in our bones by now.  We were 5th in the lineup of what promised to be an amazing show, and this piece that we were dancing was harder even than last year's.  I was pumped!

Members of Alternacirque backstage getting ready to perform.

Mattie Waters & Lacy Dickerson of Tribe Zanzibar
just about to go on stage.

   We took the stage and started dancing.  We could feel the crowd with us, willing us on, entranced by our movement.  Then, at exactly 2 minutes and 9 seconds into the piece (which was 7 minutes long), the unthinkable happened: I fucked my shit up.  BAD.  As I took a movement to the floor on my left knee, I felt a huge pop.  I knew literally the instant it happened that it was some serious damage.  My first thought was 'Oh, shit!  I fucked my knee up.  I bet I need surgery,' followed immediately by 'Oh, shit!  I have to finish this dance!'  Fueled by adrenaline, and a hugely overactive personal sense of "the show must go on," I did finish the dance.  All of it.  To my absolute amazement, no one on stage with me or in the audience had any clue that I hurt myself until I hobbled off the stage just after the bows.  Fortunately, that part was not in the video.  I was going to post that below, but have not gotten permission yet, so maybe at a later date.  I have seen it though, and when I watch it, my heart starts beating like a jackhammer and I get almost sick at recalling the sensation of a torn meniscus.  But no, even looking for it, I can't really tell.  Damn.

Members of The Sovereign Collective just after the show.  Top row, L to R: Megan Morrow, Donna Mejia, Cyndal Ellis.
Bottom row, L to R: Christa Whitney, Amy Cullen, Kira Disén, Annie Parker, Laura Markis.

   Directly after the performance, The Sovereign Collective retreated backstage & were congratulating one another, when they noticed that I had limped to the nearest seat and was shakily attempting to examine my at this point immobile leg.  They asked what was wrong and when I told them, there were offers of a hospital trip, which I refused.  They secured ice and ibuprofen for me while I called my husband.  I sat alone backstage sobbing as I told him what happened.  He had been through a severe knee injury and surgery himself, so I knew he could relate.  I told him that more than anything I was devastated at the implications - no dancing in my near future.  (We both knew enough not to pretend that it was a minor injury.)  Then he told me the only thing that could have possibly made me feel any better: he said "Hey, at least you hurt yourself doing what you love.  You literally put it all on the stage.  What's more, you finished the piece.  I'm so proud of you."  **Insert "AWWWWWW" here.**

   By the time my friends returned with a medic and bags of ice, I had collected myself somewhat.  A couple of them supported me & led me into the audience so I could see the rest of the show, which was actually a very nice distraction from thinking about what had just happened.  After the show was over, they got me food from the buffet, made sure I was settled, and again offered to bring me to the ER.  I told them that from what I could tell, it would do no good.  I knew it was not fractured - I had broken enough bones to determine that right away; and based on other information, I felt strongly that it was probably a medial meniscus tear, which I could do nothing about immediately anyway.  I had worked in an Orthopedic clinic for a year as a receptionist, and seen my husband go through his injury and surgery for his "Unhappy Triad" (tear of the anterior cruciate ligament, medial collateral ligament, and meniscus), so I knew the drill.  It goes like this:

1. You hurt yourself.
2. You have to wait a few days for a reduction of swelling & to see if your symptoms improve.
3. You see your PCP or an ER doc, who just in turn refers you to an Orthopedist.
4. You see the Orthopedist, who fiddles with your knee (it hurts like a motherfucker) & determines that it's probably a tear.  They order an MRI to confirm.
5. You go back to the hospital for your MRI (usually a week or so later depending on scheduling).
6. You go back to your Orthopedist, who then schedules you for surgery.  Ortho docs are busy.  This can easily take over a month to get the surgery, from the time of your last visit, which may well be a month since the injury.

   

Making bubble wrap tops for the party.

    So you see why I wasn't keen to go to the hospital.  I knew the damage had been done and it would not do me any good.  So what did I do?  I sent one of my new friends on a liquor store run to get me a bottle of ouzo for the evening, I gimped my way back up to my hotel room with a little help from my friends, and I got dolled up for the after-party!  Cyndal & Kira had the genius idea to put me in the desk chair that was in our room so I could be wheeled around, rather than leaning on everyone's shoulders.  They wheeled me right into the elevator and down to the party, ouzo and ice bag and all.  Now, I'm usually pretty good at making lemonade from lemons and all that, but no lie - I had a fucking blast!  

   I was comfortably seated with ice and ouzo in hand, and the people at the party kept coming up to check on me and dance with me.  I got to meet and talk to a lot of dancers who I'd only seen on YouTube prior to that night.

Me, Jenny C. Cohen, Jaia McClure, an ice bag & bubble wrap.

    I just sat in my chair and danced from the shoulders up.  I did not come all the way to Atlanta to TribalCon to sit in my hotel room, watch HBO & feel sorry for myself!  As the crowd thinned, I once again stayed up until nearly dawn with the die-hards: the musicians, the newbies like myself, and those folks who are dear friends that only see each other once a year at TribalCon.  I have some of those friends now too, and I wish I had been there this year to see them again.  The Sovereign Collective has a different festival to attend this year, so I will have to find my own way back when I can.

Me, Kira, & Denys Proteau

"I have ouzo; I'll be fine!"

Al Cofrin

Teejei Brigham

Sparrow

August Hoerr

Christy Smith & Natalie Brown

Kira in our hotel room, post-party.

It's 5am & I just hurt my knee...
but I still have a smile on my face!
Thanks, TribalCon!

   So after all the madness, I slept in.  I still cannot believe how much fun I had despite my injury - a testament to the cool people that show up at these shindigs.  

   The next day, the organizer of TribalCon, the indefatigable Ziah, had her husband run out to CVS to try finding me some crutches and ice packs.  He found a pair of crutches at a thrift store a few blocks away for $2.00!  I still have them.  I crutched my way around to do some shopping, and sat in on Donna's Sunday workshop, which was the last of the festival.  After that, I still had a few hours to kill - our flight home was not until Monday morning.  I said goodbye to Donna, Annie, Christa, Amy & Megan, who were all leaving that night.

Mavi & Olivia Kissel in Donna's workshop.

Kira, Denys & I.  Note my cool T-Shirt.

   Kira, Cyndal & I had all traveled together, and were all graciously invited, along with some other revelers,  to the home of Doug & Christy Smith, who did not live far from the hotel.  We got a ride & made our way.  Doug, a professional chef, cooked us an amazing meal and poured tasty local beer, while Christy & my Sovereign peeps made sure I was comfortably reclined on the chaise.  Despite not being able to go in the hot tub, I had such a nice time just hanging out with new friends.

Christy Smith & Kate Sisson
at the Smith house.

   That evening, I went to my hotel room to chill and lick my wounds (metaphorically, of course).  I called my mom, a nurse, and told her what happened.  She agreed that it sounded like a medial meniscal tear, based on the fact that it hadn't improved at all.  I couldn't bend or straighten it, or put even an ounce of weight on it.  If anything it felt worse now that I was out of adrenaline and ouzo.

   When we woke up Monday, I was already on the phone with the Orthopedic clinic that I used to work at.  I knew how this was going to go, and it's really good to know people.  I told them I wanted to be seen tomorrow (which was basically when I was back in-state anyway).  They obliged.  I also got an MRI appointment for just a couple of days after that and a follow-up the very next day.  Yup, tear of the medial meniscus.  Extra bonus: it was rolled up on top of itself inside my knee like a little meniscal burrito!  Which explains a lot, actually.  I got to pick the surgeon that I wanted, and even had him fit me in his surgical calendar on the exact date that I wanted: Friday, March 18th.

Me in my standard issue airport wheelchair, with Kira & Cyndal
at the ATL Airport.  My gimpy ass got us an earlier flight,
no lines at security, and rows to ourselves on the way home!

Pre-Op

Post-Op

   In the past year, a lot has happened.  Three days after I returned to work following my surgery, I got fired. 

During Recovery

 I was going to Physical Therapy three times a week for months, and couldn't walk for quite a while.  I remember the first time that I tried running after I got the go-ahead from my doctor.  After maybe a quarter mile I had to stop because of my knee.  I started crying, not because it was too painful, but because of all that I had lost.  I had to turn down an opportunity to be an extra in a film; I couldn't attend an audition that I was scheduled for at a theatre touring company; and I missed the last leg of the Sovereign Collective tour - on a big stage in NYC.  I didn't even get to go and see them perform.  

   But now, I do not take my physical health for granted as much.  As soon as I could dance again, I made a vow to myself that I would dance every single day.  I now know how important it is to me.  I remember the day that I ran three miles without stopping, without having to worry about my knee at all.  I cried then too, because I was so thankful to have my strength back.  God willing, my knee will get even better in the coming months.  They say that after a full year from surgery (March 18th), it's like it never happened.  The only limitation I still have is that I cannot squat all the way down onto my heels.  Big deal!  At the beginning of this month, I performed with Sovereign again, at the MFA Dance Concert at Smith College.  And I fucking rocked it!

Sovereign Backstage at Smith.  Top Row, L to R: Cyndal Ellis, Kira Disén, Laura Markis, Aiden Bartelt,
Christa Whitney, Annie Parker.  Bottom Row, L to R: Megan Morrow, Tamsin Maxwell, Donna Mejia.

   I just want to thank all my Sovereign & TribalCon peeps for getting me through the trauma in good spirits!

   Stay tuned: I am going to Seattle in April to get in trouble with visit my best friend Seth, and God willing, I will be at the Elevations Belly Dance Extravaganza in May!  For more info on some of the things I mentioned in this post, please see below:

TribalCon - http://www.tribalcon.com/

Donna Mejia - http://www.donnabodyvision.com/

Rakkasah - http://www.rakkasah.com/

Alternacirque - http://alternacirque.com/

Tribe Zanzibar - http://www.zanzibarstudio.com/

The Sovereign Collective - http://www.donnabodyvision.com/the-sovereign-project/index.asp?id=12

   LOVE, LOVE, LOVE,

         -Laura

Dreaming of a White Thanksgiving - Anchorage Adventure 2011

Seward's Folly

Alaska Grown hoodie + AK Native (not me).
{This is synonomous with Stoner, FYI world.}

As I was sitting on the plane from Chicago to Seattle - the 2nd of 3 flights that would bring me home to Anchorage - a young girl sitting across the aisle from me smiled at me.  When I smiled back, she said "You're from Alaska aren't you?"  I stared at her for a second, wondering if she were some sort of gypsy fortune teller.  I was not wearing my ubiquitous Alaska Grown hoodie, or any other identifiers.  In fact, the only thing I was wearing that said anything was a Brooklyn Brewery hat.  I didn't have smoked salmon snacks with me or anything like that.  Shocked, I said "Yeah.  How can you tell?"  She told me that she could just tell because she was an Alaska girl too (and apparently a psychic one).  This nice young lady named Sarah was from North Pole - yes, where Santa lives - and had been away at college.  I told her it was good to know that after living on the East Coast for over 8 years, I still looked Alaskan.  Thanks!

When I got to the airport in Anchorage I immediately began putting layers on.  Six degrees and six feet of snow.  Just the way I remembered it.  The first thing my dad said to me was "Welcome to Seward's Folly!"  True enough, but the stunning beauty of the mountains makes it all worthwhile.

View of Anchorage at Sunset with "Sleeping Lady" - Mt. Susitna, the one with the tits - on the right.
Photo by my Dad.

So here's where I should add my disclaimer before you get all misty about Alaska: do not go there in the winter.  Okay sure, if you have to for work, or if you loooooove snowboarding, great, but otherwise I would not recommend it.  Especially if you suffer from Seasonal Effective Disorder (SAD) or have even slight "winter blues" or mood swings.  Those hormonal changes that occur from not enough vitamin D can make you sad in a normal state.  In Alaska they can make you go absolutely fucking crazy.  Just visit in the summer when you can enjoy hikes and bears, and may even get to wear shorts.  Hell, if you go to Fairbanks you might even get a tan!  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Climate_of_Alaska

You might be wondering what to do in Alaska in the winter then.  I have some advice:
1.) Go outside & do something while it is still light out.
     Granted, this may mean before 2pm, but it's do-able depending on how much you follow number 2...
2.) Drink when it gets dark.
     This helps, really.  Or it does me anyway.  I think.  Aw, Hell it's hard not too when it's so damn dark!
3.) Stay warm & be with people at night.
     Bumping & grinding optional, but preferable if you have the choice.  ;-)
4.) Smoke pot if you are so inclined.
     It's a reeeeallly common pastime in AK - they'll think you're a local!
5.)* For the love of God, get a hobby.
    * This one is applicable to those that are there for more than 2 weeks of winter as I was.

By the time I got back to Anchorage it had been 2 years since I was home, and a full 5 since I had been home in the winter.  It was nice that although much had changed... nothing had really changed.  I definitely partook in all of the above directives, and got to spend some amazing quality time with my family.  Unfortunately, since I had a knee surgery less than a year ago (I DO NOT recommend tearing your meniscus), I wasn't able to go skiing, but I did go snowshoeing a few times.  Or "Snow-ma-shoeing," as I like to call it.

Snow-Ma-Shoeing!

My parents & I on Thanksgiving Day, making room for more food.

Me, My best friend Greer, and her supercute Akita, Kuma.

Kuma LOVES the snow!  And I love him!

Me & some trees.
Trying to look sexy despite the fact that I have approx. 40 layers on.

Thanksgiving & Stuff

 It was snowing on Thanksgiving Day, and my parents & I went out with my friend Greer & her dog that I was unable to find a way to kidnap & bring back with me to the Northeast.  Oh, well.  And then, after a hilarious marathon cooking session by my Mom & I, we ate, drank and made merry.  It was my first Thanksgiving with my family in about 10 years, so it was pretty fun.  That day also happened to be my Dad's birthday, so we stuck some candles in a pie for him.  :-)

Alaskan Wine Chiller

This is what a post-turkey food coma looks like.
My brother Ian & his girlfriend Beckie.

The Birthday Boy, a pumpkin pie & a DeWalt table saw.
...really hastily and shittily wrapped by yours truly.

Wildlife

Every time I have been back to Alaska for more than a week, I see some quality wildlife, and this trip was no exception.  I saw a mother moose & her calf grazing... but they were on the wrong side of Northern Lights Boulevard & I was driving, so I couldn't get a decent photo.  I also saw a bald eagle up on hillside as I was taking in the view from a friend's house... but it flew away before I could take a picture.  Bald Bastard.  So, here is the wildlife that I was able to capture:

Mr. Friskers.  He lives in my Uncle's shed.  :-)
He will take peanuts from your hand.  Or mouth, but that's a little weird.

Two fantastic salmon filets.  One of my favorite things about coming home!
The top one has a spicy jerk rub, and the bottom is lemon garlic butter.  YUM!
Caught in the summer & enjoyed year-round.  Price per pound - free.  Suck it, Lower 48!

Should I Stay Or Should I Go Now?

I was keen to go to my family's cabin in Hope, a 2 hour drive from Anchorage.  In the summer there are good spots to fish, and the wood stove will keep you nice and warm.  In the winter, you have several grueling hours of snowblowing and shoveling to content with, just to get in the door, let alone make the place habitable.  Since we had enough to do in the city, and a "severe blizzard" was in the forecast for all of Southeast Alaska, we decided to stay put.

Our cabin & sauna in winter.  Photo by my Dad earlier in the season.

Instead, on one of they days we would have been gone, my Mom & I took a trip up to the hillside, a posh part of Anchorage with stunning views, to call on our friend Joe Connolly.  Joe took wedding photos for my husband & I during our Alaskan nuptials 3 years ago, then for my older brother & his bride 2 years ago (the last time I was in AK), and he is just as amazing photographer.  You can check out his work here: http://chugachpeaks.com/  Joe has now firmly established himself as the literal King of the Mountain.  We drove up some super-precarious slopes to get to his place, and it was worth it!  The first thing he asked when giving us directions was "Do you have studs on your tires, or chains?  Four-wheel drive?"

Not a bad view on the drive up.

This street name is the understatement of the century.

I juuuuust missed the bald eagle.  Motherfucker.  Can I interest anyone in a raven?  No?
 ...They roost up here.  Still not interested?  Okay.  You had to be there.

Joe justifies living this far up by the fact that he is still only 15 minutes away from Fred Meyer.  Win!
Wish I could say the same, Joe.

Despite the fact that it's 237 miles away, on a clear day you can see Denali (Mt. McKinley).  Yeah, it's big.

See that teeny, tiny city way down there?  That's Anchorage!  (Actual size.)

Beautiful Wild Roses of Alaska

Another highlight of my trip was getting to meet my best friend's baby for the first time.  Sarah Rose & I (Laura Rose) have been friends since the moment we met, and the same was true for me & her baby, Emily Rose.  Em was a premie & super, super small, but very spunky & insanely adorable.  Sarah named me her Godmother, and I could not be more honored.  I even changed a diaper.  You're welcome, baby!  Now get a job.  I kid, I kid.

All bundled up to brace the cold.

Mom & baby & beer.  Love it!

Only she could make deer-in-the-headlights this adorable!

Adventures in Drinking!

Okay, Snow-ma-shoeing, babies, Thanksgiving, etc... now for the fun part!  Adventures in drinking!  Now I'm not one to punish my liver on an extreme, AND daily basis... unless I am on vacation.  In Alaska.  In Winter.  My thoughts, such as they were, went along the lines of 'Hmm, it's 2pm and it's dark out.  I have nowhere to be.  I need a drink.'  And so it goes.  The best/worst nights of my life in Alaska have all started at The Whaler.  This seedy, horrible dive bar is home to "Pull Tabs," (Alaska's answer to lottery tickets), HARDCORE alcoholics, degenerates, sketchy military guys (Anchorage has 2 military bases right near here), the single worst "DJ" on earth, and the most amazing alcoholic beverage known to man.  It is called "The Clam."  You need at least 4 people to order it because there are 6 or more people's worth of booze in there.  They drop in some of everything: rum, gin, vodka, whiskey, triple sec, and God knows what else; add a splash of juice and some fruit and you're good to go.  Oh yeah, and they have floating sugar cubes soaked in 151 that they set ablaze before they serve it to you!  Enjoy!

THIS is how you start a night out, my friends!

When you are the Lush that I am and actually enjoy drinking your weight in sugary booze, you love The Whaler, and you especially love The Clam.  I have now made it a verb & will actually tell my friends, God bless them, "Let's go get clammed!"  They do not argue because they normally only see my ass once every few years.  On this particular evening, after we had slammed a clam (I was already drunk, having pre-gamed at my parents' house a bit too), we were ready to roll on to the next, more savory spot.  But no!  The "DJ," DJ Pineapple (no, I'm not kidding, that's really the name that he gave himself), came over to introduce himself, ask if we had any requests, and cajole us over to the dance floor to join the two drunk, half-naked native chicks.  Then, seeing we had finished our Clam, asked us "Are you guys gonna get another one?"  To which I of course replied "You buying?"  He said "Yeah sure, I'll buy your next Clam!  Where else but at The Whaler?  Who else but DJ Pineapple would buy you all a drink?"  Picture all this with a cheesy Vegas showman accent, by the way.  I was trying so hard not to laugh because I didn't want to ruin our accidental free drink!  Our waitress came back with the free Clam, which we also downed (there were 5 of us)... and I remember less and less from that point on.

I do however remember waking up the next day with a hangover so wretched that I actually ate McDonald's for the first time in years.  Fucking McDonald's!  Oh, and I got in trouble with the husband for not calling to check in while super-inebriated the night before because my cell phone was dead.  Beware The Clam!!!  Consider yourself warned.

On occasion, Alaska will surprise you.  Not with the stunning views, which are eternally magnificent, but with something more cosmopolitan.  Like seeing The Crystal Method at Chilkoot Charlie's.  Yes, at Koot's, a place only better than The Whaler because it is much, much, much bigger.  I went, I danced, I conquered!
Crystal Method was one of the first groups to introduce me to electronic music, "back in the day."  I have been a huge fan of the genre ever since, and though I would not consider them my favorite DJ group, they are fucking legends that I have been wanting to see for years.  And they killed it. -- As did Ross Young, a resident DJ in Anchorage who originally hails from the UK.  So good to dance & let some stress out!

The Crystal Method at Koot's, with a great set.

Other Random Adventures

Believe it or not though, I was not drunk or hungover the whole time I was in Alaska.  I got in another good Snow-ma-shoe with my parents, went out to eat a time or two, did some Christmas shopping & just hung out like wet clothes.

Me & Greer out for drinks downtown my 1st night home.

Greer showing off her dog.  Or Kuma showing off his owner.
Not sure which, but they're both freaking cute!

My brother Ian's truck, with a little bit of snow on it.

A Sydney Laurence painting at the Anchorage Museum that my Mom & I were drooling over.
If anyone wants to steal me this next Christmas...

Halibut sandwich on sourdough with tasty Alaskan beer.
Salivating just thinking about it.

Lunch with my Favorite Uncle John at a new spot in Eagle River (just outside of Anchorage):
the Eagle River Ale House.  Worth checking out for the tap selection alone!

Breakfast with Greer at the Middle Way Cafe in Midtown Anchorage.
So yummy!  And good coffee too - check them out!

Our super cute dog Sadie, who had a stroke a few weeks before I came to town.
:-(  She's doing better, but she's old.  Good to spend some time with her.
By the way, her middle name is Rose.

Mom & I digging into tasty Alaska salmon!
Oh, and my Mom's middle name is Rose too!

Snow-Ma-Shoe Part Two

My gloves with the city in the background.  I don't know why, but I love this.

The Bartlett HS Hockey hat belongs to my brother Joel.  Thanks, dude!

My mom is the worst/most hilarious video camera operator ever.

This was like the 5th take.

If I sound exasperated, I am.

BEER!  (And Other Valid Hobbies)

I also got to meet & spend time with some of the new men in my friends' lives.  My friend Andrea just got engaged to her man Kiril - CONGRATS!  He is a total sweetheart & I am very happy for them.  And I met Matt, my friend Kat's boyfriend, for the first time.  They were both cool & I definitely approve, but my Dad - being the beer lover that he is - REALLY loved this guy:

Brewmaster Matt at home with his taps.

Labors of delicious love.

Look at all those hops!  It's like beer porn!

Yes, that does say Mint Chocolate Stout, and no, you can't have any.
Neither could I - it wasn't ready until after I left.  *Tears.

I just love dogs too much not to include this photo.
I don't even remember his name, but I love him.
Boy, that sounds strange.

One thing that was fun for me was going to craft night at my friend Erin's house.  Like I said, when you live in Alaska, hobbies are important!  I went twice while I was there & made some kick-ass items, which worked out nicely since I could not afford to buy my friends anything for Christmas.  Probably because I spent too much on drinking, but that's neither here nor there...

More Great Views of My Cold, Cold-Hearted State

My flight into town.

The Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport

This guy is on a bike, on ice.  Woah.

The Chugach Mountain Range that surrounds Anchorage

These views were not taken from the main airport...

...but from Lake Hood...

...which is the busiest Seaplane base in the world.

You're not a baller until you've been in a Seaplane.

I'll Be Back (Yes, That's a Threat)

Even though I felt entitled to bitch about suffering through a mere two weeks of winter there, the truth is, I miss Alaska.  A lot.  I really do.  Whining about the weather was a mere defense mechanism so that when I returned to my snowless, stupid state, I wouldn't be as bummed to be there as I was to have been in the land of miserable darkness.  Life's funny that way, huh?  But I can always take solace in the fact that my parents are there for the long-haul, and that it will always feel like home when I go back.  I just wish I could afford to do it more.  

For all the friends & family that I visited but did not post about, my bad.  You know who you are, and thanks for your time.  EVERYone back home: I seriously miss you.  To my best friend Seth in Seattle, who I swung by to see in a day on my way back East, you deserve your own post.  Because it's after 5 in the morning & no one is going to read this far into my ramblings anyway, except maybe my Mom.

And if there are any non-family members reading this, thanks.  Happy New Year!

GODZIRRA WISH YOU HAPPY HORIDAY!