Well, it's just beginning to be april...

i can't believe it's been so long since i wrote here - but as it was a travelogue, i suppose stability made it kind of useless to write anything. only one semester left and then i am free to be going where i like - and i definitely think dawson is somewhere to go back to. at any rate, i have to get to class, so i'll write more later...

~susan

Well, it's been awhile.

after much putting off, and delay, jamie and i have returned to victoria. we drove 19 hours the first day, 17 the next, and took a day off in salmon arm before heading off to victoria. i've been here a few days and it feels like culture shock. that, plus i'm having a ridiculously hard time finding a place to live - there's a crazy housing shortage here. but, victoria is still the same ol same ol.  although this time on the ferry, we saw killer whales. 7 years on the island and i've still never seen that. so, it's off to school on tuesday - wierd! a big shout out to tegan and oliver for letting me crash at their place till i find something! i'll put some photos up as soon as i get the new ones on cd!

ttyl,

susan

When did that happen?

Why is it that time already? Jamie and I are leaving in 9 days. 9. 9. that's not so many. what's been going on you ask? well, we went on a pretty fun canoe trip (jamie went last tuesday as well, but i didn't), so now we can say we've been canoeing down the klondike river. it was pretty fun - and a good experience. i'd never been canoeing down a river before. discovery days just ended - and it was pretty much one big party with a parade, a farmers market and lots of live music. i stayed away for the most part, mainly for the same reasons as avoiding music fest - plus i was working which wasn't the most condusive to going to all the activities. haven't been doing much else - i know i still have to do some final photo takes of stuff around here before we go. going. crazy. we had a huge talk the other night about staying. we've both totally fallen in love with it here and could see ourselves spending the next year here -but that's the trap as they say up here. it sucks you in and doesn't let you go. but, we've decided next wednesday is the day. we're stopping in Beaver Lodge, Edmonton, Calgary, Salmon Arm, and Vancouver to visit people which should be fun - and then it's back to the Island to come back to... reality..

but this could be reality if i really wanted couldn't it???? i know there are a lot of good things for me to go home to, but i also feel like i'd be missing out if i didn't stay.... what do you do if you know you're losing out whatever decision you make?? 

Anyway.. the past month has been really good living situation wise. it's nice to be out of the hostel and into a real house. i've been enjoying actually cooking my meals and doing some baking. and all the girls i live with are cool so it makes it easy.

but, i should be off. it's 12:30 (midnite) and i'm heading off to a party. it does get dark here now - and we're hoping to be able to see the northern lights before we leave.... keep your fingers crossed!

susan

Alrighty everyone.

It's time for some new photos. i've posted photos from Chicken, and random photos of dawson (so you can actually see what this town looks like) and photos from kate's last night. yes, that's right. the first of our group has left for wilderness school in squamish. we went out on the 27th and did it up right - saw every show at the casino and hit every bar. then, we all saw her off to the bus station the next afternoon amid teary goodbyes. it's crazy to think it's august and that things are coming to a close...

so you know, the pink hotel called the "westminster" is the Pit (the local watering hole that i talk so much about.  most of the other buildings are pretty self explanatory in terms of their titles - if you've been paying attention to my sagas. i took a couple of really cool movie shots but for some reason i can't upload them... hmm.. i guess they'll have to wait til we're in person! things have been good lately. the music fest ended without a bang, and life continued. now, in a few weeks we're awaiting "discovery days" - apparently the anniversary of the discovery of gold. sounds like one big party - as if dawson didn't have enough. should be interesting. there was also Hip Hop night at the Downtown last friday, good for a laugh and hanging out if nothing else!

I'm also thoroughly enjoying living in town now. it's just really nice to be in the center of everything instead of living way across the river. nice to also not be living in a tent, but a warm and dry place. it's started to get really dark at night here - not til 1 or 2 in the morning is it super dark but it's definitely getting dark. jamie and i are both hoping to be able to catch some of the northern lights before we go - it would be a shame to be all this way north and not see them at all. Other than that, it's about 3 weeks til we depart and leave the bubble known as Dawson City. i really wish my school program was only 8 months so that i could come back next summer - or maybe i just wish i'd discovered this place sooner. it feels strange to leave, and as much as i'm looking forward to coming back, i'm going to miss it here. the "Spell of the Yukon" is definitely not a myth and definitely grabs you... Consider moving here? maybe... maybe whitehorse... who knows!

My next mission is to get more photos of Dawson. i see myself trying to be highly motivated - i'm going to take my friend's bike and ride around Dawson and get all the photos i missed. A bunch of us are going on a canoe trip tomorrow as well, down the Klondike river and then feeding into the Yukon river. should be a good time - pray we don't capsize!

Anyway, enjoy the photos and more will be up soon! i still have to get one of me and jamie - our old time photos scanned and posted. perhaps tomorrow?

Til then,

Susan

So i was thinking music fest would be awesome.

and maybe my attitude is reflective of the fact that i have to work during it-  or maybe it's just because i have no tolerance for copious amounts of drunk stupid people - the majority being teenagers. maybe that's it? nah, couldn't be. needless to say, the cops are out in full force. had to deal with a fight at work last night - not the best way i could imagine a shift to go - and by the time i got out, jamie and i were supposed to hit up music fest and that was about the last place i wanted to be. the whole thing is sold out, but if you go in the beer garden you can hear it - and the beer "tent" (an entire baseball diamond (that's so ghetto)) so we went, to wish our friend kristen a happy birthday. but it was full of crazy drunk people and the last thing i wanted to do was hang around. thankfully jamie was of the same mind, so we headed back into town and went to the downtown for an after work beer - i swear, that place has turned into "Cheers" for me.. to the point where when i walk in, i can hear the theme song playing in my head.. in about a half an hour i'm going to head to the casino before work where there's a jazz band playing - i haven't heard some good jazz in awhile.  i've heard that there've been a lot of good bands playing, but i'm just not motivated to make it through the throngs of people - especially since most of the good bands are playing while i'm at work. at any rate, a lot of people are having a lot of fun. personally, i'll celebrate once i've checked out the last music fest guest from the hotel on monday morning!

and tomorrow, i'm officially moving into town. kate is leaving for wilderness school in squamish on the 28th so i'm going to move into town for the last few weeks we're here. the rent will only be a little more then i'm paying now, and it'll just be really convenient to be in town for the last month. i found the hammock i love so much at the Trading Post for 11.50 so i'm going to invest in one in the next few weeks or so. other than that, tis the same old same old. have a good day, and stay in touch!

susan

Well music fest has arrived. it starts today and runs til sunday night. on the downside, i work every night and can't go - unless i go during the day or after midnight for a couple of hours. i was going to volunteer, but it would have pretty much been a waste of time-  5 hours of volunteering for a couple hours of music.. when i can sit outside the tent and listen, or hopefully know who's working the door so i can just get in! but, it's supposed to be a good time so we'll see. a big event in any case - every hotel in the city is booked.

other than that, just working. got paid on the 20th and was very happy to have been working canada day. pretty sweet cash. i took my resume to gerties and it seemed to go alright - we'll see how it goes. i'm still not really sure if i want to work 2 jobs!

anyway, i'll keep this short. photos should be up soon, and i'm gonna post  one of the old time photos that jamie and i had done!

keep on readin'

susan

So a bunch of us were talking the other day and we realized that a lot of our stories from Dawson could be completed with the phrase "That's So Ghetto.." i.e. beers at 2:30, panty cannons, living in tents, going to the Snake Pit (the bar that opens at 9:00... in reality, (outside the dawson bubble) these things would definitely be thought of as ghetto, but here... well, they're normal and totally accepted. But, the ghetto phrase has turned out to be a good laugh more than once..

Things here are going well. Making preparations to leave - i think August 22nd has been settled on, then to make our way thru edmonton and calgary and salmon arm and vancouver. it's going to be, as i've said before, hard to leave. i've decided to see about getting a second job for the last month. i have a lead on a job at the bank at the casino. that should be interesting. i'm taking in my resume at 10:30 tonight so we'll see how that goes. i hope i can work the hours around my other job. apparently the job will pay about 14.00/hr plus tips so it'll be good stuff.

jamie and i got our old time photos done yesterday - it was our day off and we had quite a time - i'm going to put one of the photos up as soon as i get around to it (hopefully within the next few days or so. after getting our photos done we went to the Trondek H'wechin center (sp??) (the native center) that is here - it's like a museum/cultural center - pretty nice displays and such. then we just did a bit of shopping and ended up getting some peach shnapps at the liquor store and making fuzzy navels and sat around playing IQ 2000 for a few hours - anyone remember that kids quiz game? jamie beat me but only because she kept rolling 6's and i kept rolling 1's... we finished the whole bottle and realized that when we get back home our tolerance levels are going to be way high! it was a successful afternoon, sunny, hot and lots of fun. photos should be up soon!

this afternoon i just hung out, made french toast and now am going to go to the gazebo by the river to read. i'm meeting up with my friend shannon at 9 and who knows what's going to happen. then, to the casino at 10:30 to do the resume thing.

hope you all are well and more to come soon!

susan

And thus begins a few hours of sitting online..

It's raining outside. granted, nothing as fancy as a monsoon that you would find, say, in Chiang Mai. but, it's raining. and it's super dark outside. it makes me realize just how long it's been since i've seen the dark - and how i feel like it being completely dark would freak me out. it's odd how it being light 24 hours a day didn't even phase me - and how the reappearance of the dark is something that is startling - and even unwelcome. i think it's mainly this dark because of the rainy cloud cover. tonight has been a low key evening and i'm presently waiting to meet up with the casino crew who get off at 2:30. (am). how i'm ever going to readjust to actual mornings and sleeping in the evening is beyond me. jamie and her roomies went to bed already so i'm up for the next hour and a half looking for stuff to do. after this i might just go chill at the pit and watch the band - even though i've seen them the last 2 nights, i know i'll miss Harmonica George and the crew once i don't have them anymore. jamie and i have set a tentative leaving dawson date for the 22nd of august. tentative i say because it could change. both of us are probably going to have a really hard time leaving - and it'll be really emotional. i just can't picture driving away from this - and possibly never coming back. especially when i've met so many great people who are trying to convince me to stay - but i've decided my bills outweigh the money i would make (which isn't much) so i need to go back.  plus, after being away from victoria for a year i do want to go back. i guess the most exciting thing i have to report is that i got the new harry potter book this morning, but am presently reading "Me talk pretty one day" by David Sedaris which is an absolutely hilarious book that i definitely recommend.  Oh yeah - and to all you people who actually read this - post a comment or something so i actually know you're out there! this is a two way street you know hehe

anyway i'll leave you all now with this final thought -

"if you tie your dog up on the grass, please clean up after it...'

have a good one.

susan

Hey everyone.

Well it's been awhile since i've written. not much going on around here except for the usual - drinking and working... and hanging out Chicken photos are still not up, but i hope to have them up within a week or so - i've been doing a lot of photo taking around dawson too so you can actually see what things look like here. Next weekend is the Dawson City Music Festival which is a pretty big deal.  3 days of musical festivities dcmf.com for those interested. though i am working during the evening for the entire thing, the hotel is close enough so that i will be able to hear the whole thing. and i can go before and after work too. i meant to volunteer for the fest so i could get in free but i just haven't gotten motivated. (surprise surprise).. also, tomorrow the new Harry Potter book comes out - i've reserved one of the 150 copies that the local "bookstore" is getting in - and they're opening up an hour earlier then usual - but reserving the copy makes sure that i don't have to be there that early  Other than that, the weather has been beautiful and the summer is moving by fairly fast! jamie and i have been contemplating when we're leaving. we've also contemplated not leaving. but, if i don't go back to school i can't really afford to stay here what with student loan payments and sketchy work up here. plus rent is a lot in the winter, plus heat. i just don't think it's financially feasible at this point. although i find it interesting that i've been told that with my education i could substitute teach at both the school and college here.  but i can't really survive off a few days of work a week... but we've thought about staying til the end of sept... most likely what will happen is that we'll stay til the end of august and then just come back the way we came. crazy to think that we've been here for half our summer already - where does the time go??? anyway  i should be off. i work in 45 and i wanna enjoy some of the sun

take care everyone and i swear i'll get the photos up!

susan 

Howdy, Y'all!

Greetings. It's been awhile. What's been goin on? Well, Canada day for one. it was pretty rockin here - a wicked band (the local pit band with a stand up bass player from the island) -  bought the cd which is pretty good. lots of drinking, lots of partying. i'm also learning to play poker - just done a lot of watching, but i'm catching on and almost ready to invest 5 or 10 dollars in a game. i guess that's what happens when you hang out with a bunch of dealers from the casino. had a good canada day -worked and made a lot of money (double time and a half, hello Yukon). Then, for the 4th of july, Jamie and all the girls she lives with (kate, anne, sarah, and kristen) and I went to Chicken, Alaska to party. photos will be up soon. can you imagine that there is a place called chicken? it's strange - there's a bar, a cafe, and a souvenier shop - all together - and that's the "downtown" core. there's nothing else - and going for any other reason then a party would be pretty boring. so, we got lots of "where y'all from" and "what can i get  y'all"  with some kinds of southern drawl. only 3 hours away and it's a different world. also got a really cool caribou stamp in my passport from the border. there was a live band that was really good, and some crazy colorful people. i don't think one of us girls paid for more than one drink - and i don't think that the same guy paid for any of them either. it was a night of revelry. they also have an underwear cannon that they utilize on occasions like the 4th of july (or whenever someone offers their underwear.) we came prepared - bought matching underwear and wrote all of our names on them - with "chicken 2005" on the front. they cut them off you, put them in the cannon and shoot them off - then you take the remnants, and hang them on the wall of the bar (looks very much like big bad johns) and you get a free shot. needless to say it was a lot of fun - photos will be up shortly   

i also tried this beer called Arrogant Bastard Ale (arrogantbastard.com) which was pretty interesting - a very dark, bitter beer - but i enjoyed it. the bottle looks pretty cool and i bought one to take home and drink at some later date...

Anyway, after crashing for the night, we drove back and proceeded to have a very lazy day. Since then, not much has been happening. Just working and hangin out. part of me still really wants to stay here for the winter, but i know that now is not the time...

anyway, i should be posting photos of Chicken soon, panty cannon and all

Susan