Friday, February 28, 2014
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
The Time I Escaped Death
STORY TIME!!!!
So Becky (my coworker and friend) and I decide to go to Anchorage on Saturday. We gassed up my jeep, got coffee and we were off! Jammin' out to Boyce Avenue and anyone else we demanded to rock our ear drums along the way. Being me, and having the parents I do - I of course do a road conditions check and it looked good, with the chance of running into some snowy roads along the way. Well, there was no heads up of the snowplows on the road kicking up thick clouds that seemed impassable, I questioned if it was safe and worth the slower speeds to continue on - but thank goodness after a ways of torturous slow speeds, the plows pulled off and we were back on track. Speaking of tracks - Becky had this FANTASTIC idea (hint the sarcasm - and foreshadowing)to climb rocks on the ocean side of the highway. I pulled over when advised and we hopped out of the car, waiting patiently to cross the highway over the guardrail (I stopped here - following my gut feeling that it wasn't a great idea) down the snow covered rock trench over the railroad and ascending a icy rock formation. I took pictures from my safe distance. Anyways, 10 seconds after Becky had crossed back over the tracks this train came whizzing by! all the while I'm shouting for Becky to pick up the pace, she's laughing and fixing her hair - but then she looks up and realizes her near death encounter and gasps! My response, "YOU ALMOST GOT CREAMED BY A TRAIN AND I, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE POOPED THEN PUKED."
So we cross back over the highway and I smiled to myself praising me for listening to my own intuition and my Jiminy Cricket. We made it to Anchorage and it seemed as though every intersection was a near collision - I HATE the city and traffic and driving. And why are streets 5 lane 1 way. Traffic flows just as well going both directions in single or double lanes people!! We hit up each and every stop we wanted to and then it was time to go home. BUT oh snap! it's snowing, kinda hard. LAME. Good thing it was ingrained in my brain to drive as the conditioned allowed for and for what I felt safe. Thanks Dad! For those of you who have never driven from Anchorage to Soldotna, there is only 1 turn. That's it. Other than that it's a straight shot (obviously this includes the natural curves in the roadway) BUT ONE TURN - the intersection is lit with supposedly 3 BIG GREEN SIGNS....that I missed. ALL OF THEM. (They didn't exist that night...I'm convinced.)
So we are driving along and I casually say, "Hmmmm, I didn't see a speed limit but there are a lot of houses, I feel like I should slow down a bit"
Becky, who was texting looks up and starts FREAKING OUT! "why is there a bus stop sign? there is no bus stops on the way to Soldotna"
"But Becky," I say reassuringly, "it's Alaska, there are trees and homes on the road normally anyways, of course there are school bus stops"
"NOT LIKE THIS!!! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!! WE ARE LOST OMG WE ARE LOST WE ARE IN SEWARD." and she keeps going on and on and at first I thought she was playing to my absolute fear of the dark and being lost in the wilderness and the gremlins - I started panicking too both of us just yelling and screaming and then Becky thinks of the genius idea to pull over and flag down the coming car.
I looked at her and said "DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!?!"
She looked back "No, I just want to go home"
I called James, he laughed and got us squared away. despite our detour, we didn't lose much time. :)
the end!
Much Love,
Rach
So Becky (my coworker and friend) and I decide to go to Anchorage on Saturday. We gassed up my jeep, got coffee and we were off! Jammin' out to Boyce Avenue and anyone else we demanded to rock our ear drums along the way. Being me, and having the parents I do - I of course do a road conditions check and it looked good, with the chance of running into some snowy roads along the way. Well, there was no heads up of the snowplows on the road kicking up thick clouds that seemed impassable, I questioned if it was safe and worth the slower speeds to continue on - but thank goodness after a ways of torturous slow speeds, the plows pulled off and we were back on track. Speaking of tracks - Becky had this FANTASTIC idea (hint the sarcasm - and foreshadowing)to climb rocks on the ocean side of the highway. I pulled over when advised and we hopped out of the car, waiting patiently to cross the highway over the guardrail (I stopped here - following my gut feeling that it wasn't a great idea) down the snow covered rock trench over the railroad and ascending a icy rock formation. I took pictures from my safe distance. Anyways, 10 seconds after Becky had crossed back over the tracks this train came whizzing by! all the while I'm shouting for Becky to pick up the pace, she's laughing and fixing her hair - but then she looks up and realizes her near death encounter and gasps! My response, "YOU ALMOST GOT CREAMED BY A TRAIN AND I, I PROBABLY WOULD HAVE POOPED THEN PUKED."
So we cross back over the highway and I smiled to myself praising me for listening to my own intuition and my Jiminy Cricket. We made it to Anchorage and it seemed as though every intersection was a near collision - I HATE the city and traffic and driving. And why are streets 5 lane 1 way. Traffic flows just as well going both directions in single or double lanes people!! We hit up each and every stop we wanted to and then it was time to go home. BUT oh snap! it's snowing, kinda hard. LAME. Good thing it was ingrained in my brain to drive as the conditioned allowed for and for what I felt safe. Thanks Dad! For those of you who have never driven from Anchorage to Soldotna, there is only 1 turn. That's it. Other than that it's a straight shot (obviously this includes the natural curves in the roadway) BUT ONE TURN - the intersection is lit with supposedly 3 BIG GREEN SIGNS....that I missed. ALL OF THEM. (They didn't exist that night...I'm convinced.)
So we are driving along and I casually say, "Hmmmm, I didn't see a speed limit but there are a lot of houses, I feel like I should slow down a bit"
Becky, who was texting looks up and starts FREAKING OUT! "why is there a bus stop sign? there is no bus stops on the way to Soldotna"
"But Becky," I say reassuringly, "it's Alaska, there are trees and homes on the road normally anyways, of course there are school bus stops"
"NOT LIKE THIS!!! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!! WE ARE LOST OMG WE ARE LOST WE ARE IN SEWARD." and she keeps going on and on and at first I thought she was playing to my absolute fear of the dark and being lost in the wilderness and the gremlins - I started panicking too both of us just yelling and screaming and then Becky thinks of the genius idea to pull over and flag down the coming car.
I looked at her and said "DO YOU WANT TO DIE?!?!"
She looked back "No, I just want to go home"
I called James, he laughed and got us squared away. despite our detour, we didn't lose much time. :)
the end!
Much Love,
Rach
Deaf Ears?
Has my blog landed upon deaf ears or blinded eyes? Either way - I will write on!
Well January came and went rather quickly, and February seems to be going faster yet!! The snow is mostly ice now as weeks of temperatures in the 40s eclipsed most of these months, however, Jack Frost seems to be putting up a fight as temps have dropped into the negatives this week. This just in, I could totally be a weather/news anchor (If you missed why, please revert back to the beginning of this post) ;P
For those who don't yet know or for those who need the reminder, I will be embarking on a trip to the homelands, to my roots, to my 406!! yes, folks! In 11 sweet sweet days from now I will be on Montana soil. I hope to find time to visit with you all, but more than likely, with spring break in the mix - that just isn't going to happen and for that, there is Alaska Airlines!! (hint hint, wink wink)
I'm learning my limits at work - actually, it's more like I am learning my frustration tolerance, and for some things, it's really quite short. I was reminded that I can't reason with a 5 year old and that how I talk to them and treat them largely helps them form their view of the world. Do you highlight the things the kids in your life are doing by lifting them up in praise and encouragement or are you spending the majority of the time focused on correcting the wrong and negative things (don't get me wrong here, I do believe in there being a place and time for disciple and consequences.) There is a model schools are taking on here called PBIS which stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for the foundation of disciplinary action. It focuses on specific expectations and what we want youth to do and rewarding them for the desired behavior, through verbal affirmation, a fuzzy little pom pom, a high five, etc. It's rather cool, as it crosses all environments in detail broken into 3 simple key words: Safe, Responsible and Respectful. Each student knows how to behave accordingly in the classroom, the hallway, the lunch room, the bus, the lobby to meet the domains of being safe, being responsible and being respectful.
I encourage you all to look at your relationships, with friends, family, coworkers - are you praising them, stirring each other up to keep on keepin' on? It's easy to point out the errors, the hardships, the complaints, the negatives, but that's where we get stuck, isn't it? digging deeper into bitterness, complacency and disgust with ourselves and each other, our jobs, the weather, traffic, gov't, healthcare, rights. Step out. Lift your head to see the beauty around us, the little things like a child's laugh, the beauty of grey hair (I'm serious - this world says that aging is a horrible thing - but I find beauty in it.) Go on a search for the gold at the end of the rainbow, dance in the rain, stand in the silence of a snow shower. Walk down town watching the fast pace life in the traffic and the slow meanderings of those on a stroll. Curl up on the couch with your soul mate and work on a crossword problem or sudoku and learn to tap into the life skill of teamwork that seems to be evading all of us.
Much Love,
Rachel
Well January came and went rather quickly, and February seems to be going faster yet!! The snow is mostly ice now as weeks of temperatures in the 40s eclipsed most of these months, however, Jack Frost seems to be putting up a fight as temps have dropped into the negatives this week. This just in, I could totally be a weather/news anchor (If you missed why, please revert back to the beginning of this post) ;P
For those who don't yet know or for those who need the reminder, I will be embarking on a trip to the homelands, to my roots, to my 406!! yes, folks! In 11 sweet sweet days from now I will be on Montana soil. I hope to find time to visit with you all, but more than likely, with spring break in the mix - that just isn't going to happen and for that, there is Alaska Airlines!! (hint hint, wink wink)
I'm learning my limits at work - actually, it's more like I am learning my frustration tolerance, and for some things, it's really quite short. I was reminded that I can't reason with a 5 year old and that how I talk to them and treat them largely helps them form their view of the world. Do you highlight the things the kids in your life are doing by lifting them up in praise and encouragement or are you spending the majority of the time focused on correcting the wrong and negative things (don't get me wrong here, I do believe in there being a place and time for disciple and consequences.) There is a model schools are taking on here called PBIS which stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports for the foundation of disciplinary action. It focuses on specific expectations and what we want youth to do and rewarding them for the desired behavior, through verbal affirmation, a fuzzy little pom pom, a high five, etc. It's rather cool, as it crosses all environments in detail broken into 3 simple key words: Safe, Responsible and Respectful. Each student knows how to behave accordingly in the classroom, the hallway, the lunch room, the bus, the lobby to meet the domains of being safe, being responsible and being respectful.
I encourage you all to look at your relationships, with friends, family, coworkers - are you praising them, stirring each other up to keep on keepin' on? It's easy to point out the errors, the hardships, the complaints, the negatives, but that's where we get stuck, isn't it? digging deeper into bitterness, complacency and disgust with ourselves and each other, our jobs, the weather, traffic, gov't, healthcare, rights. Step out. Lift your head to see the beauty around us, the little things like a child's laugh, the beauty of grey hair (I'm serious - this world says that aging is a horrible thing - but I find beauty in it.) Go on a search for the gold at the end of the rainbow, dance in the rain, stand in the silence of a snow shower. Walk down town watching the fast pace life in the traffic and the slow meanderings of those on a stroll. Curl up on the couch with your soul mate and work on a crossword problem or sudoku and learn to tap into the life skill of teamwork that seems to be evading all of us.
Much Love,
Rachel
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