May Overview

May was such an interesting month for me. On one hand I felt like I didn’t really have much going on and then the end of the month exploded in a whirlwind of activity.

The day before I left for Alaska for 6 days I accepted a new position working in a town about 45 minutes away from where I live now. The incentive? The pay, the career and the opportunity to really write things that mean a lot. I put a lot of faith in prayer and that God would help me take care of everything and then away I went to Alaska.

Alaska.

It’s a whole other world out there!

I loved everything about it! I loved the daylight that was almost never-ending. I loved that it made me feel productive and efficient; like I had more hours in the day. It gave me this sense of energy that I just can’t explain. On the flip side, I will be a realist and say that I don’t want to know what the never-ending winter darkness would do to me!

I am hoping that I can make my trip to Alaska a yearly thing and maybe next time I can hit up some fishing.

In the year after basketball, I was bored. I think that made the fact that I wasn’t playing basketball anymore such a horrible thing. I have learned this year that you can make yourself as busy as you want and that’s exactly what I want. No more sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I am going to always be on the go – except for when I take a nap and I love my naps!

While in Alaska I got accustomed to their culture and I think the strangest thing for me was the absolute independence of the people up there. It wasn’t just that the random person liked to do their own thing it’s that EVERYONE up there did their own thing and it was the “norm.” That surprised me! There is no daily place to hang out or anything like that, no chilling with your friends 24/7, it was all about working and being on your own. It’s more productive but it’s also very quiet, another thing that I realized while I was up there.

The quiet. It’s really nice. As a social media/communications person, it was strange for me to “hear” the silence. The silence on my cellular device as my battery couldn’t handle the long days of daylight like my body could. The people were fairly quiet, soft spoken, and kept conversations to themselves with no intentions of them being overheard. The one conversation I did overhear was at a restaurant that we went too late after the pageant and I could hear a rambunctious sporting conversation about … sled dogs.

Sports, well the lack of mainstream sports, is a reason why I couldn’t live in Alaska. To not be able to drive and go watch my Beaver women’s basketball team would be highly unacceptable. Not being able to drive to Portland or Seattle and catch a Blazer, Mariner or Seahawk game is also pretty depressing (okay maybe not Seahawk’s, I’ve never been to a game live, I just watch on TV). I love my sports!

I wish that Alaska wasn’t so far away but at least I can visit. I love the people, the camaraderie, the community, the scenery and the history that goes with the United State’s most northern state!

As soon as I arrived home it was straight too my first weekend at my new job, running their midyear convention. Not going to lie that was a little intimidating but I was sure that my training and my ability to think on my feet were going to protect me, which they did! The event was a success and I enjoyed meeting some of the biggest names in Oregon’s cattle ranching scene. I have so much I can learn from these individuals. Not just that but there is so much that I hope to do for them, it truly means a lot to me to be able to work in a position that will represent something so close to my heart.

Then it was my last day at Wilco, some frantic days cleaning and sewing in preparation for rodeo season and WHAM there we are: the end of May!

Here is to a crazy June of rodeos, parades, work, and more!