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Today marks 32 days of me being sick with a chest cold and cough that has occasionally brought up blood. I'll be hitching a ride to Healy for medical care on Friday. Will inquire about a TB test. I have woefully not started painting yet although I have gotten my canvases in the mail. It has been rainy, windy, or both since I got them and any time I've tried to go out has been ruined by either. Also, I've discovered I really don't like to paint where people can see me, which means I'll have to go out early in the morning or just deal with it. I don't mind when I have something good down, but it's the initial hour that the painting looks like crap that I really don't want people walking by and trying to start a conversation about it. Painting = relaxing time, don't bug me. I think that is mainly it more than anything else--people want to bug me during my meditation. I thought about going out to the bridge today, but the little mountains around here look bad in evening light.
The river is high; the Nenana is one of few north-bound rivers in the US. It's fed by glacial waters which means it is too dirty for the Salmon to breath in and thus they won't be travelling this far inland. Last week we had one day where the wind was just right to blow in smoke from 56 fires burning somewhere in the state. It blanketed everything like fog, only particulate fog which is like breathing in dirt and ash. Doesn't help much for bronchitis. I went down on Friday to Anchorage for Pridefest and the parade, as I unfortunately missed Denver's pride this year. All in all, a really good trip. I went with three gay boys-Jeremy, Paul and Chris, and a lesbian-Lindsey. The driver down was a real ass, and we ended up missing the parade completely, but everything else went well and we got good food and some shopping out of the way. We found a sweet little theater playing that movie with the meatball, soda, and french fries that talk? It's a retarded cartoon on the stoner's channel, but it was kind of funny to watch on a large screen, and the theater served alcohol which is a phenominal Idea. Anchorage is a cute little town (city?) but I don't think I would want to live there.
So far I've only been white-water rafting and taken a bus ride into the park. We saw animals from very far away; I've heard some tour groups, especially in the morning, have seen animals walking alongside the bus. The park does not allow any private vehicles on the roads, which is why the animals aren't wary of giant moving things on the roads--nobody is going to step out of their cars and do something stupid and get eaten that way, or feed the animals for a closer look like the retards we know them to be :-)
I really miss home! I have been up here for four weeks, and have seven more to go! I hate to count down the weeks before I can leave because then I'll miss out on doing cool stuff up here, but it's really hard not to when all I want to do is see my girlfriend and friends and want to be able to sit in the sun and get a stupid tan! I know I should be getting into Denali and hiking as much as I can, and definitely getting started on painting, but it's been hard even getting started when I've been sick this entire time. Can I physically be sick much longer without dying?
The guys are going out to Salmon Bake tonight for good music and drinks, and I may tag along because I haven't been out since Saturday night. I hate spending my money on drinks, but I don't mind music. Yesterday, I helped a group organize to get 30 bags up to the main lobby for departure, and today I find they left me an envelope with a $5 tip in it! It warms my heart. Tonight is direct deposit pay day, if mine has gone through, otherwise I will have to go pick up my check on Friday. I will have 80 hours on this one as opposed to 54 on my last one, so I should be getting almost $600 with this check (after they take out rent/food). Of that, 300 goes to rent, 200 to credit cards, 100 to savings. I spent more than anticipated in Anchorage because the hotel cost twice what we thought, and food cost twice what I would have budgeted for, plus cab fare and pants-purchasing. This Saturday I'm taking the employee shuttle to Fairbanks because it only lines up with my schedule a couple times this summer, and I have nothing better to do all day but go shopping. I may skip the movie and go do something fun. They drop off at Walmart, but there is a Barnes and Noble nearby and a few other places. I think I want to buy a plant.