6 months removed...

I'm getting better and better at this...I really was just waiting to see what changes Google would make in the time lapse since my last post. For a brief moment I forgot how to do this, and I'll have to think especially hard on how to post some pics. I have faith... not a matter of if, but when. After all, its been 6 months and theres a few pics documenting my life these last months.

These past few days have been big ones. Sept. 28th marked my year sabbatical from work. Sept. 29th I don't really remember. And Sept. 30th I left Alaska. Me, my car, my life. Oh yea, all my shit. This moment a year ago I was in the Yukon. What a year it's been. No, I didn't think I would go a year without "employment" but I don't regret anything about it. I've traveled, spent time with my family, enjoyed watching my niece and nephew grow up, dabbled in things I wouldn't have otherwise had the time or desire to do. My plans have changed multiple times and still I find myself in Raleigh, without formal employment. Eventually I will move to the coast, hopefully in the very near future, but I'm not going to pin myself down at this very moment. I'm 24. And this world is turning mad...

Let's see. Last post was the end of March. The end of the UNC basketball season. We've now turned to football season, to fall. My favorite time of the year. And if the weather keeps up, we may have a solid, "normal" fall this year! Carolina is looking much better than years past- and NC State is struggling- what could be better?! The summer had it's brutal moments, though it was not was not as bad as years past.

Middle April I found out that some folks I house-sat for in Anchorage wanted my services once again. Rough life. They needed me for 2 weeks, though I could stay for as long as desired. I was to fly out of Raleigh on April 30th and I stayed until the 20th of May. On top of the free trip, I was also paid. Once there, I was presented with another housesitting option, to extend my trip two more weeks. Paid. After a couple weeks I knew I didn't want 3 more. Reason being, the weather sucked! People had moved, gotten real jobs, and things we just different. It was about 50-55 and cloudy the whole time. I enjoyed surprising some old co-workers and friends and reminiscing on good times, was able to squeeze in a trip to Homer to visit with the Lloyd's, and spend some time with and old friend, Tasha. Wasn't too lucky with our fishing adventures, but Tasha managed to catch the lone Halibut! By the end of it, I was very grateful for the opportunity to return to Alaska, but I was ready to head back to the sun and warmth!

Once home, I agreed to build a fence for my aunt. Why? I'm not sure. She'd been screwed over by a couple folks and lost some money in the ordeal, so I thought 'hell!, can't be that hard, right?!' Well, right and wrong. Perhaps hard isn't the word, but frustrating. I definitely had to hone my 3 "P's". Patience, persistence, and perseverance. At times it wasn't easy, but it was rewarding to finish it. Well, its not completely finished I guess, but fully functional. Fully finished would be over 300 linear feet. At present moment, about 220 have been completed. It is a 6 foot privacy fence and for good reason, one of her neighbors watched me construct it with binoculars so I made sure to get his side up. We rented a hydraulic auger to dig the holes for us, but that was a failure. Due to the drought and the fact her backyeard is solid red clay, the auger refused to make any headway. So back to the post-hole digger it was! And if an auger wont bore the hole, surely it wont be easy doin it by hand. Over 30 holes that is, 20 or so inches deep. My hands would randomly go numb for the next week or so. Oh yea, the first 4 days of doing this was in triple digit heat! But it did not keep my grandfather from coming out and helping me plumb up the posts and get the set! That's best done with at least 3 hands... After about 6 weeks or so, I was finished with the first and most important part. The last part can wait, as there is a study fence already in place for keeping the dog in! And I was even on budget! It's not perfect, but not bad for a beginner! Still need to finish those last details... perhaps I will now that the weather has cooled substantially.

Also this summer, my dad purchased a house on a lake that straddles the NC/VA border. It's closer to his work and a place where his kids/grandkids can go and have a good time. I took advantage of it upon completing the fence. I hauled the kayaks up there and did a little paddling and swimming. And on a whim, I suggested my friend, Andrew (who I knew in Alaska but recently moved to D.C.), come and visit me! 36 hours later, I was picking him up from the Greyhound station and we hung out for 4 days! We had a blast at the lake house, and visiting his friend in Durham. Having failed a couple times in my attempt to kayak to Virginia (roughly 7.5 miles from dad's house), we set out in the old metal canoe in hopes of reaching the border. And no, there is no sign indicating such achievement (at least not visible at night!)!. We set out after dinner, bringing a few drinks along. It was unbelievably clear out and the moon lit up the sky and the water in front of us. We paddled, and paddled, and paddled some more. After a few hours, not knowing our whereabouts other than having 3 islands in front of us, we decided to head back. We were either going to fall just short of our goal, or upon returning home and pulling out the lake map, find out that we made it! And we did, about a mile too much paddling! 5.5 hours of paddling. Paddling a canoe at that! And despite almost getting lost on the way back (it's a big lake!), a good time was had by all.

Immediately after dropping Andrew at the Greyhound station, mom and I headed to a funeral. A rather unconventional funeral. I'd gotten a text message days earlier that read "Whitebread murdered." Whitebread, aka Jesse, is a kid who grew up in the neighborhood. With little supervision as a kid, roaming and on his own devices since roughly the age of 12 or so, he got pretty big into drugs. Crazy to think about, but he was murdered almost exactly 10 years from the day he was first shot at the park up the street from our house. The same park my brother was playing basketball at that very moment the shots started flying. At 16, he had a bullet so close to his heart they thought it too risky to remove. Unfortunately, it was inevitable. Besides the fact that he brought drugs and some violence to the hood, he was a good person. He always asked how the family was (wanting to know if mom still had a handle on the hood as she did in days of old...), and just a few days prior, he passed by the house and we exchanged pleasantries. The funeral was rather interesting. In attendance were some of the richest people in Raleigh, some of the poorest. Some of the oldest, and some of the youngest. Blacks and whites. Well-known and the unknown. We weren't late, but my back was against the back door. Standing room only. It's a sad situation, but I guess it was just a matter of time. I still hear mopeds humming up the street and I think it's him- every time.

Anywho, the last week in July, I headed down to Gulfport, Mississippi with a workteam trip from the church. My mom and sister, as well as my aunt went along as well. There's still some places that are pretty bad off down there. A lot of places. Our group split into two and tackled two houses, both in Biloxi. The first house (air-conditioned!) was owned by an 81 yr old man and was very close to being completed. We were to complete some finishing work (window trim, framing doorways, finish some drywall work, shoe moulding, etc.) and install kitchen cabinets. Mr. Balius was a retired iron worker and lived in a FEMA trailer next door. He was very grateful for the work we did and often spent the afternoons sitting and watching us go. I wished we could have spent one more week and just banged it out so he could get out of that trailer. The other group worked around the corner at Ms. Mary's and had to endure to Mississippi heat. They were responsible for the siding and various other outdoor projects (including replacing fascia boards, eave work, awning work, and re-doing shoddy work from a previous team!). They had some pretty tough working conditions, but working down to the last minutes and missing dinner the last night, we got all of our tasks completed! Our last workday, Friday, Ms. Mary threw us a fish and chicken fry. Resident crackhead Gloria was in attendance as well! It was quite tasty, I'm not gonna lie. Chicken, fresh fish, potato salad- heaven! Some of the locals came as well, tall-boys in hand! It was also nice catching up with my buddy Jonah and getting to hang out with him for a night while I was in Gulfport! It'd been a while! After leaving, we headed over to New Orleans for a pit-stop before our long trek back to Raleigh. We had a good time, walking about and such. Fortunately, the trip back didn't produce any tire tread-separating incidences.

After being back in Raleigh for a few weeks, I began planning a trip to Seattle and Portland. My friend Carrie was in Seattle for job training and my friend Matt lives in Portland. I also had a friend from UAA that lived in Seattle that I had not seen in quite some time, so we got to catch up! Portland is too close to not make an attempt to do both. So I booked a trip on the Amtrak- something I'd never done before. I spent a few days in Seattle and then headed down to Portland- and it was a pretty sweet train ride. It took about 2.5 hours and was just beautiful. I actually caught the train in Tacoma after riding the commuter rail from Auburn, WA. From Tacoma, we hugged the water for a good while, going by Gig Harbor and various other small towns. I was so excited to see Matt- I saw him on my way back a year ago, so it was good to catch up again. Once in Portland, we walked and walked and walked. And rode the city train, free. That's one thing I love about big cities. It's so easy to get around, to find mass transit options so readily available. I loved not touching a car for so long, yet covering so many miles and sights. It was refreshing. And relaxing. After Portland, I headed back to Seattle for a few more nights. It was an enjoyable trip for sure, and it helped I found a cheap plane ticket to get there!

Since I've been back from the Great Northwest, I've been babysitting, or child-sitting quite a bit. My niece turned one, whom I've watched go from not walking to walking laps around the house in less than a 24 hr time period. My sister and I photographed a wedding. I've picked, peeled and pureed pears to make pear honey (over 60 jars!) with my grandmother and grandfather, listening to stories of their youth. I've enjoyed the first glimpse of fall. I've ridden my bike, a lot. 370 miles for the month of September. I'm taking the night off. To write this.

This month has a lot in store. A friend of mine is coming to town this weekend, a friend I haven't seen in a couple years. My nephew will turn 3! The State Fair comes to town, and the annual rock climbing trip is just around the corner. Potentially shooting another wedding, and I will participate in the ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease) walk. My aunt's brother (not exactly my aunt and he's not my uncle- it's a southern thing I guess) has been suffering from ALS for two years now and I have never seen anything so terrible in my life. It's certainly a cause worth celebrating as it truly has to be the worst disease known to man. A perfectly clear mind trapped in a body without function. There is no hope and there needs to be...

That's all for now, pics will follow soon.