On Becoming An Accidental Alaskan

I'm going to be on my way to Montana next Thursday, I think; maybe earlier or maybe Friday or maybe I have no idea. Anyway...my sort of semi-intentions are to be out of my office and my home and on my merry, nomadic way to Helena where I will be for about 3 weeks or maybe fewer or maybe more or maybe who the h.e. double hockey sticks knows?!  And from there to Anchorage AK for a much longer indeterminate length of time. 

Katy and Jon will figure it out and come up to Helena on the grey dog to meet me and then the three of us with whatever we can tuck around us in the car will set out across the ALCAN for Anchorage. Maybe a week, maybe longer...then when we get to Anchorage, IF there's time, we will take a train ride from Skagway to Somewhere I Forgot What My Friend Recommended just to round out the their vacation/my new begin-again beginning.

Then Katy and Jon will fly back to SLC and be back in time for work on the 4th of July.

I will cry.

But then, I'll get back to being excited and jump into work, maybe onto a little plane, too, or possibly onto a sled. Wheeee!

A couple of people asked me today if I had any contacts in Alaska and it dawned on me that I don't.

Hmmmm. I thought I had contacts everywhere! Then they asked me if I wanted contacts and I surprised myself by acknowledging that I don't really want contacts. It felt kind of rude to say no, so then I said I meant I don't necessarily need contacts, but I could look people up.

I realize I am feeling more and more free and unencumbered as the days roll on and the idea of starting out with ties there makes me feel less so. Don't try to figure it out. It is, after all, Penny we're talking about here. And now, I am remembering I do have a couple of contacts there--a genealogy facebook friend/18th cousin a couple of times removed who lives in The Valley where my other contact Sarah Palin lives!!!

I left work quite late this evening and this is what I saw:

I got home and this is what greeted me in my apartment when I opened the door.

I thought these pictures would look much worse, because it feels much worse in here. Maybe I should just quit looking at the real thing and believe the pictures. OR, I could just get to work and finish packing up my life.

This part about getting ready is kind of hurting me. I won't learn, either. My next move--and there will be a next move--will still be fraught with trying to compartmentalize my mind's scattered organization, finding a home for all my crap, and summoning the physical strength to do the "impossible." I gave up claiming several moves ago that "this is THE LAST time I am ever going to move again." Now I know it will never be true. So right now, what I really want to to do is go back outside and look at some more of this: