Unpacked, Shaved, and Ready for Class

The beard is gone. It had it's time and I enjoyed it, but I decided to go back to the old smooth face.  I also got my hair trimmed up a bit. 

Yesterday I arrived in Pullman around 2:00PM with Tom and Anita. We had a good drive over. Upon arriving at WSU, we unpacked the car, and I gave a little tour. We had a tasty lunch at the Fireside Grille and then Tom and Anita headed off to Spokane.

I picked up my books at the new Bookie in the new student union building. Oh and my books were mostly new as well. The Compton Union Building or CUB as it's often referred to is quite impressive. While I was only in it for a short bit and didn't fully explore, it struck me as quite nice.

Later that day I unpacked my bags and settled into my new room. It's large.

Today I finished settling in by putting up a few posters after getting back from church.

My roommate is a nice guy, as are the others who live in my cluster, I expect to enjoy it here. 

I'll post two pictures of my room on Picasa under a new album: WSU 08-09.

Class begins tomorrow and I'm looking forward to it. I'll be going to physics, statics, a MATLAB programming class, and economics.  

That's all for now!

My Wildest Experience

Not once in my life of more than 19 years have I done anything as crazy as that which I participated in last Friday...I went skydiving. IT WAS INCREDIBLE!

Wednesday, two friends and I drove to Shelton, Washington, home of Kapowsin Air Sports. Myself and another friend took a class for our Level One Accelerated Free Fall jump, while our other friend sat in and refreshed himself as he'd already completed level one. After maybe about three hours we felt prepared. We had the exit count down: check in, check out, prop check, up, down, arch. We knew the hand signals, the free fall procedure, the landing maneuvers, and solutions to various parachute malfunctions and other emergencies. We were ready. The weather however was not. So we decided on Friday for our jump date because the forecast was favorable.  

Sunny Friday morning came quickly and I was excited, but only to a certain extent because the idea of me jumping out of an airplane at 12,500 ft in a few hours didn't seem all that real. I went through the procedures and hand signals a few more times as I anxiously awaited my friend who was coming to pick me up. He came and we drove.

My dad and Adam also came out to the airport to watch, but in the building excitement Adam decided to sign up for a tandem jump. The tandem jumps don't require class time and this meant he would jump with my two friends and me. 

We, our instructors, two camera divers, and a number of other divers all climbed aboard the aircraft. The plane ride itself was a unique experience. We were fairly cramped inside and excited chatter filled the cabin. The instructors went through a few checks with us and soon we were at 12,500 ft.

Up until this point I hadn't been overly nervous, but tension had been growing since take off. Now as the door slid open I was starting to enter almost a fight or flight mode. However in this odd situation, flight meant jumping and I wasn't about to start a fight. I'm not much of a risk taker and here I was about to jump out of an airplane. One of my friends was before me and he jumped out without a second of hesitation. It made me feel better, but any confidence I'd gained vanished as my instructors sat up and led me to the door. The idea of saying "no, I can't do this" crossed my mind, but I quickly batted it away. I was somewhat terrified but I refused to even consider backing down.

In my semi-emergency state of mind I forgot to grab the door frame with both hands, instead using only one hand as I assumed the position to begin the exit count. The instructors tried to tell me to use both hands, but it was quite loud now at the edge of the aircraft. After a second or two of unsuccessful communication, one of my instructors moved my free hand onto the door frame, then I understood. I went through the exit count and leaped into the air. I had no idea what to expect.

For a few seconds my mind was racing to grasp what had just occurred and what it was now experiencing. I wasn't thinking clearly as I kicked my legs a bit and wiggled around. Instead of arching out, I'd arched in. Soon I realized I had a procedure to go through. Once I began thinking more clearly I bettered my form. My instructors gave hand signals to help me along. I felt stable and I began to enjoy myself. I watched my altimeter as it approached 6,000 ft. At 5,500 ft I gave a big wave and pulled my chute.

There was an exciting jolt and I separated from my instructors just as I was supposed to.

The ride down with the chute was a lot of fun and a very calm experience. My landing was smooth and just like that it was over. It was a great adventure and I hungrily look forward to AFF 2.

Closing Out My Karluk Adventure

 

Yes, I've nearly reached the end of my two month hike on the trail called Karluk. Yesterday I wrote my last fish ticket and today I cleaned out the fish hold for the final time. I took one last glance at what is referred to by some as the best view of the cannery, from the stern of the boat while leaving. It's all coming to a close.

I'll be leaving on a jet plane this Saturday, arriving back in Washington around five in the evening. I'm much the same person as when I left, except for one excellent improvement... the beard. Now, it really isn't that glorious in comparison to many beards, but heck, it's mine and I'm proud of it. It may be patchy, it may be thin, it may be light in color, but it's part of me. For now it stays.

Now back to non-beard related blathering. These last two or so weeks have been pretty easy. Fishing is slow and time off has been abundant. I've gone on two hikes and enjoyed both fully. The above picture (and there are more on Picasa) is of Mendenhall Glacier. I also went to a mining museum (sorry, didn't bring the camera). Even though work hasn't been trying lately, I've still been yearning to get home. Oh to be with family and friends again.

This coming week, before school commences and a whole new voyage begins, will be most enjoyable. Beyond all the normal niceties of being home it appears I'll be skydiving on Wednesday with two buddies and possibly backpacking Thursday and Friday. This week promises to be a bit hectic, but I'll definitely allot time to spend sitting by the pond, roasting in the sauna, and laying on the couch.

I've enjoyed sharing my journey with you this summer and I thank you for all the things you've said and done to put a smile on my face.

Standing on the Edge of Battle

 It's just about 9 PM, Sunday, Alaskan time and the Karluk is sitting behind Mab Island enjoying a nice sunset. The golden yellow water has a slight ripple to it, but it's a calm evening. The serenity is almost comical though, for soon near chaos will erupt. It's as if the falling sun is the last sign of peace. Soon war drums will sound. A storm is coming.

Ron figures there's about 18 boats that will want to dump off fish tonight. This fight's going to last into the early hours of tomorrow. This morning was bad for me and I'm not very optimistic about the coming battle. We'll take each boat's fish and give away the ice that we have, but that's just the outside of the operation. When things get hot, people have a tendency of getting cranky. I just hope my soon to be tired self doesn't mess up. There are times I feel quite incompetent on this boat, those are the worst times.  I do pretty good with my core job of writing fish tickets, but when I'm out on deck and things are moving fast sometimes I miss things I shouldn't miss.

I'm getting an itch to return home, it's now very clear to me that I have 25 (Now 20) days of work left. I'm really making an effort to keep a good attitude, because I know how important that is, but I'm getting a little tired of being so separated from everyone. It's worst when I get a little time off and remember how fun the summer can be. This last weekend (which for me was Friday the 18th through Saturday the 19th) I really enjoyed seeing Adam, though it was a brief visit. I also had a good time taking the bus into Juneau, waiting in line for an hour with my fellow hopeful theater goers, and watching The Dark Knight (the second new Batman movie). It was quite good, Heath Ledger's performance as The Joker is incredible. I remember watching the first new Batman movie (Batman Begins) in Bellevue with Tom and Anita (It's always a treat to spend time with the two of you).

I actually returned to writing this blog after the onslaught of boats which thankfully we handled pretty well. No one got cranky and things flowed smoothly. There were less boats than we expected and they didn't quite all come at the same time.

Good Night.

So Many Fish...

We've now packed over half a million pounds of salmon. Things have been especially busy since the start of July. The highlight of my 4th was watching three red flares drift down from above a boat. Not our boat, just one of the many that light up the radar.  I wasn't too surprised to be working on the 4th and it wasn't that big of a deal. I think it's been four years since my last proper 4th of July celebration, but I suppose there'll be quite a few to come.

Sleep's been pretty marginal as of late. Between making night runs to and from the cannery and staying up late waiting for the last boat to come in and getting up early to service the boat that filled up through the night, I've mostly been operating on a series of naps. It isn't awful by any means, just a bit tiring.

The Karluk has the most capacity of the three tenders from Ocean Beauty working our area and likewise we seem to be out on the grounds the most. It's been two weeks since a trip to the store; greens are long gone. We've still been eating well, but salad is a missed commodity. The Costco list continues to grow and the point at which we'll be able to get back to Auke Bay remains uncertain (it now looks like this will be posted in Haines this weekend. We'll be able to get some groceries while we're there as well). This will be old news by the time this is posted since I'm also without an Internet connection. I quite miss the Internet and I've prepared a rather large list of things to do once I get back online.

I only have phone reception when I'm at the cannery or Auke Bay and while I've been to the cannery four times in the last seven days (a six hour run each way) I've been there at odd hours. Voicemail is the best way to contact me since I won't be getting online much this month. July is the peak of activity though and things will eventually cool down. While I can't say for certain, it looks like my best shot to head home will be the 16th of August.

Monday night we had eleven boats in a row, literally one pulling up after the boat in front of it left. It was quite hectic. Dwight was shoveling ice like a madman, trying to keep up at an impossible pace. I meanwhile was crunching numbers at an equally crazy rate. It's a bit nerve racking to be responsible for ensuring each boat gets their correct ticket worth thousands of dollars.

A boat pulls up and I grab a ticket on which I've already filled out the prices and delivery codes (bled, unbled, dressed) for chum, coho, pink, and sockeye salmon. Kings are a bit trickier, but we don't see many. I either determine or ask Ron which area these fish came from and record that and the corresponding district. A bag of fish is picked up from the gillnet boat and Dwight yells out a weight and type of salmon. I record the weight and species on a piece of notepaper on which I've already written the name of the gillnet boat and the date. I then wait to hear a tare weight for the bag and record it. I subtract the tare weight from the total bag weight. I then divide the resulting number by an average fish weight for that species to attain a number of fish. Next I record the number and weight of fish for that specific bag under the column for the appropriate species. This process repeats for each bag, sometimes as many as ten per boat. Once all the individual bags have been recorded I add up the number and pounds for each species and record that in a second place on the ticket.

At some point I have to stamp the ticket with the fisherman's permit card and finish up the ticket's remaining fields. I generally then take the ticket and card out to the fisherman. It's usually not too bad, but things can get stressful when multiple species of fish get put in totes, weather's bad, or there's boats on both sides of us with more coming. Simply put, I don't like rushing things, I especially don't like rushing numbers, and I most don't like rushing numbers when they determine someone's paycheck. I do make mistakes, but only once did I record the incorrect number of pounds (I misheard eleven hundred for seven hundred). That was also the only mistake that a fisherman pointed out before I realized it. I always have a chance to review copies of the ticket (including the cannery's copy which determines the paycheck) and I'll notice and fix errors such as recording the pounds of sockeye on one area of the sheet when it's supposed to be in two.

I'll wrap it up here. Things are still going pretty well. I'm glad I'm able to experience Alaskan commercial fishing first hand. Saying that, I've come to the conclusion that it's not my gig. I'm not very fond of having my work life, social life, and personal life all contained on an 86ft moving island. If work is to consume my life, at least for a short period of time, I'd like it to be work in a field that better suits my strengths and inspires me through a strong interest in the subject matter (I wouldn't hesitate for a moment to spend a long period of time in a small spacecraft). However, let me restate that I'm happy to have this job for this summer and overall life is good.

 

(I've posted more pictures on Picasa)

First Opener Goes Well

The opener was pretty laid back as it's the start of the season and the fishing is fairly marginal. We had 14 deliveries and things ran pretty smoothly. I wrote the fish tickets and only made a few minor mistakes (non involving money). I didn't take any pictures of the actual operation as I was fairly buisy, but I did post some other pics on my picasa album . Not much else to report. I've gone on two walks around the cannery and those are pretty interesting because of the area's history. Scattered all around are ruins from a time not so long ago. Large pieces of metal and concrete along with old abandoned shacks are commonplace in the woods nearby the cannery. I've heard different stories about what used to go on in excursion inlet, but supposedly it had a much higher population then it does today. I've heard there was an army outpost, and mink farmers and all sorts of different things. These next few days should be pretty relaxed, we have one boat to ice on saturday and then on sunday the next opener commences. We find out on Thursday how long this one will be, but speculation puts it at three days. Thanks for the emails Tommy and Anita

Picasa Album is Up!

No more picture tails hanging off my blogs. A selection of photo's will be available on Picasa at no additional cost. Speaking of cost, I begin getting paid today! Also, I just found out that our first opener is only 48 hours, noon Sunday till noon Tuesday. Nothing else for now. I'm just waiting for my Picasa pics to upload.

Back Online!

Ah yes, I'm currently in Auke Bay, Alaska enjoying a chai tea and some WIFI. Things have been good since the Queen Charlotte nightmare. I've been to Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg. All four seine nets are delivered and the real work is soon to begin. I've done a little piloting and it's gone well. Not a lot to say, I'll let the pictures do the talking (I haven't put my Petersburg pics on my comp yet, so these are from before Ketchikan to Wrangell).

 

What Goes Down...Sometimes Comes Back Up

Friday, shortly after writing my first entry I was pleasantly surprised by a group of porpoises swimming with the ship. They swam at the bow, occasionally leaping out of the water and sharply turning back to loop around.  This was the last joyous moment in a day that would become one of my worst in recent memory.

A few hours after the porpoise fun, our ship neared an area called Queen Charlotte something (maybe Passage?). It began with your basic bow-hitting waves. Up and down we went. I have to admit some of the bigger crests were a bit fun to launch off from. After this went on for a few hours I began to feel a bit queasy so I decided to try and sleep it off. Just about the second I reached my bunk I realized that my attempt to quell my stomach had failed. Now I won't go into details here (or include any pictures), but lets just say I got to one of my Nalgenes just in time. I felt much better afterwards and thought that my troubles were past.

The waves continued to knock us around a bit and I decided to give sleep another chance. This time I was temporarily successful. I slept for maybe about an hour. I woke, grabbed the Nalgene (emptied after the initial incident) and so went round two. I cleaned out my bottle and slouched over the galley table. I felt pretty awful by this time, yet the worst was still to come. Rolling waves began to rock our port side and we craned back and forth. These waves intensified over the next few hours and I made three more deposits to the Nalgene. During this whole period I remained at the galley table. Occasionally a few bottles would break free from their cabinet and go rolling across the floor and drawers would fly open. Sick and weak I would nearly crawl from the table, pick up the bottles, put them in the sink, close the drawers, and return to my head down position at the table. I held onto the table's side and my chest was continually thrust on and off of it. If I lifted my head to look out the starboard window I'd see sky, then water ,then sky, then water, over and over.

The sky darkened and it seemed as though we would never escape the relentless waves. I wasn't concerned with the safety of the boat, but I felt absolutely horrid with sickness as I had for many hours. I've never been sick to my stomach five separate times in a day and I surely hope to never again.

We crossed another trouble spot this morning, but thankfully it only lasted three or so hours and I slept through it. We'll encounter the last major potential sickness inducing area (Dixen Entrance? Dickens' Entrance?, I'm in my bunk and don't feel like checking) tomorrow morning. The guy who's with us for the ride up gave me a little bottle of Dramamine. After I get off night watch tonight I'll be taking that and hopefully I'll sleep through most of tomorrow's turbulence.   

This post is too long, I'll wrap it up.

If I would have known what Friday was to entail for me I would have flown up. It was a terrible day (except for the porpoises).

 

Nine Knots of Fury

 

Bellingham is now  a thing of the past. After waiting an hour for the tide to slowly rise, we exited the fair city at around 2:30PM yesterday. The journey is on. I really wanted to cleverly quote a song from the band Journey here, but nothing was coming to mind. I apologize for this wasted opportunity, but if it makes you feel better, I did try and come up with something Journey related for ten minutes or so. Now that we've gotten past that, let's continue.

Our mighty vessel is packed with several metric tons of food from bananas to tri-tip to Kalamata olives (go ahead, look it up, I checked, that's how you spell Kalamata, say's so right on the jar). There is a disturbing development though, as of this morning, the doughnuts are officially gone. I suspect they encountered heavy losses during night watch. Do not panic for there are still muffins.

Also onboard are four purse seining nets for three different destinations. Errg, now I need to go check spellings because I'm going to butcher the names if I don't (I'll also check how to spell the type of nets we are carrying so instead of "four nets", you'll see "four (insert name here) nets"). Our first drop-off point is Ketchikan, followed by Wrangell and Petersburg. After letting off one of our pilots and a guy who came for the ride, we'll travel towards Excursion Inlet where our work begins either the 13th or 14th.

The weather hasn't been bad and everyone seems to be in good spirits. I've spotted a few seals and logs. Leaving Bellingham I stood near the bow and got hit by a good spray of seawater. That's about all the news I can come up with.  

Silver Mountain Saturday

I slept in till 5:20 this morning. It was nice catching up on my sleep like that. I slept twice as long as I did the night before.

Upon arriving at Silver Mountain I had the unique experience of the longest single stage people carrier IN THE WORLD! The 3.1 mile gondola ride was riveting as we (Everett, a cook, a human resources managar, and I) travelled at a blazing 1,000 feet per minute. In all truth, it was an interesting ride.

Much to our enjoyment, Everett and I remembered how to snowboard and proceeded to have a smashing day of snow play. Nothing too peculiar to mention. I did take a pretty good crash that consisted of me taking off from a jump, failing to clear it, and slamming into a large chunk of ice. Most likely avoided a concussion thanks to my helmet. I expect to be a bit sore tomorrow (a combination of the already mentioned crash and a failed attempt at grinding a rail that resulted in my back coming in contact with the rail, but this wasn't as bad or painful as one may imagine; I was traveling quite slow at the time). I was somewhat succesful in landing two 180's, but each time immediately after landing I wiped out, so it was more like two crash landings.

It was a great way to spend a Saturday. Hopefully I'll get a bit more sleep tonight, but I'm not sure if that will happen because I'm tempted to stay up for Saturday Night Live and church service is at 10:30 tomorrow.

Lack of Sleep Yields Free Latte

Two hours of sleep, two papers written, two math assignments complete. Yes, last night and this morning were most enjoyable.

As an added bonus, my lack of sleep scored me 12 free ounces of latte.

After getting a hearty night's sleep from 6AM to 8AM, I stumbled from the shower to calculus lecture. Let me tell you, nothing keeps one awake like a good 50 minute lecture on the integral and comparison tests for series. For some odd reason though I found myself a bit sleepy at the end of lecture, and since I had to finish that second paper, I decided to fuel up with a hazelnut latte. I ordered, I heard 12oz...latte, I took the cup, and said thanks. After exiting the building, I realized my hazelnut latte tasted more chocolatey than normal.

Upon returning to the coffee stand I apologized for my mistake, but the rightful owner of the drink, which now partially resided in my stomach, wasn't too amused. The barrista, on the other hand, said in a cheery tone, "oh it's ok, here's your hazelnut latte." Suddenly I found myself possesing 12 ounces of caffinated goodness in each hand.

After consuming these 24 ounces while finishing my second paper, I no longer felt so tired. I did feel in the need of finding a restroom, but that's all I need to say about that.

So it was a good day, I got done what needed to be done and our world is still spinning.

Tomorrow quickly advances as I'll be waking up at 5:30AM for a day of snowboarding at Silver Mtn.

Oh and I started a blog, but I guess you figured that out; you clever person you.