the joys of a long distance relationship

Today I met a Random New Person:

RNP: So what brings you to Alaska?
Me: Oh, you know, the usual story. I was here as an exchange student, met my husband and so forth.
RNP: Interesting. What does your husband do?
Me: He's a glaciology student at UAF.
RNP: Oh, does he study Denali ice worms by any change?
Me: No, no, he is in Greenland doing fieldwork. That's where his research site is.
RNP: So let me get this straight... You moved here and your husband spends his time in Greenland?
Me: Yeah...

Trying to use up my 15 minutes

My friend Rolland discovered that there are actually public photos of me with the German chancellor Angela Merkel. It turns out that if you spell my name incorrectly, as he did, that you can quickly find a link to the German embassy in Denmark.

Photos from the field

I've finished my field work in Greenland, and am now sitting in Frankfurt (actually Niedernhausen) trying to comprehend the color green. Despite its name, Greenland really isn't very green, and in comparison Niedernhausen looks (and feels) tropical.

Our field work was quite successful. We managed to collect over a terabyte of data, a new record for us. Most of the data was in the form of photos - we had two cameras taking photos every 10 seconds. Those cameras eventually failed, giving me the opportunity to use a nice image stabilizing lens on my camera.

The results:

The glacier's terminus (where icebergs break into the ocean) shot from a helicopter.

Another shot of the terminus. Can you spot the helicopter?

An iceberg that has recently broken off of the terminus.

My favorite picnic spot. Most of the area near our camp contains very little vegetation, except for one small patch of tundra located a couple of kilometers down fjord. On a nice day its a great place to take a nap.

A little bay on the main fjord.

Boats in Ilulissat harbor's dry dock.

Lakes on the surface of the ice sheet.

this summer's weather rant

It has been cloudy, rainy and cold for two weeks now. We have been covered with low-hanging clouds that block the sun, rain a bit and move two meters to rain some more. The cabin is cold, the garden doesn't grow and my mood has taken a downward swing. I don't want to turn the heater on (it is supposed to be summer) so I have gone back to wearing my down booties and woolsocks.

The weather forecast for the next week (or the past two weeks):

Today: Occasional rain and mostly cloudy, scattered rain showers
Tonight: Mostly cloudy. Isolated rain showers
Wednesday: Mostly cloudy with isolated rain showers
Thursday: Mostly cloudy. Isolated rain showers
Friday: Mostly cloudy with a chance of rain
Saturday: Mostly cloudy with a change of rain
Sunday: Mostly cloudy with a change of rain

At least they don't throw in a warm and sunny day two days into the future as some forecasts do. Maybe they are trying to lift our spirits as in "The sun will shine. Just wait two more days."

Everything is slanted in the garden (except the weeds of course, but who wants to weed when it is raining). I am kind of glad we planted so many potatoes this year. They like colder weather and the tubers are safe underground. Our tomatoes, on the other hand, look pitiful. Zuccinis are rotting into their stalks.

I want my money back.

(As i type this, the sky is clearing up and I can see the sun first time in days. The incredible power of ranting does it again.)

+++++

Tervetuloa Alaskaan, täällä on kylmää ja kosteaa. Haluan tuliaisena hieman auringonpaistetta, kiitos.

personal note of changing circumstaces

Lopetin työt kirjakaupassa eilen.

Pelottava, mutta oikea ratkaisu. Nyt ollaan sitten kokopäiväisesti taiteilijaa, kun näyttää siltä, että kukaan ei Fairbanksissä tarvitse introverttiä piirtäjää. Työ itsessään oli ihan mukavaa, mutta vähän yksitoikkoista (puhumattakaan siitä, että työvuorolistassa olin aina ja ikuisesti viikonloppuvuorossa). Jason on luultavasti tyytyväinen, etten enää saa henkilökunta-alennusta kirjaostoksistani (tätä tosin kompensoin ostamalla tavallista enemmän kirjoja viimeisen viikon aikana). Kirjahyllytila on taas loppumassa.

Palkkaa saattaa tosin tulla ikävä. Tosin, jos oikein tiukka paikka tulee, niin Fred Myers tarvitsee aina kärryntyöntäjiä.

++++

I quit working at the bookstore yesterday. I left with mixed feelings; scared of future, sad to leave great co-workers behind, but happy to be drawing full-time again. I just have to treat drawing as a career and see where it takes me.

Jason is propably happy that I cannot get any discounts on books anymore. He thinks that our place is overflowing with books, I think we still have plenty of room to install more bookcases.