Life in the Northwest Territories

It's been a while, eh...

2010-09-23T11:17:00.004-03:00

So, I've totally abandoned my blog. I have a reason for it, I swear. Or maybe more like an excuse. Part of my lack of updates was due to laziness, and the other part was the fact that I am settled here in Norman Wells. I kind of ran out of new things to talk about. That doesn't mean I'm not happy here, because it's actually the complete opposite of that - I'm the happiest I've been in a really long time and I am really settling in and loving it here. I'm making more and more friends and acquaintances and am starting to feel like part of the community.

Let me re-cap my summer in Norman Wells:
- cook outs and swimming at Jackfish Lake with friends
- lots of Saturday Night hang outs on Jackie's deck
- LOTS of dancing at the Big Bar, the Little Bar, the Legion... and anywhere else with a dance floor
- a quick 3 day trip to Yellowknife with Kirsten in August
- driving Kirsten's brand new truck around town
- bear watching at the dump
- Big Brother nights with Kirsten, Anne and Teddy (and eventually Jackie)
- Softball Territorials and Kirsten winning MVP 3 times throughout the tournament
- Party On The Permafrost music festival
- seeing the Northern Lights in August

And lots of other mischief I would rather not disclose here. I'm drawing a blank here but I really had the best summer of my life. It was so fun and full of activities. Another really big thing that happened was I got a job at one of the airlines in town, Canadian North about two months ago. I am LOVING it there. I was working at Canadian during the day and at the restaurant on my nights and days off but it became too much. I'm just focusing on the airport right now but I'm really missing the Yamouri.

I gotta admit, when I came back from Halifax in July, I was really glad to be back to Norman Wells. Something about my trip home rubbed me the wrong way and it was a couple months before I even got the slightest bit homesick but this last week, my homesick factor has really kicked in. Thinking about how far Norman Wells really is from Halifax makes me want to cry sometimes...

Anyway - I just felt like I should update. Hope you didn't think I was dead. Toodles!

Toodles, Halifax

2010-07-16T09:45:00.003-03:00

So today is the day. In 7 hours, I will be sitting in the Stanfield International Airport just outside of Halifax, waiting for my plane to board to Norman Wells. Last time I made this journey, I was scared and nervous and had a little breakdown before I got on the plane. This time, I will be eager and excited (and a little sad, too). When I planned my vacation, everybody told me that my time would fly by and that I would be leaving before I knew it so I was prepared... but jesus... I can't believe I'm leaving today. There are a lot of things I didn't get to do and a lot of people I didn't get to see but there will always be Christmas vacation.

After arriving in Edmonton, I stay overnight and then jump on the plane bright and early at 8am and should be in Norman Wells by 11:40am if everything goes as planned.

Wish me luck! Toodles!

WTF, Lindsay?

2010-07-13T10:44:00.004-03:00

So my last post was kind of vague on purpose. I had just changed the date of my return ticket to Norman Wells and wasn't really ready to talk about it yet. It was a really hard decision to make and I had a lot of pros and cons on each side, but once I got to Halifax I knew exactly what I needed to do. I know lots of people expected me to stay in Halifax longer than the 4.5 weeks I had scheduled and I kind of expected to stay too... which is why it's so weird that I AM LEAVING HALIFAX EARLY!!!!!

I know, I am just as shocked about the decision as you are. I am going to miss Pride week which was the whole reason I was staying for the month of July. I have been so involved with Pride for the last 3 or 4 years and it's been a big part of my life. But right now, being back in Halifax doesn't feel quite right. I have also been spending money left right and friggin' center, so even if I wanted to stay for the rest of my scheduled vacation, I would have to be stingy and if you know me, you know that I LOVE SPENDING MONEY.

I never in a million years thought I would be homesick for Norman Wells.

So yeah - I'm leaving 10 whole days early. By this time on Saturday, I will be back in Norman Wells after a long day of traveling. I am excited because this time my flight from Halifax to Edmonton is direct! Just have to make a stop in Ottawa but I don't have to get off of the plane. Anyway, I just wanted to keep you all updated on what's going on and I will be sure to post some pictures when I have a little more time! Toodles!

16 days already?

2010-07-08T20:35:00.003-03:00

So I've been back to Halifax for 16 days. I can't believe it's been that long.

I've crammed in:
- appointments
- shopping
- family BBQs
- lunch dates and visits
- drinks and dancing
- swimming at Kearney Lake
- getting tattooed
- buying a new Blackberry
- going to a movie
- eating at as many restaurants as possible
- painting pottery at Clay Cafe
- bus hopping
- visiting the Discovery Center
- driving lessons
- lectures and workshops
- volunteering with the Youth Project

The first week I was here, there was no sign of the sun. The last few days have been super hot and super muggy and sooo sticky and I definitely miss Norman Wells and it's lack of muggy weather. Speaking of, I've been a little homesick for Norman Wells since getting to Halifax. The first week was so busy and jam packed that I didn't have much time to sit around and think. But this week has been really laid back and... boring to be completely honest. I haven't been doing a whole lot at all so I've actually been itching to get back to Norman Wells. It's very weird to be back in Halifax... I never thought that would happen and I'm sure nobody else did either.

Anywho - just thought I would update you all and let you know that I am in Halifax and alive and enjoying being in the city. Toodles!

Home sweet home

2010-07-03T00:06:00.003-03:00

I've been putting off updating for a while, but I figure I've been home for over a week now so it's time to update about my trip. It's gonna be a long one. I hope you're comfortable.

So I got home a day earlier than I had initially planned or let on. I did it to surprise my mom, and it worked. She was very surprised and totally didn't even realize what was going on when she first saw me. Just about everybody I know was in on the surprise, and I'm so proud of myself that it actually turned out well. I'm AWFUL at surprises and can NEVER keep anything a surprise for long but I had been planning this one for MONTHS!

Anyway, I got home safe and sound but not without some traveling drama. It all started in Norman Wells. I got to the airport and I found out that there was a big mix-up and I didn't even have a reservation. It doesn't sound that horrible, but since Kirsten and I fly on free passes from Norman Wells to Edmonton, it's kind of a big deal because we're supposed to book our tickets WAY in advance. So a friend of ours who works at the airport worked her magic, found my reservation which was hidden away and I got on the plane fine.

The flight was great. Beautiful weather and I had a great seat. I got to Edmonton, had a BOOSTER JUICE as soon as I walked off the plane (seriously - before I even got my bags!) and went to check in for my flight from Edmonton to Calgary. That's when problem #2 happened. When I changed my tickets back in March, some issue happened with Westjet and my flight didn't properly get booked. It took the girl about a half hour to figure out the problem and check me in. I almost didn't get on the plane because I technically didn't even have a seat... So she gets it all figured out and then I find out my plane is over an hour late. Which kinda sucks because I have to catch a connecting flight in Calgary to Halifax.

So I waited around for my flight, grabbed a bite to eat and a beer, and then hopped on my (late) plane. The flight from Edmonton to Calgary is a joke. We literally get up in the air and a few minutes later we are landing again. A 30 minute flight is silly. Anyway, I get off the plane and rush to catch my connection to Halifax. I can't believe I made it but I totes did (obviously). The flight to Halifax was almost completely full - only about 3 or 4 empty seats! I took the red eye so I arrived in Halifax at 7am on Wednesday morning!

All in all, I was in 5 airports, had 4 boarding passes, 2 bags and traveled for 17 hours. And I made it home in one piece with my luggage! It was a stressful and long journey but I made it. I had a very busy first week back in Halifax with all of my appointments and visiting.

I will update more later because this post is already long enough. I also have a few pictures so check back in a few days! Toodles!

Two words

2010-06-23T10:58:00.003-03:00

I'M HOME!!!!!!!!

I will write more later. It was definitely an interesting experience getting here!

Toodles for now!

12 days 'till Halifax!

2010-06-10T12:53:00.005-03:00

So the last week or so without Kirsten has been nice. Weird, but nice. And not nice because she's gone... guess it's just a coincidence! The weather has been beautiful here - aside from our couple of foggy, cold and rainy days (which I am used to because hello, I grew up in Halifax) - it's been sunny and cool. Which is my perfect weather. I've been working lots and have been keeping busy. I'm glad I haven't just been sitting alone in my nighty every night without Kirsten.

I've been told about 1000 times since I've gotten here that when the 24 hour sunlight makes its appearance, I'm gonna wake up in the middle of the night and think I slept in. I always thought that was kinda silly and that it would never happen to me. Well, it actually happened a few nights ago. My alarm has been on the fritz, and once a week I work at 7am so I have to get up super early (6am) and I was worried I would sleep in and not be able to open the restaurant. Well, I woke up without looking at my clock, and the birds were chirping and the sun was shining in my bedroom as if it was the afternoon. I got up, ran downstairs and turned on the TV. Yeppers, it was only 4:25am.

- - - - -

Something really cool happened yesterday. There is this Northern artist who writes a column for the newspaper here in the NWT and his name is Antoine Mountain. He's a very talented man and I always enjoy reading about what he has to say. Well he's in town this weekend for an event at the museum. I remembered reading it on the Community Channel but didn't think he would be in town so soon. I went to the museum yesterday to pick up goodies for friends and family back home, and I met him.

He was very polite, but I'm quite shy and suck at making conversation if I don't know the person so I basically just said hello, blushed, and continued browsing. Well, I bought my stuff (spent less than I thought I would, but still spent a lot - $181) and left. I was taking a look behind the museum and out pops Antoine with a canvas in his hand. I guess he had just painted it and was outside so it would dry faster. We got talking and he brought me back inside the museum to see some of his prints.

Anyway, I ended up staying for about an hour. He's a very funny man with a lot of interesting stories. I learned a lot speaking with him and really enjoyed getting to meet him. Infact, I've got this morning off and am going to meet with him in about an hour or so. That is truly an experience I will remember for a very long time, and don't think it would have happened anywhere but the North.

- - - - -

I was up late last night because I couldn't sleep. I texted Kirsten at about 3am and told her I would be sleeping in late but I would touch base with her once I woke up. Well, at about 8:30am, I get a text saying "Sorry to wake you, but I bought a new car..."

If any of you know Kirsten, you know that she's not necessarily the spontaneous type. Or the kind of person to make big decisions without giving them lots of thought. Turns out she went to the Mazda dealership a couple days ago because she has a brand new Mazda 3 at home, sitting in a garage, that she is still making monthly payments on. She wanted to see about selling it but they offered her a new car in exchange for hers. She was unsure about it, didn't think it was the right thing, and told them no.

Well apparently this morning she had a change of heart (which, like I said, isn't something that Kirsten has often...) and went back to the dealership and traded in her 2009 Mazda 3 Sport for a 2010 Mazda Tribute. She got a killer deal and in about a month, she'll be driving around Norman Wells in a sweet new ride! I'm very excited!

- - - - -

We have recently gotten some bad news, though... Where we are living now is the staff house for the company that Kirsten works for. It has been empty since we moved in about 6 months ago and we have made it our own. Well, since it's a staff house, that means employees of Matco are able to move in and out as they please. We got lucky because everybody already has housing in town, but apparently Matco is hiring a new kid and he's moving in next week. We're both pretty upset because we're not in a stage where we really want or can live with roommates. For instance, I'm sitting on the couch in my nighty. If some 18 year old kid is living with us, chances are, I'm probs not going to be very comfortable doing that. We have a lot of concerns and this is pretty much the worst thing that has happened since we moved here because there are literally no other housing options. Or should I say affordable options. Guess we'll have to think of something.

Anyway, guess I should wrap this up. My trip is getting closer and closer! About 12 days until I leave for home... can't believe it's this close! Toodles.

Falling in love

2010-06-03T15:04:00.005-03:00

When Kirsten first told me that she had gotten a job in a small Northern town called Norman Wells, I had a lot of concerns. But I wasn't worried about the high cost of living or the isolation or even finding a job. I was worried about living in a small town, something I'd never done before. Now Halifax isn't a huge city, with all of it's surrounding areas, the Halifax Regional Municipality only has about 500,000 people. But even with the small population, we get a taste of big city living.

My mom's parents live in a small town about 45 minutes outside of Halifax. And while I've always loved to visit my grandparents in Garland's Crossing, I could never see myself living in the country. I have always been a city girl. And for the first few months in Norman Wells, that was reinforced. I felt confined and claustrophobic in a town of 700. Especially since I was used to going to live shows, movies, and volunteering at a Queer Youth organization. I was used to going to Reflections, the notorious gay bar in Halifax, and I was used to going often. I could hop on a bus and go wherever I wanted, whenever I wanted.

All of my familiarities from Halifax were taken away and it was really hard.

But now, I gotta admit, I love it here. I gave it an honest chance and I'm glad I did. I leave Norman Wells in about 3 weeks, and for the first time since I planned my trip, I am confident and ready to come back. I have made some great friends, I have fallen in love with the town itself, and the gorgeous scenery literally takes my breath away every single morning. I'm not giving myself a time limit anymore. I will leave when I fall out of love with Norman Wells and that's OK with me.

- - - - -

Okay, enough with the lame stuff. That sooo isn't like me.

I've been riding Kirsten's bike quite a bit lately. I went for an exhausting bike ride last night down the back road and took some pictures with a disposable camera. I hope they turn out! The weather here has been insane... 30*c days for the last week! We're only a couple weeks away from 24/7 sunlight and I can't wait.

A couple nights ago, we were driving by the gas station and a bear walked infront of us, about 2 feet from the truck. It was an amazing thing to see. Last night I was out with our friend, Jackie and the two of us saw a GORGEOUS fox and her 3 babies playing on the side of the road. How often would that happen in Halifax?? We literally stopped in the middle of the road, with our cameras, for 20 minutes and watched them play. There was a line behind us and line up of on-coming traffic but we were all doing the same thing, and nobody was in a rush.

- - - - -

Kirsten got to Halifax this morning and I will admit that I am very jealous. I want to be home with her, enjoying Thai food and The Company House and a couple of movies. But it will soon be my turn. Due to conflicting schedules, we couldn't take our vacations together this summer but there is always Christmas...

Anywho, this has turned out to be a lot longer than I had expected. I hope I didn't put anyone to sleep. Toodles!!

Weather, sunlight and money

2010-05-28T12:17:00.007-03:00

Lately, the weather up here has been UNREAL. Who thought I would come to the Arctic and be sweating my ass off? Let alone in May! I guess that tells you that maybe I should have done a little more weather research before I came up. Anyway - it's been in the mid-to-high 20's all week here and from what I hear, the rest of Canada has had some awful weather. My boss just got back from Calgary and he said it was back in the minuses at night and they had snow the other day. A little ironic, don't you think? I woke up today (at 8:30am) and it was already 15* out. I went to bed two nights ago around 1:30am and it was still 18*. Nuts!

We're only getting a few hours of darkness a day. The sun starts to set around 12:30am but doesn't fully go down for a couple hours after that. And then it's rising again at about 4:30am. I imagine by the middle of June, we'll have no darkness at all. I don't mind it but Kirsten is a curtain Nazi and keeps the blinds in our bedroom TAPED to the window sill. It's like a depressing cave during the day. Atleast she doesn't cover our windows with tinfoil like half of the town, who are too cheap to buy decent blinds! Even in the dead of winter, you drive around town and see windows covered in tinfoil. Kinda ugly if you ask me.

May is a slow time here in Norman Wells. The winter road is long gone, which means no visitors from surrounding communities unless they fly here, and the river still has a little ice on it so we don't have a whole lot of boats in yet. That means that the restaurant has been very slow, and none of us have been getting great hours. It's been a little stressful money-wise, and I've been struggling... I have quite a bit of money in savings but I worked hard to save it, so right now, I would rather struggle and live off my tips than dip into my account. It's the first time in my life that I have been able to save more than $200.

Speaking of money, my trip home is approaching! Not as quickly as Kirsten's, who leaves in 5 days, though. I have lists upon lists of things I need to bring home with me, appointments I need to go to, things I have to pick up and bring back with me... I'll be home for about 4 and a half weeks and I have a feeling it's going to be a very expensive vacation. I'm gonna drain my savings account and have to come back and stay even longer to replace to money I took! (FYI - my personal goal is to save $5000 before I leave). I can see it already!

Anyway, time to get ready for work. Toodles.

May Long Weekend

2010-05-24T14:09:00.004-03:00

I gotta start this blog post off by saying that the last week has probably been my best week here.

Last Wednesday was Kirsten's 22nd birthday. I knew she was pretty down about being up here without her parents on her birthday, especially since this was her second birthday away from home (last year she was in Australia). I decorated our favourite table at the restaurant, got my boss to make her a cake with a nice set of boobs on it, and bought her a few presents. Oh, and I also got the cooks to make her a special heart shaped pizza. I know it wasn't as great as it could've been but I did the best I could and I think she was pretty happy with everything.

Friday was my last shift for 3 days (I never get more than one day off in a row) so that fact alone was enough to make my weekend awesome. We hung out with friends, crashed a couple parties (okay not really, we basically showed up and hung out in the corner alone because none of us are really down with being the center of attention...), hit up the Big Bar for a while, took a drive up to Jackfish Lake and ended the night with a 90s music sing along on our friend's couch. It was a pretty eventful night. Especially after my favourite bartender gave me 5 free shots "just for bein' me". It definitely got interesting after that.

Saturday night was the day I've been waiting for since I got here to Norman Wells. It was May Queen. For those of you who don't know what May Queen is... I'll be glad to tell you. It's almost like an initiation, or a rite of passage. The new men to town dress up in their best dresses, their flowiest wigs, and their highest heels to compete against the other "ladies" for some awesome prizes and to be the entertainment for the whole town. Now, as you may have guessed, drag queens are certainly not a new thing for me but I gotta admit, it was really cool to see them up here. They may not have been as pretty as Eureka Love or Elle Noir but they certainly reminded me of home!

And Sunday was probably my laziest day since I got to Norman Wells. We watched movies all day, took naps, and ate take out Chinese. We ended off the day with a delicious BBQ at our friend's place and a few more movies. It was exactly what we all needed after a weekend of partying. Kirsten and I both have today (Monday) off and we're just going to clean up the place, go through some old clothes and go for a bike/run.

I've been biking a lot lately and it's been great. My butt doesn't even hurt! Before getting on a bike about a month ago, it had been years and years since I'd been on a bike. My balance still needs a little work and my steering is a little iffy but it's fun. Anywho, I'm sure I'll be back with a couple photos this week.

Toodles!

PS - I'm glad to say that I have my own website now: http://doublelindsay.com so it might be a little easier for you to find me!

PPS - I'll be home in exactly a month from today!!!!!!

Lists and pictures!

2010-05-19T22:39:00.007-03:00

If you know me well, you would know that I'm fairly big on lists. I find them much easier than writing paragraphs of information, especially when the information could be neatly put into nice bullet points.

Top 5 things I love about Norman Wells:
* The mountains. They are unreal and unlike any mountains I have ever seen before. Ok, I've actually never seen any mountains before so these are kind of the only mountains I've seen - but they are still gorgeous and they blow my mind every single time I see them.
* Walking to work, or to the post office, or to get your groceries and half of the town waving to you, or stopping to say "Hello" and ask how you're doing. I might not always wave back, mostly because the sun is ALWAYS in my eyes and I can't see who you are, but I still love it. Small town hospitality rules.
* How completely different it is from Halifax. Living here is a totally different way of life. I've experienced so many new things, and I've only been here for 4 months.
* Being so close to everything I ever need. I am a 2 minute walk to the post office, 4 minutes to the grocery stores, bars and my work. It's so nice not to have to hop on a bus and ride for an hour to get to my destination.
* Working with one of the most manly men I have ever known, Brian Stehr. I can't even explain how masculine and strong he is. He gives the word "he-man" a whole new meaning. Plus, he's a great cook.

Top 5 things I don't like about Norman Wells:
* How GD expensive everything is. $8 for a half pint of blackberries? $16 for a teeny tiny pineapple? $8 for a stick of deodorant? $35 for a friggin' laundry basket?! I don't even wanna get into the cost of living up here...
* The ignorance and racism. Not really going to elaborate on that one - because I'm sure you can use your imaginations or the internet to figure out what happens in a town of half natives, half white people.
* The price of a plane ticket out of there. $700 to Edmonton? Ridiculous! Flying home to NS is about a $1200 trip - one way!
* It's not even the summer yet and the mosquitos are kind of insane. I can't even imagine what's gonna happen once June and July hit. I think the amount of flying bastards are really going to annoy me.
* And last but certainly not least, the isolation. It's the biggest killer and definitely the worst part about living here. You can't just hop in a car and drive to the big city. That would be Yellowknife, and it's a 1.5 hour plane ride. Not to mention, there are no roads that go to Yellowknife if you're not driving on the Ice Road (which is only open for a couple months every year anyway).

Top 5 things I miss about Halifax:
* The ocean! And being no more than 30 minutes away from it at all times.
* The waterfront! Specifically Perks, the benches on the edge of the dock by Salty's and the boardwalk.
* The Youth Project!! Volunteering there, the staff and other volunteers, and just the environment. I miss you guys big time.
* The local music scene! Specifically Ria Mae, Rose Cousins and Amelia Curran.
* My mommy.

The Cabin Lounge - I work there a couple nights a week. It's quaint, eh?

That's what the ice road looks like when the snow melts...
Hard to believe that's how we get around, hey?

The dump aka the main source of entertainment in Norman Wells.

Kirsten riding her new bike...

Break up!

Another break up picture!

I won a contest and was in the newspaper!
I guess I should mention that mine and Kirsten's good friend, Laura got here on Sunday! She started working at the bar in the hotel I work at. She's here for the summer and we're super excited to have her up here. She isn't loving Norman Wells as much as Kirsten and I are but we'll give her a little bit of time. It's pretty overwhelming at first! She's dating someone back home so it definitely makes things tougher. Oh - and an old co-worker of mine from when I worked at the newspaper in Halifax also moved up here this month. We hadn't kept in touch after I left, and a few months ago, I got a random message from him, saying he was moving to Norman Wells. Well, he finally got here and I'm also super excited to have another familiar face here. It definitely makes it easier!

Toodles!

PS: 34 days until I leave for holidays!

A picture update

2010-04-25T19:05:00.002-03:00

Well, what can I say? The weather has been gorgeous. Almost all of the snow has melted, I've been wearing shorts, skirts and sandals, the sun sets at midnight and rises again before 5am. We've been spending lots of time with my co-workers and it's been really cool. I'm glad we fit in well with them. Last night we sat outside infront of a fire for a bunch of hours, talking, drinking and eatin' weiners. It was awesome. Tonight we're having a movie and Chinese night and couldn't be happier about the Chinese! The lady who owns the only restaurant in town that serves anything besides really common, Western food has been out of town for 2 years and is just getting back! Good timing.

I've been thinking a lot about moving back to Halifax and have been pretty torn. I really love Norman Wells but it's just not Halifax and I'm really struggling with this decision. I don't have a return ticket when I go home in June, and I'm not sure when or if I will come back. I really love Norman Wells, the money I'm making here, and the friends I've made... but I miss so much of Halifax. I guess we'll see what happens when I go home this summer.

Anywho, I'll leave you with some pictures. As always, click to make 'em bigger.

I have hair again!

Sewage!

Look at those mountains!!!!

Toodles!

PS, 58 days until I leave for Halifax!

72 Days

2010-04-11T20:06:00.005-03:00

First off, I just want to mention that I am writing this from my brand spankin' new MacBook. Yep, that's right, I bought a new camera last month and this month it's a new laptop. I've been living comfortably but also putting a big chunk of my pay cheques into savings. It's such a weird feeling to be able to buy the things that you want and need without stressing over paying your bills and scraping together your last bit of cash.

I've been making more friends here in Norman Wells and am getting very comfortable with my co-workers. I'm part of the family now I've been told, and am pretty happy about it. We're all so different and have basically nothing in common with one another but they're all really fun and easy to talk to and get along with and I'm just having a blast with everybody. Kirsten and I have been going out a little bit more and doing things which is nice. It's definitely making things easier.

I'm VERY excited about my trip home! I've been counting down for a little while now, and we're at 72 days now! I've been making plans and appointments and have a lot to cram in. I can't wait to get out and be able to all of the things I've been thinking about. I wanna get in as much trouble as possible before I come back to Norman Wells!

I've been experiencing some things that are totally new to me lately and it's scary but I'm also grateful that I'm getting to see things from a different perspective. I've had some blatantly racist things said about/to me and it's definitely made me stop and think. I've also been hanging out with people who are so totally different from all of my friends back home and it's kinda cool. I guess I've always been a little scared to step outside of my comfort zone but moving up here has forced me out. I've been learning a lot about myself up here and I'm really glad I got this opportunity.

Anyway, that's all for now. Toodles!

Home

2010-03-18T12:40:00.003-03:00

Norman Wells is becoming a lot less like living in a foreign place and a lot more like living somewhere you can call home. Don't get me wrong, I'm not a lifer and I don't plan to stay here much longer than a year, but I'm confident that the rest of my time spent living here will be awesome. I've gotten pretty close with all of my co-workers, and have been told that I am part of the family now. It's really nice to have friends here. I know that sounds a little silly, and kind of desperate or like I've never had friends, but it's so true. Having friends and people I can talk to and hang out with is making a big different for Kirsten and I.

I've been working like a dog. Yesterday was a long work day - 14 hour shift! I've noticed that people in this town never stop working. I don't work as many hours as a few people at the hotel and I already feel like I'm burning out. It's nice to be surrounding with people who are hard workers. Speaking of making money, I've been doing a lot of online shopping. It's so weird to be able to spend hundreds of dollars online, pay all of my bills, pay Kirsten for rent, buy food and other supplies here in town, buy my ticket home on a whim and still have money in my savings account. And I'm only a friggin' waitress! I'm not a very materialistic person, and I never have dreams of being rich, but being able to do whatever I want money-wise sure is a plus.

Daylight savings was last weekend and it's made a huge difference. Coming home from work last night at 9pm, it was still light out. Granted, it doesn't get bright until 8am again so it's a little harder waking up in the mornings. I'm very curious about this 24/hour sunlight thing. I guess it all starts in June. I can't even count how many times I've been told that the summers here are really beautiful. I'm not a summer person but I'm excited to experience it up here. I think I'm just sick of this cold weather. Last week we were spoiled and were up in the plusses... this week we're back to normal and the temperature as I type this is -27.

Anyway, I haven't taken any pictures lately but I'll see what I can come up with for my next post. Toodles!

A good weekend for me

2010-03-08T12:18:00.004-04:00

It's finally starting to warm up here in Norman Wells! The last two days have been as warm as +3, which was so nice and refreshing! The sun has been rising earlier and earlier every week. Today I woke up around 8:15am to a completely bright bedroom. It's so much easier to wake up when it's like this!

This weekend was a good one. Friday night was our first night out on the town. We hit up all 3 bars with a couple of girls that I work with. It was just really nice to get out of the house and hang out with new people. Yesterday night we went to one of the parks in town for a weenie roast with a few people from work and their families and had a good time. Again, it was nice just to get out... but by the end of it, I literally froze my butt off. We were sitting outside for a couple of hours, and without snow pants, my poor bum was cold for hours afterwards!

I have some big news to report... I booked my ticket home on a whim last week! I didn't even have an exact date in mind until I went to look at ticket prices... well, I liked what I saw and booked my ticket! I leave here on June 23rd and get home early on June 24th! I'll probably stay for about a month so I can do all of my usual summer things (which kind of defeats the purpose of moving to a new town to experience new things) but I couldn't be more excited! My brother graduates high school this year so I'll be home for that, my birthday and Pride Week.

Day 1 of my first day off in a month is coming to an end. I did 2 loads of laundry, did the dishes, cleaned the kitchen and the living room. I also stopped in for a tan, checked the mail and stopped in at work for a few pieces of cheesecake. I would say it's been a fairly productive day for me.

Anywho, enough for now. Toodles.

Homesick

2010-03-05T11:05:00.016-04:00

I've been feeling really homesick lately and have been listening to a lot of artists from the Maritimes or songs about the Maritimes. I'm not sure if that's just magnifying my homesickness but nevertheless, I'm finding a little comfort in the songs below.

Love This Town - Joel Plaskett

The Night That Patty Murphy Died - Great Big Sea

White Daisies - Rose Cousins

Scattered and Small - Amelia Curran

Oh Canada - Classified

Angel - Sarah McLachlan

Stop. Rewind. Begin. - Ria Mae

Some of the things I miss the most about home:
- Hopping in a car and being able to drive for as long and far as you want
- Never being more than 30 minutes from the ocean
- Peggy's Cove, St Margaret's Bay and Portuguese Cove
- The local music scene... and shows at The Company House & The Cohn!
- The Halifax waterfront and all of it's nooks & crannies
- Being within an hours drive from all of my family & friends
- The queer community & volunteering at the Youth Project
- The pride Maritimers take in being from the Maritimes
- The diversity!
- The Halifax Commons
- Perks, Venus Envy, Park Lane Mall & Quinpool

Some of the things I don't miss about home:
- The stinky smell of the Halifax Harbour
- METRO TRANSIT!!!!!!
- The lack of jobs/income for many people
- How small social communities felt at certain times

That's all for now. Toodles.

Pictures as promised

2010-02-26T19:03:00.012-04:00

Click on 'em if you want a closer look!

Work has been pretty crazy the last couple of days. Lots of people in town - all three hotels are full! I'm not really sure what's going on, but there are definitely lots of people around. Kirsten and I are both feeling pretty bored here so we're planning a trip to Yellowknife (about 15,000 people) in April. A roundtrip ticket from Norman Wells to Yellowknife is $700... it's pretty steep but we're willing to pay for a little excitement! Yellowknife has a Walmart, a movie theatre, and some other things that we've been missing living here in Norman Wells. I'm also trying to coordinate a trip home while including as many things as possible... it's tough! I wanna be home for everything but I know it's impossible. I'll write with a little substance later - I just wanted to update with a few pictures.

Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Toodles.

FINALLY!

2010-02-22T17:39:00.004-04:00

The last few weeks have been hell without a computer! If you're outta the loop - that's why I haven't been updating. Lack of computer. But now it's back and better than ever. I haven't had a chance to upload the gazillion pictures I've taken in the last month but as soon as that's done, you'll see them!

Wow. I've been thinking of blog ideas for weeks. I don't even know where to start.

The last time I wrote, I had just gone for a job interview. Well, I didn't get it. I was actually very surprised. I cried a little and thought I was going to be unemployed forever. Well, that lasted for a day or two and then I got a job at one of the three restaurants in town. I've been working like a dog and am enjoying it for the most part. My co-workers are cool, the tips are nice, and the customers are interesting. I don't know how long I'll be at the restaurant for but it's working for now. I also applied for a government job at the end of January but haven't heard anything back. I was speaking with the mayor (the thing about small towns is that the mayor is actually everybody's friend) and he said he didn't think they have even interviewed anybody yet so that's good to know.

We've been getting cozy in our townhouse. When we first moved in, it was an absolute shithole. We've got it cleaned up and we're settling in great. We're only a 3 minute walk to the post office, and a 5 minute walk to the grocery stores, the 2 bars and my work. Kirsten ordered a DVD player a couple of weeks ago and it's been our saving grace without the laptop. I get my second pay cheque on Wednesday and that's when I plan to go on my ordering spree... hehe.

Speaking of pay cheques, my first cheque from the restaurant paid off all of my outstanding bills from living in Halifax. How awesome is that? I'm about half way through re-paying my debt and I couldn't be happier about it. I'll be saving in no time. Although, there are quite a few things I will be buying before I start to put my cheques into a savings account. I never was great with my money.

Well, that's all for now. I just wanted to post a quick update to let you know that I'm not dead. I've been keeping a written list of some cool things I want to write about so keep checking back!

Toodles.

PS, I just realized it's been exactly one month since my last post. WOW.

6 days in

2010-01-22T17:54:00.006-04:00

Well, I've almost been in Norman Wells for a week. To be honest, it feels like I've been here for much longer. Maybe it's because I already know my way around town. Or maybe it's because my concept of time sucks. Either way, it's been a good (almost) week and I'm enjoying myself so far. I went for my first job interview today, and it went pretty well (I think). It's just an office job, and the pay isn't great (compared to everybody else in this town), but you gotta start somewhere and it seems like a good place to work. After 3 months, there is a $1 pay raise raise, health benefits kick in (90% coverage), and I have access to the company plane for myself and my immediate family - which is awesome, because a round trip ticket from/to Norman Wells costs a little less than 3 grand.

Kirsten came down with a sore throat about 2 days ago, but since she's NEVER sick, she just brushed it off. Well, last night was brutal for her and she was up all night. She went to the health center today and got some antibiotics and took the afternoon off work (which is a crazy thing for her to do - she hasn't taken a sick day since the 3rd grade). Don't tell her I said this - but she looks like shit. I hope she feels better soon. We have a truck for the weekend and wanted to go and take some pictures - I hope she feels well enough to go out!

We finally moved into our townhouse yesterday (I forget if I mentioned that we were staying with her boss and his wife, who were soooo good to us!), which is the company crew house. I didn't have high expectations of the place. At first glance, it was way better than I was expecting. There is this huge sectional in the living room, and it's big enough to sleep about 8,000 people. But when I took a look around, the people who were living here before us were dirty. The fridge is full of old/rotten food, the bathroom looks like it hasn't been cleaned in a few months, and the upstairs bedrooms were trashed. There were 4 condom wrappers under our bed - EWWWWWWWWWWWWW. I think it'll be fine once we actually clean the place up, I'm just really not looking forward to cleaning. Plus, it's cheap as hell and we would never find anywhere else to live at this price so I guess I'll have to suck it up.

Anyway, I'll end this with a few more pictures and hopefully update with some good news about a job in a few days.

Pretty, eh?

This is what our roads look like...

We're second from the left

98% of the vehicles in Norman Wells are pick up trucks

One of the cool tree bridges they have around town

Sunset

A common sight outside of most houses/stores - a plug - because in order to keep your car in running condition, you have to plug it in so everything doesn't freeze up!
That's all for now. Toodles.

Some pictures

2010-01-18T11:52:00.011-04:00

Alright, here are some pictures as promised. I've only had the opportunity to take a few, but here's what I have so far. I must say, it's a very beautiful place to live. I can't wait until I learn my way around town and can go take some pictures without getting lost. You can click on the pictures to enlarge them.

This is everything we brought...

The gorgeous view leaving Edmonton while the sun was rising.

There were a whole bunch of crazy rivers as we flew up north.

A mixture of clouds and snow on our way to Yellowknife!

Everything looked so crazy and different.

The view up our street...

The view down our street...

(FYI - we actually live "downtown"...)

The front of our townhouse.

The school and library, which are right across the street from us.

A scary bridge along the infamous Ice Road.

A pretty view of the Mackenzie River.

The town office.

The dental clinic, and the 2 grocery stores in town.

This is the daily liquor ration... per person... it's a rough one, eh?

Further up the Mackenzie on an overcast day.

When the sky is clear, you can see the mountains!
Anywho, I'm off to open a bank account (since there is only one back in town, and shockingly, they are not my bank) and stop by the post office to see about getting a PO box.

Toodles.

And we're here

2010-01-16T23:56:00.005-04:00

The goodbye with my mom was just as I predicted - tear free. We are both freaks about being on time and left about 2.5 hours before my flight. Of course, we got there and had nothing to do. We hung out for a bit and then decided it was time for me to clear security and say goodbye. We hugged for a while, kissed each other on the cheek, and then contemplated whether or not we are cold hearted because we weren't crying. In the end, we decided we weren't cold hearted and that it was okay to be feeling this way.

I got through security fine - except for the part where they emptied my bag. It embarrassed me because I didn't see anybody else get their stuff searched and I didn't know what was going on. Turns out I didn't have anything bad, and I made it out alive - without a cavity search. But as soon as I sat down to wait for my flight alone, I started to tear up and was wondering WTF I got myself into. Two older ladies saw me acting like a drug addict (fidgety, nervous, teary eyed) and started a conversation with me. They were both sweet as pie and calmed me down.

The (7 hour) flight itself went pretty smoothly. There was an insane cat sitting behind me who was so unhappy to be on the plane that she chewed through her mesh carrier and they had to duct tape it up! There was also this freaky mother and son sitting directly infront of me who would fart throughout the whole flight and then push it towards each other. They were both WEIRD.

We flew over Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin (where I could actually see the lights of the city!!!!), Minnesota and North Dakota - oh, and Saskatchewan and Manitoba. I know I didn't stop in any of those states/provinces, but I still thought it was super cool because I've never been past Eastern Canada.

Anywho, I got into Edmonton and met up with Kirsten. We went back to her hotel, re-packed our bags to fit more crap, and ordered a pizza. By the time we got to bed, it was about 1am and we had to be up at 4am to catch our shuttle to the airport. Needless to say, I'm not a morning person and this morning was ESPECIALLY difficult. I don't think my eyes fully opened until atleast 7:30 when we boarded the plane to Yellowknife. We had a short stop in Yellowknife and then off to Norman Wells we went.

Well, now I'm sitting in the living room of Kirsten's new boss (we're staying with him and his wife for about a week) in my long flannel nighty and I'm ready for bed. There is a 3 hour time difference so that and my lack of sleep are really starting to kick in! I've been "that girl" the whole way, who takes pictures of everything, so I'll be sure to post some pictures in the next day or two!

Toodles.

It's gettin' close...

2010-01-15T09:21:00.007-04:00

So, in a matter of hours, I'll be on my way to the airport. The last couple of days have been pretty laid back - I finished up my errands and basically sat around, waiting to leave. I saw a doctor a couple of days ago and found out that I have my first sinus infection. I'm a little freaked out because I've been informed that flying with a sinus infection can be quite painful... I hope it's cleared up enough that I won't be in too much pain! They gave me antibiotics and some nasal spray (which was quite the experience itself!) and they've been working pretty well.

Just about all of my goodbyes have been said. I've noticed that my family has been very generous the last little while - I shoulda left earlier! This morning, my brother came in and woke me up before he left for school and said "Well, peace out Lindsay" - and that was it. Gotta love my brother... I didn't expect anything more or anything less from him. I'm not really looking forward to the dramatic airport goodbye with my mom, mostly because I have no prediction of the outcome. We're both pretty weird with our emotions so we could end up saying bye and hugging tear-free, or we could make a big scene. It all depends on the day with us. I'm leaning towards the tear-free option (but mostly because I don't like to be the center of attention).

I'm starting to get nervous. The last 12 hours or so, my stomach has been a little crazy and I got emotional last night while thinking about leaving. The Northwest Territories is going to be really different from anything I have ever experienced, but I think it'll be really good for me. I'm just nervous because I'm the kind of person that takes some time to warm up to new ideas... some say I'm a little stubborn... and I've been known to be a little pessimistic, so I'm going to have to really work on snapping out of that and just experiencing this crazy new life. It's a good thing that Kirsten is (sometimes overly) optimistic, so I'm sure I'll hear my fair share of inspirational quotes and she'll definitely be around to smack me around a little if I'm getting out of control.

Anywho, just thought I'd post a little update.

Toodles.

First

2010-01-11T14:05:00.008-04:00

The first post is so intimidating - especially since I've never had a blog before. I had this page open for a good 20 minutes before typing even one word. I guess I'll just get down to business.

In exactly 4 days, I will be sitting at the Halifax airport, waiting for my plane to depart to Edmonton, Alberta. This will not only be my first time on a plane all by myself, but my first time visiting anywhere outside of the Atlantic provinces. I'll be in Edmonton for one night, and then bright and early Saturday morning (8am), I'll be boarding a plane to the Northwest Territories.

It all started many months ago, while having a very casual conversation with my girlfriend, Kirsten. I've been itching to get out of Halifax for a while, and always thought that the Northern territories were super interesting. We discussed how cool (and completely friggin' different) it would be to visit. We both expressed interest and decided to someday explore that part of our country. Little did I know that "someday" actually meant "a few months from now".

We'll fast forward a little bit. Kirsten happened to know a couple who moved from our hometown all the way up to a tiny little town in the Northwest Territories. They also just happened to be in Nova Scotia for the weekend. She met with them, found out that the husband ran a transportation company up there and was looking for a new office manager (and what do you know, Kirsten worked for a moving company down here). Kirsten came home about 3 hours later, completely excited and ready to go.

I freaked out. Big time. I wasn't ready to move 4,300kms from home to a town with less than 1000 people. I've never lived anywhere but Halifax. Not to mention I've never lived more than a 10 minute drive from my mother! I thought about it for about a month, decided I would give it a try. After changing my mind about 10 times, having many freak outs and shedding many tears, I decided that I would give it a try.

And that decision was made about 2 weeks ago. It's been a very quick process. 6 months ago, I didn't expect to be packed up, ready to fly to Norman Wells, NWT. It's been a jam packed couple of weeks, fitting in appointments and visits and errands. I don't know how many trips we've made to Costco. I bought my first winter hat in about 12 years, my first grown up boots ever, and a shitload of mittens.

I can say that I am about 90% packed and ready to go. I'm also very organized and prepared - which, if you know me, is totally out of character. But I figure if I'm going to make this insane move, I might as well do it correctly. You wouldn't believe how many cough drops are stuffed in my suitcase - if I get desperate money wise, I can sell them to the locals for about $15/bag.

Anyway, that's enough for today. I'm sure I'll be updating again... it's not like I'm going to be overwhelmed with things to do in a town without a movie theatre, mall, chain restaurants/stores, or transit system.

Toodles.