online dating??

well i did it. i survived that first plane ride! it really never ceases to amaze me the type of people you will meet. as i was sitting there waiting for the plane to take off i was squeesing my hand rest with my head back and my eyes squeezed shut. it was obvious to everyone that i was slightly freaking out. as the plane started moving this man sitting across the aisle from me taps me on the arm and says:

"ma'am, would you possibly have a stick of gum?"

i looked at him and just nodded my head yes. i really thought that maybe he was trying to distract, and i didn't think that he was actually being serious in wanting a piece of gum.

[i was wrong.]

he then went on explaining that for the past two and a half months he has been online chatting with this girl and he was meeting her for the first time. his exact words:
"i really think we're going to hit it off nicely and so i just really need a stick of gum so i can just pop it in right before we meet. just in case my breath is...well you know."

by this point i'm sitting in my seat trying not to laugh and the lady sitting next to me is giggling while playing on her i-pad. i gave him a piece of gum and thought that the conversation was over.
[i was wrong...again]

i then got the whole story on his online dating experiences...and a few tips!

1. ALWAYS show pictures of what you look like.
(he didn't do that with his last girl and he drove a whole 120 miles to see her and then she got cold feet.)
2. if the first relationship doesn't work out, don't freak out.
(he told me to trust him, he's gone through like 5 women and he's still staying calm!)
3.make sure you really now the person before you go and visit them.
(i guess know as much as you can since it's all online?)
thanks to my little online dating friend i wasn't even scared during takeoff! also, if i ever need to pursue some online dating i now know all of the great techniques and tips.

he was a gem. can't wait to see just what my next flight brings!

just to clarify...

So I think there are lots of misconceptions out there about what Brin and I are actually doing this summer. So I am just going to try and clarify what it is we are actually doing up here.

Misconception #1

We are not in Siberia up here. I have very good cell phone and internet reception. Before I left people asked me if I could write letters or call them on a land line phone. My response was "Guys I'm not going to prison." Another comment I got was at church two weeks ago. Some older man (I will not mention his name to save him some embarrassment) asked me if this would be the first time I would be leaving the country...Um, dude, Alaska is part of the United States. Maybe Alaska wasn't a state when he was a kid, but it is now.

Misconception #2

Yes we work in a fish cannery, but we do not directly touch, see, smell, or taste any fish. We work in the case up division of Peter Pan Seafood (PPSF). The fish we work with are already in cans and we just get them ready to be shipped. Our supervisor, Tammy, told us that if we ever see, touch, or smell fish then something is wrong with the way the fish was canned.

Misconception #3

Never would I thought this would be an issue, but Brin told me a lady in our ward warned her about it at church today. Its kind of funny really, but she warned Brin about sexual harassment and being raped. Just because we signed up to work here does not mean we are automatically going to be raped. It is not part of the job. This is not an unsafe place to be. Of course if Brin or I were to walk alone at night in town then yes we might be raped, but isn't that true anywhere in the world? Yes, hardly any of the people here are LDS, but that does not make them bad, raping people. I've noticed I get lots of stares from the people from the Philippines, but I learned that people with fair skin are seen as beautiful in their culture. I'm going to take those stares as a compliment; not as a threatening stare from a rapist. It could also be that I'm one of the tallest girls they have ever seen. I tower over both the men and the women. 

So I hope that clarifies what it is that we do up here in the very technologically up to date state of Alaska; which, if you didn't know is in the United States of America. Anyone please feel free to send me a text or give me a call on the phone. And I'll try to protect myself and Brin from all the rapists here.

And then here are just some more pictures of the beautiful sights of Alaska...

I found this gorgeous waterfall when I went running one night after work

This is the only fish I've seen since arriving here in Alaska, and this was on the same run that I saw the waterfall. This was taken in the harbor where all the fisherman bring in their fish. The fisherman said it weighed over 35 lbs!

On my way to the big A.K.

Tonight I packed my bags for Alaksa. I'm not quite positive how I feel about this whole adventure. I'm nervous and kind of just anxious to get there and see what it's really like. Most of the people I talk to tell me its awful, smelly, and down right disgusting. I'm really hoping it's not as bad as they've all said!

At the moment I'm feeling a mix of emotions, I don't know whether to be nervous, excited, dreading it, or feeling like it's going to be the greatest adventure.

I'm nervous about being away from home for two months. [never done that]
I'm nervous about the smell. [i hate fish]
I'm nervous about working. [let's be honest i've never had a real job before]
I'm terrified about flying to Alaska. [i'm scared of flying]

BUT

I'm excited to live with Cath this summer. [that will be an adventure in itself]
I'm excited to make money. [that will feel great]
I'm excited to meet new people. [i love doing that]
I'm excited to have a new adventure. [i'm hoping it's a great adventure]

 I'll let you know more about this whole Alaskan experience once I arrive in Valdez (that is hoping I don't die on the plane.) What an experience this will be!

-brin

A prayer answered

After a little over a month in Primary Children's this little boy, Jackson Blake, is coming home today! I'm so happy that this day is finally here, and so sad that I'm not there to help and hug and kiss this little boy! This has been a hard time for my family, but especially hard on my sister Amanda. I admire her so much for the way she handled this; not only for the month since Jax has been in the hospital, but since she found out that there was a possibility that he could have a problem.


When Amanda first told me about Jackson's problem I knew I wanted to stay in Logan for the summer, but I couldn't do that without a full time job. I looked and looked, but nothing ever came about. It broke my heart when I had to take this job in Alaska, but I knew I had to take it. I accepted this job with a lot of faith and a lot of prayer. Faith in my family to get through this, faith in the nurses and doctors to put this sweet baby back together, and most importantly faith in and prayers to my Heavenly Father that he would watch over little Jackson, his parent, and his sweet brother Carter. My prayers were answered and little Jackson gets to come home. He is far from healed, but coming home makes him just that must closer to being recovered. Can't wait until August 25th when I come home to see you Jackson, Carter, Amanda, and even Neil! Love you guys!

And so my adventure begins...

For those of you who don't know Brin and I will be spending the summer (if you call 50 degree weather summer) in Valdez, Alaska. We are working in the cannery for Peter Pan Seafood. I (Catherine) arrived here in Valdez yesterday (Brin comes next week). I left Boise at 6:30 A.M. and didn't get here to Valdez until 9:00 mountain time. Such a long, long day! I had two lay overs: one in Seattle for a little over two hours, and one in Anchorage for five hours. Such a long, long day!

When I got here I was surprised about how beautiful it was. I thought only old people could find beauty in rocks, trees, and mountains, but boy was I wrong. This place is absolutely GORGEOUS! I thought that Washington would be the greenest place that I've ever been, but this place takes green to a whole new meaning. We live in a valley with mountains on both sides and the Gulf of Alaska right down the road. It is just such a gorgeous place!

Just so people know where we are. We are in the southeast part of Alaska. Just to the east of Anchorage.

Just some pictures from my day today. We didn't have to work today, but we had orientation and then took a tour. My brother and I needed to go into town today to get some stuff we forgot. I forgot a razor and was freaking out yesterday on the plane that I was not going to be able to shave my legs or armpits all summer long and that I would come home a yeti or something! But Valdez is not just a fishing town. They have a few restaurants, a couple gas stations, and thank heavens a grocery store. So yes I was able to get a razor!  

I wanted to start this blog for a number of reasons:

1. To be able to document this summer for my own memory. I want to remember my thoughts and feelings of this summer; because let's be honest how many times will I be able to spend 2 months in Alaska?

2. I won't be have the time to be able to call and tell everyone what I'm doing. I will be working for long hours and won't have time to call everyone so I'll keep everyone updated at the same time.

3. People told Brin that we needed to do this. I think they think its funny that we're up here. I'll be honest I surprised myself by making the decision to come.

4. I wanted to prove to people that we can do this. I've had so many people tell me that Brin and I need to save our money because they know that we'll come home after just a couple of weeks (if we leave before the end of the season we have to pay for our flight home). I don't know why they think we can't do this, but they will just have to eat their words because we'll be OK in the A.K.!