Saturday, October 31, 2009

Like it was yesterday.

100_3323                        October 31st, 2008 a very tentative and slightly nervous woman walked off a First Air flight onto the snowy tundra not knowing what the next two years would hold.

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That’s me!! I was that tentative and slight apprehensive woman and today marks my one year anniversary in the GWN (Great white north).  I like to think the North hasn’t changed me, but I know that it has.  I’m not the same nervous apprehensive woman I once was.  I hate to say I’m more abrupt and abrasive but I do border on both of them, however, on the other end of the spectrum I’m more open and friendly towards people I hardly know and that is a huge change as I use to be very sceptical about new people; judging the book by the cover.

I also find myself thinking about things that I normally wouldn’t be thinking about if I was living down south.

1.  Water truck…In a happy good world the water truck would arrive like clockwork 3x per week.  The world we live in is not always happy and good.

2.  Sewage truck…will it arrive today; and must remember to flush the toilet in case they suck my tank dry.

3.  Wednesday = Fresh produce day; the best time to go is when school is in session and preferably when it isn’t the hamlets or the co-ops payday.

4.  Starting Christmas shopping in October because you never know how long you’ll wait for your shipment to arrive.

5.  How I can put on enough layers to keep out the –4o weather and still manage to get some outside activity.

6.  How long until my next IPA (Vacation)

I like to think I’m older and wiser and I’ve grown in leaps and bounds in the last year, but really I think all I’ve learned is that I can dust my woodworking everyday and there is still hair that collects immediately after.   Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining about living in Kugaaruk.  I wouldn’t change a thing about the last year, well okay I would…but that can be saved for another time and place.  I couldn’t ask for a better hamlet to be living in for our two year posting.  We have beautiful landscaping and post office that runs consistent and clear open water with a fresh smell of salt that permeates the skin on a cool summer day. 

I’m  not going  to rush the next year, although I know without doing so that I will be.  I’m a Southern girl at heart and while I love living here and all that it entails I’m looking forward to being back in civilization where I can get my Starbucks with my Chapters with a side order of Futureshop without making do with perked coffee and the internet.

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Losing the sun = October 30th, 2009 @ 2:00pm

Bring on the long stretched out winter, I think I may even enjoy this one.

3 comments:

Chris said...

Looking apprehensively at my own first winter in the North, it's comforting to hear you've enjoyed yours...

Morena said...

Happy Anniversary! Yeah, who would have thought 'pooptruck' would become a word you use all the time. At least that's what we call it.
Glad your happy with living here but I hear you. I'm not in a hurry to go back but I look forward to living in the 'real world' again.

Tammy said...

Chris - The winter here isn't "that" bad, we had a couple of really cold days. If I remember we hit the -55/60 (with windchill) last December. For the most part the hardest part was loosing the sun for a month and a half. (Mid-November until January). I find it funny that we live in a community as small as ours and I have yet to run into you..lol unless I have and didn't know it.

Morena - Hope you are having a fantasic time being home back East. It is funny how we automatically pick up the lingo of our community without really trying.