Day 8, July 6th, Living in Girdwood, AK

Operation Fitness for Fear: It was a week day today, so Tess and I resumed Operation FFF. We have been running a similar path everyday, and today we shaved a record three minutes off of our time. I attribute this speedy time partially to the fact that we didn’t run over the weekend (opting instead for hikes and walks), and mostly to the fact that we ran later in the day. Running later in the day doesn’t usually make me run faster, however it does mean that there are more people out on the path while we are running. People and bicyclists whom Tess is afraid of when they are up close, and suddenly wants to chase after once they have passed her. Seriously, my dog likes it when you play hard to get people. Anyway, Tess isn’t a huge puller, but every little tug that she makes as she tries to chase after those people helps when you are trying to set a record. Way to go Tess.

Operation Trying Not to be a Complete Hermit:
Most people don’t think that I am shy, because once I get to know them; they can’t get me to shut up. But, I do tend to be a little shy when I first meet people. Maybe shy isn’t the right word, maybe the correct phrase is reserved and observant. I generally like to watch someone for a few minutes before I speak to them for the first time, so that I know what I am going to say, and how I am going to say it (serious, joking, monotone, ambivalent, exuberant, sarcastic . . . you get the point).

I have also always had a habit of going through periods of “hibernation.” I’ll have a flurry of social months, and then all of the sudden it seems like I have fallen off of the face of the earth for a week or two while I hole up in my neighborhood, write, read books, get tea, eat breakfast at Radda, don’t answer the phone, and watch movies alone. I think it’s my brain’s natural way of letting me recover from, and prep for, the next social events where I have to be “on” and entertaining. I’ve always been this way. At the end of the school year, my friend who lived 2 blocks away would say, “see you in three months,” because she knew that even though we lived two minutes from each other I was going to hibernate for the summer.

These patterns are not new to me. And, because of these patterns, it does not surprise me that I have yet to really make any friends in Girdwood, much less held a face to face conversation that lasted longer than five minutes over the past two weeks. I *am* talking to people via the phone and IM so I am still very connected, but I haven’t gone out of my way to introduce myself to the town of Girdwood yet.

So, today I decided that I would try to break *a little* out of my hermit lifestyle and say “hi’ to someone in Girdwood. It didn’t have to be a long conversation or a formal introduction, but I did have to, at the very least, say hello to someone I didn’t know. On the way back from Operation FFF, I saw a prime opportunity to cross this off my list of things to do today. As I was running past this older guy with a walking stick I said, “Hi” and I waved. He looked up at me, smiled through a bushy grey moustache, with all of his upper teeth missing, and said, “Hello.” As I continued running by I shouted out, “It’s a lovely day out.” (There’s nothing like saying hi on the move to help you slowly ease out of the hermit lifestyle). He replied back, “Sure is,” and I kept running. There, that wasn’t so hard was it? No it wasn’t. To make the interaction even better, as Tess and I stopped running at the top of the hill and turned back to the house, we ran in to the guy again and he uttered this charming statement; “Lil darlin’, you're gonna melt if you keep running.” So sweet! I love it when little old guys call me 1) “lil” and 2) “darlin.” I laughed and thought: Melting? I hope so! Yup. That’s the idea buddy. That’s the idea.

Other Random Notes about the Day:
I didn’t go into Anchorage today. Work didn’t send me any huge files that crashed my internet connection, so I could work successfully from home. Yea! Only a couple more days until the truly high-speed connection comes to my house. Come on DSL!

I am still in love with creamed bee pollen. I need some bread though. Then I can truly experience the love with a creamed bee pollen and peanut butter sandwich. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I think I spotted the first lesbian that may live on my street (besides me). I say *I think* because in Alaska my gaydar is a little off. All the normal rules no longer apply. However, since this girl was walking along with a buzz cut, and a stocky build, in sweats and a sweatshirt and clearly no bra of any sort on, I feel fairly certain I am correct in my assessment. Maybe I’ll say hi to her tomorrow on my run? Who knows? The sky is the limit people! And, if she calls me "lil darlin" too then my suspicions will be confirmed!

Wildlife Sightings:
Para-gliders: 2
The loudest crows I have ever heard: 4

Our Adventure for the Day: After work, I took Tess for a hike. We packed the day pack full of way too much stuff, applied copious amounts of OFF and sunscreen and set off in search of the Winner Creek Trail. Now, on the Kenai Peninsula, almost all of the trails are clearly marked, but in Girdwood, this doesn’t appear to be the case, at least not when it comes to this particular trail. We wandered around for a while searching for the trail head and then we really started moving when we thought we had found it. We rambled through some thicker brush and bushes. I started teaching Tess a new trick called “Holy crap! NO! Stay out of the bog! @#^&.” (Incidentally, we’re still going to need to work on perfecting this trick). We even ran into the river that runs through town and took the most picturesque picture of the trip so far (which is saying a lot). All in all, I was beginning to think this trail, which we had only been on for fifteen minutes, might become my favorite trail in town. And then, we rounded a corner, and ran into the Well Plant for Girdwood. Yeah. The “trail” we were on ended right there, at the chain link fence for the Well Plant. It wasn’t a trail at all; it was just a dirt road to a big brick building. Tess grabbed the leash in her mouth and expressed her frustration with a little impromptu cross training (tug of war). I stood there in disbelief and shook my head at the fact that I was currently getting high on OFF for this stupid dirt road/wanna-be-trail. What a let down.

And then . . .

I looked up, and saw the same great view that was there right before we realized this was just a dirt road to a plant. And I looked around, and I saw flowers, and glacial waters rushing by me, and my dog panting and looking up at me with bog water still dripping off of her neck. And I thought: “What the hell. This was still a totally beautiful, fun, and new hike. I got to see things that took my breath away. And I still got to chuckle at my dog. So what if this is just a dirt road? It’s a damn pretty dirt road.”

Lesson Learned: Not every adventure has to be epic. It just has to make you smile.