*Another turning point;
a fork stuck in the road.
Time grabs you by the wrist;
directs you where to go.
So make the best of this test
and don't ask why.
It's not a question
but a lesson learned in time.
It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
So take the photographs
and still frames in your mind.
Hang it on a shelf
In good health and good time.
Tattoos of memories
and dead skin on trial.
For what it's worth,
it was worth all the while.
It's something unpredictable
but in the end it's right.
I hope you had the time of your life.
Thanks Green Day*
**
Anthony Zeleski – thanks for the idea for this song. It fits! **
There is more than one way to skin a cat, so the saying goes.
You can do the minimum to get by or can you push forth with full gusto and go the extra miles and in some cases miles and miles and miles.
We all have this choice and option in everything we do everyday.
As a PolarTREC teacher I am encouraged to write a journal a day. I could do this in five minutes – okay maybe 20 minutes add a photo and go hang out. Commitment met and move on.
When I write my journals I am typically interested in going the extra miles and miles. I am not sure exactly why. People have told me over and over I am doing too much. Don't misunderstand I am not tooting my horn for this. At times I miss out on engaging with people, which I see as an important opportunity too. In fact right now as I write on my last night in Barrow **a group of people are **playing poker in one room and in another room are movie watchers.
One group watches a movie, while the others play poker and some of us work. Fun Friday night!
But anyway – I am saying all of this to say that there is more to come – **I have more to share and will be doing so as I travel. **
During my last few days here I have been sucking the marrow – okay the frost out of the tundra. Because of this I have not had the chance to write about every single thing I have done and it give it the glory that it deserves. So I will be doing that over the next few days.
What do you have to look forward to reading about?
**-->PLENTY of Super Cool stuff! **
I am going to explain the **Uni- Spec **– as promised. To refresh you, the unispec is the reflectivity machine that I have been working with 3 times a week.
I will add to my Food for Thought journal and it tie up life in Barrow with the natives and the science researchers look for Food for Thought Part 2.
*I had an awesome time visiting **Point Barrow **with Nuvuk Archeology group and then visiting the site of another researcher. That journal will be titled "To the point."
Point Barrow Proper! We finally made it to the Northernmost ground of contin North America - far cry from Key West! Photo by Hiroki Ikawa
I must write about Joe's Museum! Amazing funny Interesting
I finally got to go with Denver to see the owls and I am creating a short film on the Snowy Owls in Barrow.
One of the highlights of my trip was a Beach Clean Up. I got to work with a summer youth camp. We collected over 55 pounds of debris and had 28 participants. It was great.
I will continue to share a little about our vacation and I will be writing a reflection journal.
I will also be writing during the school year as St. Mark Catholic takes the journey to the Poles. We will be have our own IPY – International Polar Year.
I have also interviewed several polar researchers. Those interviews will be available on my website and on ITunes as a free Podcast. ☺ I think this is the coolest thing!
Today Rob and I packed and mailed some things home. We went to dinner with well over 20 people to celebrate – uh my birthday.. thanks Adrian for that – singing, cake and all. It was very nice and I felt honored to have so many folks join us!
A great group of people gather for our last night in Barrow! Photo by Rob Eubanks
I thank you for reading and ask you to please continue to check the site.
Bird of the Day
I have been waiting for a while to get a shot of this little bird!