Monthly Archives:July 2006

friends, it has been one of THOSE weeks! We have had carpet installers at work all week – yup, agency got a grant that paid to lay all new carpet – and tile in three areas – throughout the admin section of the building.

New carpet – well, frankly it stinks! Not sure if it is the glue (workmen reassure us that the glue is no longer toxic – okaaaaaaaaay) or the carpet itself (really? say the workmen – you can smell it? – uh, yeah!)

And, add to THAT, but the building has been so blasted humid all week, too. I think it has a lot to do with the glue and then the building being closed up every night – or something. (because it is only in the 50s outside!) But this morning the receptionist and I were scurrying around opening windows (they have to be locked every night – security reasons) and working up a sweat even standing still. She is such a good and hard worker, btw. The boss did a good thing by hiring that one!

Of course, every – EVERY – office had to be packed up and emptied in front of the workers. THAT was fun – NOT! I actually brought in boxes (the only employee who thought to do so) and packed my office up on Monday. They didn’t do my room until yesterday. I was able to move everything back in today. One of the workers laughed on Monday – you have the smallest office and the MOST stuff! Yup – isn’t that just the way. My office seems to be the gathering point – for staff visits and for junk – give it to Moosie (not her real name, of course) she’ll find a place for it in her office. lol

I did quite a bit of culling – old books and paperwork no longer needed – tossed or shredded and tossed. Books? Found new homes for a lot of them.

It’s hard

I am SUCH a packrat!

Got the computer all hooked back up this morning – by myself! AND . . . it worked! Yay! No internet though because the server room was done late yesterday afternoon and the staff person in charge of the server wasn’t supposed to come in today. She did, however, and by 3 I had internet as well. Was able to check emails and such – also able to get into “my” drive which is housed on the server. (we are not supposed to keep anything on our hard drive – everything is supposed to be on the server – which meant a lot of us have been sitting on our thumbs this week!)

But the new carpet is BEAUTIFUL! Non-profits don’t get new shiny things very often – and when we do we certainly appreciate them.

Of course – I was the first to spill on it – long story – not really my fault – it was that kind of day.

Started out as that kind of day – you know those plastic mats that go under your desk chair? Mine was sitting up against the wall – pointy things facing OUT, sad to say – I bent down to pick up a box and the blasted thing fell over – thwacking me in the head. There was much blood and, yes, lots of giggles. Only I could do something like that! Surprisingly there was only the one puncture wound. And, it did quit bleeding after pressure was applied.

And, I had to write up an incident report (sigh!!!! PYA anyone?) for the bookkeeper to find on Monday. 😉 That’s life in PurpleMoose land. Always something.

Today was my last day – for a week – I am going back to Vegas next Tuesday – this time for a conference. I leave Kenai around noon and arrive in Vegas 10 that night. Two days of conferencing – in a no-casino hotel – and then I fly home at “the butt-crack of dawn” (5 am) Friday – arriving in Anchortown around 1 pm. Hubby moose is driving up to meet me. I think he is going up the night before so that he will be fresh to drive me home.

This is an all expenses paid trip – CALCASA is footing the bill – but they can only get me back to Anchorage. My agency is paying my mileage to drive home.

Stop it – right now – stop it

and go to see . . .

Alaska’s McNeil River Bears!

that is all . . .

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here you go, folks – just a few of the many pics taken before, during, and after the Hunka-Hunka wedding:

limoose

LOOK! on the limo’s hood! It’s a bird(dropping) it’s a . . . it’s a?. . . it’s a . . .

PurpleMoose enjoying his first ride in/on a stretch limo. tres chic! Wanna see?

limooseclose

nice reflection catch, moosie!

Love me tender

Love me tender . . . love me true

That’s the one song they had hoped to hear – it is featured greatly in so many of the online ceremonies. Guess which song Elvis did NOT sing? I’d have asked for a refund. 😉

Elvis has

all together now . . .

Elvis has left the building!

 

the wedding?was ever so much fun! Meeting folks who have only been names on emails – priceless! Jayne made a gorgeous bride. Mark was smashing in his bright pink shirt gifted to him by his workmates – who did NOT believe he was actually getting married, that he just wanted to be off to frolic for a bit!

The “children” of the couple – dashingly handsome (the young men) and beautiful (the young woman) and so very, VERY polite. They asked questions and nodded their heads and paid attention to answers – even those that were drawn out and unending. Mark and Jayne have done a lovely job with those young folks and have much to be proud about.

photos hopefully tomorrow.

I left some money in the casino – and quickly grew tired of the bells and whistles of the place. I was VERY tired of the cigarette and cigar smoke that just permeated the building and me before I left.

the heat was UNbearable! 112 degrees yesterday! I am not cut out for that at all. So nice to be home in the 60 degree temps, I can say. I took a too-longish walk yesterday afternoon while killing time before my flight. Started in the morning when the sun had not come over the buildings yet, but oooooh, it was still H.O.T! I kept to the shade where there was some and slipped into and out of doorways when there was no shade to be found. I bought and drank bottles of water along the way. I visited the M&M building and purchased gee-gaws for the grandchills – but no M&Ms because, I don’t care WHAT they say, those puppies woulda melted IN my bag. Found an internet cafe along the way – and used it?- there’s a first time for everything – guess you CAN teach an old moose new tricks. Purchased 15 minutes for $5 which didn’t seem too bad of a deal to me – it was long enough to check my email accounts and take care of all of the spam. And, found the email another wedding guest had sent me – too late to contact her pre-wedding. We did meet up at the wedding. 😉 But we were both just about done in by the heat and did not get extra time after the wedding feast to visit.

(back at the hotel) Found a chair in the restroom and sat there to recover from the heat of the walk – sat there for a couple of hours. There is no seating in the lobby!! And, I had to check out at 11 am and had until 7 before the shuttle would pick me up for the transport to the airport.

btw – two things you should ALWAYS have when you go to Vegas – your return ticket AND a way to the airport. Oh – I also had set aside $20 for the taxi ride from Anchorage airport to my friend’s house where she had allowed me to store my car. These can be very important things after a time spent in front of the bandits.

They WERE bandits, too. I support Vegas’ school system!

I treated myself on the way home – the leg between Vegas and Seattle I had an aisle seat. That’s not TOO unbearable, but not all that comfy, either. But it is a great deal better than the seat assignment I had for the Seattle/Anchorage leg – middle seat! ARGH!

Arrived Seattle at 1:30 am and found my gate and plopped to try to rest – all around me were folks doing the same thing. Many of them are better able to rest/sleep in a public place than I, however, and I only catnapped. A woman and her three VERY noisy young “adult” children woke me up and I went to wash up a bit. Checked the reader board and discovered that I was at the wrong gate – not only that, I was in the wrong terminal!!! They had changed the gate.

So, I double checked the data with a gate agent and then sprinted for the other terminal. Made it in plenty of time and sat to work on a crossword puzzle and regain my breath/composure – the gate agent made an announcement that there were several stand-by folks for the flight. She also said that there were “possibly” some first class seats available if anyone would like to upgrade.

I waited for a bit then said – why not! I need to be pampered, too! So I offered my “b” seat for a first class upgrade – for $100.

Best $100 I’ve spent in awhile. Verry nice – VERRY nice. Must try to do that another time. 😉

But not in two weeks when I return to Vegas for a conference.?My way?is being paid for by CALCASA?and I am not sure that I would be able to upgrade those seats. I certanily cannot afford to do it 4 times for $100 each, that’s for sure.

wow – got way off topic again, huh?

the wedding was wonderful!!!

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You canNOT ask for any more kitsch than this . . . the moose is outatown for a few days. A long time email buddy from UK is coming to America and bringing his fiance, his two teenagers young adult children and her two pre-teens young adult children. They will become joined in hunka-hunka style Thursday at 5:30 Vegas time.

You can watch it happen live . . . or so I’m told. No, I have no clue where you need to go from there. (they are being married in a pink caddy wedding if that helps you find them.) All I know is that the purplemoose will be in the front row singing with the king and lavishing all good things on the newlyweds. (yes, tis true – I am transporting shellacked moose poop to give to my friends as wedding gifts. (don’t try to out-kitsch an Alaskan! heh) Their gift is the one at the bottom of that page, btw.

All kidding aside – I wish Mark and Jayne the very, very best – long life and happiness, you two!

for the rest of you – I’ll post a link to their archived wedding video as soon as I return home. Okay? Fair enough?

Okay – I’m headed to anchor-town to catch the flight with the much too tiny seats for my big hiney. wd-40 onya, anyone? See you when I get back.

viva, viva, las vegasssssssssssssss! (ka-ching)

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