One Day Left

Well, Glenn left this morning for his annual officer's training, and I've been busily wasting time. Tomorrow is my last day in Alaska- at 2am on Tuesday, I hit the skies and head for warmer climes... well, a little warmer.

Fortunately, tomorrow I'll have something to do- my friend Adam has been kind enough to offer to drive me out to Wasilla, where Karin, Varan and the wet-nosed tailwaggers hang out these days. This I am really looking forward to! Expect an account after I get back to Mass.

Leaving any place is sad. It's funny, because I'm usually not thinking about it at the time. Once I get to the airport, then I start the dwelling and the sighing and the philosophizing. Something in the air systems of airports? Yes, I think we could make an argument for that.

People keep asking me what's next. I hate this question, not because it's not justified, but because I always feel like I'm jinxing myself if I reveal my plans. If I say it out loud too many times, plans seem to skitter away, or suddenly become too expensive, or become sidetracked by more mundane things. So I'll give you a rough idea, and then I'm clamming up:
The plan is for Africa. I've always wanted to go; it's been top of my list for a long time, partly because of all the continents, it is home to the most kickass animals. Lions? Leopards? Hyenas? Elephants? Cheetahs? Crocodiles? African wild dogs? Need I go on? Yes, of course I do- meerkats, rhinos, antelopes, hippos, jackals, giraffes, gnu, not to mention varous feathered and scaled critters. And I only skip over them because I don't know a lot of specific names. I hope to be working with some of these animals, either in a rescue or a research setting. I don't know exactly where, and I don't know exactly when- as soon as humanly possible. Of course, the african people are also extremely fascinating and I'd love to work with some of them as well. So. We'll see. That is my simplest answer to the "what's next" question. Hold your zebras- I'll give you particulars when I'm sure I won't jinx myself.

And no, I'm not superstitious, I just learn from experience.
To everyone in Skagway and from other adventures, I miss you. I'm feeling very In-Between and small right now.