Smug and proud

so, yesterday one of my former coworkers from the railroad job came into the art gallery to say hi. she also told me that everyone was quitting. joe, vicky, and a bunch of others that I trained with and worked with have had it with Holland America and are all throwing in the towel. They are sick of working themselves to the bone, never knowing when their next day off will be, and Holland America's general disorganization. Her direct quote was, "At the time we all thought you were crazy for quitting, but now we all realize what a wise decision you made." Ah, music to my ears!! See, everyone out there thinks I'm a big slacker when in fact I'm just pretty damn smart. Speaking of which, I'm kinda looking for a new job...

ten minutes less

So, Saturday here in Anchorage I participated in my second 1/2 marathon. I had to run 13 miles anyway for my training schedule for August's marathon so I figured "why not do a race?" My friend Kristine (whose group just successfully summitted Denali last Tuesday) ran with me. Yes, that's right. She just climbed a 20,320 foot mountain complete with a 24 hour hike toward the bottom where they had to dodge dangerous crevasse fields and which got them back into town on Thursday AND STILL she had the energy and motivation to run in the 1/2 with me. I don't think this girl is human. Anyway, running together was great! Literally the miles flew by. I finished in 2 hours and 3 minutes; about 10 minutes faster than the 1/2 marathon I ran 6 weeks ago. So I've been asking myself "don't two 1/2 marathons count as running one full marathon?" Mathematically it works. But I'm not sure that would really count.

This is where I'll die

This is a photo of the trail that will most likely claim my life later this summer. See I've always had a certain weakness when it comes to mountain biking. And by weakness I mean I can't get enough of it, especially the descents. So maybe addiction is a better word? Anywho, today I rode my bike up Powerline Pass in Chugach State Park. The pass still had some snow blocking it so I ditched my bike and proceeded on foot. Once over the pass I continued following the powerline and came over a ridge only to find A) this amazing view (that you can't see so well in this photo but check my Flickr account for better shots) and B) the most amazing descent I've ever seen. The trail just...drops. Several thousand feet. In just a couple of miles. And it is just this sort of trail that I can see myself fah-lying down and missing a turn or hitting a rock and doing a spectacular endo where I cartwheel through the air ever so gracefully and then splat everywhere. So I'm just saying in advance that it was well worth it and I enjoyed the ride. I guess that goes for both the ride that day and life in general.

random looks good on me

ya know, i gotta say, it ceases to amaze me how flippin' random my life can be sometimes. if you'd told me this morning when i woke up that i was going to spend the night at a non-profit fundraiser i would have said, "okay." but if you'd told me that the "fund raiser" seemed more like a "we need to scrape some rent money together so let's throw together two kegs of beer and a band where the drummer doesn't wear a shirt and writes all over himself with black marker and the keyboard player is 9 months pregnant and call it a fund raiser" i would still say "sure, whatev". but if you told me this would all take place on the roof of a building while hanging out with a Ukranian, a dairy farmer from vermont, and some guy named travis from portland (oh, did i mention there was a real coyote hanging out on the roof with us?), i think i would have thought you were on drugs. turns out, you're not on drugs. and if you don't even know me, you're probably thinking right about now that i'm on drugs.

the day just kept getting stranger

Today has been a weird day. I woke up to two moose bathing in the coy pond in my backyard. Then I ran a difficult eight miles through the Chugach Mtns. Then as I walked from my truck to work, 2 kamikaze seagulls were dive bombing my head. I literally had to cover my head with my library book and sprint through the park!

Then things really got weird. While at work, one of my coworkers and I heard shouting on the street outside the art gallery. We looked out the front window and there was a couple yelling at each other. They were both probably about 20 years old and it was immediately obvious that they were both under the influence of alcohol or drugs. And they were absolutely screaming at the top of their lungs at each other, calling each other every name in the book. And I knew that we were probably going to have to break up a fist fight if things got any worse. The really scary part is that the guy had 2 buddies with him. I'm not going to lie, I was scared. At one point the girl ran at the guy and pushed him away. And I thought, "Oh $#@% here we go." But instead the guy walked right out into the street into oncoming traffic. How he didn't get hit or cause an accident, I don't know. A few minutes later he (and his buddies) left.

Another onlooker went up the girl and asked her if she was okay, if she needed help, if she wanted someone to escort her somewhere safe. She looked at this onlooker and told him in no uncertain terms where he could go. She was as abusive toward him as she was to her boyfriend. And my coworker said to me, "Well, now she deserves whatever she gets, since she won't even accept help."

I've been replaying this event in my head all night. That girl is someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's friend. That guy is someone's son, someone's nephew, someone's brother. What series of events unfolded in each of their lives to bring them to this point; being strung out on some substance and screaming and swearing and abusing each other in the middle of the street? They couldn't always have been this way. What pain did they experience, what insults did they absorb, what lies did they buy into, what poor decisions did they make that brought them today to the sidewalk in front of where I work? All I can think of is my nieces and nephews and how heart-broken I'd be if they were homeless and strung out on drugs.

My coworker seemed to think that this girl deserved whatever treatment she might incur because she didn't accept help. But maybe she couldn't. Maybe she's been wounded or tricked or hurt so many times that when a genuine hand of concern is extended to her, she can't even recognize it. Maybe her only defense mechanism is to lash out.

I'm told Anchorage actually has both a pretty serious gang problem as well as a large population of homeless people. A lot of them, both street kids and the homeless, congregate in front of the bus station a couple blocks from where I work. And I'll admit, I changed the route I walk from my truck to work so I wouldn't have to walk by them. But that only served to compound the brick-in-the-gut feeling I have. This issue has been on my mind for a couple of weeks now. I want to do something...but what? How can I help? I'm just an aimless outdoorsy dude from the lower 48 who's housesitting for the summer. But at the same time how can I sit in church on the weekend singing about the love of Jesus and then turn a blind eye toward such suffering all week long? Its a scary thing, because its just so easy NOT to get involved. Its easy to rationalize it all away; that homeless people are freeloaders, that street kids are just punks who need some discipline. But I think those are hollow answers.

I don't know. I guess my next step is to see if the new church I started going to has a ministry for the homeless. But at any rate, I feel like today's events have hit me hard and I'm still processing it all. If you've made it through all my ramblings, thanks for reading.

Almost 24 hours a day of sunlight is good for the soul

Some of you have asked recently if I felt that quitting my job on the railroad was the right decision. After this past week I am 100% sure that yes indeed, it was! My new job at the Stephens Fine Art gallery in downtown Anchorage is a blast. I work with great people and I get to do all sorts of different tasks.

But even better was this past weekend. After helping my friends get ready for their trek to Denali, on Saturday evening I went to church and then hung out with some new friends till all hours of the night. This new church I've found, Change Point, is great. The worship is amazing. It feels like water being poured out on parched land; I can't seem to soak it in enough. And the pastor's sermon on allowing God to illuminate even the dark places in our lives was inspiring.

But the best was Sunday. I slept in until 9, mowed the lawn, cleaned the house, did laundry, and still had time for a 7 hour, 13 mile hike up into Chugach State Park. My goal was to climb the Wedge. But once I started hiking I realized that the Wedge looked pretty wimpy so instead I climbed the Ramp, which afforded me a 360 degree of snow covered peaks and the Pacific Ocean. I sat up there for probably 2 hours, allowing myself to tune into the quiet tranquility that can only be found in remote, wild places. I even took a power nap before heading down by a different route.

That's the beauty of Alaska summers. There's no real darkness, so there's no pressure to get a hike done before dark. I feel like the focus of my summer up here has shifted from "working my tail off to make some money" to "slow down and get in tune with God." All the light-ness and rugged nature up here seems to be therapeutic in helping me reconnect with God. And after all, isn't that what its all about anyway?

"...God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin...If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanuse us from all unrighteousness." 1 John 1:5-9

A little help?

I'm sitting here writing surrounded by mountains of...well, mountain gear. Three new friends of mine arrived early yesterday morning and just left today in an attempt to summit Denali. Also known as Mt. McKinley, it is the highest point in North America at 20, 320 feet; with a daunting three miles of vertical elevation. Brandon, Jay, and Kristine (and their friend Sean) will be facing many obstacles including extreme weather, dangerous terrain, and high elevation in their month long quest. Even though they've only been here 24 hours they have already become good friends of mine. Those of you of the religious persuasion, please take a moment and pray for good weather and their safe return. Thanks! (and don't worry Mom, I'm not going with them)

If you care to check their progress or send them an encouraging text message, you can do so at the following link:

http://www.seanswarner.com/

Workin' 9 to 5 - well, not really...

I start a new job today. I will be working at an art gallery in downtown Anchorage; doing framing design as well as packing and shipping of sold pieces. And a little bit of sales on the side. While the pay isn't quite what my old job would have been, I think it will be a fun summer job. I'll be working 1:30-9:00 PM Monday through Friday. I'm not sure how I feel about those hours. But whatev.

Exercise in Alaska - hazardous to my health!

For the approximate 2 of you who actually read this blog (thanks Mom and Dad), you probably know that I'm training for a marathon in August. Now that I'm getting settled in I finally committed to a training schedule that required me to run 14 miles today. I found my missing $100 gift card to REI (thank you Chappy) yesterday and bought all sorts of shiny new running gear; bright red running shirt, snazzy moisture wicking hat, Camelbak fanny pack, and yummy sport beans. I also decided to try some raspberry flavored energy gels.

So today I took off and headed for some trails a couple miles from my house. I reached the trail head only to find bright neon colored signs everywhere with yesterday's date warning of a grizzly bear that was prone to approaching people! I know, a normal person would have turned around and just ran somewhere else. (There was also a smaller sign that said something about an aggressive female moose with 2 babies wandering near the trail.) But I of course decided that the best course of action would be to: A) turn off my iPod so that Gwen Stephani would't drown out any telltale signs of a grizzly or moose creeping up on me and B) stick to wide open multi-use trails. Of course I meant to buy a couple bear bells yesterday at REI but forgot. Of the research I've done on hiking/running/camping in bear country, every source said that creating noise is the best way to prevent a bear attack. Simply talking to your hiking buddies alerts the bear to your presence. 9 times out of 10 the bear will move away before you even know its there. Even when you're in the woods by yourself experts recommend talking, singing, whistling, etc.

Well, I'm already running 14 miles and sucking wind hard, so I'm not exactly in the best condition to belt out my favorite show tunes. And while I do fully intend on buying a bear bell, I inwardly chuckle and think a bear in the woods hearing the merry tinkle of a distant bell would have much the same reaction as young kids playing in the front yard on a beautiful summer's eve hearing the distant tinkle of an ice cream truck; ears perk up, eyes widen, and an evil, skull crushing smile begins to form on their face. (Well, maybe more so the bears than the kids)...

Anyway, back to me in the woods. I decided that clapping would be my best course of action. Yes, I decided that slapping my hands together would be my best (and only) protection against an aggressive and potentially deadly animal many times faster, meaner, and bigger than myself. Besides, it was like having someone cheer for me. Every hundred feet or so I'd clap four times rapidly. I realize this might seem like folly to any other outdoor enthusiasts I may come across. But I'd rather their first impression of me be some wacko clapping and running in the woods than some mangled carcass being munched on by a grizz or trampled by a moose.

And so I ran. And clapped. Every couple of miles I drank some water and ate some sport beans or raspberry energy gel. The gel was kinda gross. And syrupy and sticky. Enough so that I soon had it all over my fingers. Which was ju-u-ust great. Now I looked AND smelled like a giant raspberry bouncing down the trail.

Earlier, when I'd reached the trailhead, I had looked at a map and noted a military base of some sort adjacent to the trails. So when I saw a sign notifying me I'd cross onto the base, I wasn't concerned. However, several miles later I was concerned when I saw a giant sign that announced, "UNEXPLODED AMMUNICATION!! PROCEED WITH CAUTION!!" Coincidentally, the sign also marked my 1/2 way point. So I readily turned around and began running home. I mean seriously folks, grizzlies and momma mooses are one thing, but landmines?!

My return trip through the woods went rather smoothly. Only one wrong turn. And I did see the mother moose and calves as well as a bull moose. Not as dramatic as you'd think. Soon enough I was back on the road and back to relative safety. And amazingly enough 14 miles passed by quicker and easier than I'd anticipated. Apparently the miles just roll by when you're more concerned with being torn limb from limb than you are about your running pace. Who knew?