i think that living in southern ontario you start to take for granted everything that's available to you. whatever you want whenever you wanted it - something was always open. if you want groceries and it's 2am - no problem, 24 hour groceries stores are everywhere... want broccoli at 2am - you'll be able to find it 99% of the time.
even nature seems that much more available. with the exception of major bugs and/or flooding trails seem to be open and plans are able to pull through...
labrador isn't like that... here you go to the grocery store (if you make it before it closes) and cross your fingers that most of the produce you want is good - or that the trucks made it in and there are food on the shelves... and from there you adapt --- if somethings missing you go without it for a week - and that has become the norm for me...
nature also has it's added fun... today after school mike and i were going to do survivor 2; a geocaching adventure... however once we had arrived at our first coordinates (by 4 wheeler of course) there was a moose and 2 calves blocking our way... since we didn't want to get charged by her... we just went for a ride instead... living here is really emphasizing the need to adapt and change plans --- and that is done easily around here... people just see what they have to work with and move on...
kinda like it.


also - i'm leaving in a month exactly... by this time july 2 i will be most of the way to lab city (hopefully!!!) i haven`t decided how i feel about all that yet...

yesterday.
yesterday was may 13th, 2010.
most would consider this date mid spring... here in labrador we consider it snow day #1 for the year. i guess it's really just here that had their first..
apparently we skipped winter this year...
sure there's snow on the ground right now --- but i kind of prefer it that way... everything is much prettier.
so while at home in ontario the snow would be long gone by now and winter coats and hats a thing in the past... i'm not really too upset about this yet... maybe in a couple weeks i will be...
in other news - there's only 6 weeks left of teaching
and in 7 or 8 i'll be leaving for Europe... seems a little unreal... i should prolly do some planning.
lates gates...

today in the staff room we discussed why i will be here for the next 30 years....

top 2:

last night i got a ride home on the back of my friend's atv... you can't do that in the city --- and i think it's a fantastic way to get around....

and

saturday i went shopping - not for clothes, but for moose hyde and bunny fur

just sayin --- labrador is growing on me...

things are back to normal again here in goose bay. i think i lived last week in a haze just trying to recover from the trip --- couple nights of going to bed at 8:30 even which is fairly ridiculous for me. just got back from a really good church service --- i was playing piano / singing harmonies and it was thoroughly fun... am playing for a women's retreat this weekend (i think i'm on all day saturday) so hopefully that is just as fun.... anyways, church was followed up by a game of settlers with mike and jeff --- we haven't played in FOREVER (over a month at least) -- so it was a good time getting back into the catan relationship we have going there -- the game does not bring out the best in us all the time... but i think that's what makes it so fun. it was also the first time in 2+ weeks that the 3 of us hung out... so that was kind of nice... maybe next time other mike wont be working and the 4 of us can get back into the game.
mike asked me tonight on the ride home what i thought of goose bay... and i realized that most of the time it really feels like home now. i have a place in the town and people are good at making you feel appreciated for the things that you do - whether that be playing piano / singing in church to teaching choir (particularly concert/performance related outcomes people notice). so although i miss the london crowd and the fam sometimes --- the goose bay family is a really good substitute.
that being said - i can't wait for the european adventure this summer.... super pumped!!! all ash clouds better be disappaited by then!

Day 2 of the easter adventure and i'm on hour 8.5 of sitting on the bond and we have another 5-7 hours left...

we left goose bay yesterday at 7:20am meeting up with matt and megan (aka silver fox) at tim's and then the road... we spent the next 8 hours on an extremely muddy dirt road with the occasional patch of hard dirt that was relatively pleasant to drive on. We saw some crazy drifting snow and whatever else and passed the time napping (me and megan / not jeff and matt who were driving), coming up with crazy millionaire ideas over walkie-talkies (again - me and megan ---- the boys lost their privileges quickly) and talking and singing along to some music. at 4ish we hit red bay and PAVEMENT - hurrah!!!! then we ate some bologna sandwiches before continuing down to forteau and l'anse au claire where we were staying last night.

we hung out with jeff's dad's sisterinlaws sister (or something like that) and were up again this morning at 5am to be in line for the bond at 5:30am

now we've been sitting on here for ever --- we've napped, read, played some cards, wandered around and done a whole lot of nothing...

the current excitement is the cafeteria opening at 5...

the plan is to get into gander tonight really late...

update again eventually

i am pretty sure i have an ear infection. only pretty sure because i refused to go waste my time in the emergency room getting it checked out...

oh well - all the online stuff said it should go away on its own... here's hoping.

last night i had an evening of being truly me. it was one of those nights that nothing special really happened - however whatever did happen was an experience.

for the first time in a while it wasn't about work or church or "miss". just 5 friends hanging out and playing a game of catan.

i'm sure i will fall back into that pit of the blahs that was latched pretty tightly the other day... but for today - and yesterday ---- things are good.

it's 3:50am. i have been in bed since 12. probably not the best time to update this neglected little blog.
i made a realization this week... as much as i am enjoying goose bay my identity here is 99% as "miss visser". there are very few people in this town who even call me ashley let alone try and get to know me as a human being. for all the children and their parents and most of the other teachers they just know me as 'miss'. most details about my life are figments of their imaginations... just details that they have made up. somedays i feel like i am losing ME. most days i realize that is ridiculous and that isn't happening.
this is a long weekend.
last night i went to the bars in town for the first time since moving here. it was actually an amusing time. i was meant to teach highschool - that has nothing to do with the bars... but it was discussed again. if only that were a possibility right now.
today i woke up to no phone or internet signal. it is not abnormal for one of the two to be out - but for both to be down at the same time made me feel exteremely isolated. this is also ridiculous as i could have easily gotten in my car and driven anywhere had i needed to talk to someone. both signals were restored by 3pm and my 'lame life' was able to continue. i did nothing all day but watch gilmore girls --- i didn't even watch the olympics.
which brings me to another point --- as much as i'm obsessed with media of all kind - i feel that we can see too much. the fact that i can watch a real life person fly off a luge track and fling into a pole and die disturbs me a bit.
another friend got engaged this weekend... seems like it is the season...
it is now 4:10 and i will try to fall asleep yet again this restless evening.

i have lots of thoughts rolling around in my head but no energy to express them.

i love labrador.

i guess that will have to do.

so i've been living here for 4 months now... some things i love / some things i don't.

things I love:
- that everywhere i go i know people
- the opportunities that are available (ie. theatre / other artsy stuff)
- hugs from the kids
- that i can go to the post office and while in the main office picking up a parcel buddy says - oh there's a letter for you in the general delivery pile - hang on for a second without me even asking someone to look...
- how concerned everyone is about your life
- that the airport is 5 min away and therefore you always have a ride
- random candy christmas trees so christmas can "throw up" here too
- christmas lights

things I don't love:
- that everywhere i go i know people
- how concerned everyone is about your life
- that the kids know everything about me and what i do because of items 1 and 2
- that the weather is like southern ontario: gross and slushy