2/6/10

Been a while since I've posted. I'm still waiting on my laptop which should have been delivered 2 weeks ago, so no ability to post photos. It doesn't pay to ship things express to us - just have to be patient and order things well in advance if they are critical (like meds).
We are having winter here (yeah!). It's been blowing a bit so no planes in a few days. I've been busy in the clinic managing appointments, abnormal labs, meds and the ubiquitous viral illness everybody has. Going through a lot of robitussin, acetaminophen and ibuprofen. There is a hoax out there about a girl who died of a heart attack after being given motrin and robitussin - NOT TRUE! It hinders my job when people forward this blindly and then believe it and think I'm irresponsible for prescribing them.
Yesterday was pizza night - I make pizza on Fridays - not as good as Sammy's back home, but infinitely better than the cardboard pizzas the store sells. I make the crust in my bread machine - turns out pretty darn good.
No plans for the super bowl - I'll probably watch it, but I lost interest when the Vikings lost.
I'm looking forward to March when I get a break from this Aleutian paradise. I'm spending a week in the Adak clinic and then off to a conference where I'm meeting my wife at an undisclosed location.

Later...

1/22/10

Sorry no posts in a while. Hasn't been particularly busy, but my computer got infected and I had to purchase another. I'm posting from my work computer, but cannot do photos from here. Not much in the way of computer repair here on the island. Instead of paying shipping, insurance and the fees to get a 2 year old laptop disinfected from Best Buy or somewhere I decided to just get a new one. I had 2 antivirus programs, but neither picked it up. I was able to save my 9000 or so photos and other documents, so I am just waiting for the mail to deliver my new toy.

We finally got some winter here. We had a period of 20 degree with 40-50 mph winds a few days ago and I loved it. Not much snow, but it looks wintery at least. I had the best run in the the cold wind - just put on a few layers, a mask and mitts and get out there. I don't do very well against the wind, though - I'm not built for aerodynamics.

Clinic has been slow, we ran out of H1N1 vaccine, so I was able to get some extra doses from the cannery. No H1N1 cases here yet, but I think it's a matter of time with the influx of workers from all over the globe at Trident.

Later...

1/10/10

We had 6 planes in yesterday - both planes were going back and forth. Lots of Trident workers coming in for "A" season. Lots of mail, too, but it hadn't been put up in time to grab it, so it'll wait until tomorrow.
As you can see from the pics, the Northwestern and Wizard (Deadliest Catch boats) were here yesterday offloading crab. There's a shot of Sig in one of them.
Weather continues to be mild, high 30s and rain/fog. They brought a snowmobile over to Akun (the neighboring island they are planning to build the airport someday). No snow over there - maybe wishful thinking. There will be lots of work on the island this year with the airport and building a harbor at the head of the bay.
The restaurant folks are back now and will be opening up again on Wednesday. I save a lot of money when they're gone. I'll have to try to stay away and allow one meal a week there or something.
Russian Christmas was the 7-9th of Jan. Apparently they have church service and then go starring, which is kinda like carolling house to house singing Russian songs. Each home have some part of a meal or an entire meal - like a progressive dinner. There are 2 stars made of tinsel and garland and other decorations that spins while the songs are being sung. Russian New year is the 14th apparently. Guess the Russians didn't get the memo of when things are (kidding).

Later...

1/3/10

Happy New Year! Things have been calm here lately; not much going on clinic-wise, weather's been mild, planes have been running, mail and freight are all caught up.

Weather has been in the low to mid 30s, with slushy snow. Temp back home has been high of -6 with lows of -25, so come to Akutan to warm up! It'd be nice if we got some snow to stick around for a while, but I think I'm in the minority with that desire.

Lots of eagles hanging around town. It's hard to not take too many pics of them, but I really have plenty of eagle shots. I've attached a few eagle shots and some shots from up the hill.

Later...

F/V Billikin loading crab pots across the bay

View up the top of the bay

Looking down at Trident and the village

12/27/09

Well, the mail is pretty much caught up now - we got several planes in today so all the people and most of the packages made it here. It's been a rough mail month, though. Flights are going to be filled for next month with the "A" fishing season starting up soon. Hope they don't bring any H1N1 with them.

Things have been pretty quiet this weekend - a few calls to come in and see folks, but nothing major. A few house calls, also.

Christmas eve was my "social" day. I went to the kids' Christmas program at the school and then went to a potluck dinner at the church. That night I played darts at the bar until I got tired of the smoke. I pretty much stayed around the apartment the rest of the weekend. Cooked a turkey, went for a few runs, did some hiking.

Pics below are labeled.

Octopus in the basket of one of the 4 wheelers.

Main street

The goose landing

An eagle on the roof across from my apt. Pic taken from my dining room.

12/22/09

Just a couple hours after the last entry on the blog we got a plane in - mostly boxes on that one. Then we got another yesterday with just letter mail and smaller packages. Loosk like everybody got their meds and there will be packages under some Christmas trees. I got a few care packages from home to stock my cupboards a bit.

Clinic continues to be slow, but I've got plenty of supplies to log in and put away to keep me occupied. End of month and year is approaching, so that means inventory and reports to be done.

Weather has been pretty mild the past couple days - temp in the 30s. Snow is gone in the village, just a light coat on the mountaintops. The boardwalk has been pretty slick with freezing rain - I'm surprised more people aren't falling. I use my Yaktrax when running and it gives me pretty good traction.

Below is video of the Goose landing on Sunday.

Later...

12/20/09

We finally got a couple planes in on the 17th, but very little mail - a few bags of letters was it. No meds or packages. There were 3 cases of beer and 3 Christmas trees that managed to make it over. Nothing since then and it looks windy for the next few days.
Clinic has been fairly steady - lots of viral stuff going around so we're checking for strep and stuff to make sure it's nothing treatable with anything other than tylenol and fluids. I've been busy with one of the homebound villagers.
The freighter came in yesterday afternoon, so I'll head to the store to see in anything exciting arrived. I try not to spend too much money there, but with the prices it's difficult. Mostly chicken breasts, frozen veggies and diet Dr. Pepper are my main purchases. I made a pot of white bean chicken chili yesterday, so that made plenty of leftovers. Tonight I'll make my weekly pizza before the Vikings game.
Sorry no pics lately - it's been too wet and windy to get out with the camera.

Later...