Making excuses, attempt 1

One would think that I would have tons and tons to talk about, seeing as how my dream of moving to Alaska has finally come true. Did I mention I have wanted to move to Alaska since high school? I've turned down a couple jobs over the years in this wondrous state...but they were all seasonal (which means no expenses-paid relocation) and the jobs weren't exactly what I was hoping for; and usually involved bad timing as well.

Although my new job isn't my "dream job", it's actually more along the lines of what I've expected and told many folks through the years: Jack of all trades, master of none. That's right, I do a whole lotta stuff. I liked to pretend (ok, there's reality to it too... it just sounded like wishful thinking for years) that my very random resume of jobs all was helping to gear me up for a job with the federal gov't in Alaska. "Because", my semi-rational mind was reasoning, "Alaska has less people per sq. mile of federal land to be managed. As such, employees would be called upon to do many random jobs, irregardless of position description."

In the 3 weeks I have been here, I'm not sure if it was a self-fulfilling prophecy or not, but that random resume of mine has come in awfully handy!

My official job title: Forestry technician. Ok, that's cool. I was hazard tree lead; that was a forestry tech. I was a wildland firefighter; that was a forestry tech. Now I'm a forestry tech, Recreation (aka "Rec Tech"). That must be cool and exciting right? Let's do the math:

 RECREATION=FRONT COUNTRY=MANY PEOPLE WITH CARS/RVS/SEMIS=EATING AND DRINKING=OUTHOUSES!!!

I tried not to oversimplify, but that equation just came forth like a bought of genius in Good Will Hunting!

So, front country is like the less glamorous but more abused side of public land. It means it is easily accessible. It means that, taking into account that most Americans do not really stray far from their cars when on vacaction, these areas get absolutely HAMMERED with visitors. And since we have the only public outhouses on the Seward Highway in our stretch of road, I get to see the worst of the worst of America's bathroom habits. I won't get detailed, because I'd rather not subject people I LIKE to the things that I must witness. I will say, however, that A: cleaning restrooms near kid's (and adult beer league) summer sports fields was thus far way more disgusting; B: Those poor people with IBS, please PLEASE see a doctor...C: If you, or your children can't poop into a giant hole on a toilet...clean it up, or don't ever EVER poop in a public bathroom, because nobody should have to deal with that. 

Sorry, getting distracted. This is the part where I add the disclaimer that "These are my opinions and do not reflect the opinions of any person or organization associated with me or mentioned herein". Anyway...

So yeah, jack of all trades, my main duties involve outhouses, trail heads, parking lots. I pick up garbage. I actually don't mind it. I enjoy the feeling of leaving a place looking better, and being environmentally "better" than when I left it. Give a hoot, don't pollute! Or as my sister said (she won a state contest with this) "Don't be mean, keep it clean!" But thankfully as crew lead, I am armed with a small crew of seasonal employees during the summer (my minions? maybe not), and they can share the duties while I take on the rest of my responsibilities, such as:

General maintenance, such as painting, building, fixing, creating things... everything from fixing thing on an existing outhouse, to helping design or create better trail heads, campgrounds, or parking areas. It might not sound sexy, but everybody who has ever traveled long distances know "bad" when they see it... though the "good" public areas may go consciously unnoticed, subconsciously they know it's well designed and user friendly! I'm most excited to be one of the only couple equipment operators for the district, and I think only two of us have CDLs...which means I get to help take the big boats out of the water for the winter. Our equipment fleet isn't huge but it's effective with a small loader, a mini-excavator (with bulldozer blade) and a 1 ton mini dump truck. I was HOPING for at least a 10 yard dump truck and a bobcat on top of all that other stuff, but that's ok. ;)

I've been getting trained (and helping get my muscle memory back, operating buckets and blades does take some finesse and sensitivity!) on a few things with the mini-ex and the loader. Just completed a drainage project off a major trail. I must say, it is quite different doing things with the FS vs the NPS... with the NPS, if there was a drainage problem with a trail, it would almost definitely result in a trail improvement (bridge; causeway; boardwalk; etc) or an altogether reroute. With the FS, though, they have less "rules" about what  can and can't be done. So, instead of fixing the trail...we dug a big drainage ditch through a talus field/avalanche zone, and built a berm around the outside to help. I'll admit...it pains me inside. To my "preservation" eye, it is not the right solution. It's not harmonious with the land; it uses blunt force to demand nature do a certain thing. But, on the other hand, at least I tried to do a good job with the ground moving I did. It's definitely the easier, cheaper, quicker fix. It was also a great chance to get back some of my skills on the equipment! I'm a little rusty on a few things, but it does seem that I have impressed folks so far with what I do know. It seems that too often, a woman comes a long to do these kinds of jobs (manual labor; equipment; firefighting... anything in a male dominated industry) and they SAY they can do it... but they don't know jack! And then they make the rest of us look bad! I don't mean to sound sexist...wait, I am a woman... but seriously, the stereotype is there, and it's for a reason. :(  It's good to buck the norm and actually be able to show them a woman CAN do the job!

Getting sidetracked again, damn ADHD! As I was saying, I have random duties. I am also the ONLY qualified helicopter crewmember on the district, so I get to help with heli ops. I have a few fire quals, so I was offered to go out with the handcrew to Montana (they ended up in Oregon) to fight fire and work on my squad boss. They are paying for me to get my EMT (think ambulance) certification starting in 2 weeks. I may get to help out with trail work, ecology, biology, fisheries, etc. In the future, I will be taking the train to sites that are ONLY accessible by this train (google Whistlestop and Alaska Railroad); flying out in helicopter; and taking the boats to help with remote cabins, building trail, constructing salmon and wildlife habitat, or helping with exotic plant surveys or eradication. Those are just a few projects suggested that may happen within the next few months! Everybody does help out everybody up here! It's like my little dream come true! Except I'm certain that there weren't ANY outhouses in my dream. But that's ok. I'm making the best money of my life, had a paid relocation, and live in an incredible place! It's great to know that my experience at: fisheries; ecology; botany; wildlife; manual labor; construction; CLD and heavy equipment operation; master's degree in conservation; wildland firefighting; helicopter crewmember; maintenance; habitat surveys; recreation opportunity spectrum; "green" living (I am going to revamp the front country program to buy more eco-friendly products...that's right, environmentalists are invading the forest service LOL)... will all come in handy at this job!

Which comes to the title of this journal: Making Excuses. I was going to list all the reasons why I hadn't updated my blog. But look, I updated my blog!! No photos included, but tough shit. Click on my link to the right for my picasa albums, I think that might work. But yeah, I ended up typing a lot of SUBSTANCE instead of a lot of EXCUSES so now what do I do?! If I don't fall asleep first, I'll try to come up with my excuses in the next journal update. ;)