Living in a closet, part deaux

It was decided I would move my bed and stuff into our storage garage until the time came for finding a place that would suit us. I would sleep on the floor in the office if need be. We had been looking that Sunday morning for a place to rent. My co-worker and friend had been looking on a website for military people. The Coast Guard station has a two year personnel required turnover and many people choose to rent to them on this website. It wasn't long until a phone call placed to a condo owner looked promising. The owners were looking for renters and would show it to us today. We went and after a very brief meeting found a great place. A one bedroom with a loft that over looks Auke Bay. We would share it and then, when his family came down, they would look for a house to rent and I would share it with my soon to be here wife. They gave us the key and said we could move in today! No storage for my bed! I made my way back to the quiet (at least during the day) apartment and quickly spirited my stuff out in the cover of daylight. Just when something can seem really bad, it turns really good. Some will call this luck, but I know differently. The night was quiet. Every night is quiet. Most of the people living in the condo keep to themselves. I have noticed this a lot since I have been here. People are friendly but they are also private. The closet is now a memory, a lesson learned.

Living in a closet

The romance of living in a tenth floor studio in downtown Juneau wore off rather quickly. The first night my carpet was still wet from the cleaning and I spread out two rain coats on the floor in the walk-in closet. There were two large fans running in the apartment providing plenty of white noise. I slept o.k. but not a memory easily forgotten. In the morning, the floor was pretty dry. I got dressed and then off to work. I still had no furniture but a sleeping bag for a bed on the floor. The apartment was quiet until about 2:30 a.m. when my neighbor turned on his stereo (I didn't think I was living in a college dorm!)  I knocked on his door but no answer. About 4:00 a.m. the stereo went off so I slept. I was tired but off to another day of work. It was Friday night so I assumed that the stereo may actually go on early and possibly be off earlier. Wrong again! I had planned for this and, armed with ear plugs, I moved into my closet and closed the door to the noise. Even with ear plugs I could still hear the stereo faintly. I called the manager and left a message at about 2:00 a.m. Saturday was bed delivery day, but would I be able to sleep in it? That night I climbed into bed armed once again with ear plugs. At 2:30 a.m. again the bass was able to penetrate my silence. Off to the closet with the sleeping bag! I called the manager again, telling her I could no longer stay here. This was for me a worst case scenario. Sunday I would move out. I only had food, a bed and clothing so not too difficult. There are two of us working in our Juneau office and now, both of us needed a place to stay. My co-worker is quite a resourceful individual. He is a war veteran who spent three months living in our office sleeping in a sleeping bag. Like me he was unable to find a reasonably priced place to stay until his family moved here. Sunday morning we arrived in the office. He asked if perhaps we could find a place to share until his family came here? We get along very well so that was definitely a possibility. What would happen next?

The Meier Compound

The back of our house at 4142 S 43 St

The backyard of 4202 S 43 St from the pond

The pond at 4202 S 43 St

I can only imagine how Bill feels after moving away from his family home, a place that he has known since his birth in 1954.  It isn't usual that someone lives practically their entire life in the same place.  Except for a few brief excursions "into the unknown",
Bill has lived his whole life in the same four acres of this earth.  The Knoll family farm (Millie's family) was at the top of the hill, north of our house, and Bill remembers quite clearly running through the field from his home to his grandmothers. In fact, there are too many stories to tell of the "Meier Compound", some of which are stuff of legend.  They have made great campfire stories in Eagle River, recited many times over BOF's and some friends of the family even remember participating in some of the hijinks (you know who you are!) committed at these properties.   So to leave the only real home that he has had for these 50+ years is something that I can't comprehend.  Living in the "city" didn't seem so bad for our kids either,  because they had almost four acres of playground that they called their backyard.  Sharing a yard with the grandparents was perfect - there was the pond which was the place for many summer theatrical endeavors, many types of swings and swinging paraphernalia, it was where the "goal post" was and even the patio was a place where the kids learned to ride their bikes.  

Home plate

The trail to the ravine

Our yard was the site of many games of "pitchers hand" and whiffle ball, and the ravine was the best place to play "sock wars".  Grandpa Ed and Bill spent one summer off from school (they both taught at WCTI at the same time) building a huge deck which turned into the "family" picnic area whenever there was an event to celebrate.  The pool was added 20+ years ago and was a real treat throughout the summers.  As the 1st generation of Meier children left the "compound", Bill maintained the property - first with Grandpa Ed's help (he had to stop when he got one-too-many sticks in the eye on the lawn tractor), then with our children.  Grandma was always generous with the "lawn mowing money"!  I've attached some photos of the properties, taken just this weekend when everything was "greening up" good!  Some parts are overgrown now, and Bill has taken down much dead wood over the course of the last few seasons.  I don't dwell on leaving this place - it will be hard.  I see our children running, climbing, crying and laughing at every turn. Each point in the yard has a memory for me and my children have memories, too.  I can only imagine the memories for Bill, who has been here almost twice as long as I.  As beautiful as Alaska is, the Meier Compound will always be remembered as it once was and is now - our home.  Nothing will take that away from our memories.

Moving to Alaska, the importance of routine -

When you make a move like we have, there are many differences you will find. You must adapt to some,
but others you must get yourself back into your routines so you are comfortable. God created us as
adaptable creatures, unlike fish who, when they experience a 2-degree rapid rise in water temperature,
die. We humans just take off our sweaters! You may think a three hour difference in time is no big deal,
but it will affect your life. Take that into consideration with the sun never really setting and you will
find it requires you to make major adjustments. We have witnessed beautiful sunsets in many different
locations. In Alaska in the summer, it is still light at 10:00 p.m. As you wait for that beautiful sunset,
well, it really never comes. The sun just hangs on just below the horizon and you realize you are
in a really bad Tommy Lee Jones movie.
I have adjusted to it by going to bed a little earlier and getting up a little earlier. If you are tired, you
will sleep regardless of the darkness (or light). I never close the shades all the way, but still find I get a
good night’s sleep. Take advantage of Skype to stay in touch with family and friends. You will probably
find that you talk more now that you are farther away than when you were minutes away from them.
Each day you must take two little steps in adjusting to your new life. One step will be finding a new
routine; the other is modifying an existing routine. Every day you must wake up like a child on Christmas
morning, and not act like Mr. Grinch. Be positive, you can do this!  Talk soon - Bill

68 Days earlier

It was a Saturday when I logged in to Monster.com to see if there were any jobs in Juneau, Alaska.  A large company was looking for a Service Tech for their building automation systems division.  Since jobs in a city the size of Juneau are few in my skill set, I thought what the heck, just apply. Automation is automation, right? It was Monday when a call came from them - would I like to do a phone interview the next day?  I was a little surprised to hear from them so soon, to say the least. Tuesday came with a phone interview that seemed to go quite well, but I was still unsure. Later that week I received another call, asking if I would fly up to Anchorage for an in-person interview. It would be the week of spring break so timing was perfect. I left early the next week, arriving in Anchorage on Monday afternoon with an interview scheduled for the next day at 7:30 a.m. in their office. I was early to the interview which amounted to 8 hours with 5 different people. It was unlike any process I had ever been through, but since they paid all my expenses, I am sure they wanted to be sure I was the right guy. One week later they offered me the job and asked if I be able to start on April 25th. Timing is everything but being a teacher does limit your options as to when you quit a job. Our contract requires signing 30 days prior to April 15th prior to the start of the next school year.  I had hoped I could resign before having signed the contract and this time frame fit this scenario exactly!  I accepted the new job with the stipulation that I would be able to complete my semester ending May 13th with a start date of May 16th. They agreed and Alaska was to become a reality.  Live from Anchorage (for now), this is Bill signing off!

A little background and some pretty pictures!

If you wonder why we want to move to Alaska, and more specifically Juneau, I loaded some pictures for you to see.  The pictures were from our visit to Juneau in 2008 when Bill and I both decided this is where we would like to call home.  Over the last few years, "obstacles" that made this move seem unlikely disappeared, and the time came when we had to make the hard decision to move away from family and friends and strike out on our own "Bill and Sharon's Excellent Adventure". 

The scenery in Juneau is spectacular - nestled between the Gastineau Channel and the Chilkat Mountain Range, it has the best of both worlds (ocean and mountain) in one place.  Access to Juneau is only by ferry or plane, with less than 100 miles of roads. 

Bill is anxious to find someone with a fishing boat, so he can get some experience "captaining".  His summers here in Milwaukee spent crewing on the love boats have given him some credentials and while he certainly has seen his share of "animals" on them, there wasn't opportunity to see whales on the Milwaukee River.

 This view of Juneau is from the adjacent Douglas Island - gives you a good perspective of what the scenery is like (forgive the photographer for getting the road grader in the otherwise scenic view!). 

I certainly hope that all of you who read our blog investigates the place that you want to be, whether it is right where you are now (nothing wrong with that!) or someplace else in God's great universe.  We are so thankful for our wonderfully supportive families (especially our children!) and friends.  Come visit - you haven't seen anything like Alaska!! 
  

This is the start of a great adventure!

Well, here we are.  After a few years of dreaming, planning and talking, we have arrived at the tipping point to the rest of our lives.  Things seem to take so long, until they don't take long enough - sounds rather convoluted, but it's like climbing a mountain.  First the excitement of the planning - even if I never climb the mountain, I say to myself, at least I've given it much thought!  I've climbed the mountain in my mind many times, even visited the mountain, talking a good game but never having to put my money where my mouth is.  All of the sudden, I'm at the foot of said mountain, with everyone watching to see if I will actually climb the mountain.  The same can be said for our plans to move to Alaska - we've talked about it for a long time, over six years.  At first it was just talk - no action.  Then, an epiphany of sorts - it just felt so right.  Still, we had family to consider, jobs to go to each day and life to live.  As time passed, those responsibilities became different - as things changed, our dream of moving to Alaska became more than that.  Obstacles in our path moved, changed or disappeared all together.  Every time we thought of a reason not to go, another reason said "YES" it is the right thing to do! We have had so many signs - some that were very evident (the "slap in your face" kind), others not so much.  We started climbing the mountain and are now almost to the top - we'll let you know as we reach the apex, and take you on our journey to the "other side of the mountain".  Enjoy the ride with us!!  Love, Bill and Sharon