My favorite time of year.

I love the Christmas season.  The music, the decorations, the warm mushy feelings; I love it all.  So I was really excited about decorating my apartment for the holidays, especially since this is my first time and I’m starting from scratch.  I’m not going to mention how long ago I actually bought and put my decorations up, but today I finally got to put on the finishing touch – an angel for my tree.  I couldn’t find anything around here that wasn’t cheap looking or really ugly, but I found an adorable fabric angel on Etsy.

Isn’t she cute?  That website is so awesome – by far my favorite place to shop online.

New Moon!

I went to see New Moon last night.  I had just come off a 12 hour shift and I was really tired, but I’ve been dying to see it.  It’s the first time I’ve seen a movie here, and it was quite the experience!  There are only two theatres in town, with two screens each.  New Moon is playing on only one screen, luckily near my apartment.  I went to the 9:35 show and was fighting for parking at 9:10.  The lot was tiny and I finally just ended up parking at the grocery store across the street.  When I got inside, it was wall to wall people.  The theatre was only showing New Moon and 2012, but most of the crowd was for New Moon.  There was one ticket seller and it took 20 minutes to pay.  That didn’t bother me – I found the whole experience to be kind of fascinating!  I’m still getting used to smaller town living, and the whole night was really different for me.  Buying food was impossible; the ticket line immediately turned into the line to get seats, with no room to move.  The place is small!  Again, it didn’t matter to me – I wasn’t buying anyway.  Once the theatre opened, the crowd actually filed in without a big rush for good seats, which was a relief.  It turns out there was a good reason for that.  The theatre is shaped kind of funny.  It’s not stadium seating, but rather the seats are all floor level, with just a barely noticeable curve up to the back.  But you don’t have to worry about the person in front blocking your view, because the screen is up high, near the ceiling.  So, everyone has to look up!  It’s not as uncomfortable as it sounds, and I totally forgot about it once the movie started.  I think it was sold out – the place was packed!  It was a good audience though – no annoying girly screams to be heard.

The movie itself was great, much better than the first one.  And I was really impressed with Taylor (the guy who played Jacob) – the kid can really act!  He showed great emotional range and made the movie that much better.

All in all, it was a good night.  Fell asleep almost as soon as I walked through my door, but it was worth it.

It’s like riding a bike.

I’ve taken up ice skating again – and it’s been awhile.

Some of my earliest memories involve skating lessons on weekends and there was always at least one skating trip each year in elementary school.  I haven’t been since, and I think it’s going on 14 or 15 years since I went on the ice.  But how can I live in the Yukon and not skate?  It seems very wrong…

So, I got a pass for the Canada Games Centre.  That place is awesome.  It has a pool/hot tub/sauna/steam room/lazy river, NHL size ice, Olympic size ice, artificial turf field, basketball court, gym, indoor running track…  It’s huge.  I’ve started going to the gym and using the track and… I skate.

They have public skate time every day and I can’t believe how much fun it’s been.  There’s only a few people on the ice during the week, so I don’t have to worry about dodging screaming ankle biters.  It’s like riding a bike; you never really forget, but you are a bit wobbly for a bit!

Totally off topic, but I bought this at Walmart today.

Weird eh?  And even weirder, I dropped it on the ice in the parking lot and it bounced.  Twice!

It’s the little things…

Every once in awhile I’ll learn some new little quirk about life in the Yukon that kind of throws me for a loop when I hear it.  Like the latest, which one of my coworkers told me about during a recent shift.  Apparently, during the dead of winter, rather than risking sluggish fluids and a dead battery, the people here will leave their cars running while they are out and about.  It’s common to see cars idling while their owners are inside a store shopping.  And while working, some start their cars every few hours and leave them running out in the lot.  Not all the parking lots have plugs after all!

I love learning about this kind of stuff…

Finally!

It’s been a while, but in my defense, moving is very time consuming!  I am finally settled into my new apartment and everything is hung up and put away.  I’ve got to say, I absolutely love it.  It’s a 50 year old building, and my kitchen and bathroom have a very retro feel.  And it’s in really great shape!

Of course, I didn’t go through the move alone; my mother flew up and helped set everything up.  I never could have done it without her – if she hadn’t come, I would probably still be sitting here surrounded up boxes and feeling totally lost.  Thanks mom!

I am just so glad to be out of the hotel.  It was really nice, but I was there for 22 days and it never felt like home.  It’s hard to get comfortable when complete strangers enter your personal space on a daily basis.  Now, surrounded by my old things, in my own space, I can finally relax.  And… bake!