Adventures in Alaska: Nothing has changed...But everything is different!

So I woke up the other day and I felt good...REALLY really good. Better than I have felt in a really long time. To be honest, I have been in a little bit of a rut the last few months, and while nothing has changed, I find myself in the same situations that I have been in for the past few months, everything is different. I just feel so much more optimistic about things. Which, I'm not gonna like, is a pretty fantastic feeling!

Just a quick update on things. The summer job is going really well. Every tour is almost like meeting a long lost friend. I know that sounds a little cliche, but by the end of spending 4 hours with these people in a car, albeit a very large car, but a car none the less, you kinda get attached. Especially when they are as wonderful as my guests have been. I have had people from all over, Cleveland, Florida, LA, and each has such an interesting story. The group I had earlier this week were cracking my up. It was a husband and a wife, and her 94 year old mother. They were truly wonderful people, who were just enjoying life. The poor husband very graciously took the brunt of all their jokes, and basically I was paid to drive them around, listen to their very comical conversations, and take them to get milkshakes! Yeah...life is pretty good!

This past week I have been preoccupied with a show I am currently doing. Each summer First City Players (the Ketchikan Theater Company) does this show called "The Fish Pirates Daughter" which has some aspects of Ketchikan's history in it, but is basically a slap happy musical melodrama about a citizen of Ketchikan who acts as a fish pirate to get money to send his/her daughter through finishing school. There is a whole lot more to it, but I don't really need to get into the specifics. Anyway, I was going to auditions, but then chickened out last minute. The one of my good friends mentioned that she was doing it, and we got to talking and I was really starting to second guess my decision. I knew they were still looking for "ladies of the line," I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I knew it was just chorus. Well the musical director, who happens to be a friend of mine, e-mailed me and said she had heard I was interested and asked if I would do it. I figured what the heck....Why not!? Do you know what a "lady of the line is!?!?" Let me tell you, it is NOT a simple chorus girl who stands in the background and sings pretty songs in fun costumes. Nope...if you are familiar with Ketchikan's history at all (which as a tour guide, I now am! :) Whoo) and one time, Ketchikan's biggest industry was Creekstreet, which was home to around 30 brothel houses. As a lady of the line, I am one of the ladies of those house. Let's put it this way...I am just a LITTLE out of my comfort zone!! Keep in mind this is a happy-go-lucky melodrama, so it's not really that big of a deal, but yes...I feel a little ridiculous!

Because it hasn't been 9 months since my last post (I know! I know! I'm a little shocked too!) I really don't know what else to update you on! I guess I could tell you all that I bought a grill!! I am pretty excited about that, but it's not really all that interesting. But sure why not! HaHa... The other night I was trying to figure out what I wanted for dinner and the only things that sounded really good were, BBQ Chicken, Steak, Hot Dogs, or Hamburgers. I looked at Lori (My roommate) and I said...Let's go get a grill! That's pretty much the whole story, but we have been eating really well this week! :)

Tomorrow I am going to get together with a friend of mine and we are going to rock out to some trumpet duets. I am pretty excited about this because I'm not a great sight reader, and this will be really good for my musicianship. I am also pretty nervous about this because Jeff (my friend) is a phenomenal trumpet player, who just graduated from Manhattan School of Music, and is going to kick my butt!! Oh well, it's all in good fun. Jeff and I are collaborating together to put on a classical recital at the end of the summer/beginning of fall. I am getting pretty excited about this. I've finally been getting back into the habit of doing some hardcore vocalizing and practice sessions, and it feels pretty amazing to be singing some legit classical stuff again. I've been trying to incorporate a variety of instruments and people for this recital. My one friend is an oboist and I think I have convinced her to play on one song while another friend, Chelsea (Jeff's girlfriend!) is going to dance (Hopefully!!!) I also have a duet planned and a few other ideas that I really hope pan out.

Today I felt a little like my Grandma Gaggini. I sat down to start a puzzle, because I love puzzles, and I completely lost track of the time. Next think I knew it was like 5:30 and I had to make dinner and get ready for rehearsal. It's crazy where the day went! BUT I totally knocked that 1000 piece puzzle out in a day!!! In all fairness, I've done that puzzle at least 5 times, so it's getting to the point where I can look at a piece and know the general idea where it goes.

OH!!! Before I let you go....GUESS WHAT!?! I finally saw the Northern Lights!!!!!!!! They were very faint, and mostly just a white color, BUT I saw them. It kinda just looked like a sunset, except it was at a position in the sky where the sun would not set, AND it was 2am. It was pretty neat, and I was so excited. I am looking forward to seeing the lights a lot more this summer.

AND one more very exciting piece of information. The Pittsburgh Pirates have the best record in baseball right now, AND I walked into O'brien's Pub last night after rehearsal and the game was on TV...in Ketchikan!! I know, I know, we are playing Seattle, but still...the was incredibly exciting for me!! :) Let's Go Bucs!!

Ok. I should probably be going to bed. Thank you all for sticking with my through my random updates. I miss you all terribly. You should all take a note out of Trish & Jim and Dad & Judy's book and come visit me!! :)

Love always,
Kate

Settler's Cove 6/13/13

Slide Mountain 6/14/13


This is my very bad attempt at trying to get a picture of the lights...Hey...it's only and iphone. But you can kind of see where the lights were in the middle of the picture behind the mountain. Use your imagination people!! There were there! 6/17/13