Two Days Left of School!!!

Hello everyone!

Life in Alaska is still amazing...in fact, it is getting more amazing everyday! I just went out and bought a fishing license. I am going trout fishing in about an hour!!! It should be a good time. Yesterday, Randy Smith had our end of the year staff party. It was a great time. It was a beautiful, sunny day by the Chena River with great company and AMAZING food! I brought my guitar and entertained the children (actually, some of the other teachers were as equally into the punk rock version of "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" as the kids were.) I don't know what it is, when I am in a large party setting, I tend to spend more time with the kids than the adults. I guess I have the same attention span as the youngsters so I fit in well. Once the party settles down a bit, I very much enjoy having adult conversations with my peers. We discussed literature, teaching strategies, travel stories, fine wine and beer...all of the things intelligent adults talk about and I absolutely loved it; but for the most part, I feel most at home playing with the kids.

The cabin:
I have been totally moved into my cabin for a little over two weeks now, and I still love it. Every now and then I find myself getting a little bored, but then I just go out for a walk or a jog, grab a toy and circuit bend, or just sit on my porch with a cigar and a book. I do not own a TV and I think I like that. I don't need to sit around and watch other people do stuff when I can go outside and experience the stuff myself. The only part that I do not like so far is doing dishes. Without running water, it is a pain in the butt. Not so much the washing, but the rinsing. I have not come up with a good system yet...but I am sure I will. I plan on having a friend come over and show me how she does dishes in her dry cabin. Dishes aside, the cabin rocks! The freedom of living in the woods rocks! I have been known to take a trip to the outhouse in just my boxers. It may be a 20 yard walk outside in 30 degree weather, but there is no one around so who cares. The overall freedom of Alaska is starting to set in. I am excited to go out this summer and "get lost." I plan on putting a tent in the back of the Kia and start driving. When I get sick of driving, I pull over, hike a bit until I find a good place to sleep, set up the tent and camp. Hopefully I will be by a good place to fish so I can catch my dinner...if not, I'll bring some food on my trips. Next summer I am sure I will be taking continuing education credits for my masters degree, but I told myself that this summer is going to be for me...a little treat to Bobb after my first year as a real teacher.

Two days left with students and I am done. After that, I have two workdays and I turn in my keys and have some fun!! This year has been wonderful. I have learned so much and have been blessed with great experience after great experience. My administrators have been so supportive these last nine months. I really love Randy Smith and am proud to call myself a Black Bear, our school mascot. It's funny that they picked a mythological creature to represent the school...but I guess it's ok. I do not think that Washington Wizards are real or the San Francisco Dragons (a Major League Lacrosse Team.)

Well, that's it for this post. As per Rowdy's request, I talked a little bit about my cabin. If there are any other specific things you want to know about Alaska, teaching, music, or me...please feel free to write a comment and ask or drop me an email. It can get a little lonely up here and the intro-web is my only connection to people back home...well that or a very expensive plane ticket ;-) Take care all!

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood