Happy Memorial Day

Wow...two blog posts in two days!! Not bad considering I still do not have internet at home...I AM A BLOGGING MACHINE!!! Ok...maybe not.

I woke up this beautiful Memorial Day morning without a single item on the to-do list. I thought to myself, "I think it is a good day to pack up a bag, climb up a bunch of rocks, eat lunch, and come home. And that is exactly what I did. I found an old backpack and started filling it up with water, snacks, and camera gear. I then hopped in the car and started driving to Angel Rocks. If you are an avid reader of this blog you may remember me going to this same location last fall. On my last visit to the rocks, I was a little apprehensive about doing a lot of climbing. I was pretty out of shape then. Now, about 25 pounds thinner and a heck of a lot stronger, I felt much more confident relying on my body to get me around in difficult terrain.

I made it to Angle Rocks around 11:00 am and started straight for the trails. The climb is rough, hot, and steep! I felt great this time around as I approached the first small plateau. At this point in the story I think that pictures will do better than words:

This shot was taken at the first plateau. Those rocks sticking up were my goal. I was going to be on top of everyone of them before I went home.


Me on the first plateau...a couple of nice, young hikers took the shot for me:


I nice view from one of the rocks:


Looking down at the other peaks...I made it to the highest one!!


Me....quite high up at this point! I rested my camera on my pack for this one and used the remote.


Finally, I saw some flowers growing from the side on one if the rocky spires. I was lucky enough to have captured a bee in the shots as well:




While on the rocks, I did just what I set out to do: climb, eat, and leave. On the way down, I ran into a parent of a student. It was a little odd being in a sleeveless shirt and all; exposing my tattoos to the world. It was fine though. I guess the student was up on the rocks ahead, but I seemed to have just missed her.

I got home around 3:30 and took a nice little nap. After I awoke, I edited a few shots, jumped in the car and drove to the University (for the free internet) to share them with you =)

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday and I wish you all a great week! My dad and his girlfriend will be up here in about 4 days, so I am excited! I am sure there will be LOTS of pictures after that!

Rock on,
~Mr. Lockwood

SUMMER IS HERE!!!

...well, maybe not according to the calendar, but as far as I am concerned...it is summer. I have spent the last few days enjoying some of the most amazing weather I have ever experienced. It has been in the mid 70's and sunny all week! I enjoy sitting on my porch with a cigar, a root beer, and a good book. I finished Harpo Speaks (the autobiography of Harpo Marx) and that was amazing! After that, I whipped through Water For Elephants in a couple days and loved it!! Due to multiple recommendations, I just started Into the Wild. I am not as impressed and everyone said I would be, but I'll see how it end up.

I have also been keeping myself busy by going on jogs/working out at the gym, organizing my stuff in my cabin, and starting up my garden! I have about 6 green beans, 4 zucchini, 1 cherry tomato, and one rhubarb. I have killed everything I have tried to grow with the exception of a jade tree I had to leave behind when I moved, so we'll see how this works out. Oh yeah, I have another jade tree up here =)

I finally have a few pictures to post! First, here are two shots that I printed and hung up in my cabin:

My silly little sister got in the way of my Spider-Man photo shoot...but I guess I'll keep it.


I liked this shot a lot. This was one of those pictures that you think nothing will come out of it, but then the end product surprises you!



This morning, I woke up at 3:30 am to drive a co-teacher to the airport. I figured that Alaska would be extra beautiful at 4:00 am, so I grabbed my camera before I left...boy am I glad I did that!








The lighting was beautiful, there was a thin fog floating above the sunlit swamp, and there were two trumpeter swans swimming in a small, glassy pool. Mornings like this make you want to wake up every day at 3:30, just to see what this amazing planet looks like when everyone else is fast asleep. I shouldn't say EVERYONE:





I saw four moose within a one mile stretch of road. These are a couple pictures of my first bull moose I have seen. This bull was pretty young and it is still early in "Antler Growing" season, so he just has a couple of nubs sticking out the top of his head. I have been told some have seen a HUGE bull in the area, already sporting a very impressive rack...but he was not around this morning. Hopefully these photographs will prove to Stephen that male moose do exist...even if they are small. (proof of concept maybe?)

Ok, I should get going. I am going to be looking at cats to adopt! I find myself a little lonely at times and I think a little pal would help pass the time. I hope everyone out there in Bloggingland has a happy and safe holiday weekend.

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood

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

A Quick Little Update

Hello all you out there in Blogging Land! It is crunch time here at Randy Smith. Seven days of school left..that's it! We had our concerts last week; Concert, Varsity, and Jazz bands were on Tuesday and Choir and Orchestra were on Wednesday. The kids did GREAT!!! I am very proud of every last one of them! If you are down with middle school music, here are a few pieces we performed:
Bands - Los Banditos, Highlights from Harry Potter, Overture de Argentina, Into the Storm (a GREAT Robert W. Smith piece), Semper Fidelis, La Noche del Burrito Picante, All Blues, and Manteca
Orchestra - Londonderry Air, Gargoyles, Hoedown, and Rosin Eating Zombies from Outer Space (if you are a middle school orchestra teacher you MUST play Rosin....it is awesome!)
Choir - What Do You Do With a Drunkin Sailor, Alleluia Canon (by Mozart), Carry Me Home, and a great Gloria Deo! Oh yeah...we also sang a short arrangement of You Are My Sunshine that I did.

It was a great week, but VERY exhausting. I still do not have internet at my cabin, so these blog updates are actualy hapening at school (like this one.) I am looking into getting internet...hopefuly soon. Well, Jazz band is going to be starting in about 25 mins, so I should get ready. Have a great day everyone!!

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood

Goodbye Wedgewood Hello Dry-Cabin!

I am officially moved out of Wedgewood and into my cabin. I have spent the last two or three nights there. It is really cool! Last night, I sat on my porch with a very nice cigar and a diet root beer - just staring out at the trees and the setting sun. This was around 10 pm...yeah, the sun is still out at 10 pm up here. I do not have internet at my cabin yet, so this blog entry is being made from my office at school. I will hopefully have internet in the cabin sometime this month.

A very cute thing happened at school the other day that I want to share with you. I believe it was Tuesday morning when a small group of students came up to me before my first period class in a panic. "Mr. Lockwood, Mr. Lockwood!" they yelped. "They just caught a little vole in homeroom and they are going to feed it to the science teacher's snake...will you help us free it?"
    I told them that I had class and couldn't go at the moment, but after class, if the vole was not already snakefood, I would go up with them and see what I could do.
    After class, I accompanied two other students to the science room to check on the fate of poor little Taco (Taco is what the students named him.) We got there just in time. We arrived to find the vole still alive, resting in a cardboard box, awaiting the feed. I talked to the science teacher and he had no problems with us letting the little bugger go. I told the students to ask their 2nd period teachers is they could go to release the vole with me. They got permission and we went outside.
    While walking outside to set Taco free, the students joining me were giddy with excitement. Every couple of seconds one of them would squeak out, "He is SOOOO cute!" We found a nice place in some trees as far away from the school as we could get without leaving the property. I opened the box, we each pet Taco, said our goodbyes, and set him free.
    The rest of the day the two students had HUGE smiles of pride on their faces for a job well done and I had a huge smile on my face for giving the students a chance to save a life! It was a fantastic morning!

Well, I'm off. I have a little bit of grading to do, and other things around town that need to get done, then a Community Band concert this evening. I hope you all have an amazing weekend. I know I will (it has been about 80 degrees the last few days...and it feels GREAT!!)

Take care!
~Mr. Lockwood

Less Than A Week 'till I Move

Time is flying by!! I was in Anchorage last weekend with some teachers from Tanana Middle school. We were meeting with other schools in Anchorage to see how a true middle school concept it working for them. It was very interesting! While in Anchorage, I had the opportunity to eat some GREAT food! We went to the Glacier BrewHouse where I had a very tasty steak and very nice ESB to wash it down. The next night, we ate at a different brewery called The Moose's Tooth. There we had some AMAZING pizza...and good beer as well. The Pipeline Stout is highly recomended.

Speaking of moose...a funny thing happend the other day while moving stuff into my cabin. Only in Alaska will you come home to find that as the snow melted away to reveal a moose skull in your driveway!






And here is a Black and White version of the first shot:


Crazy!! I like it =) Well...I need to get off the computer and enjoy the wonderful weather we are having today. 56 degrees and sunny. I'm off for a walk.

I don't know when I will have internet access in my cabin, so after May 1st it might be a while 'till I post again...but I'll try =)

Rock on
~My. Lockwood

Another great Week in AK

Hello =) I hope all y'all are having a great weekend so far. Things are continuing to be fantastic up here in Alaska. Yesterday was one of those days were everything just worked out great! The day started kinda strange however...my alarm clock never went off. I woke up in time...it was just strange that the alarm did not sound. The first thing that happened at school yesterday was a field trip. Randy Smith went to see the Yuval Ron Ensemble play...OH MY GOSH that was amazing! Yuval Ron is from Israel and plays music from all over the Middle East. He plays one of my all time favorite instruments...the oud! Click here to see a video of Yuval Ron on the oud and Jamie Papish (who played percussion yesterday.) Also, click here to see an upclose shot of the oud. At the performance, they also had a Whirlling Dervish...that was AMAZING!! (Here is a video.) This is a type of prayer that, instead of words to comunicate with the devine, uses movement. The Whirlling Dervish that we saw was spinning for more than 5 minutes straight. That evening, I was invited to a church where the Yuval Ron Ensemble was giving a lecture....and I was blown away. I had the oportunity to meet them all and talk with them about the music. Yuval Ron is a very powerful speaker who has spent his entire life spreading the word of peace. Asking all the religions of the world to join hands and forget about their wars...and become one with the music. Very moving!

Another groovy thing happened yesterday that I would like to share. In between the amazing concert in the morning and the amazing lecture/performance in the evening...I received the keys to my new living space! I am going to be spending the summer living in a dry cabin in the middle of the woods. What this means is that I will be spening the next three months (or more if I like it) in a 16 x 20 log cabin without running water. A lot of people in Fairbanks live without running water. Since everything is so spread out, connecting everyone to a water main in not efficient and due to the amount of time the ground is frozen up here...wells can be tricky to dig...therfore a lot of people haul water and use an outhouse. This will be my life for at least the summer. My cabin is about 5 miles away from town in moose infested forests =) I do go to the gym 3-5 days a week, so shower facilities will be available and I know a couple other teachers at Randy Smith who live without running water...so they can show me the ropes. I am very excited to spend the summer "roughing it." Just hanging out in the woods. I am pretty close to the next cabin over, but the trees are so thick that it is hard to see.

Here is a pictorial tour of my new home:
The Outside:


The Kitchen:


The Living Room:


The Bedroom:


The Hallway to the Bathroom:



Ok...well, I need to get going. I have a very busy day today. I am leaving for Anchorage on Sunday, so I have lesson plans to write for Monday and Tuesday. Take care everyone!

Rock on
~Mr, Lockwood

Happy Easter!

I hope everyone is having a wonderful holiday today! I had a great day here in Alaska. The weather was AMAZING!!! Almost 50 degrees today, so I went for a nice walk. I also bought a bunch of vegetables to make homemade chicken noodle soup. I bought a Fred Meyer's Roasted Chicken last night and I decided to boil the carcass to make soup...It is VERY good!!! Here is a picture of the veggies =)

(The parsnip makes the soup...I will never make a chicken soup without them)


There were also potatoes in the mix...I just forgot to photograph them. The soup is amazing, so I will post my recipe for y'all.

Step one: buy a cooked chicken and eat about half of it for lunch and dinner.
Step two: Pick off all of the meat and boil the non-meat in a bunch of water with some veggies and herbs
Step three: add the chicken and the noodles and eat!!

A lot has been going on the last few days. I need to move out of Wedgewood by May 1st, so I am looking for places to live. In May, Wedgewood turns into a tourist resort, so my apartment will no longer be available for less than a few hundred dollars a day...a bit out of my price range. I have a few leads that I will write more about when things are finalized. I'll just say that I am looking into living the true Alaskan lifestyle.

Also, I have made a sound file of the Randy Smith Jazz Band available for you all. I am going to upload it as a video clip. Since I have absolutely no desire to post pictures of my students on the web, I have made a little backdrop photo out of an Aurora shot that is a little blurry. I hope you enjoy Randy Smith's version of Manteca.



Well, that's all I got for the moment. I will keep you all updated on my living situation. I should know for sure what is happening in a week or so. I cannot believe mid-quarter grades are due already for 4th quarter. I am 7/8th of the way finished with my first year teaching!

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood

A Crazy Time of Year!!

Wow...keeping this blog updated has been very difficult lately! Life is crazy busy these days...I guess that is a good thing. It keeps the boredom away.

Last weekend, I took my jazz band to Jazz Fest, a large three day celebration of jazz. The festival took place at the University of Alaska - Fairbanks, and it was AMAZING! There were guest artists from all over the country who worked with the students and in the evenings put on some outstanding concerts. On Friday night, Randy Smith was involved in a "Show off your school" concert. The show was four hours long...each school getting about 10 minutes. Since this is a JAZZ concert...groups went WAY over 10 minutes =) Randy Smith put on a GREAT show! I am very proud of my students. I will be posting a sound clip of one of their pieces from the performance sometime this weekend. Also, three of Randy Smith students were chosen to participate in the 2009 UAF Jazz Fest Honor Jazz Band...a great opportunity for them!

Well...I don't have too much else new really. I am looking for a place to live because Wedgwood turns into a tourist resort in about a month. I will end this post with a cheesy self portrait for all y'all...I do not want anyone out there forgetting how beautiful I am ;-) (I am actually posting this pic because I think the colors are cool. I was playing with different light sources and white balance. I am lit by a tungsten light and the room is illuminated by the setting sun. Kinda a need mix in my opinion)


Ok fellow bloggers...I'm out. The end of the school year is approaching FAST, so these posts may continue to be more sparse, but fear not...I will be back more often when summer rolls around!

Rock on!
~Mr. Lockwood.

Spring Break II...The Sequel

Hello all! I thought I'd post more pictures. I might come back to this posting as I finish more photographs, but for now I will put up what I have. WARNING!!! It might be a lot. First things first...A couple more shots from the Ice Sculptures.









On Tuesday, Jen and I went for a long trip to Cantwell, AK (a very small town) and the drive was amazing! It was a mostly cloudy day through the mountains...with the sun peeking out every now and then to say, "Hello." I have LOTS of pictures from the drive, so here they are. Enjoy!!

Not far from Fairbanks, we stopped to shoot the mountains in the horizon. Here is Jen capturing the Alaskan Mountain Range.


The Nenana River is frozen and looks cool. Fun colors and lines!


Then here are some mountains:








This one might be my favorite:





Now...a couple shoots of the moose. I love moose. Both to look at and to eat.




WOW that is a lot of pictures...but wait..there's more!

(ok...just three more...one of me in the hot springs and two from around Chena)


Open water from the spring:


It's kinda cool. The Chena Hot Springs Resort have several hotels and a restaurant. All hot water (not used in food) is taken from the hot springs. They use the geothermal heat for almost all heating. I am guessing this is one of the places they pump the water from:


Yesterday was my birthday, so we celebrated by going to Chena Hot Springs...WOW was that amazing. It was a little below freezing yesterday (about 20 - 25 degrees) and the water's average temperature is 106 degrees..but there were some severe hot pockets that, my guess, where around 120 degrees...way to hot for me. On the drive there and home we saw LOTS of moose. Between the two outings, I saw at least 10 moose and a couple of caribou.

I've had a great couple of days with a few more left to go. I hope you are all having a wonderful week out there in Blogging world.

Take care!
~Mr. Lockwood

SPRING BREAK!!!!!

"The time has come," the Walrus said,
"To talk of many things:
Of shoes--and ships--and sealing-wax--
Of cabbages--and kings--
And why the sea is boiling hot--
And whether pigs have wings."

Ok...it may not be time to talk of cabbages and kings...but it IS time for spring break. Last week one was of the busiest weeks I have had yet in my teaching career. With dress rehearsals, concerts, and TONS of snow...I am very happy last week is over.

I will start off with a picture, then a lot of pictures =) My friend Jen is up here visiting me for Spring break...and she brought me a couple of camera lenses to play with. THEY ARE AMAZING!! This picture is one of my favs with a Canon 50mm 1.4.


Yesterday, Jen and I went to "Ice Alaska." A place where people from all over the world come to create these amazing ice sculptures. It was unbelievable what these people can do with a bit of frozen water and a chainsaw! But before we went to the ice park...we had a very tasty lunch of Copper River Salmon Salad with Basil Blue Cheese Dressing and Red Wine.


We arrived at the ice park around 2:00 and walked around with cameras. It was pretty fun! Tons (literally tons) of very cool sculptures everywhere. Here are a few that caught my eye...and my lens (ok...not my lens, but I wish it was.)

Ok...now for some pictures....WARNING!! There are a lot of pics, and I am uploading then as large files...so it may take a while for them to come up.








There are MANY MANY more pictures...but these are some of the more impressive sculptures. Taking pictures of ice and snow is very challenging. It is easy to overexpose the photograph...I am still learning everyday fun new things to try in order to make my photography better. I love Alaska!

I'll will try very hard to be back more to update this site. I plan on taking LOTS of pictures over spring break, so be on the look out!

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood

Hooray for Weekends =)

It's a Sunday! I have actually been pretty productive today. I sent out program information for our combined concerts (Music in Our Schools Month), I cleaned my kitchen, straightened up my living room, and posted on my blog (well, I guess I'm not quite finished with that one yet.)

I will start off with another picture. This one was taken right outside my door. It was ridiculously warm yesterday (23 above zero) and the sun was shining bright. The icicles on the awning were starting to melt, so I thought I would sit and try to capture a drop of water in mid-air...and what do you know, the very first shot I took caught one!




Well...I am still sans automobile =( I am approved for my loan...there are just a few other hoops I need to jump through that were not foreseen. I REALLY hope I will have a vehicle by Wednesday. Cross your fingers for me =)

It feels like I have been stuck inside my apartment for the longest time. Cabin fever is no fun. Luckily, I have the internet and great digital company to keep me distracted ;-)

I do have some great news I can share with y'all...I am teaching a summer class, as most of you probably know, and the official website for it is up! Click here --> ASRA
The module I am co-teaching is called "Sounds of Science" (the last link on the side of the page I believe) If you read my bio, there is an interesting picture of me (I did NOT pick it, the program director did) and a link to a youtube video of my latest circuit bending project. Ah what the heck...I won't make you search for it...here it is =)


(please pay no attention to the idiot dancing to the random noise...he got a little too into the groove)

So that is pretty much all that is going on here in AK. School is still amazing. I hope you all have a fantastic week! I will try to be more on top of updating this site...so please stick around =)

Rock on
~Mr. Lockwood

So Sorry For The Lateness of this Post

I had been very busy with school lately, so I have fallen behind a bit in my blog postings...for that I apologize. I just received an email from a friend of mine. basically yelling at me for not updating this site...It was pretty funny, and eye opening. I would post it here for everyone to read...but in my very first post I said I was going to keep this blog kid-friendly...and he used some very "unique and colorful" language while suggesting I spend a little more time in Blogging World.

I'll start with a quick picture. I have not been out shooting too much due to the cold, but I am sure that will change come March. So the picture...I love hoarfrost!!!! It is beautiful. Here it is:



So how have I been doing?.....I've been great! School has been working me like mad! I have two combined concerts in less than a month than I am working very hard to prepare the kids for. March is Music in Our Schools Month, and to celebrate, Randy Smith is joining up with two other middle schools (Tanana and Ryan) to perform two very large joint concerts...one band and one orchestra. since I teach both band and orchestra...I get to work on both =) We are playing some very fun music...but it is extremely challenging, so the pressure is a little high.

Other cool things about school: I had a formal evaluation from my principal a few weeks ago and she seems to be VERY impressed with what I am doing. I thought I was doing pretty well with everything, but of coarse I am critical of my teaching and feel like I have a long way to go. My principal also sees that I have a long way to go, but she told me that I am already a great teacher...and in years to come, if I keep doing what I am doing and continue to grow, people will be hearing about me. That was very sweet and kinda fun to hear =)

I am very happy, however, not everything has been great: "The Swamp Donkey" is dead! I went out to start my car last week. It was one of those pleasant -40 degree mornings, I went to the passenger side door to get in (oh yeah...my door handle snapped off in the cold one day), and I started the car. It turned over...it didn't want to...but it did. When I say it didn't want to turn over, I just mean that it was very sluggish...so I gave it a little gas. I barely touched the accelerator when all of the sudden something caught and the engine revved very high for a fraction of a second, then calmed down and idled regularly. I then went in side to grab a few things for school and to let "The Swamp Donkey" warm up for today's ride to school. I go back out to the car and find that it had shut it's self off...not something it had ever done before. I turn her back over and she goes. I wait a little bit and decide to slowly back out and start going to work. I back up about 6 feet and it dies again. I try turning it over...and no dice. I am not super happy at this point. To make things worse...I look over to where the car was, and there, on the ground, was a large puddle of black, viscous, liquid. The Swamp Donkey had bled to death. Apparently, during the very brief period the engine was revving high, I blew a gasket. Blown head gaskets are VERY nasty and expensive to replace...so guess who is going to try to buy a car today...ME =) I have been taking the city bus to school everyday and have been getting rides home by various teachers. It has been a pain in the backside...but it's not that bad. The bus come right to Wedgewood pretty early in the morning, so I still have pleanty of time to get to jazz band.

I actually need to wrap this one up now because the bus will be here soon and I need to go to the bank as see about a loan for a vehicle. I know it has been a while since my last post, so I hope people still check this place out now and then.

Have a fantastic weekend!!
~Mr. Lockwood

I am back in Alaska!

I made it back. It was wonderful being in Minnesota/Wisconsin over the holidays. I saw a lot of friends and family but I also missed the opportunity to see some great people as well (like the Roadfeldts)...so I hope to make it back sometime this summer.


So...I wrote this VERY long story below about my trip back to Alaska...but I also have another circuit bending video I want to share. I decided to come back to the top of this post and put up the video first...in case you get bored of the story and do not feel like scrolling all the way down to watch the clip. At the end of this video, my new toy stops working. That is because I still need to add a reset button/kill switch. Every now and then I overload the circuits or create a never ending loop and things stop working. A simple push button that connects the positive and negative battery polls together will fix that issue. Once I find a ride to Radio Shack, I will install the kill switch and have a quick fix...as of right now I need to take the whole thing apart and use a wire to connect the + and -.

Here it is...the "Bent" Vtech Alphabet Apple:



The inside of "The Apple"



While I was in MN, I was enjoying the warm weather. Fifteen degrees ABOVE zero!?! That's unheard of! I was walking around in just a sweater...I loved it! However, I came home to a nice slap in the face...let me tell you about it:

As some of you know, The Supertonics, my 1980's acoustic rock cover band, had a gig the night before I left for home (it is a little odd for me to call Fairbanks home...but it actually feels more like home than MN now. While I was back in the lower 48, I fell like a visitor. I don't think that is a bad thing...it is just a little strange.) I got bock to my Dad's place from the show that Friday at about 2:30am. The show was a ton of fun, but I was a little bummed because I had to wake up pretty early to catch my flight....and I am not good at sleeping on airplanes. Anyways, I was picked up, arrived at the airport with plenty of time, and flew to Anchorage. The flight was actually quite nice. The flight to MN from Anchorage was AWFUL! I was exhausted because I stayed up the whole night before, expecting to pass out on the plane (which never happened) and I sat in an isle seat, so anytime I did start to feel myself drifting off into slumber, the flight attendance's cart would come by and smack my knees or shoulder...I was not a happy camper. The flight back to anchorage however, was surprisingly pleasant. I had about 6 hours of sleep that night, which is more than enough for me to function, I sat next to some pretty nice guys from the North Star traveling hockey team, and I had enough music for my disc-man to keep me entertained (that's right, I have a disc-man...no ipod for Bobbo.)
The flight lands in Anchorage and I am feeling pretty hungry so I went to the Chili's in the airport. I figured I had tons of time for some wings and a beer so I sat down at the table at ordered. Luckily, the Chili's was right across from the gate my plane was at. As I looked across the hall to the computer at the gate, I realized I only had about 15 minutes until I was suppose to board...and I had JUST gotten my beer. Ooops...I miss calculated the amount of time I had. My miscellaneous dippable fried chicken things arrived with only 5 mins until they were going to call me up. You would think they would have called up first class passengers first...then VIP gold members...passengers with small children...but that didn't happen. I finished my food just in time. I ate my last crunchy chicken thing and took my last sip of 'o' beer. The moment I set my glass down they called all passengers to board the plane. I hurried across the hall and stepped in line. I handed the gentleman at the desk my boarding pass and he said, "It's the last plane." I was a little confused. The closed in walkway always let me to the door of only one plane in the past...I never had to choose which plane to board...then I figured out what he was talking about. I followed the crowd down a narrow hallway that lead to a door. On the other side of this door was the frigid Alaskan air...not the inside of a plane. We had to walk across the tarmac to get to our very small jet. That was not too bad since Anchorage's climate is very similar to MN's...it was about 10 degrees. I boarded the plane, ate my crispy snacks, drank my OJ, had a wonderful conversation with the guy next to me, and arrived in Fairbanks.
The step out to the tarmac was a LOT different from Anchorage. It was currently -46 degrees and the city was covered with heavy ice fog. I walk to the airport, find my bags, and try to call a cab. No one would answer. I don't know if you all knew this or not, but cars do not like to function in -46 degree weather, so EVERYONE was calling cabs that evening. I had no idea what I was going to do. I really do not know anyone to pick me up. I could have asked a fellow teacher, but I left my faculty phone number list in my other pants ;-)

Luckily I saw a cab just sitting by the door, I stepped out and asked if he was waiting for anyone. He was available so I was happy =) The cab dropped me off at my apartment and I went inside to put away my stuff. I then went out to make sure my car would start. I get to "The Swamp Donkey" and discovered that, while I was gone, someone had stolen the extension cord I use to plug in my car!! I tried to start the car anyways...but it was no use. The next day, I was picked up by a fellow teacher to go to the store. I bought some food and a new extension cord, plugged in Mr. Donkey, and tried it after it sat for several hours...and still not luck. That was a week ago today and I still do not have a mode of transportation.

My vice principal has been giving me rides so I have not missed any school. There was, however, one night that I did not have a ride home, so I walked about two miles in -45 degree temps...I do not recommend doing that. My ears, toes, and fingers were fine. I made sure the little body parts susceptible to frostbite were well covered. I had good socks, gloves, and a wonderful new scarf...but my legs were not very well insulated and they HURT!!! It felt like I had razor blades circulating through the veins in my thighs...ouch.

Anyways...I have no car, but I am still happy. I have been fortunate enough to have friendly coworkers help me out...and if push comes to shove, I know that I could walk to and from school in -45 if I had better leg insulation, and that can easily be arranged. It is suppose to be ridiculously warm on Tuesday (the forecast says 18 above!!!!!) so I think I am just going to find a ride and buy a new battery, put it in on Tuesday, and hope to get "The Swamp Donkey" up and running.

I realize this is a VERY long rambling story. I hope it made sense =) Have a wonderful week and I will try to post more often!

Rock on,
~Mr. Lockwood