Where has the guile gone?

I woke up bone tired and with a sleeping pill hangover.

6 cups of coffee and a chocolate cupcake later, I'm still no closer to being awake than I was when my alarm went off. The problem with being on nightshift in Antarctica for me, is I always feel awake. Oh sure, I could cave in to my insomnia, I'm a pretty big fan of it, but only when I have the room to myself.

I still have not gotten to rollcage Mary to have a bloody Mary with the Virgin Mary.

I have been diligently trying to plan my travels for after I leave the ice this season. I believe after much deliberation that Tonga is where I'm heading to. I'm definitely keen on it. It sounds lovely, and I'm sure I will be able to get some sun, sleep, and frozen adult beverages by pieces of eye candy that I would be better off not interfering with. I'm still feeling nervous about getting back to the U.S. though. I have job offers that are sort of like jellyfish, there, but no real substance or challenge to them. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I do want to get a better grip on it, if I can before departing here. I just think it would make my time on vacation a little more stress free.

I'm intending on spending more time in Arizona this year. I have discovered that I miss my family quite a bit, and while I would never claim to be homesick, there is a part of me that really wants to be home, in the desert Southwest. I feel like I need to be there for them, but moreso, I need to be there for me. Arizona will always be my home. My family is 4 generations desert rat. *shrug*

I'm intending on getting outdoors more when I'm in Colorado. I keep saying I want to do this, or I want to do that. What I have lacked is the discipline to make it happen. I want to learn how to white water raft. I want to do lengthy hikes. I want to get more involved in caving. I want to become an adequate skiier. Who knows maybe I will take a job while I'm in Colorado that will allow me to do things like that instead of being worried about the money side so much. That being said, I'm wanting to put money together for a down payment on a house. I'm not sure how confident I feel about being a home owner again. Being that it is a buyers market though, and I would like to obtain some rental properties and be the slum lord I know I was meant to be, now, rather than later seems to be the time.

What else?

Nothing much really. The Oden is here, and the ice breaking is going well. We are seeing more wildlife. That is always nice. We have been in a cold snap the past couple of days, and more than once I have heard people say they think summer is over. Me, I'm not convinced yet. I think we have a few more days of warm weather. It has smelled like rain a few times this year, and we have had slushy type rain, not quite hail, not quite rain, not quite snow, but something with substance and wet. It has left the ground wet like a rainstorm would, and you can smell the water in the earth. Truly, for a girl that loves rain in the desert it is a huge joy.

Anyway......