The last year and a half has been eye opening for me. I discovered ERE and the concept of early retirement during my sophomore year in college. At the time, I wanted nothing to do with the track that many of my peers found themselves on towards the corporate world. I saw work as an evil and in my mind, ERE was the solution. I'd only have to work 5 years, less if I went hardcore, and never have to work again. I went up to the Arctic to work but the job wasn't high paying. Sure enough, as I've mentioned previously here, I became burned out and sought the cabin lifestyle. Once again, I went to the extreme and pursued an option of no work. This has held true for most of that time period, I have volunteered/worked with the research group off and on (mainly last summer) but much of this time has been my own. What have I found?
To start, as I've stated elsewhere, I enjoy human company and conversation much more than I thought I did. It's not just being around people either, it's engaging in meaningful conversations and interactions with people that are close to me (i.e. friends and family). That fulfillment doesn't come from hanging around a coffee shop making small talk or interacting with my neighbors. This was meaningful lesson number one. The second major lesson is that I need something to stimulate me and make me feel productive. Try as I may, I do not have the same mentality or mindset as someone like Lin Yutang. I take joy in creating things (like writing), working towards a goal and helping others. It turns out jobs are a really good way to achieve this.
I have tried over this time period to solve both of those issues on my own. The first by trying to engage regularly with friends and family members (via phone, email or other message system) and being proactive about setting up times to hang out/do stuff with those in my immediate environment. I've found that for 1. About half are terrible at responding to communication (voicemail, texts, messages). It's ironic how hard it is to communicate with some now that it is easier than ever to reach others. 2. This is useful, but others have their work schedules and busyness which can often limit interactions. I still put these two practices to use and find they work well for the most part at facilitating meaningful and continuous interaction.
I've found it hard to create meaning on my own. I've done a good bit of writing (mainly medium-long form essays), but that is only something that I enjoy doing for a few hours each day at most. Not fulfilling over the long term. All that time did end up proving to be a boon for my health. Health has always been of #1 importance for me but it was taken to a whole higher level with increased time. This has involved increasing my workout routine and following an even stricter diet than before. I'm approaching the 1 year mark on following the ketogenic diet. All has been well on that front. Exercise wise has been the major difference for me since I wasn't eating much junk before. For a while, I was seriously considering trying out for a spot in special forces in the military. In order to get myself up to the physical ability I thought was necessary, I followed the SEALFit training program for something like 6 months. I went from being a lean dude with minimal muscle mass to being somewhat ripped. My max pushups went from ~75 to 130. Dead hang pull ups from 16 to 25. The last 100 burpees (official w/ push up) was in ~6 minutes. Being this fit is AWESOME!!! I'm now following the Naval Special Warfare Program as listed on the official website, which incorporates a lot more swimming, running and core work than SEALFit. Almost all of my male friends have commented on my physique over that time. Some females too. The best is when I catch girls taking a second glance/staring at my abs. That satiates my vanity quite nicely.
So a result of all this is a lingering feeling of anxiety. What's next? What do I do now? I'm not sure if I've fully solved the answer to that question but its becoming somewhat more clear, and I have a better idea of what NOT to do.
Anyways, I've been spending most of the past few months in town. In February I started working for my old company as a tour guide doing tours up to the Arctic Circle. This is a booming time for the tourism industry in Alaska as many Chinese nationals come over to see the aurora. The guests on my trips were all from China and I'd often have a guide along who spoke mandarin. This meant I just had to drive, which is pretty boring for the length involved (400+ miles round trip, 18 hour days...) but I often popped in an earbud and listened to podcasts and audiobooks. I ended up doing only about half of the tours they scheduled me for, which was somewhat disappointing, but it is decent money nonetheless. I made roughly $450 per tour and worked 1-2 times a week.
Next week I'm doing the same winter ski race that I did last year. I got new ski boots in the fall and have experienced no issues with blisters. I'm also in much better shape than last year so I'm hoping all will go well. This year I'll be skiing through ANWR instead of the Park. After that the plan is to work with the researchers again, helping them catch lynx, find owl nests and chase bunnies. Should be a fun month.
I found work for the summer. I'm going to be working as a forestry technician doing remote forest inventory analysis in different sections of the state. The pay is good, $20/hr and lots of overtime. It is an intermittent schedule so should give me plenty of time to get out and do other stuff throughout the summer. The plan is to stash as much cash as possible so that I can pursue obtaining my pilot's license in the fall and start building up hours.
Longer term, I am thinking of heading to graduate school. I have heard in the past that you can have companies pay for your graduate school or you can obtain scholarships but I never knew you could get
paid to go to graduate school. At least that's the case in the biology department up here. My friends are making roughly $26k during the school year. They still have opportunities to work during that time and in the summer/winter breaks. Not bad. There is a professor who is doing some really interesting multi-disciplinary work centered around wildlife ecology. I think it would fit into my web of goals nicely.
I have been writing off and on over the past few months, cranking out essays that can could potentially be published in a magazine. My first essay will be published next month. I have a few under review and many other proposals. I'm hoping they accept more. It's fun and good money.
I've done a few short trips with friends. Skiing out to remote cabins and hot springs. Those have been really enjoyable experiences that I hadn't been able to experience living alone further north.
I have also been working on a podcast centered around Alaska. It's wide ranging, featuring people, the land, history, businesses, and pretty much whatever satiates my curiosity. The project started in the fall but I dropped it and have picked it back up in earnest. The first episode is coming out this upcoming week.
Well, that was more rambly than I intended but that's what's going on now and what I'm thinking about.
Feedback, criticisms and comments welcome as always. Thanks for reading.
Fishwheel frozen in place for winter
People call this the "Enchanted Forest." Near the Yukon River. The river takes a while to freeze in early winter so there is still lots of moisture in the air. Water accumulates on these spruce trees and they get covered in snow/ice. It's like this all winter.
My mom and sister came to visit. We stayed at my cabin. This is the tail end of an aurora display that we stayed out and watched.