Home again, home again, jiggity jig…

First off – HURRAY FOR BIRTHDAY PRESENTS! Even when late, cuz of shipping n stuff. *L* I had these waiting for me when I got home:

Cool huh? Personalized M&M’s – so freakin awesome! Thanks baby! *MWAH*

So – I headed up to anchorage yesterday for some classes to take before my licensing exam in a couple weeks. The ride up was BEAUTIFUL! Clear skies, dry roads, beautiful picturesque Alaska at it’s best:

I got to anchorage, found the BnB with relative ease, go settled into my room and reaquainted with the Magic Coffee Machine ™

Then I headed off to find the office – again with relative ease – only to find out 30 minutes before it started that the classes had been CANCELLED and no one had told me yet. Right on cue, my phone rang. Heh. Lessa? got PISSED. I was a very very unhappy camper. I still am, but not quite as volitile. They should have known yesterday that they didn’t have enough people to hold the course in PLENTY of time to notify me before I made the drive up. The only upside was that my room was paid for, and thus I didn’t have to turn around and rush home. But still – not happy Lessa. Took out road rage on the Anchorage Drivers, as I rode around aimlessly for a while. I didn’t like any of the movies they had playing in the one theater I know the location of, and I didn’t want to wait an HOUR for a table for one at TGIF, so I slipped through Wendy’s DriveThru and went back to the BnB. In my younger years a friday night in the Big City would have involved more then the Olympics on TV, napping, and a burger and fries – alas, I am not so young, apparently. *snerk* That and I was still pissed.

Then I woke up to the smell of bacon (yuuuuuuuuuum!) which was served with waffles (from SCRATCH!) and RumSoaked Bananas and overeasy eggs and juice, and of course, the Magic Coffee Machine ™. This was at 8:40 or so. I find out at 8:45 that the VP in Anchorage has been trying to get ahold of me, leaving messages on my cell, and wanting me to go to morning training with him…..at 9. Heh. I didn’t get any cell phone messages, but I told them I’d wander over in a while. No way was I rushing through such a wonderful breakfast! That and I needed to clear out of my room and such, too.

So bout 10, I make it back to the office and catch the last hour of the training session. Was allright – but being in a room of strangers is not a happy place for Lessa, but I managed to do allright. And it was Snowing, so I was a bit itchy to get on the road before it got bad. 11:15, meetings over, and too late, weather is BAD. Snow is just POURING down, and well, yeah. Unhappy Lessa. But I gathered the things that FL wanted me to bring down to dad, chatted with a few people while the car warmed up, discovered that FL had been leaving messages with a total stranger, as he’d transposed the numbers in my cell phone number, and yeah. heh. There we go. And the rest of the trip in abriviated fashion:

So – head off to AK Leather to pick up dad’s coat for him
miss turn, decide to get gas in station on the corner while I’m there.
Pay an OUTRAGEOUS price for Gas to get full services and not freeze my ass off.
Don’t care – though do note that the attendant is stoned off his gord, and perhaps I shouldn’t complain – I got my money’s worth in a contact high.
heh.
Get lost
well, not really lost, but turn, miss a couple turns since I couldn’t see the signs in enough time to read them and get into the right lane without getting hit by the other idiots out driving in such conditions.
On the way, locate a Carl Jrs, and make plans to eat there for lunch to piss off the boy who’s been watching the one down here being built with SALIVATING IMPATIENCE!
Get Jacket – AFTER they finally locate it, under mum’s name, instead of dads, though with the SAME LAST NAME, so perhaps that would have clued in anyone with an OUNCE of intelligence…
Go to Carls Jr.
Call boy so he can whimper and yell and cry while I chew and swallow. heh.
Run across the street to check in at the Tattoo Parlor for prices.
Find out they won’t do work on fingers (want a wedding ring) so must rethink.
considering a bracelet instead.
Go toward the hwy
make mistake of being in a ‘right turn only’ lane
turn three streets ahead of time because I have to
get it all figured out and get outa town.

Drive through many many miles of shitty shitty roads:

Almost get hit by the plow truck who is going 65 in the middle of the road.
Almost hit a big Car Trailor truck, but follow an annoyed passer in a BIG truck and trusted his ability to see while I was glued to his taillights.
Lead many other’s through the pass, and feel oddly maternal about the strangers I got through safely, while panicing completely about the one who disappeared while out of my line of sight….
get home safely and PEEL HANDS off the steering wheel. [When the pictures stopped, we got freezing rain, complete white out for a while, and very very very icy roads.]
take pictures of the windshield – only visiblity maintained by keeping the heater on full blast – the wipers couldn’t keep up with the freezing nasty stuff. And take pictures of the back window, who’s wiper gave up completely. heh

Collapse in chair, vow to NEVER DRIVE AGAIN – or at least until tomorrow. Open fabulous birthday gift, eat doritos and M&Ms for dinner.

The end. Heh.