Starvation Gulch

Pictures Galore!

Starvation Gulch is an event where groups ask companies beforehand for their leftover pallets.  Yesterday (Or maybe today) they stacked them together to build structures.  It's a competition to not only have the most pallets, but also the coolest building.  And also who has the biggest fire. 

These are what they looked like prior to being lit.  For being made of pallets of wood, they were constructed very creatively and look quite cool.  The white droplets you see is rain; it was a good, constant sprinkle all night.  Enough to be seen and get your hat a bit wet, but not nearly enough to bug you.  At the bottom right of the second picture are firefighters.  They used buckets to splash some flammable liquid over the wood.  I don't know what I was imagining, but I though they'd have a more scientific and controlled method to spread the fuel.

A building a bit to my right being ignited.  Again, I thought the firefighters would have a high-tech way of starting the fire.  But no, they used a flare attached at the end of a pole-saw.  I apologize for how often the crowd crowds in on my pictures; it was absolutely packed there, and you didn't want to get too close to the fencing holding us back because the fires were so hot.  

The building I was closest to burns.  It's the second picture at the top of this blog post.

There were some people only wearing hoodies, jeans, orange vests, and hats who I think helped build the buildings.  They left as soon as the fires really got going, because the radiation was so hot.  After that, it was just firefighters in their protective gear.

Fire.

Phone in the way of Fire.

Fire at crooked angle.

Fire as seen from a wet lens.

There were immense plumes coming up from these fires.  The smoke covering the sky, the heat from the fire, the sparks raining down, the actual rain, the cigarette smoke, and the booming party music all made for an interesting sort of apocalyptic and awesome atmosphere.

I don't know if that's an actual rain drop or if it's glare, but it's in a lot of my pics.

That orange plastic fence held us at bay.  Not that we'd want to get too close.

More Fire.

Fire.

Go to the very top picture on this page, then compare it to this one directly above.  Before and After pictures.

A different sort of beauty.  A sort of fascination egged on my pyromania.

That guy looks a lot closer to the fire than he is.  Also the sparks at the top look volcanic.

DJ playing party music that you can feel in every part of your body.  I could hear it a good distance away.

There were a lot of people there.  It was chilly when I was walking to the event and walking away.  However, when I was in the crowd, especially when I was near the fire, it was like a summer day.

From the hill above the event.

Looks like an actual fire.  If you didn't know the context of this picture, you might think it was taken during a riot.

Fire.

A video of Fire.  I watched it a couple times to make sure there was no swearing in it.

Retreat

I went on a Retreat

   Friday (The 20th) evening I with other intervarsity Nanooks left for GLOBE creek camp where we stayed the night and next day until Saturday's afternoon.  We played several rounds of a game I think was called vision or something similar.  It involved two teams comprised of one blindfolded member who had to build a structure by following the orders of the unmasked partners who had a card with directions.  We later made smores around a campfire I helped fuel.  Saturday we hiked a bit up a hill covered in tundra which I found exhausting as sure footing was nonexistent.  There also was a long zip line I opted out of.  Between these activities we did worship and Bible reading.

     It was bearably chilly, and much of the land was covered in snow.  Our cabins were insulated, though the foam did little to keep the room warm when the stove died.  The leader woke many times during the night to reignite or preserve the fire inside.  The trip, which was about an hour, allowed amazing views of the sunlit forest abounding either side of the road.  For the first time, I also saw the pipeline stretching from Valdez to Prudhoe Bay.  Furthermore, I was actually fairly close to the North Pole.

I helped haul some of the wood used to burn this pit.

We stayed in this cabin.  Across it was the girls', to the left the main hall, and to the right the road out.

This was the main hall where we ate, sung, prayed, played, hung out.

Here's the winding river very close to the camp.  I tried skipping stones on it.  It didn't go very well, for me at least.  The others did fine, albeit impeded by the fact that they were working against the current and had little room to work with.

It's September

This my September:

(Bear in mind I posted the 'It's Fall' post yesterday)

It's starting to pour flakes of snow.

Here the snow is beginning to stick to the grass, and at the right, it's stuck to the plants.

Trees covered in snow.

It's Fall

Some Fall Pictures:

Same landscape I took from my first picture I posted on my first blog post, albeit from a different angle.

Some trees I got close to, in addition to a volleyball net.

Same trees as above, only closer.  The camera doesn't do the fall colors justice.

I went to Church today

The morning of this incongruously bright Sunday, I was ferried with a group of other Nanooks to Bethel Church were I enjoyed the sermon and music.  It was larger than MFC, but not so large that I felt uncomfortably lost.  There were worship songs much like what I'm accustomed to.  The sermon, which was delivered by the main pastor whose name I've forgotten, was very enjoyable and thought-provoking.  It covered Exodus 32 where the liberated Israelites condescended to idolatry.  One of the most convicting questions I drew was 'How does what I'm praying for further God's Glory?'  I was also reminded that the rosy view of God as endlessly forgiving and loving doesn't capture the entire frame, as God could have easily slaughtered every idolater who kneeled at the golden calf.  God told Moses he was going to do so. Furthermore, jealousy was a word that came up often during the sermon as a description of God.  In summation, God doesn't share his throne.

Then I attended an adult bible study group during which we studied 1 John, focusing on what it meant to be a child of God as opposed to say a child of Satan.  I enjoyed having a time to read scripture with others and discuss it as I haven't had that opportunity to do so in quite a while.

What I'm reading in Linguistics is very enlightening.  Did you know there are two different 'k' sounds in English?  For example, the sound in 'key' is different than 'coo', and therefore they are marked differently in IPA.  Did you know that the way we pronounce our 'r' is almost unique to English?  Also, there are two 'l' sounds in English, for example 'lion' and 'Al' are produced with different, but related sounds.

I've lost my sense of the days of the week.

I live in this town: /fɛɹbæŋks/ which is in the State of  /ʌlæskə/

More specifically, I live in Moore Hall.  It is one of the three residential life buildings that constitute the MBS, or Moore Barlett Skarland. The problem with my dorm hall is we have a great number of people who participate in online gaming.  This means I often struggle with WiFi.  I want to stay set up in my own dorm where it's convenient, but I may be forced to find some other place.

Whenever I tell someone I'm from Boise they reply: 'Oh, you're from Boize?'  I sigh on the inside and brush it aside.

This evening I joined a worship event on campus I learned about from poster-papers posted nigh everywhere.  We sung, listened to the leader-cum-guitarist talk briefly about the being lost through the parable of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son.  I talked to a girl who this last Sunday had attended for the first time a church nearby that shuttles to the campus called Bethel Church.  It's not Quaker, but she recommended it, so this Sunday I'll give it a try.  I hope and pray it'll work as I am very limited considering I have to rely on others for transportation.

I made for the third time my Facebook page.  If you haven't done so already, you can add me, s'il vous plaît.  I'll try to hold on to this one, unless I again reach the point of being too jaded of inane posts.

I'm beginning to start my capstone.  I've got a few very related ideas in my mind, but I don't know how feasible they are or how much research has been done on them.  They are all about how things affect language:  Nearby flora/fauna; level of acceptance of violence and use of diplomacy; nearby geography; kind of Spirituality; et al.  

For example, I want to know things like, Does having trees nearby make your language tend towards having softer or harder sounds?  Will a warring tribe tend towards quick rough sounds while a peaceful will tend towards graceful and gentle?  Does having pessimistic views on deities and afterlife make a people choose lower sounds like a's?

I don't know what exactly I will do.  I don't know at this point if I could even draw the conclusions I hope to establish.

My First Blog Post

First Blog Post

        My mom and I had no problems arriving at Fairbanks, Alaska.  We bought what remained of my needs at Walmart and Fred-Myers before sharing goodbyes. After a good but a little lengthy orientation, I started my classes Friday.  There was a mandatory floor meeting during which I heard a series anecdotes accompanying rules to abide by meant to provide humor and warning.  However, hearing what has and would be done here caused me to realize that I now live in a world quite different than ever before. 

       Technically, I had a class Thursday, but after visiting it and reviewing the syllabus, I decided to take an easier load for now.  Currently, I have Linguistics, Spanish, Communications, Probability, and Honors Capstone Development.  It seems a lot more manageable now.  

        I found a bible study club that I plan on attending on Thursdays that I heard about during a kick-off meeting for all the christian groups.

        Below is a picture of the landscape not far from my dorm.  It's foggy, as it has generally been in the mornings before the noon sun diminishes it.

                                     My typical lunch:  Iceberg lettuce salad and a glass of water.

This prison-like establishment called the Ernest-Gruening Building is where all of my classes are, save my Honors class.

     I haven't yet truly started my classes so I couldn't say how they're going, but I'm sure they'll stay workable and bearable.  Also, I'm hoping as the semester progresses I could make friends, especially ones who are christian, but also that I could find a church that is within reach and matches my needs.