November in Alaska

Some lucky people have the winning powerball numbers this morning. I read today the winning tickets were purchased in Arizona and Missouri.

 

Good for those peeps who are holding the winning numbers. I'm genuinely happy for them! I hope it is somebody who will benefit from a few million extra dollars in their bank account.

 

I drove to the corner convenience store at 6:49 last night to pick up 22 more tickets for another person in Alaska. The store clerk kindly informed me the ticket sales had been cut off at 6:45pm. Could I have bought the winning numbers if I had been there 4 minutes earlier? Yes. There was another guy there who had just been told he couldn't buy a ticket. We walked out the door and I said, "we're such losers" with tongue in cheek. Actually, if you think about it, I was $44 ahead at that point.

 

Last night I got a text from my peeps in Alaska and they were so happy to have their "virtual" tickets in front of them so they could feel like they had just as much of a chance to win as anyone else in America. I had snapped a pic and emailed it. People from Alaska get excited about different stuff than we do here in the lower 48.  I lived in AK a looooooong time. I get it!

 

This time of year in Alaska is hard, especially Fairbanks. You've just started sleeping at night because it's so dark and cold the only thing you wanna do when you get home from work is crawl into your warm jammies, drink a hot chocolate and pull the covers over your head and hope it's spring when you wake up. On the other hand, summer time in Alaska can run a person ragged. More than once I visited my doctor in late October feeling totally fatigued and he'd say, "no wonder, when was the last time you slept 8 hours?"  There is something about the midnight sun after a really long winter that makes you just want to stay awake until 3am. You don't want it (sunshine) to end. It's truly a bi-polar experience.

 

The other hard thing about November in Alaska is that you know it's going to be 6 months until you have decent weather again. Just getting in and out of your car in well below-zero weather is energy draining. Sigh.  The social gatherings are far and few between but you go anywhere anyone invites you just so you can beat cabin fever. The thought of winning the Powerball must leave one dreaming of sandy beaches and living anywhere else but there. Next time there is a mega Powerball, I'm gonna suggest my peeps plan a little earlier to get their tickets and have a Powerball party. Any excuse for a party is fair game in November in Alaska.

 

So, I'm sorry my peeps didn't win the big bucks but I'm glad I got to be a part of their excitement for one day. Both of them are hair designers in the same salon and I'm certain the fact they were privy to buying lottery tickets was the hot topic of the day. I only wish I had been able to be there to share it with them. Just for one day.

 

love, susan