Mary’s 2005 – Year in Review

Year Synopsis:

The beginning of 2005 was the end of Chowchilla JV basketball coaching where my team was doing everything I asked of them. Yet, we couldn’t beat the Amazon hill people of Yosemite and Sierra High Schools. Two thousand five was also the end of Chowchilla entirely! Three years = sun spoiling, San Diego tripping, Gilroy’s Casa de Fruta, good people, interesting cultures, Merced, San Fran, beaches, Yosemite, Tahoe Joe’s, Sonic, In and Out, & Edwards’ Theatering! There was a great, sad but happily true, send off from FCA and all, and a quick trip to Santa Cruz with loved ones to finalize the chapter. The sun and arid temps were soon to be traded in for -16 degrees of dark, dark morning commutes comforted by the Aurora Borealis.

“North to Alaska” with Jeepy and the Uhauled truck, our Verizon cell phones were to be shut off two days earlier, but we were still secretly using them as we drove separate vehicles. Randomly by a Sovereign One, I got a mysterious out of the blue phone call from Houston High School’s principal. We talked for two to four minutes and almost entirely about FCA and the Lord! My “lucky” break! A job!

Picking Tommy up in Seattle for fun and drive time relief was followed by a smooth 3,500 or so mile drive to Anchorage, Alaska, where we hung out and also passed the time exploring the Mat-Su Valley. Our new homeland! As we were homeless and prospecting a new job, a new life, a new Bo friend, we quickly became enrolled in House Buying/Building/Bullying 101, via IEC Realty and some fickle, unmentionably named people.

August came quick with job errands and house negotiating, all the while settling into a rental house owned by an interesting dude named Andy Anderson. We exercised Bo while bike riding to Willow Creek, while seeing many kinds of huge salmon. It was a leisurely time soaking up the Alaskan people and culture of Willow, enjoying it and feeling good that we’ll be here for many years.

Then, school happened in an overwhelming way with new systems, people, and curriculums to learn. However, that time has passed now, and passed quickly, with coaching basketball as a comforting cushion of balance. Our first Christmas here disappointingly is experienced in our rental home, but it is a joyous year-end feeling with Storm and Bo, and a grand present of parentals that joined us here in ALASKA! Selah.


Honorable Mention Specifics:

Driving the Chowchilla tennis team to San Luis Obispo
Exploring San Francisco with Ben Sebastian and staying at Embassy Suites
A surprise iMac laptop and Nano! wowee!
Not to mention the dreadfully, seemingly empty 6 months living without an iPod
Getting Storm at the Anchorage airport and seeing how much happier Bo is
Finding and buying 5 acres of land and building our first home
Tennis with Dad and Mike taking pics at Chow High
Encinitas and palm tree skies
Resting out in the middle of a huge cabbage patch and strawberry fields on a bike in Santa Cruz County
Sunset Cliffs laying out and gabbing with Trace
Every single S.D. road trip – including the Alpine Challenge
All items purchased and consumed from Casa de Fruta
Receiving the Jeep from Justin and road tripping to West Point Loma Blvd.
They Might Be Giants and separately Sanctus Real free pizza in Solana Beach
Taking Bo on a walk to Casey’s baseball games
Santa Cruz camp ground with everyone
Showing Mom and Dad our house and sconces
Days at Yosemite with Case and Bo
Ignoring knocks on my classroom door and Chow house, ducking.
Going to Save Mart and Blockbuster 3-5 times every other afternoon
Running and biking up and down the fairgrounds ½ mile side road to train!
Walking to Pedro’s to pick up pizza after getting some Mike’s Lemonade at the corner store
Hanging out at the baseball field and track with Casey and Bo on hot, sunny days
Picking up my parents in Anchorage on Christmas day!
Many other little things that shall be embraced some other day in a published format

Much Music: always justin greed and love project & mike solo project and sufjan covers as well as all oldies, frou frou, death cab, jack johnson, sufjan, garbage, the raveonettes, mono band, joyce meyer, always amelie sdtrk, still pinback, concretes, palomar, reliant k, rob bell, rilo kiley, innoncence mission, finding neverland sdtrk, bloc party, over the rhine-ohio, eisley-room noises, still the fire theft, new p’s, old crow medicine show

Skimpy, yet highlightable, Movie List:
Kung Fu Hustle
Star Wars: Episode III
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Narnia
Serenity
Millions
Holy Schnikes - great extras
1040 Christmas/thanksgiving dvds cheesily yes
video blogs de j