So when weakness turns my ego up, I know you'll count on the me from yesterday.

While driving around today I passed an old man and woman holding hands. Both grey haired, both wearing the same plaid shirts, both clad in the same beige khakis. They made me love life a little harder for that second. They screamed "hope!" and I have no idea why.

I've felt all jaded the last couple of days, though watching Weeds and Six Feet Under will do that to a person I guess. That and there's no chicken noodle soup in the house. Frig.

August seems to be going both incredibly fast and slow all at the same time. The days seem to pass by in a lazy way, but, when I look at the calendar I am always shocked by how late in the month it is. I can't decide if I want summer over or not.

Maybe I should get a better jog route? I've been told before that mine is pretty bad. I jogged that night. I jogged that time. I jogged that road. Treadmill anyone?

I chopped off my hair today. It looks fantastic. Yeah, I can say that.

Knife going in.

As of today I have a mere five sleeps to go. Five sleeps until I'm with my family. Five sleeps until my friends. Five sleeps until Ice Caps. Five sleeps until the most extensive shopping trip of my life.

So why am I sad to go?

Iqaluit means a lot of things to me. The main one being freedom. For the past three months I've answered to no one. When I want to go out at midnight on a week night, I do so. When I want to have Pop-Tarts for a supper, I eat them. When I don't feel like washing dishes for a week, they stay there.

My laundry is clean. I'm always on time for work. There are groceries in my fridge that I've purchased with my own money.

With the exception of bills and doing my own taxes, I have some how stepped into this pool called adulthood.

It really hit home the other night just how independent I am. This was while I was sitting on my couch in fear at three in the morning while some drunk person banged on the door and tried to find a way into my house. I realized with the exception of Sheena (and the cops), there was not one person here I could call to come rescue me.

Yeah, it was frightening.

Yeah, after talking to them through a securely locked door, they left.

Am I honestly going to miss this?

. . .

Totally.

I'm sad at losing what I've taken the time to build. The idea of going back to the way it was last year completely depresses me, it sucked on a personal level.

I've been debating changes. The main one being my living situation. I know I probably won't be able to do anything about it this semester, as it's just a month from the start of school. But come January I cannot honestly see me still living at home.

Options, options, options.

So sudden.

Iqaluit has no trees. Limited amounts of grass. It's bay only unfroze a couple weeks back. The sun hasn't shined in about five days and it's four degrees out right now. But man, the sunset is awesome here.

10 days! :)

That's a seventeen dollar deck of cards.

Last night instead of going to the bar with everyone else, Sheena and I took it easy and went to the movies. Knocked Up! is absolutely hilarious. I can't remember the last movie I saw that made me laugh so much. The cast was pretty much the same cast of 40 Year Old Virgin, it actually kind of worked though.

This morning I was greeted with the news that a sniper was trying to kill people down near where I work. AKA: No work for me today! Yayyy. He's still there right now and if he can hold off for a couple more hours, the store won't open at all. Yayyy.

It's an Iqaluit thing.

Tomorrow is Nunavut Day so I get the day off with pay at the Day Care and I'll get time and a half at NorthMart. Work absolutely dragged at both places this past week, so hopefully the pace will pick up a bit since it's just four days of work.

I will say this: My kids are all gorgeous.








And a tan one for the people who haven't seen me in three months:

It's that time of year, leave all our hopelessnesses aside.

My Dearest Meagan,

After spending the past thirty minutes working my ass off (literally) on the treadmill, I’ve come to the conclusion that exercise equipment and television do not mix (especially when you are of a reactive personality like I am and have physical responses to what’s happening on TV).

My foot has still not recovered from the last treadmill related incident.

So what is new with me? Pretty much everything I guess considering you haven’t seen me in roughly 76 days. Does that number break your heart like it does mine? The Day Care is going great again, the tumultuous couple of weeks that ruined my psyche awhile back are completely done and over with. Also, on Wednesday I cut back my hours at North Mart (now 65 hours a cheque instead of 80). Basically I go home two hours earlier on week days so I can actually accomplish things like dishes and feeding Scrambles.

I’ve made beautiful friends. I’ve honestly gained a best friend up here and I couldn’t be happier. I can’t remember a time where I’ve got a long with a person so well (which is amazing considering we spend something like 13 straight hours a day with each other). Her name is Sheena, she’s 23 and just graduated from MUN this year with a degree in English. We don’t have the same tastes in ANYTHING and it completely works. I refuse to use the overworked cliché of “opposites attract”.

There are others. There is another. We will discuss this further in a more appropriate setting.

The weather has been great this long weekend, shorts and t-shirts – no lie. Iqaluit absolutely went to town for Canada Day (minus the fireworks of course, as there is 24 hour sunlight). I’m excited to see what will happen for this next long weekend as July 9th is Nunavut day. Throat singing and wicked arts, oh my!

Well it’s only quarter to ten, but there are dishes to be washed and beds to be slept in.

Miss you,
Sarah :)