World Beard and Moustache Championships

My college friend Brielle from drove up from Valdez this weekend. On Saturday we attended the World Beard and Moustache Championships.

The annual event is hosted in locations worldwide, but this year downtown Anchorage's new Dena'ina Convention Center was selected for the festivities. I had no idea what to expect when Brielle and I parked our matching Subaru's (her's is red) across the street from each other on F Street.

The day brought bagpipes, a bearded band and moustached men from as far as Germany, Sweden and New Zealand trotting down a runway to show off their stylized facial hair. There were costumes: Matador to Moses, urban kilts to the robes of a monk. The events were divided by categories: moustache, partial beard and full beard. And then into categories: English, Dahli, freestyle, etc.

Overall the day was bizarre and fascinating.Check out more of the event in this ADN.com photo slideshow.

Campbell Creek Trail

Campbell Creek Trail can be accessed within yards of my house. It's a mixed use trail where it's common to see teenagers on bikes, serious joggers, dog walkers and your run-of-the-mill city vagrant. The city trail system here is very extensive, and we've spent many a sun-lit summer evening wandering one direction or another.


Birch vs. evergreen.

Out of nowhere.

It's mosquito season.

Not for swimming.

Another summer, another mini-garden

Today I perused Bell's Nursery in South Anchorage to find the perfect plants for my balcony garden. I don't have the space and climate conditions of last summer, so I went a little more conservative with my plant choices. On pot contains five herbs: basil, rosemary, oregano, thyme and mint. The second holds a cherry tomato, chives, a bell pepper and a couple snap pea sprouts. We'll see how they fare with 17.5 hours of daylight (yeah) and some Anchorage rain.

Downtown market

We visited the downtown Anchorage market for it's opening day of the season. It lacked the array of local fruits, vegetables and fresh baked bread of the Boise market. But of course what would be ripe so early in the Anchorage spring? Still, it was larger than the Boise market showing off art, jewelery and the typical Alaskan tourist goods. And it was a beautiful, sunny day.

Speaking of the sun, it's hanging around the northern sky for an extra 7 minutes each day. Last night, 11:30 p.m. finally showed dusk. And the sun is up hours before I am, even on work days. It's a far cry from the barely 6.5 hours of daylight here in December.

Closed for the season

Josh and I drove to Hilltop Ski Area in southeast Anchorage tonight and took a walk to the top of the ski lift.
The evening sky over Anchorage, Cook inlet and the Sleeping Lady.

We saw moose tracks.

And spotted a black bear from a distance. (Small black spot, center frame.)

Ski jumps.

Ski trail sign.

Happy Mother's Day

My mom and I at Ricos after my college graduation two years ago.

This year I have gotten the wonderful opportunity to slowly become somewhat of a part-time parental figure myself. So I have even greater respect for all the women in my life who are mothers. I've caught my own mother's signature phrase's spilling out of my mouth:

"How do you know you don't like it? Your tastebuds change as you grow older."

I'm very lucky that the child in my life accepted me right away. Several months ago he coined the phrase "half stepmom." He explained his logic that I fill the role of a step parent, but we haven't made it official yet. I like this.

Happy Mother's Day to all the moms in my life.

Anticipation

Good timing turned the departure of a coworker into a step in the right direction for me. The ADN's special sections editor left the paper for a technical writing job and I happily accepted the job after several meetings with my boss and the executive editor.

Since NewsPageDesigner.com shut down, my digital portfolio is limited to my CollegeFrontPage.com account. Luckily the Evergreeners have such smart, innovative friends as Joe and Brian to invent a Web site that helps us share ideas and showcase our work. I have you both to thank.

Until they fill my current position I've got one hand on the mouse and the other on the drawing board. I'm looking forward to writing, designing and editing once again. Writing, I'll be composing something more than cover letters and blog posts for the first time in a long time. Editing, designing and planning the sections is a chance to do all my favorite things in the same job. I've got lots of ideas and a bit of a learning curve to get my arms around our 107 yearly special sections but I can hardly wait to begin.

So here's to anticipation.