A Guidebook to Surviving Alaska Winters

Since moving back to Alaska, I've complained plenty about Alaskan winters. They're cold. They're endless. They're gloomy. They're depressing.

That's really all there is to it. I repeatedly say I'm the worst Alaskan ever. I suck at every winter sport, I don't like winter sports, I don't like the dark, and I don't like the cold. I don't really own gloves or a hat, don't own snow pants, and don't own snowboots either. In short, I am exactly who I thought I was...the world's worst Alaskan.

But lately, I've really started to love it. Of course, something strange has happened as Winter has seemingly ended early, with the dreary cold replaced with the warm, sunny days that have frequently welcomed Anchorage-ites on a day to day basis. Obviously that helps, as frankly, sunlight does a body good. I'm no scientist, but the Sun just makes me happy.

As I stated though, I am a terrible Alaskan, so having the sun out alone doesn't work for me if I have nothing to occupy my time. Thankfully lately I've had a number of creative tasks going that have brought me back to life and really taken up a lot of time. What are they?

• Better Letter! Amy and I started a company named Better Letter (with the world's loosest definition of company behind it) in which we write and edit cover letters and resumes for our esteemed clients around the country. So far we've had four clients, all of which have not been paying clients, but it is a ton of fun and we are working on picking up clients - see our ads here and here on Craig's List, and we're working up some sweet, sweet flyers to plaster the UAA campus with.



• The Frozen Rope! After starting this sports blog and not really doing anything with it for a few weeks, compadre Ryan Atkins and I have really kicked it up a notch, making it up to a total of 12 blogs so far! This weekend is going to be our biggest one yet, as we're going to post a back and forth breakdown between the two of us of each division in baseball. It's going to be top notch!



• Random survey creation! A few years back, buddy Sobo and I created a chain email that was random beyond words, but extremely hilarious to us. It was a ton of fun, and we actually found it to be successful as a month or two down the line a friend of ours received it back. Cut to now, as Amy and I are creating our own survey, but specifically for a Myspace bulletin. Now I'm sure a lot of you have seen the same five dumb surveys everyone fills out. Ours isn't going to be like that at all, and will blow your mind when you see it. Or at least you'll laugh a bit, or approximately 50 times less than we will.

So yeah, want a good Alaskan winter? Here's a recipe.

• Pray for the sun.
• Stay busy.
• Be creative.

This is why I'm on a diet of at least one haiku a day. They keep my brain happy and satisfy two of the three requirements for a good Alaskan winter.

O, I hate you cold.

Why must you always be here?

Yay! It's summertime!