Quality Control

Friends,

First off, we hope you are all doing well; your blogs are all rad, and it is great to hear about all the diverse experiences you are having this summer. We can't wait to see you all again, be it at the end of this summer or far into the future, and hear more amazing stories, which we are SURE you will all be dying to share with us. We are of the opinion that stories are, in general, better told in person than via a blog, so what we have to offer is a brief outline of our past and future experiences in Alaska. Remind us when we see you next, and we will certainly have more specific stories, exaggerated and embellished over time not unlike a finely aged wine.

We arrived in Anchorage about three weeks ago with vague plans to search for employment in Valdez. We tied up loose ends in civilization - bank accounts, yellow fever shots, the usual - then drove 300 miles to the fishing town. We found that, contrary to everything everyone had ever told us, Valdez is not the land of opportunity. We spent an entire afternoon seeking out employers (maybe just a couple hours... with a population of 4,000, there wasn't much to seek through), and found just about nothing. So, we decided to head back to Anchorage, where we could do more research before heading out on another wild goose chase.

Well, we struck gold. Not literally - but we DO hope to do some prospecting later in the summer. We applied for work on the slime line in Naknek, AK. That means gutting fish for sixteen hours a day, seven days a week, throughout the four or five week peak season for Red Salmon. The interviewer, after setting eyes upon our legible handwriting and noting our basic computing skills, put our applications into the Quality Control department. Basically, we got promoted before getting hired. So we leave tomorrow morning at 7am on a tiny plane to Naknek, where we will read manuals and learn how to... control quality, I suppose... for about two weeks. After that, we will work SEVENteen hours a day, every day through the peak season. This also means that it will be essentially impossible to get in touch with us until the beginning of August. However, we would encourage y'alls to send us snail mail at Ians home address -

2911 Captain Cook Estates Circle
Anchorage, AK, 99517

We truly hope you enjoy your summers - if you're ever feeling down, just think of us, and rejoice in the fact that you aren't working 100+ hour weeks.



It's been real, civilization.

i-town and timmrobb