perspective

i sat down today to write a bitchathon about how i was convinced that iowa was plotting against my sanity by forcing YET ANOTHER fucking snow day on me (after having already spent a week and a half at home with sick kids), but then i talked to jake...

this is jake

as in "jakeandlindsay"

and jake is one laid-back, relaxed, even-keeled dude who has always seemed happiest in a more-tropical-than-not environment (i.e. mexico). he'll visit the cold, if he chooses to, but nothing too extreme--certainly not like the north slopes of alaska in january. yet that is exactly where he is right now.

and after chatting with him today, it seems apparent that 10 days (and counting) on the north slopes of alaska in -50F weather is draining even his good naturedness. he designs tools for oil drilling and exploration and, at times, is required to travel to where they do such things and teach people how to use them. unfortunately for jake, they can't conduct any tests until it gets and stays above minus 30F...

here's the weather forecast for where he is:


so, it may still be a bit before his weather comes through for him. i would imagine he now has an intimate knowledge of frozen hell (and, for once, i'm not describing iowa here). being stuck in a heavily-insulated room without a wii, a guitar, nearby civilization, or even the lindsay part of "jakeandlindsay" no es bueno. there must be some equatorial exploration going on somewhere that can use his help...or maybe a return visit to yelapa...with your wife...in maybe about two weeks...?


hang in there jake! i promise it will get better--it can't stay that cold forever!
(thank you to lindsay for the photos)


***update***

señor jake just emailed these pics to give an idea of what he is dealing with in alaska...and please bear in mind that they were shot around NOON.
prudhoe bay hotel serves up jake's breakfast, lunch and dinner

look closely: this is a frozen interior door

workshop

check out that massive icicle hanging right over the entrance to the shop...it's a total catch-22, because the icicle has formed because of the condensation from the heater.
total. death. trap.

and while this is no consolation to jake, and while we are having unseasonably high temperatures, it helps me to know that tonight, in iowa city, our low will be about sixty degrees higher than where he is--yet i still feel cold...but probably not as cold as jake.