Temptations are Everywhere!

If one is looking to gamble in Alaska, the term "few and far between" fits nicely, and that's  why I moved here. While there may not be an abundance of Las Vegas-style casinos in Alaska, there are a number of medium-scale casinos specializing in games like bingo; you just have to know where to look.
Most gambling is illegal in Alaska. The exception is what's known as charitable gaming. Some 1,200 organizations turn to gaming to finance their work and good deeds. About half do so with pull-tabs, including many in rural Alaska. Not all are, strictly speaking, charities. The state allows a wide range of groups to participate, including Native villages, whaling associations, mushing associations, sports teams, municipalities, trade associations, political organizations and fraternal organizations like the Moose and Elks.

My typical work day.

The day starts off with me check-in at the local airline, and then sit out for bad weather to pass. Once the weather's clear, it's usually me and the overloaded cargo in the back of the plane.  Next I interviewed the kiddoes at the school.  Because I usually try to see all the kids in one trip and not get stuck in the village, I packed lunch or eat at the school.  By late afternoon, if I had time I'd check out the town.  Most of the times, however, I'd be waiting on the return flight ahead of time.  The next day I'd come in the office and tried to complete the report if I didn't have to go to court or out to another village.

AC Store

Kotzebue is the most expensive city in Alaska.  The price here is 61 percent higher than in Anchorage.  Everything we have here is either flown in or barged in.  We only get a few barges a year because our shipping season is short. Kotzebue Sound is very shallow, so the big barges have to park 14 miles out and the cargo is lightered into Kotzebue by tugs pushing shallow draft barges. It takes many loads and a lot of gas to bring a huge barge worth of stuff into Kotzebue.   There are two store in town, but the main one is called the AC.  The store is Alaska Commercial Company (AC) which is a Canadian owned company with many stores across bush Alaska. AC is the most convenient place to go when you want to get everything you need in one place. It is also very expensive.  If it were not for geographic pay diffential, I couldn't stay here. Kotzebue pays the highest geographic pay differential because of the cost of living and the remoteness are not appealing to many people. And if I didn't have to eat..I wouldn't  have shop here.

1st snowfall

I woke up this morning  to find the first significant snowfall of the winter here...

Body by Pat

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During the winter people in Kotz don't have many things to do, so I spend most of my free time at the Maniilaq Hospital Gym.   Most night, during the winter, I'll be by myself working on "Body by Pat".

yep, it finally begins

It's finally start to get a little cold( around 20-30 degree), and I'm loving this. This weekend forecast is for more snows. I need to get back to work though to make up for my yearly screw up!

Getting ready for winter

This time of the year is when we start getting ready for the winter with my landlady cutting up Caribou for her freezers. 

another new beginning

Kotzebue.New place.New Life.New chances to be me. Explore things I never thought possible.
After my mom passed away, I lapsed in to suicidal depression. I used gambling as a way to numb the pain.Heck, I should be so lucky if that was the case. A compulsive gamble can find an excuse to gamble. The truth is that I would had gamble anyway. Maybe it's just a coincidence that my gambling problem got more out of hand since my mom passed... but I can't stopped. Then I remember the only time and place that I didn't gamble was the time I spent in Alaska. I'm determined to beat this demon, and if this is the place..so be it......anyway during this "recovery", I would be sharing my experiences of my time here with my friends and family.