each day an adventure in alaska: curling...still can't figure out the rules

have been watching Olympics when i get a chance...tonight i landed on curling for a bit. lots of yelling, but i wasn't able to figure out the real rules of it. it appears the Russians will be getting bronze and I'm not sure who will battle it out for gold. they were at 8...not sure how high they go though.

this is a friends photo from a sled dog race on the Kenai a week or so back. the photo on the award the winner is holding (winner is Petit i believe) is a photo of mine...so pretty cool.

after a rough few days i am back to myself. i do have some of those days...thankfully, they don't last long and then they pass.

in truth i do very little at this time in my life to attempt a dating life. true, i often have just felt inadequate in the quest for a mate. seems it should be easier than it is. i tend to be a bit more on the introverted side. small talk is tedious to me as is dating just to date. online dating, for those who married before it started and have never done it....even more degrading...in my opinion.

I'd rather it happen old school if it were to ever happen. I'd like to think I'd be open but in truth i have been a rough chase for many a man in my life. i do recall a male friend making the odd comment that if i were to marry the guy would have to hog tie me and drag me to the alter...it was something like that. as a teenager it did seem an odd thing to say, but looking back perhaps he was spot on.

i do love my independence. i love the peace i have in my life. sometimes the grass does appear greener on the other side and i feel heavy with the idea that i have been passed by. nobody wants to think that they were not wanted by anyone.

when i really look back at my dating history...i dated a lot of men. i broke a few hearts and got my heart broken a few times. mostly, I'd say i dated men that were fun and that i probably never really saw as long term. there was no doubt a reason for that. as I got older i wanted to deal with the baggage that came with many of these men less and less. kids, ex-wives, financial issues...moving from places i enjoy living. giving up my independence and my ability to make life choices on my own. despite the blog posts on rape and molestation, most of the men i have met through life have treated me respectfully, even if i wasn't willing to take things to the level they wanted.

i suppose buying a house on my own was kind of a marker for me. i was going it alone. in some ways i fail..in many ways it would be easier to have another pay check, someone to help with repairs, help with the dogs, chores, be there when I'm sick...often i hear that many a guy is not as helpful as their wives would have liked.

as i look around at many males in my age range...those that aren't married...lets see, alcohol, drugs, baggage, pedophiles, or they are holding out for younger and younger women. just the other day at work, the young female that i was laughing and singing with...a guy around my age apparently asked through another nurse if she was available. i gotta hand it to guys...they have a confidence i never had dating. guess it pays off enough. in this case, she just looked a bit disgusted and commented that he was probably 20 years older than her.

for females...we do seem to have more of an expiration date..unless we have money i guess or amazing good looks. I'm not really a looker. i do okay...more cute in the right light i think.

admittedly, on this too, i don't really try. i tried for years and what did it get me? in the end, if you want to be with me, take me as i am. I'm tired of spending so much time and effort trying to be an image of something I'm just not. i rarely wear make up, i don't pay money to have fake eyelashes or get every hair removed from my body. I'm not opposed to exercise but not for the goal of making myself attractive to men, more because it's good for our bodies and souls to move.

my dogs are companions...more like kids though. i do enjoy that they are trainable, always happy to see me, like me in whatever state i appear....though admittedly, when i get in/out of shower they do look at me with a bit of pity...i believe our furless state is sad to them.

these are out at Reflections Lake area. today was a bit rainy out. we managed to get through the dog walk without rain but then i looked later and it was raining pretty good...then it was mixed with snow towards the evening.

so my days off have not been filled with much adventure. weather is always a factor this time of year. i know there are some more die hards that get out there more but as long as we get out these pups don't really care where we go.

i have enjoyed some Olympic games as well. like that they put team skating in with the figure skating/ice dancing. those were fun events to watch. have enjoyed a smathering of other events as well.

winter Olympics are a bit more laid back plus there are more AK athletes. the cross country ski team continues to improve.

i think there are 14 athletes from AK this year, most of them Cross country skiers and then a few snow boarders. a few sibling pairs in there. hope to see more and more AK skiers in the future and hope to see improvements. i thought i heard one of them cracked the top 10 in one race and in the biathlon i was watching a USA team male was 17th. for a nation that likes to get medals that gets lost but it takes time to build up programs and cross country doesn't get the attention of other sports. up here it does though.

the rescued beluga whale will not be released back to the wild but will instead head out to Sea World in Texas...may have already left.

there actually is a figure skater as well that was born in Girdwood...he has dual citizenship in Canada and so he just won a gold medal on that team.

our last medal in cross country skiing was in 1976, Bill Koch...i don't believe he is related to the financial backers of the GOP.

the doping scandal from the Sochi Russian team has made it so the Russians can not compete under their flag. the Russian IOC has been suspended as well. thankfully, 169 well screen Russian athletes are being allowed to compete under the Olympic banner.

enjoy the snow boarding events more than i would have thought. love the tricks and the height and the fun of it all.

those athletes just have the surfer vibe about them. more there to have fun and less serious about the competition...though that doesn't mean they don't like winning...but it seems more of a competition among friends rather than do or die.

the party of law and order has continued it's battle against law and order...they are accusing them of all sorts of conspiracies...odd as the bulk of those in the FBI are actually no doubt GOP at baseline...though i suspect a few of them are not fans of this current GOP...the irrational crazy, lost their minds GOP

the games are a good distraction from politics, though one always fears what is happening there. it's also a distraction from the Rus investigation so hopefully, the Mueller team can carry on with less drama.