As Cute as Can Be

Yesterday afternoon Aunt Lyn, Ben, Mk and I hiked next to the Turnagain arm. We hiked for probably about 5 miles and some of the views were absolutely incredible! Luckily we weren't attacked by any moose, bears or mountain goats, but the shifting gravel was another story. I regularly struggle keeping my balance on solid ground. When it comes to slippery rocks and/or ground that doesn't stay in one place I'm a goner. At some points during this hike, we were required to climb or descend steep slopes made of 100% gravel. "Oh dear," I thought to myself. This was bound to turn out badly. I didn't want to show any weakness to my fellow adventurers, though, because I'm in Alaska for goodness sakes. Question: Who comes to Alaska and doesn't know how to ascend steep hills of shifting gravel? Answer: No one. Yes, maybe I should have worn hiking boots instead of sneakers and yes I did acquire a bit of balancing skills from 14 years of dance. But, at the top of that sliding hill, all I could think was "Fall right, Katherine, fall right," seeing as how there was a sharp drop off to the left. I knew that there was no turning back now. You may or may not be surprised to find that gravel actually makes for a very soft landing. I would know since I fell on it twice and neither time did my bum cry out in pain. Rather it cried out in victory that it was not tumbling down the side of the mountain. Overall, I would say that the hike was a major victory.

As far as the job goes, today marks the beginning of our second week working for ARAMARK and I'm learning many new things working in an office. For example, I've learned how one entertains himself when his computer is frozen or is just working extremely slow (as our computers tend to do). One makes himself a paperclip family, of course. So what if they have to stand on their heads? They're still as cute as can be.